MOP 6.00 Closing editor: Luís Gonçalves Publisher: Paulo A. Azevedo Number 664 Tuesday November 11, 2014 Year III
Plastic Money
Kingdom
S
hop ‘til you drop. It’s Macau. Credit cards - and credit granted by banks – has doubled in only four years. Official stats reveal that in Q3 some 820,000 cards in Macau secured an average credit line of MOP20,000. The territory has more cards than people (1.3 per person) - with pataca-denominated cards in the majority. Followed by pataca-yuan dual currency-denominated cards, trailed by Hong Kong dollar-denominated cards PAGE
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Great expectations Transportation and housing. They should top the agenda for Chui Sai On’s new term, according to the Policy Research Office. The government unit received almost 120,000 suggestions from the public during the election campaign. Of 18 fields, transportation dominated the survey. While 70 percent lambasted the taxi service. Housing, health, inflation and the need to diversify the economy are of concern to the public as well
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Macau population up 34,000 in one year PAGE 6
Local dining experience losing appeal PAGE 6
Gaming revenues to fall 13 pct in 2015 PAGE 4
Brought to you by
HSI - Movers November 10
Name
SJM profit down 16 pct SJM’s posted a 16.4 percent drop in gaming profits. To HK$1.5 billion vis-a-vis a year ago. Flagship Grand Lisboa revenues are down 11 percent. The operator is also seeing market share diminish. It now occupies 22.5 percent versus 24.3 pct in 2013
%Day
Hong Kong Exchanges
4.56
China Resources Powe
3.11
Galaxy Entertainment
2.92
Henderson Land Devel
2.89
Lenovo Group Ltd
2.53
COSCO Pacific Ltd
-1.12
China Mengniu Dairy
-1.75
Ping An Insurance Gr
-2.93
China Resources Land
-4.11
China Resources Ente
-5.14
Source: Bloomberg
www.macaubusinessdaily.com
PAGE 6
China’s day Yesterday was a day of economic plenty for China. The Hong Kong link kick-off day was announced, and a free trade pact with South Korea confirmed. And President Xi Jinping and Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe held a meeting. Glimmers of hope pierce the recent darkened relations
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Gambling website impunity
Brought to you by
Local Judiciary Police smell a rat. Online gambling websites, promoted via junk mobile phone messages, could involve “scams”, they suspect. But local and Zhuhai authorities have yet to arrest the ringleader. Several allegedly scam online gambling websites have still not been blocked 6 months on
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2, Business Daily
November 11, 2014
Macau
Transportation & housing hottest issues in city The Policy Research Office has released an analysis report on the nearly 120,000 opinions received by CE Fernando Chui Sai On during his recent re-election bid. Transportation, housing and medical issues attracted the most suggestions from some 18 topics commented upon. Kam Leong
kamleong@macaubusinessdaily.com
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he government’s Policy Research Office announced yesterday that nearly 120,000 suggestions had been received from the public during the campaign period of the recent election of the Chief Executive in August. Transportation, housing and medical issues topped the list of public concerns, according to an analysis report on opinions evaluated by the Office. The report indicates that the total number of effective suggestions that the electoral campaign of the sole candidate Fernando Chui Sai On, the incumbent CE, received during the campaign period totaled 111,827, of which 111,246 were submitted in the form of questionnaires by more than 100 local associations. The other comments were collected in written form and by phone call, as well as from public hearings or meetings with associations held during the campaign period.
Top 3 concerns The Office categorised suggestions into 18 topics, of which transportation issue ranked as the number one concern in the city. According to Mr. Law, some
87,425 suggestions were received on the subject, with a large proportion berating the taxi service. The public primarily urged the government to limit the number of vehicles on the roads, especially casino shuttles, making public transportation a priority. In addition, the public demanded an increase in the number of parking lots and improved auxiliary transportation facilities as well as resolving the issue of traffic jams. In addition, many members of the public complained about the taxi service in Macau. Mr. Lao noted to reporters that the number of complaints received about the taxi service “accounted for a rather high percentage in the total number [of opinions received for the transportation field].” The major complaints were about the ‘fishing’, whereby taxi drivers refuse to take passengers, and surly attitudes, according to the report. Housing issues occupied second place in the list. Some 75,068 suggestions were related to the housing field. According to the report, the public want the government to establish a longterm scheme to guarantee housing, in addition to improving urban planning. Increase in the number of public
housing units, controlling the price of private housing, and helping the young and middle-class to resolve the housing problems and the planning of other zones in the urban areas were all of concern to the public, Mr. Lao said. The medical field received some 48,456 suggestions, primarily urging the government to put more resources into the medical services in order to improve medical quality, speed up construction of the Islands hospital as well as strengthening the training of medical staff. Asked by reporters whether the Office had analysed the reasons for public concern about the transportation issue more than the housing issue, Mr. Lao said that it may be due to the subjective feelings of the public. He indicated that the questionnaires received were mostly designed by local associations on a spontaneous basis and as such different associations may apportion different weighting to different fields.
Economic issues and social affairs Meanwhile, apart from the foregoing categories, the public
expressed many suggestions related to economic issues and social affairs – accounting for 44,488 and 43,480 of the total, respectively. In terms of the economy, the public said the government should push the development of a diversified economy, adjust the price index, share the economic fruits with the public and schematise the cash premium programme. In addition, they want a long-term social security fund scheme. Mr. Lao said that the government had also received some suggestions urging universal suffrage, yet claimed these opinions were ‘in the minority’ compared to the numbers of other opinions on the law and political field. On the other hand, the chief consultant of the Office, Mi Jian, claimed that the analysis of the suggestions received is only the first step in fulfilling the political manifesto proposed by Mr. Chui, saying the government will still have much work to do to truly resolve the issues brought up by the public. Mr. Lao declined to reveal the total expense of the report, claiming the it was “sleeplessly” conducted by the Office staff.
Stay in the finest hotels in Macau and read Business Daily news where it matters
Business Daily, 3
November 11, 2014
Macau
Credit card numbers double in four years The credit limit granted by banks in Macau has also increased by 56.5 percent since 2010 Sara Farr
sarafarr@macaubusinessdaily.com
T
here are more credit cards in circulation than population in Macau, a number that has increased steadily on a quarterly basis over the last four years. At the end of the third quarter, there were 819,930 credit cards in circulation in Macau, a 13 percent yearly increase and a 2.9 percent increase over that of the previous quarter. But in the last four years alone, since the third quarter of 2010, the number of credit cards issued by Macau banks has doubled from 403,469. At the time, the overwhelming majority were patacas-denominated cards, accounting for 322,085 of the total, followed by Hong Kong dollardenominated cards and lastly yuandenominated cards. It wasn’t until the first quarter of 2011 that patacas-yuan dual currency credit cards were introduced to the territory. Today, the number of these credit cards has outpaced that of Hong Kong dollar-denominated ones as well as that of yuan-denominated cards. The latest figures released by the Monetary Authority of Macau (AMCM) show that of the overall number of credit cards in circulation at the end of September, one-fifth
were patacas-yuan dual currencydenominated, accounting for 150,541 of the total and on par with that of yuan-denominated cards. The number of patacas-denominated credit cards still accounted for the majority of cards
issued by banks here, at 583,754, while that of Hong Kong dollardenominated cards totalled 85,609. Back in the third quarter of 2010, the number of Hong Kong dollardenominated credit cards was double
that of yuan-denominated cards. The pace of growth of these credit cards has increased by an average of 2.6 percent, according to Business Daily calculations. While the number of credit cards issued by banks here doubled in the past four years, so has the credit granted. At the end of September, the average credit limit granted by Macau banks was of MOP7.2 billion. Today, that limit is MOP16.5 billion, which represents a 5.1 percent increase over that of the previous three months, and a 24.2 percent increase from the third quarter of 2013. Meanwhile, credit card receivables totalled MOP1.9 billion with a rollover amount of 28 percent or MOP561.7 million. The delinquency ratio remained virtually unchanged at 0.87 percent. Credit card turnover increased 5.2 percent quarterly to MOP4.1 billion, with a cash advance turnover of MOP202.6 million, accounting for 5 percent of the overall credit card turnover. In addition, credit card repayments in the third quarter of the year increased by 18.7 percent from the same period a year earlier to MOP4.2 billion.
4, Business Daily
November 11, 2014
Macau Brands
Trends
A FANtastic afternoon Raquel Dias newsdesk@macaubusinessdaily.com
JL Warren Capital: GGR to drop 13 pct next year The recovery of the gaming industry will have to wait. The slowing economy in China and its anti-corruption policy will continue to drag down the gaming revenue of Macau throughout the coming year, JL Warren Capital forecasts Kam Leong
kamleong@macaubusinessdaily.com
H
aving ‘high tea’ is not actually an English tradition but more of an American one. Be that as it may, the last few years have seen a big boom in the imported trend. I myself still remember the days when one had to go to Hong Kong to enjoy the treat. Sitting down in a hotel and enjoying the many layers of afternoon goodies (I don’t think I actually ever drank the tea) was the highlight of a Sunday afternoon. Things change and nowadays any higher-end hotel in town promotes some kind of offer for this special time of day. The newest addition to the list is the Mandarin Oriental’s twist on this tradition. Although you will still find the regular offer in their elegant lounge, there’s a new very tasty weekend treat in the hotel’s Vida Rica bar on the 2nd floor. The ‘Afternoon FANtasy’ is a new take on teatime. You can enjoy a personalised selection of made-on-the-spot sandwiches and exquisite desserts, along with topquality coffee and tea, and even hot chocolate made from your preferred flavour of Valrhona chocolate. You can choose from Guanaja 70% dark chocolate for a more intense taste, Caraibe 66% dark chocolate for a more delicate flavour of almond and roasted coffee, or Jivara 40% milk chocolate, which exudes enticing notes of malt and vanilla. There’s even the option to upgrade the experience with champagne. The afternoon treat starts with a homemade mandarin orange sorbet to set the mood and prepare for a menu crafted by Culinary Director Dominique Bugnand and Executive Pastry Chef Sebastien Bernis. Sandwiches are made in front of you from the best ingredients, and the sweets are delicious. A must-try.
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ew York-based advisory firm JL Warren Capital predicts that the gross gaming revenue (GGR) of the city will continue to drop by 13 percent year-on-year in 2015, assuming the average daily revenue (ADR) for this year and next is 850 million patacas (US$ 6.8 billion), based on the current ADR of between 820 and 870 million patacas. The advisory firm believes that the slowing economy of mainland China and the ongoing anti-graft campaign will continue to affect the recovery of the Macau casino business, as it reckons that the premium mass market of the casinos, which accounts for some 40 percent of the mass market, shared a similar gambler profile with VIP segments. JL Warren Capital estimates that
the premium mass market posted a decline of 35 percent year-on-year in its GGR in October, with a 30 percent drop in the GGR of VIP segments recorded, indicating that the decline in the premium mass market revenue growth is correlated to that of the VIP segments. The firm said that the gaming revenue from the VIP sector and premium mass market accounted for 76 percent of the total GGR. In October, according to official data from the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, the GGR registered the biggest year-on-year drop of the year, down some 23.2 percent, compared to that of last October. The GGR of the gaming industry has been dropping for five consecutive months.
Meanwhile, the Group believes that to make up the decline of 13 percent and some 2 percent consensus growth rate demand [by the gaming market] will also need to be increased by the equivalent of one and a half Wynn Macau’s or MGM’s 10 percent market share, instead of relying on the opening of Galaxy’s second phase in 2015 alone, as some predict. In addition, despite the number of mainland visitors increasing, the Group perceives that the GGR in 2015 will probably not be driven by these visitors; as they are seem to be mass table gamblers placing smaller bets in the casinos. In October, excluding the premium mass market, the rest of the mass market, estimated by the firm, increased by 15 percent year-on-year.
EGA posts drop in Q3 gaming revenue
M
elco Crown’s subsidiary Entertainment Gaming Asia (EGA) has posted third quarter losses of 9 percent year-onyear primarily due to the reduced number of players in the company’s NagaWorld operations. According to the Phnom Penh Post, gaming revenues for EGA, which leases electronic gaming machines (EGMs) on a revenue-sharing basis to NagaWorld and Sokha’s Thansur Bokor Resort, reached US$3.96 million during the threemonth period ending September 30. Gaming operations revenues for the
first nine months of the year dropped 10 percent to total US$12.2 million. “The decrease in gaming operations revenue for the third quarter of 2014 was largely due to a decline in revenue from NagaWorld,” Clarence Chung, chairman and CEO of Entertainment Gaming Asia, was quoted as saying in the statement. Chung added that NagaWorld’s renovations had added slight disruptions to EGA’s gaming operations. “With this floor renovation now complete, our installed machine base and player traffic levels have returned to more normalised levels.”
Business Daily, 5
November 11, 2014
Macau
Shady online gaming site operators still on the run Local Judiciary Police said the online gambling websites, promoted via junk mobile phone messages, could involve “scams” Stephanie Lai
sw.lai@macaubusinessdaily.com
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ocal and Zhuhai police have yet to arrest the ringleader behind the operation of several allegedly scam online gambling websites, which are still not blocked within Macau and have appeared in junk mobile phone messages sent to people crossing the Zhuhai-Macau crossing at the Border Gate as well as on large posters outside residential buildings. These online gambling websites, some claiming to be ‘authorised by the government’, provide platforms for users to indulge in sports betting, live dealer games and lotteries. Some of these online gambling websites instantly have their domains changed when users access the main site, or ask users to download a special browser to access their website. In a reply to Business Daily, Judiciary Police noted that they did not rule out that scams are involved in the operation of these online gambling websites, while stressing that it is still investigating. In a joint action with the Zhuhai police and Bureau of Telecommunications Regulation, Judiciary Police arrested four mainland Chinese in the Border Gate district last week for the crime of sending junk mobile phone messages promoting the said online gambling websites to people crossing the ZhuhaiMacau border. Another suspect was also apprehended by Zhuhai police in the mainland for publicising online gambling via text messages. By using radio frequency simulation systems and antennae, the suspects could successfully simulate the spectrum of mainland telecommunication operators to broadcast junk messages to visitors travelling from the checkpoint to the Border Gate district, Judiciary Police confirmed. Some of these online gambling websites have also been publicised in large banners and posters placed on residential buildings in the Border
Secretary: Gaming-related loansharking cases rocket A total of 177 loansharking cases, mostly related to ‘gaming activities’ in the city, were recorded for the first nine months of this year, Secretary for Security Cheong Kuoc Va told media yesterday whilst briefing them on crime figures. The number of registered loansharking cases as at end-September represent a rise of 48.7 percent when compared with the same period last year, making it one of the types of crime recording the most rapid increase so far. Of the 98 people arrested for the loansharking cases in the period this year, the majority were from mainland China, Secretary Cheong noted. Meanwhile, for the January to September period, security units here have also seen more mainland Chinese overstay using permits other than the individual visit scheme visas. A total of 31,198 of these overstays were recorded for the period, which is 5,520 more people than a year ago, official figures show; while the number of overstays using a permit for the individual visit scheme in the period is 3,426 people, 75 people less than the same period last year. The Secretary noted that the number of overstays from the mainland has already fallen since July, the month authorities imposed the new rule requiring mainland Chinese passport holders transiting Macau to and from another country or territory be granted a stay of five days maximum instead of seven. S.L.
Gate district and outside the residential complex opposite Casino Golden Dragon – which remained in place as of yesterday. The junk online gambling promotion to mobile phone users has already lasted more than half a year but Zhuhai and local police have yet to arrest the ringleader and other suspects involved in the crime. According to police, the charges laid against the four arrested mainland Chinese from Fujian Province include the improper use of computer data and involvement in a criminal gang. Gaming activities here can only take place in locations approved by the local government, including online gaming, the local laws governing operations of casino games state.
Corporate StarWorld’s Feng Wei Ju Restaurant features Hunan, Sichuan cuisine As StarWorld Hotel celebrates its eighth anniversary, the 5-star hotel has announced the official opening of its brand new Sichuan and Hunan restaurant - Feng Wei Ju - offering authentic flavours from those provinces. Feng Wei Ju is headed by Chef Chan Chak Keong, StarWorld Hotel’s Executive Chinese Chef and a widely acclaimed figure in the culinary industry, the company said in a statement. Chef Keong studied the local specialties across China’s many provinces and, for over a year, searched the country for chefs who share his passion to join the restaurant’s kitchen team. “Now, under the concerted efforts of these elite chefs, Feng Wei Ju is recreating the essence of Hunan and Sichuan using the freshest local ingredients to conjure up dishes with truly delicious flavours,” the statement added.
A Macau bylaw gazetted in November 2012 foresaw the possibility of “mobile” gaming inside some of the city’s gaming premises. This particular bylaw was primarily concerned with conventional slot machines and slot parlours, while it also mentioned the possibility of mobile gambling using wireless networks, but “only inside gambling areas especially authorised” by the city’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau. The local monopoly for non-racing sports betting (including an online portal for use only in the city) of Macauslot – Sociedade de Lotarias e Apostas Mútuas de Macau Lda, a firm founded by former casino monopolist Stanley Ho Hung Sun – remains unchallenged as its contract only expires in June 2015.
6, Business Daily
November 11, 2014
Macau
SJM Q3 profits drop 16pct Sara Farr
sarafarr@macaubusinessdaily.com
G
aming revenue growth in Macau has decreased steadily for five consecutive months, more than analysts first expected. Overall, casino companies here have reported double-digit drops in their quarterly results. The latest company to announce its third quarter results was SJM Holdings Ltd, posting a 16.4 percent drop in its profits to HK$1.5 billion over that of a year ago. For the first nine months of the year, SJM’s profits also decreased 14.3 percent to HK$5.4 million. At Grand Lisboa, the group’s biggest casino, gaming revenue dropped 11 percent to HK$6.9 billion in the third quarter of the year from the same period in 2013. From January to the end of September, Grand Lisboa’s casino revenues decreased slightly by 0.3 percent to HK$23.1 billion. The company - that for a long time was the leader in terms of market share - also saw its slice of the pie being cut from 24.3 percent in the third quarter of last year to 22.5 percent at the end of September. “In spite of the well-publicised headwinds this year which have primarily affected the VIP segment of the Macau market, SJM has turned in a decent performance in the year-to-date period,” the company’s CEO, Ambrose So, said when SJM announced its third quarter results yesterday. “In particular, our mass market
business has continued its growth and overall our EBITDA margin has been stable.” Mr. So added that the company’s Cotai project, the Lisboa Palace, “is moving ahead at full speed… whilst we continue striving to
optimise gaming table utilisation at our existing properties.” Occupancy rate in Grand Lisboa alone was 90.5 percent at the end of September, a drop from the 97.5 percent recorded in the same period last year. Gaming
Dining in Macau losing its appeal
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survey shows that customers’ dining experiences in Macau restaurants have suffered the biggest decline in satisfaction rating since 2007. The Macau Consumer Satisfaction Index 2014, conducted by the Institute for Sustainable Development of Macau University of Science and Technology, was released yesterday. Shopping and dining experiences in Macau and the neighbouring city of Zhuhai were investigated and compared. In a 0-100 scale, dining in Macau scored 66.9, a 4.2 percent decrease compared to last year, while Zhuhai scored 65, a 2.1 percent drop. The results also show that customers think that
food quality and service are deteriorating in both places. Increasing prices are further alienating customers. The researchers pointed out that with the tourism industry rapidly developing in Macau competition in the food and beverage business has becomes fierce. But many local restaurants have been suffering from human resources problems in recent years. The lack of manpower has led to poor service, eventually resulting in a less satisfactory experience for the customer. The Institute suggests that local small and medium-sized restaurants, especially family-run businesses, pay attention to how to attract, train and keep their employees. Zhuhai used to be a shopping paradise for Macau
revenue generated by Grand Lisboa accounted for HK$6.9 billion of the total at the end of the third quarter, while its self-promoted casinos raked in HK$1.96 billion and its satellite casinos HK$9.3 billion.
Population increases 34,000 in one year residents with its variety of supplies and cheaper prices but the survey shows that customers still think Macau offers a better shopping experience. Customer satisfaction for shopping in Macau has been in the lead for eight years compared to shopping in Zhuhai. This year, shopping in Macau scored 71, while Zhuhai scored 64.4, the highest in eight years. All the sub-indices including product quality, service, and worthiness have increased and the gap between Macau and Zhuhai narrowed. The researchers interviewed 875 Macau residents in late May. The Institute has conducted the survey on an annual basis since 2007.
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n additional 32,800 people have been calling Macau home in the last year alone. That’s the number by which the population here has increased in 12 months since the third quarter of 2013. The latest official figures released yesterday by the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) show that at the end of September Macau’s total population had hit 631,000. This also reflects an increase of 7,000 newcomers since the end of June. According to the Statistics Bureau, the population here has increased primarily due to the increase in the number of non-resident workers. Data shows that at the end of the third quarter there were 162,877 non-resident workers, a 5 percent increase
from that of the previous quarter. The number of mainland Chinese migrants skyrocketed to 2,656 from 788, a 237.1 percent increase quarter-onquarter. In addition, as many as 1,971 live births were recorded in the three months to September 30, an 18.3 percent increase quarter-onquarter, while the number of mortality cases dropped 7.7 percent to 419. In addition, 1.3 percent more couples tied the knot between the months of July and the end of September, with 957 couples exchanging vows. Of these, the number of first marriages has decreased by 2.1 percent for men and 1.9 percent for women up to the end of September compared to the same quarter a year earlier.
Business Daily, 7
November 11, 2014
Gaming
Singapore casinos brace for battle as VIP volumes fall
Unlike Macau, casinos in the Lion City have very few junket promoters so operators have to go after the money themselves. Casinos can deploy debt collection agencies but locating a high-roller can be a real challenge
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ingapore’s two glitzy casinos are fighting for a shrinking pool of high-rolling players as China’s crackdown on corruption and economic slowdown reduce the number of VIPs at their tables, and the battle is starting to turn ugly. Gaming mogul Sheldon Adelson, whose Las Vegas Sands runs the Marina Bay Sands resort, has accused rival Genting Singapore’s Resorts World Sentosa of relying on overly generous incentives and credit to entice big money players. “Maybe one day, they will get used to competing on the basis of a quality product, if they ever build one, and they won’t have to buy the business,” he said during his company’s earnings call last month. A Genting spokeswoman declined to comment on questions sent by Reuters, citing the company’s quarterly results due today but President Tan Hee Teck had acknowledged the headwinds facing Singapore’s casinos during its last earnings call in August. “I suppose some operators may not want to admit it but at least from our side we believe that the situation will continue to be quite challenging at least for the next 6 to 12 months,”
Tan said. Behind the spat is a fall in the number of high-rollers crucial to the billions of dollars the two casinos have earned since opening in 2010, making up around 50 percent of their combined S$6 billion in annual gaming revenues. Around half of that VIP business comes from customers from China, which is in the midst of an economic slowdown, while a crackdown on graft is now in its second year, making it harder for wealthy Chinese to take money out of the country and discouraging conspicuous consumption. Visitors from China were down 30 percent to 871,000 in the first half of 2014, according to Singapore’s tourism board. Last month, Las Vegas Sands reported a 34 percent fall in VIP volume business at Marina Bay Sands to US$9.1 billion in the quarter ending September 30. Genting is expected to report a similar sharp slide in its third quarter results. Genting Singapore shares have been the worst performer in the benchmark Straits Times index this year, falling 30 percent. ‘Growth in Singapore gaming
revenue has stalled, and is likely to contract slightly in 2014 with macroeconomic and political factors in China being the principal cause,’ Fitch Ratings wrote in a note on October 31. While the two casinos have been pushing to earn more money
We believe that the situation will continue to be quite challenging at least for the next 6 to 12 months Tan Hee Teck Genting Singapore president
from non-gambling activities such as conference facilities, hotels and shopping, gaming still makes up around 80 percent of both their revenues. Both casinos boast profit margins of about 50 percent, the world’s highest in the industry.
Easy credit Offering credit is an easy way to lure foreign players – the rules are stricter for Singaporeans – to play, and to play big. Commission, a small rebate on the amount of money rolled, can also be used to entice gamblers. “Credit checks can be very fast for some gamblers - in 15 minutes or so you can probably get approval for US$1 million, and with US$1 million you can still roll up to US$8 or US$9 million,” said Terence Tay, former general counsel for Genting Singapore who now runs a consultancy. But credit collection is a thorny issue for Singapore casinos, which are already waiting on hundreds of millions of dollars in credit to be repaid by gamblers, the majority of whom are based overseas. Genting has seen a 61 percent rise in its ‘trade and other receivables’, or money owed by customers, to stand at S$1.2 billion in the quarter ending June 2014 from June 2012, while total revenue has increased by 7 percent in the same period. In August, Genting Singapore President Tan said the company was prudent in managing its debt collections, citing a S$81 million (US$62.5 million) impairment loss it had taken on its trade receivables in the second quarter versus a S$32 million impairment loss a year ago. Las Vegas Sands said in its latest earnings presentation that its ‘gross casino accounts receivables’ for Marina Bay Sands stood at US$984 million at the end of September 2014, up 10 percent from September 2012. In rival Macau, casinos rely on middlemen known as ‘junkets’ to extend credit to high rollers and recover debts but Singapore has very few junket operators. Instead, the operators have to go after the money themselves – a tall order given their legal powers to enforce debt payments from VIP players overseas are limited. Pleading letters, visits from marketing agents and notices of demand from external lawyers often fall on deaf ears. The casinos can deploy debt collection agencies, though often just physically locating the high-roller can prove near impossible. Another concern is that with new casinos opening in the rest of Asia, VIP players may be looking beyond Singapore to play. “What’s going to be the greater challenge to the Singapore operators, and certainly more longer term, is that across the region there’s a lot more political momentum to legalise casinos,” said Vicky Melbourne, head of industrials for Southeast Asia and Australasia ratings at Fitch. Reuters
Aussie tycoon buys Australia’s worst casino
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ustralian tycoon Chris Morris says he has bought the worstperforming casino in Australia, for which he plans a AU$20 million facelift to turn the Townsville casino into a cash cow. The Computershare chairman’s Colonial Leisure Group entered into an agreement to buy Echo Entertainment
Group’s Jupiters Townsville casino for AU$70 million in January. The deal was settled last month after probity clearance was received. “[Echo] had been trying to sell it for two years,” he was quoted as saying by Australian newspaper The Age. “The only money that had really been spent on it was the gambling facilities.”
According to the report, the 66year old does not expect to make a profit for the next four years. Mr. Morris will spend a minimum of AU$20 million to overhaul the design and put in new restaurants and bars, “which is what we specialise in, in our hotels in Perth and Melbourne”. Mr. Morris is estimated as having
a fortune of AU$700 million. The Jupiters deal pushes his investments in the Australian Queensland State in the past three years to over AU$100 million. He also owns a Queensland helicopter charter company, Orpheus Island, and recently bought an outback cattle station, Mt. Mulligan, the report added.
8, Business Daily
November 11, 2014
Greater China N.Z. to help in food safety China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corporation (COFCO), the country’s largest agricultural and food products supplier, has signed an agreement with a New Zealand government-owned food safety firm and a multinational business consultancy to improve China’s food safety and quality. COFCO signed the agreement with food safety service firm AsureQuality and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) on the side-lines of the APEC leaders meeting in Beijing, said a statement from PwC’s New Zealand office yesterday.
New energy agreements signed with Russia
Hong Kong-Shanghai link to sta
In the statements yesterday, the Hong Kong bourse and regulators d foreign investors will be subject to a capital gains tax
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long awaited plan to connect the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock exchanges will go live on November 17, the Hong Kong bourse and Chinese regulators said in a statement yesterday. The landmark stock connect project will, for the first time, allow global investors to trade Chinese stocks directly from Hong Kong,
This is a historic moment for China’s capital market Nick Ronalds Asia Securities Industry & Financial Markets Association managing director and head of equities
China and Russia signed agreements to boost their energy cooperation, including a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to develop a second route to supply China with Russian natural gas. Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin witnessed the signing of a series of bilateral cooperation agreements, including an MOU of the China-Russia West Route natural gas pipeline and a framework agreement between China National Petroleum Corporation, China’s largest oil and gas producer, and Russia’s energy giant Gazprom. The two countries have seen broader and closer feasible cooperation in new situation, according to the two leaders.
China Express Airlines orders 16 planes China Express Airlines has placed a firm order for 16 CRJ900 NextGen regional jets from Bombardier Inc., the Canadian firm said in a statement. China Express has also taken an option for another 8 CRJ900 NextGen regional jets, it added. The agreement was signed in Beijing on the side-lines of a meeting of Asia-Pacific leaders and chief executives. Bombardier, which competes with Embraer SA, currently has about 35 CRJ and CRJ NextGen regional jets in service in the Greater China area. China Express is a private regional airline based in Guizhou province.
On cooperation track with Jordan China and Jordan agreed to deepen all-round cooperation and work together to promote the peace process in the Middle East during top Chinese political adviser Yu Zhengsheng’s visit to the country. Yu, chairman of the National Committee of Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), was on the last leg of his four nations’ tour in North Africa and West Asia, which has already taken him to Algeria, Morocco and Bahrain. During his stay in Jordan, Yu met with King Abdullah II, Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour, Acting House Speaker Ahmad Safadi and Senate President Abdul Raouf Rawabdeh.
while mainland investors will be able to access the Hong Kong equities market. The launch comes at a time when China is making a big push to widen the use of the yuan, with Canada being singled out at the weekend as the latest trading hub for the currency and the first in the Americas.
“Trading through the ShanghaiHong Kong Stock Connect will commence on 17 November 2014,” the China Securities Regulatory Commission and the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission said in a statement. The Hong Kong-China stock scheme, a key plank in China’s capital
Inflation hovers near 5-year low
China and Sou conclude free t
China has cut retail prices of gasoline and diesel seven times in a row since late July as international oil prices fell
South Korean media repo have agreed to exclude ri usually the thorniest issu negotiations with foreign
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hina’s annual consumer inflation remained near a five-year low in October at 1.6 percent, further evidence that the world’s second-largest economy is cooling and reinforcing expectations that authorities will roll out more measures to support growth. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected annual consumer inflation to be 1.6 percent in October, the same as September, which was the weakest reading since January 2010. On a monthly basis, consumer inflation was flat in October, the National Bureau of Statistics said yesterday. That compared with 0.1 percent expected by economists. “The risk of deflation has risen as the economy is expected to slow further in the next few quarters,” ANZ economists said in a research note. “This is a significant risk ... which requires China’s policymakers to monitor the situation closely and take action swiftly,” ANZ said, suggesting the central bank could inject money into the system more frequently to keep the financial system working smoothly. Facing mounting risks to growth and rising risks of deflation, Beijing is widely expected to continue rolling out a steady stream of stimulus measures in coming months, though most economists believe it will hold off on more aggressive action such an interest rate cut unless conditions sharply deteriorate. The producer price index fell 2.2 percent from a year ago, its 32nd
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Oil plays a big part in the prices’ decrease
consecutive decline, as sluggish demand curbed the pricing power of companies, the National Bureau of Statistics said. The market had expected a 2.0 percent fall in producer prices after a drop of 1.8 percent in September. Many Chinese companies are already facing rising borrowing costs as banks grow more reluctant to lend. Yu Qiumei, a senior statistician at the National Bureau of Statistics, said worsening factory price deflation in October was mainly caused by a drop in oil prices and over-capacity problems that have plagued some sectors for years. Nomura expects more forceful measures to come soon, predicting one, 50-basis-point cut in banks’ reserve requirement ratio in each quarter from now into late 2015, in addition to more modest easing measures. Reuters
hinese and South Korean leaders said yesterday the two countries have “effectively” concluded a free trade agreement that will remove or sharply reduce barriers to trade and investment between the two trading giants. The deal follows more than two years of negotiations between the two neighbours on opening their markets wider to each other, although there remains some scepticism in South Korea about a swift passing through the country’s parliament. “South Korean and Chinese leaders yesterday declared an effective conclusion of the FTA at a summit meeting held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing,” a statement from Korea’s presidential office quoted spokesman Min Kyung-wook as saying. The agreement comes as South Korea has yet to decide whether to join the United States-initiated TransPacific Partnership pact, aimed at slashing trade barriers between a dozen countries.
Fine-tuning needed China is the world’s largest exporter and South Korea ranks seventh. South Korea already has free trade agreements with the United States and the European Union. An official at Seoul’s trade ministry said the agreement with Beijing
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did not clarify whether market liberalisation, was initially expected to start at the end of October but authorities pressed the pause button on the project at the last minute without giving a clear explanation of what was causing the delay. Industry participants have said operational issues, including lack of clarity of the tax regime for capital gains made on trades and share ownership issues, were possible reasons for the delay. Hong Kong’s leader Leung Chunying signalled last week the Hong Kong pro-democracy civil disobedience campaign that has blocked key roads of the city’s financial centre since late September had also played a role in the postponement of the scheme. Stock exchanges in mainland China have been experiencing a sustained increase in volumes starting from October 29 as investors positioned themselves for an imminent launch. “Those in the market should make good use of the time before the official launch to prepare and ensure the smooth development of the ShanghaiHong Kong stock connect,” China’s regulator said in a statement. Reuters
uth Korea trade deal
orted the two countries ice from the deal, ue in South Korea’s trade n countries was not final while China’s Xinhua news agency called it a conclusion of substantive negotiations, indicating some fine-tuning has yet to be done. South Korean media reported the two countries have agreed to exclude rice from the deal, usually the thorniest issue in South Korea’s trade negotiations with foreign countries. Xinhua reported the agreement covers 17 areas including online commerce and government purchasing. China and South Korea normalised diplomatic relations in 1992 and bilateral trade grew 36-fold to US$228.92 billion in 2013 from just US$6.38 billion in 1992, South Korea’s data shows. South Korea has been running a trade surplus with China since 1993. In 2013, the surplus was US$62.8 billion. Analysts in Seoul have said the deal would have only a limited direct boost to bilateral trade or economic growth but would help South Korea strengthen ties with China, the sole major ally of North Korea. The two Koreas remain technically at war after their 1950-53 war ended in a truce and China is the host of six-party talks aimed at diffusing tensions over Pyongyang’s nuclear development ambition. The talks, which also involve the United States, Russia and Japan, have been stalled for years. Reuters
High employment cause for short-term comfort, long-term concern The official urban unemployment rate was 4.07 percent at end September, barely changed from 4.08 percent three months earlier
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s China’s economy slows towards its weakest growth in a quarter of a century, policymakers have comforted themselves that unemployment remains low, and with it the risk of social unrest. Indeed, the jobless rate has become China’s key indicator, with Beijing saying it does not matter if economic growth falls short of a 7.5 percent target this year, as now seems possible, as long as employment holds up. Analysts do see some risks building, with reports of provincial resistance to consolidation in employmentheavy manufacturing industries, and workers being kept on the payrolls of inefficient “zombie” firms, but don’t see a crisis for now. The official urban unemployment rate was 4.07 percent at end September, barely changed from 4.08 percent three months earlier, but even the government thinks that understates joblessness and is busy testing a wider survey-based measure. Chinese media are noticeably short on the stories of mass lay-offs, padlocked factories and worker riots that were headline fodder in 2009 as the global financial crisis led to a collapse in export orders. And while both the government and HSBC/Markit Purchasing Managers Indices (PMI) show manufacturing
employment contracting in 2014, wages have risen. Anecdotally, many company executives complain of difficulty finding workers.
It has recorded 259 such incidents in the media since July, compared with 148 for the first six months of the year, although it is fairly certain there are more incidents than appeared in press and social media, spokesman Geoffrey Crothall said. Another issue is the preservation of jobs better off eliminated, an unpleasant but unavoidable effect of economic restructuring. Local officials have proven highly resistant to consolidating sectors such as steel, glass and cement, given it will be they, not reformers in Beijing, who have to deal with the fallout on the ground, in particular concentrated unrest from lay-offs. At the same time, laws protecting workers enacted over the last decade act as a short-term disincentive to restructure and a deterrent to investment in more profitable lines of business - and better jobs. Reuters
Reason for concern Giant’s experience reflects, in part, the attempt to shift the world’s second-largest economy toward higher-value services and away from its traditional growth engines such as manufacturing. For example, data show that while agricultural employment has declined and mining jobs have stayed flat, hiring in service-oriented sectors such as IT, real estate and retail is growing at a brisk 20 percent. But there is still reason for concern, economists say. For one thing, there are strong sectoral and regional disparities. A recent visit by Reuters to the northern city of Qiqihar revealed that some factories had put workers on subsistence wages. Others have simply stopped paying. The number of labour incidents related to back pay in China has jumped in the second half of the year, according to data compiled by China Labour Bulletin, a Hong Kong-based NGO that works with mainland labour rights organisations.
KEY POINTS China continues to post high wage growth, low unemployment Low unemployment helps justify holding back on monetary easing Partly reflects successful shift toward services away from manufacturing Many jobs still low-paying or no-paying, in dead-end industries
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Greater China BoC to be the yuan bank in Malaysia Bank of China, China’s fourthbiggest lender, is to be appointed the yuan clearing bank in Malaysia, two sources with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. Bank of China and the Chinese central bank were not immediately available for comment. The Chinese central bank said earlier yesterday in an online statement that China and Malaysia had signed a deal to set up a yuan clearing bank based in Kuala Lumpur, the first of its kind for the country.
China’s Xi, Japan’s Abe hold meeting The meeting came after a four-point agreement reached last week by China and Japan
Xi urges cooperation with Brunei China is willing to cooperate with Brunei in the development of oil, gas and new energy, and to achieve “substantial progress” in jointly developing the South China Sea, President Xi Jinping said yesterday. China will also encourage its businesses to increase investment in Brunei to enhance cooperation in infrastructure construction, as well as agriculture and fishery sectors, Xi said when meeting with Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah. Hassanal is in Beijing to attend the 22nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting on November 10-11.
Yanzhou looks to rescue Aussie arm Yanzhou Coal Mining Co Ltd has moved to shore up its struggling Australian arm, Yancoal Australia Ltd, through a US$2.3 billion deal that could pave the way for the Chinese firm to take over its subsidiary. The move follows the failure of a plan by Yanzhou to privatise Yancoal earlier this year after resistance from the Australian company’s second-largest shareholder Noble Group. Yancoal said yesterday it plans to raise up to US$2.3 billion through a sale of convertible notes to shareholders with its parent Yanzhou kicking in its full 78 percent share, worth US$1.8 billion.
Russia to settle more trade in yuan Russia and China intend to increase the amount of trade that is settled in yuan, President Vladimir Putin said yesterday as he ruled out capital controls for Russia. Speaking at an Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Beijing, Putin vowed to keep Russia’s foreign debt level below 15 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP). He also said Russia planned to use part of its “sovereign reserves” to improve access to loans to draw foreign investment. He did not elaborate. “There will be no increase of sovereign debt,” Putin said.
Xi-Obama: a chance to enhance ties Chinese and U.S. politicians and experts believed the upcoming visit by U.S. President Barack Obama to Beijing will provide an opportunity for both sides to enhance mutual trust and cooperation. On the side-lines of the APEC Ministerial Meeting, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Friday that China attaches great importance to Obama’s visit, and hopes to further develop bilateral ties. Wang said the current drive of Beijing and Washington to build a new type of major-country relationship not only benefits the two countries but also serves to reassure the entire world.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (L) shakes hands with China’s President Xi Jinping (R) during their meeting at the Great Hall of the People, on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings
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hinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe yesterday held a meeting at the request of the Japanese side ahead of the 22nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting. China hopes that Japan continues to follow the path of peaceful development and adopt prudent military and security policies, Xi told Abe. Abe said Japan is determined to continue the path of peaceful development, noting that the current Japanese administration will maintain the same views held by previous governments on the history issue. Japan is willing to implement the four-point agreement reached between China and Japan, properly handle related issues and make it the new starting point for promoting the improvement and development of the strategic and mutually-beneficial
relations between Japan and China, Abe said. “China’s peaceful development is a significant opportunity for Japan and the world,” he told Xi. He also said Japan supports China in hosting a successful APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting. The meeting came after a four-point agreement reached last week by China and Japan, which agreed to resume political, diplomatic and security dialogue while acknowledging different positions on the Diaoyu Islands. To build stable and healthy bilateral relations, Xi said, China and Japan must conform to the progressive trend of the times. He urged Japan to “do more things that help enhance the mutual trust between Japan and its neighbouring countries, and play a constructive role in safeguarding the region’s peace and stability.” Noting that China and Japan are
close neighbours, Xi said stable and healthy development of Sino-Japanese ties is in line with fundamental interests of people in both countries as well as the common aspiration of the international community. He said the Chinese government has always attached importance to its ties with Japan, and has advocated pushing forward Sino-Japanese ties on the basis of the four political documents reached between China and Japan and in the spirit of “taking history as a mirror and looking forward to the future.” The four political documents refer to the China-Japan Joint Statement inked in 1972, the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1978, the China-Japan Joint Declaration of 1998 and a joint statement on advancing strategic and mutually-beneficial relations in a comprehensive way that was signed in 2008. Xinhua
Australia-China free-trade agreement closer
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he announcement comes as a historic free-trade agreement between the two countries grows ever closer, with Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop confirming yesterday she was “optimistic” that a deal will come to fruition in the coming days. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Chinese President Xi Jinping will finalize the new agreement next week at the G20 summit, which is expected to inject in excess of US$15 billion into Australia’s economy over the next decade. Tariffs will be removed from Australia’s biggest mineral and energy exports as a result of the new deal, while food producers will benefit from an increase in horticulture exports. Australian legal, design and financial
firms will also have increased access to Chinese markets and, in turn, Chinese investors will have a greater influence on the Australian share market due to relaxed investment rules. The news comes as Bishop announced free trade agreements with Beijing were reaching a conclusion. Australia has been in long-term negotiations with China regarding an agreement and, following US$130 billion worth of two-way trade in the last financial year, an official announcement is expected imminently. “It’s looking very positive,” Bishop told Fairfax Media. “[Trade minister] Andrew Robb assures me that the areas of negotiation have narrowed significantly, so we are quite optimistic, but there’s not an
agreement until everything’s agreed. “ However, Australian opposition leader Bill Shorten has criticized the government’s announcement, suggesting details regarding the agreements need to be disclosed before the deal can be completed. “What is in the deal? The government has been leaking out selectively good news -- I just want to see all the detail and the government should tell Australians what’s really the case,” Shorten said. “I think a trade agreement is good if it works for your national interest. A trade deal is bad if it doesn’t. We’re interested in the creation of jobs and trade, but not necessarily just signing up to anything like a blank cheque.” Xinhua
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Greater China Malaysian PM highlights key role of China Najib spoke of APEC’s role in promoting free trade and economic cooperation in the Asia Pacific region
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eace, stability and economic growth in the Asia Pacific region require an active and engaged China, and Malaysia looks forward to working with China in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and beyond, to further this agenda, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has said. China continues to play a positive and constructive role in the Asia Pacific region, Najib told Xinhua in a recent interview, ahead of his trip to Beijing for the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting on November 10-11. Najib said he fully supports China in holding the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting and they are very appreciative of China’s intensive and tireless efforts to prepare a first class meeting. Referring to the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting as an important forum for exchanging views on trade, investment and common interests, he said that only by exchanging dialogue can they discover shared areas of mutual benefit. Najib spoke of APEC’s role in promoting free trade and economic cooperation in the Asia Pacific region, saying it has become an important forum where leaders can meet to discuss the best way forward in terms of regional economic integration. The Malaysian prime minister said that promoting innovation- driven development with emphasis on science and technology, e- commerce and Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SMEs) is a priority for APEC and its members. As to the initiatives put forward by the Chinese leadership, such as building the Silk Road Economic Belt
and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, upgrading China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA) and establishing an Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Najib said that these initiatives demonstrate China’s strong leadership and commitment to a stronger and more prosperous Asia Pacific region. As a founding member of AIIB, Malaysia signed the Memorandum of Understanding in Beijing on October 24. Najib said he believes that by helping to invest in infrastructure projects in Asia, the AIIB can play a critical role in raising living standards and developing the region. The prime minister said that
As a friend and partner in the pursuit of peace and prosperity in the region, Malaysia welcomes China’s views, ideas and engagement Najib Razak Malaysia’s Prime Minister
as vocal proponent of free trade, Malaysia is in favour of upgrading the China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement. “Once negotiations are concluded -- hopefully by the end of 2015-- we seek to achieve US$1 trillion in two-way trade by 2020. I expect these initiatives to bring greater prosperity to the region as a whole, both in the medium and in the long-term,” he said. As to the initiative of establishing the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, Najib said the rejuvenation of the Maritime Silk Road will bring enormous business opportunities for both China and Malaysia. Xinhua
Chip industry awaits boom despite challenges China has failed to make gains in the chip production process
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hile China is known as the “world’s factory,” seemingly capable of making everything, semiconductor chips have been conspicuously absent on the “Made in China” list. Statistics show that China’s chip imports in 2013 grew 20.5 percent to reach US$231.3 billion, exceeding imports of other goods, including crude oil. In fact, they have consistently topped China’s import list over the past decade. Considered “the heart” of all electronic devices, chips are vital for developing the broader information industry. Experts have called for more government support and industry innovation, as prolonged underdevelopment of China’s chip sector could derail the country’s economic upgrade and blunt its competitiveness. A semiconductor chip with production value of US$1 translates into US$10 in growth for the related information industry, and adds US$100 to a country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Zou said, citing IMF research. However, China has failed to make gains in the chip production process. Though China’s semiconductor use accounts for more than half of the global market, the country is overly
dependent on foreign chip suppliers. The market share for chips made by domestic manufacturers is merely 10 percent in China, according to Li Ping, vice general manager of XMC, a semiconductor manufacturer based in Wuhan. Though 77 percent of cell phones sold on the global market are made in China, only 3 percent of chips in those phones are from Chinese suppliers, Li added. According to a research report issued last year by the State Council, China’s cabinet, China has the capacity to produce around 1.2 billion
cell phones, 350 million computers and 130 million colour TVs a year. Yet, Chinese companies have been reduced to worker bees for the international companies that take the lion’s share of profits through patent fees on chips. China’s industry insiders lament being mired in a vicious circle: companies cannot gain a competitive edge and increase profits without owning key technologies, while meagre profits limit their ability to invest in research and development. Countries such as the United States and Japan have long attached great
importance to the semiconductor industry, promoting it as a strategic sector with huge research expenditures funnelled into the field. The world’s leading chip makers spend lavishly on research and expanding their production capacity. Statistics show that in 2012, Samsung invested US$14.2 billion and Intel spent US$12.5 billion. Those amounts dwarfed what Chinese players can earmark for chip research. The fledgling industry is faced with scanty resources, even with government help. Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), China’s biggest chipmaker, is only able to spend US$100 million on research and production expansion a year. Financial aid alone, however, cannot pull Chinese chipmakers up, as the sophisticated industry also calls for top talent. Yang Chunshi, professor at Xiamen University, said research institutions should focus on developing technologies that are suitable for industrial applications instead of a blind pursuit of high-end technology. He added that companies should also take the initiative and embrace new technologies, as dated production modes spell trouble. Xinhua
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Asia Vietnam sells US$1 bln-worth of sovereign bonds The Vietnamese government raised US$1 billion via a rare issue of sovereign bonds at an annual coupon of 4.8 percent, the lowest among its three offshore dollar-dominated debt sales, a Finance Ministry statement said. The coupon was below Vietnam’s initial target of 5.125 percent per annum, as bids from foreign investors totalled US$10.6 billion, the statement said. Proceeds of the bonds will be used in part for swapping the government’s sovereign debts issued in 2005 and 2010. The debt sold last week was assigned a provisional rating of (P)B1 by Moody’s.
Time Warner eyes Ten Network U.S. media giant Time Warner Inc. has approached struggling Australian broadcaster Ten Network Holdings Ltd about a A$680 million (US$588 million) takeover bid, the Australian Financial Review reported yesterday. The indicative approach was pitched at A$0.25 per share and “only intended to facilitate further discussions with you”, AFR reported, quoting an October 6 letter from a Time Warner executive to Ten’s advisers, Citigroup. Time Warner declined to comment, while Ten Network and Citigroup were not immediately available for comment.
Japan, Abu Dhabi sign deal Japan and the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, home of seven percent of the world’s oil reserves, signed on Sunday a memorandum of cooperation (MoC) for joint oil storage project, Emirati state news agency WAM reported. The MoC was signed by Yosuke Takagi, Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan (METI), and Abdulla Nasser Al Sweidi, the director general of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC). Under the project, METI will provide ADNOC with private crude oil tanks of approximately 6.3 million barrels in Japan. In exchange, ADNOC stores its crude oil in these tanks.
Australia behind on climate change Australia’s lacklustre approach to climate change has seen a 70 percent dip in investment from foreign organizations, a report by the Climate Council has revealed. The report, titled “Lagging Behind: Australia and the Global Response to Climate Change”, concluded that while global superpowers had accelerated their strategies to deal with climate change, Australia had fallen behind. The result has seen a host of green businesses moving overseas, with China and the United States profiting from Australia’s refusal to cut carbon emissions.
Obama says momentum building on “historic” trans-Pacific trade deal Business leaders attending the APEC forum have been looking for signs of progress on the TPP
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.S. President Barack Obama said yesterday he sees momentum building for a Washington-backed free trade agreement in the Asia-Pacific, after arriving in Beijing on the first leg of an eight-day Asia tour. U.S officials had ruled out a major announcement on the ambitious 12-country Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in Beijing, where Obama will attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum and meet Chinese President Xi Jinping. But business leaders attending the APEC forum have been looking for signs of progress on the TPP, especially as China is pushing for a separate trade liberalisation framework called the Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific (FTAAP). Obama said the TPP, in a deadlock largely due to disagreement between the United States and Japan over how widely Japan will open its doors to farm exports, had the potential to be an “historic achievement”. “During the past few weeks our teams have made good progress in resolving several outstanding issues regarding a potential agreement. Today is an opportunity for us at the political level to break some remaining logjams,” Obama said at a meeting of TPP leaders at the U.S. embassy. Some see a proposed study on the FTAAP plan, which will be presented to APEC leaders for approval this week, as a way to divert attention from the TPP, which excludes China.
US President Barack Obama (top) disembarks from Air Force One as he arrives at Beijing Capital Airport in Beijing
TPP leaders said in a statement issued after the meeting that they remained open to including “other regional partners that are prepared to adopt its high standards”.
Striking a balance Obama arrives in China seeking to show renewed commitment to his administration’s much-touted strategic “pivot” toward Asia, widely seen as an effort to counter China’s rising influence. The TPP is at the economic core of that rebalancing effort. His challenge will be to overcome scepticism among some Asian allies as to whether the United States can
fully engage with the region at a time when it is preoccupied with global crises ranging from the fight against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, the spread of Ebola and the conflict in Ukraine. At the same time, the drubbing Obama’s Democrats took in last week’s midterm congressional elections will hardly strengthen his position in talks with China or with allies in the region. Many may see him as a diminished leader on the world stage in the final two years of his presidency. Although negotiations on the TPP have been slow-moving, one of the areas where a new Republicancontrolled Congress might actually help Obama is by easing passage should a trade deal be reached. Some trade experts note that reaching agreement before U.S. presidential electioneering picks up next summer could be crucial to avoiding U.S. domestic political hurdles. Obama’s focus on Asia business ties on the first day of his visit underscored his efforts to strike a balance between seeking deeper economic cooperation with a rising China while also challenging Beijing with the U.S. pursuit of the TPP. Obama was due to speak to a conference of corporate chief executives in Beijing a day after Xi assured them that risks faced by China’s economy were “not so scary”. Reuters
Foreigners offload South Korean stocks again Investors in Bermuda sold off the biggest amount, offloading a net 0.7 trillion won last month
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oreign investors dumped South Korean stocks for a second straight month in October, data from the country’s financial regulator showed yesterday, as profittaking was prompted by a quicklyweakening local currency. Offshore investors sold a net 2.1 trillion won (US$1.94 billion) worth of South Korean stocks in October, according to the Financial Supervisory Service, roughly quadrupling their sale of a net 0.5 trillion won in the previous month. Investors in Bermuda sold off the biggest amount, offloading a net 0.7
trillion won last month, with the United Kingdom following with net sales worth 0.6 trillion won. The won fell 1.2 percent against the greenback in October alone, following a near 4 percent drop in value in September due to a number of reasons, including the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to end its bond buying stimulus programme last month. Investors have also been skittish over third quarter earnings of South Korean companies, with market bellwether Samsung Electronics Co Ltd operating profit falling 60.1
percent over a year earlier in the third quarter. Meanwhile, foreigners boosted their holdings of South Korean bonds for a second straight month in October by 1.3 trillion won and by the most since April this year, the same data from the FSS showed. Investors in France put the most money into won-denominated bonds last month, increasing their holdings by 0.4 trillion won. Singapore and China followed, adding 0.2 trillion won and 0.1 trillion won to their respective portfolios. Reuters
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Asia
Modi’s ‘Make in India’ push to depend on Chinese steel India’s steel consumption is expected to grow at its fastest pace in five years next year on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s infrastructure push, but a scarcity of raw materials means it will be at the expense of another key goal - curbing imports Krishna N. Das
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n his triumphant election campaign, Modi criticised the last government for exporting iron ore but importing steel. But his first five months as the prime minister has coincided with a surge in imports of both, denting his high-decibel drive to make India an export powerhouse. India’s steel imports from China, the world’s biggest producer of the alloy, doubled in April-September from a year ago though the country has enough capacity to meet its demand. While India’s consumption is expected to rise, China will continue to see a downtrend, likely leading to a flood of cheap steel from China just as Modi pushes ahead with a signature ‘Make in India’ initiative to boost industry. Charged by the strongest electoral mandate in three decades, Modi has staked his reputation on making India an export hub, launching his pet campaign with much fanfare in September with a lion as its logo. Soaring steel imports, however, underscore the challenges Modi faces in realising his dream. Steelmakers, such as JSW, are clamouring for higher import tariffs. “The ‘Make in India’ slogan has to be true for steel also,” said Ravinder Bhan, deputy general manager of marketing at state-owned Steel Authority of India. “Let steel firms get iron ore and other raw materials. But that’s not happening.” India, Asia’s third-largest economy, has become a major importer of iron ore and coal despite having big reserves of both at home. Once a top exporter, India is now bringing in shiploads of iron ore due to court action against illegal mining that has stifled supply, while coal behemoth Coal India is struggling to boost production.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives for a Ministers swearing-in ceremony on Sunday
The shortages mean that India’s steel industry is running at 80 percent of capacity. But the World Steel Association expects Modi’s probusiness plans - building 100 new ‘smart’ cities, creating new logistic hubs and residential townships - to spur steel demand that has been weak in recent years.
China imports jump World Steel expects India’s demand to rise 3.4 percent to 76.2 million tonnes in 2014, after growth of 1.8 percent in 2013. Structural reforms and improving confidence will support a further 6 percent growth in 2015, it said. Indian steelmakers such as JSW,
Tata Steel and Jindal Steel and Power Ltd, however, run the risk of being priced out by their Chinese competitors. “The global market is such that the only thing that you can do is take some protective action to save the (Indian) industry,” said A.S. Firoz, chief economist at a Steel Ministry unit. “Otherwise you can’t decide what the global prices will be or at what price China will export steel.” A Steel Ministry spokesman said he had no immediate comment on whether authorities would consider raising tariffs, although a government official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the issue was being looked into. China, the world’s largest steel
Dymon’s Asia macro fund said to gain 6% Dymon made money in a month when some of the largest macro hedge funds lost money as stock and credit markets slumped in the first two weeks before rebounding Bei Hu
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ymon Asia Macro Fund gained about 13 times the average return of hedge funds focused on trends in the currency, stock, bond and commodity markets last month, when some of its largest rivals lost money. The US$3.4 billion hedge fund returned 6 percent in October, extending gains in the first 10 months to 17 percent, said a person with knowledge of the matter who asked
not to be identified as the information is private. The HFRI Macro (Total) Index tracking macro funds globally rose 0.5 percent in October and 3.7 percent this year. David Chan, chief executive officer of Singapore-based Dymon Asia Capital (Singapore) Pte, declined to comment. Dymon made money in a month when some of the largest macro hedge funds, including those managed by
Bridgewater Associates LP, Fortress Investment Group LLC and Tudor Investment Corp., lost money as stock and credit markets slumped in the first two weeks before rebounding. Profitable macro trades in October included bets on the Japanese yen to weaken against the dollar and the country’s stocks to rise, Anthony Lawler, a London-based money manager for GAM Holding AG, wrote in a November 5 note. Wagers that
producer, rolls more steel in a month than India, the fourth largest producer, manages in nine months. But a slowdown in China means it is set to end with a surplus of about 100 million tonnes a year. A tonne of reinforcement steel produced in India for use in buildings can cost up to 15,000 rupees (US$244) more than that from China, according to Firoz. Shipments into India jumped 33 percent to 4.19 million tonnes in April-September from a year ago, with imports from China leaping 108 percent to 1.34 million tonnes. Total steel imports in the fiscal year to next March 31 could nearly double to 9 million tonnes, JSW predicts. Reuters
the Chinese yuan would appreciate also proved lucrative, he added. The yen’s 2.4 percent slide against the dollar last month ended with the October 31 surprise announcement by the Bank of Japan that it is expanding stimulus to reflate the world’s thirdlargest economy. The news came after the U.S. Federal Reserve confirmed the end of its third round of quantitative easing. It sent the Nikkei 225 Stock Average to a seven-year high, as a weaker yen will make Japanese exporters more competitive. Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund said on the same day it will double stock allocation, lending further support to the market. The Chinese yuan strengthened 0.8 percent in the offshore market in October as it rose to the seventh-mostused currency in global payments. Dymon was co-founded by Chief Investment Officer Danny Yong, a former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Citadel LLC trader. Bloomberg News
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International Russia abolishes daily interventions Russian central bank governor Elvira Nabiullina said yesterday that the bank has abolished its limited interventions of US$350 million a day when the rouble is trading below “a level defined by rules”, without stating the level in question. She said that instead the bank would intervene on the forex market at any moment with sufficient volumes to reduce speculative demand. She also said that the bank would temporarily limit its supply of rouble liquidity as this was being used for “games” on the currency market.
Police investigating S. African president South African police are investigating President Jacob Zuma over a US$23 million taxpayer-funded refurbishment project at his rural homestead, according to parliamentary papers. In a written police response to lawmakers published yesterday, police confirmed that an investigation into spending at Zuma’s Nkandla home “has been initiated.” Zuma, who was re-elected in May, has insisted that he had no knowledge of the work on his home, including the construction of a swimming pool, private clinic and amphitheatre. His government has insisted all the refurbishments were security related. The issue has become a lightning rod for criticism of Zuma’s administration.
Ukraine to tighten currency rules Ukraine’s central bank chief Valeriia Gontareva said on Sunday the bank would implement tougher administrative measures to defend the faltering hryvnia if needed, rather than drawing further on its severely depleted foreign currency reserves. The hryvnia closed at a historic low against the dollar on Friday, after the central bank reined in its support for the Ukrainian currency and tensions mounted in rebel-held separatist regions. Gontareva said the bank could not afford to defend the currency out of its foreign reserves, which fell by almost a quarter in October to US$12.6 billion, their lowest since 2005.
Abdel Aziz starts talks on Burkina transition The chief of the African Union yesterday arrived in Burkina Faso for urgent talks on the country’s political transition following the ouster of veteran president Blaise Compaore. Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, the Mauritanian president currently holding the AU chairmanship, is due to hold talks at the airport in Ouagadougou with Lieutenant-Colonel Isaac Zida, the officer the army installed as the head of the west African nation after Compaore fled.
U.S. natural gas futures post record Natural gas futures advanced for a 10th day, the longest run of gains in more than 14 years, amid forecasts for a blast of polar weather. Natural gas for December delivery rose as much as 3 percent to $4.544 per million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The volume for all futures traded was almost three times the 100-day average for the time of day. Gas climbed 14 percent last week, the most since the seven days ended February 21.
G20 proposes buffer to end ‘too big to fail’ banks The proposal is set to be endorsed by G2O leaders later this week in Australia Huw Jones
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he world’s biggest banks should hold a buffer of bonds in case of a collapse so that government bailouts are avoided, a global regulatory body proposed yesterday. The draft rule is the last major piece of banking reform put forward by world leaders since the 2007-09 financial crisis forced taxpayers to shore up undercapitalised lenders. The Financial Stability Board (FSB), made up of regulators from the Group of 20 economies (G20), said global banks like Goldman Sachs and HSBC should have a buffer of bonds or equity equivalent to 16 to 20 percent of their risk-weighted assets from January 2019. The bonds would be converted to equity to “bail in” a stricken bank. The total buffer would include the minimum mandatory core capital requirements banks must already hold. The proposal is set to be endorsed by G2O leaders later this week in Australia. It is being put out to public consultation until February 2, 2015. FSB Chairman and Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said
KEY POINTS New “bail in” bonds rule set for January 2019 Minimum buffer of 16-20 pct of risk weighted assets Rule to be finalised by G20 summit in 2015
the buffer would be finalised next year, marking a watershed in ending banks that are too big to be allowed to fail. The new rule will apply to 30 banks the FSB has deemed to be globally systemically important, though initially those from emerging markets would be exempt. “Once implemented, these agreements will play important roles in enabling globally systemic banks to be resolved (wound down) without recourse to public subsidy and without
disruption to the wider financial system,” Carney said in a statement. Most of the banks would need to expand their issuance of debt to comply, the FSB said. Some senior debt already issued would will also need restructuring. To avoid banks downplaying the riskiness of their assets to meet the new rule, the buffer, formally known as total loss absorbing capacity or TLAC, must also be at least twice their leverage ratio, a separate measure of capital to total assets regardless of the level of risk. Globally, this yardstick has been set provisionally at 3 percent but it could be higher when finalised in 2015. Parts of the buffer would be held at major overseas subsidiaries to reassure regulators outside a bank’s home country. “We believe TLAC will be a more material challenge in Europe than in the U.S.,” Fitch ratings agency said ahead of the announcement. Extra requirements from national supervisors could swell the buffer to 25 percent of risk weighted assets, it added. Reuters
Euro recovery limps on Mario Draghi’s morality tale on the need for structural reform will resonate this week in data revealing Spain outshone the region’s biggest economies yet again
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eports on November 14 predicted by economists to show a recession in Italy, and marginal growth in France, Germany, and the euro area as a whole, will reinforce a parable the European Central Bank president tells every month. That theme has particular poignancy for Draghi, an Italian whose country has become the poster child of economic sclerosis. With growth of 0.5 percent in the July-September period, the Spanish economy outperformed the German one for a second quarter, something it hasn’t done since 2007. By contrast, the euro-area economy probably expanded 0.1 percent, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Eurostat will publish that report following data from France, Germany, Slovakia, the Netherlands, Italy and Portugal. Draghi has identified “insufficient progress” in structural reforms as a key downside risk to the economy. While the outlook for a modest recovery remains in place, a weakening in momentum signals cuts in the ECB’s staff projections, he said last week after policy makers kept interest rates unchanged. New forecasts are due in December. In Finland, industrial production expanded 0.7 percent in September from the month earlier, its statistics office said yesterday. The European Commission already lowered its GDP outlook for the euro
area and its largest member economies -- Germany, France and Italy. In Spain, where growth is projected to accelerate next year, Economy Minister Luis de Guindos has committed that the government will continue the policies that turned the economy around -- changes to labour law and measures to encourage enterprise. Unemployment at 24 percent is still the second-highest in the region, and the government’s budget deficit won’t fall back in line with European Union rules before 2017.
Fastest growth Ireland, which exited its bailout program last December, will expand at the fastest pace in the euro region this year, the commission said. Profit at Banco Santander SA, Spain’s largest lender, surged 52 percent in the third quarter as charges for bad loans dropped. Ryanair Holdings Plc., the Irish carrier that’s Europe’s No. 1 discount airline, upgraded its full-year profit goal this month, days after Air France-KLM Group and Deutsche Lufthansa AG said sluggish growth would weigh on demand. Manufacturing data for last month painted a similar picture, with gauges for Ireland and Spain signalling some of the strongest expansions, while a downturn in France accelerated and Italy fell back into contraction.
Those countries that have undertaken more reforms are now in a better state -the examples of Ireland and Spain demonstrate that Daniel Lenz, lead market strategist, DZ Bank
The ECB in Frankfurt has already unleashed a barrage of stimulus, including a negative deposit rate, long-term loans and asset purchases. Draghi said last week that more unconventional measures are being prepared in the event they’re needed, stoking expectations that the ECB will buy government bonds before long. Economists at Nomura International Plc now predict a classic quantitative-easing program in the first half of 2015, while analysts at BNP Paribas SA expect a broadening of asset purchases to be announced next month. Bloomberg News
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Opinion Business
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Leading reports from Asia’s best business newspapers
MYANMAR TIMES The government is contemplating stepping in to the rice market to prevent too much drop in price for the staple crop. Rice prices have declined about 20 percent so far this year on international markets, but the local situation has been exasperated as China, Myanmar’s largest rice export market, began preventing its important bilateral rice trade with Myanmar in late September. Although the main harvest is still about a month away from beginning, farmers are worried they will face much lower prices than anticipated months ago when they planted the rice.
JAKARTA GLOBE Indonesia’s domestic car sales slowed by 3 percent year-onyear in the first nine months of the year on weaker public purchasing power outside Java and a commodities price drop. Temporary data at the Indonesia Automotive Industry Association (Gaikindo) — information the association received from only a portion of the country’s authorized brand distributors (APM) — showed that car sales in October reached 104,916 units, a decline of 6.3 percent from 112,038 units sold in the same month last year. However, the figure is a 1 percent increase of from the 102,711 units sold in September.
THE TIMES OF INDIA India’s largest online commerce player Flipkart is in the market to raise anywhere between US$500 million and US$1 billion in a fresh financing round, valuing the company at an eye-popping US$10 billion, people familiar with the matter told TOI. A new investor, along with existing shareholders Tiger Global, South Africa’s Naspers, Yuri Milner’s DST Global, is expected to participate in the fund-raise, which will be the third for the Bangalore-based e-tailer this year. Flipkart is already in the top tier of privately held internet ventures globally.
THE AGE In the past eight years more than 170 financial products representing A$38 billion of investor money have been frozen, failed or were fraudulent. Almost a third of the list includes collapsed funds such as agribusinesses Timbercorp and Great Southern and the scandal-ridden Astarra funds, LM Capital funds, Opes Prime and Storm Financial. The remaining 70 per cent of products on the list are predominantly so-called zombie funds which were frozen during the global financial crisis due to a lack of liquidity. These funds include Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s seven Colonial First State mortgage funds.
Relax, the ECB is ON IT James Saft
Reuters columnist
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he ECB is going to do some stuff to rescue the euro zone economy, big stuff, but it will tell you what, exactly, later, if it needs to. So relax. Stuck with a Governing Councilapproved tool box which is probably inadequate, but not, apparently, possessed of a firm agreement to turn “whatever it takes” into actual large-scale government bond buying, ECB President Mario Draghi temporized on Thursday. Besides leaving interest rates unchanged and sitting back to let measures already underway take effect, Draghi did a reasonable job of appearing highly committed to further bold action but remaining vague on specifics, much less timing. “The Governing Council is unanimous in its commitment to using additional unconventional instruments within its mandate,” Draghi said. That’s great but much hangs on the definition of “additional” or for that matter “mandate.” “The Governing Council has tasked ECB staff and the relevant Eurosystem committees with ensuring the timely preparation of further measures to be implemented, if needed,” read the very next sentence. Marc Ostwald, strategist at ADM Investor Services, was underwhelmed, writing to clients: “In plain English, this says ‘we have an easing bias, but we have no idea at the moment what else we might do.’ If that is
meant to be ‘forward guidance,’ then God help us all.” But that is just it. This was meant to be forward guidance, which is, in itself, a pale and arguably self-defeating substitute for action. The euro zone is facing its third recession since the crash and, even worse, faces a non-negligible chance of seeing a self-reinforcing deflationary mind-set take root. Even forward guidance from a central bank like the Federal Reserve may fail to convince,
Draghi is operating in a reality in which there are real limits on not only what he can promise, but how much of his promise the market can infer will be delivered
because, after all, a steer of future action is not an obligation. From the ECB, with internal dissension, forward guidance will inevitably face a higher chance of diluted effect. To be sure, the euro fell in what must have been a satisfying way after Draghi spoke, though euro zone equities failed to hold much of their gains.
Specifics, specifics Reportedly facing pressure from colleagues on the Council over communications style, Draghi did deliver a united front on the expansion of the ECB’s balance sheet, in essence promising a target of 3 trillion euros, a trillion more than now. Yet even when being admirably specific, Draghi is operating in a reality in which there are real limits on not only what he can promise, but how much of his promise the market can infer will be delivered. “We are quite confident that the impact on our balance sheet size will be adequate, will be significant, will be sizable,” Draghi said. “The main message is that our balance sheet will keep expanding in the coming months and will continue expanding while the balance sheets of other central banks are bound to contract.” All of that is highly debatable. Firstly, while the ECB will expand their balance sheet, no doubt, there are limits, given what is out there to buy, to what they can do short of outright government bond buying. It
seems now possible that it will go beyond purchasing structured securities and begin to purchase corporate bonds. Again, though, the size and depth of the corporate bond market will impose limits on this, as will concerns about picking winners and losers. Secondly, the idea that other central banks are “bound to contract” balance sheets is one of those things which will eventually be true, but perhaps not in a time scale helpful to the ECB. The Bank of Japan surely isn’t soon going to contract, and while this is helpful to risk assets, including Greek government bonds, it isn’t an unalloyed blessing to the euro zone. The Fed, for its part, has no current plans to contract its balance sheet, choosing instead to replace maturing bonds with similar new ones. Any reduction in the size of the Fed’s balance sheet, either through a sale or passive roll-off, will probably only happen once the U.S. central bank has successfully raised interest rates. That may only happen late next year, or be delayed further. The Fed may not be in a position to play along with its ECB-appointed role of making the euro look less attractive and counterbalancing the BOJ. That the ECB was able to present a reasonably united front on Thursday is good, but its means of doing so revealed much about factors which, promises aside, weaken its hand. Reuters
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Closing HKEx-SHG link tax regime to be announced before launch Indian Finance Minister takes additional charge Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd (HKEx) CEO Charles Li said yesterday that a tax regime for a landmark stock connect scheme linking the Shanghai and Hong Kong bourses will be announced before the launch of the scheme. Li also told a media conference that a system enhancement to allow short selling in Shanghai ‘A’-listed stocks in Hong Kong is expected to be in place by early 2015. Earlier yesterday, the Hong Kong and Chinese regulators announced that the long-awaited trading scheme will be launched on November 17.
Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley (pictured) yesterday took additional charge of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, a day after relinquishing the Defense Ministry in a Cabinet rejig by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “Earlier also I have been in this department, but earlier the print media was more proffered, but now TV and radio are also there. Now, the department needs to be seen in the direction of the changed media,” Jaitley said in the national capital. He also praised the former Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javedekar.
China-US to extend visa validity to boost trade and tourism It will also make it easier for Chinese businesses and investors to get involved in U.S. projects Matt Spetalnick and Michael Martina
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hina and the United States have agreed to significantly extend the terms of short-term visas, U.S. President Barack Obama said yesterday in Beijing, a deal he said would improve trade and business ties between the world’s two largest economies. Under the deal, which the United States will put into effect on November 12, both countries would extend the terms of multiple entry shortterm tourist and business visas to 10 years from one year, the White House said in an accompanying statement. Student visas would be extended to five years from one year. “As a result of this arrangement, the United States hopes to welcome a growing share of eligible Chinese travellers, inject billions (of dollars) in the U.S. economy and create enough demand to support hundreds of thousands of additional U.S. jobs,” the White House said in an emailed statement.
KEY POINTS Tourist, business visas to be for 10 years, up from one Student visas to be extended as well U.S. sees economic boost from easier visits by Chinese US President Barack Obama waves after speaking at the APEC CEO Summit at the China National Convention Centre (CNCC) in Beijing
Obama made the announcement to business leaders during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum after arriving in Beijing on the first leg of an eight-day Asia tour. The extension of some visas for Chinese nationals to 10 years matches what is currently allowed for citizens of nations with close relations with the United States, such as
European countries and Brazil. A senior U.S. official said the visa agreement would allow the United States to tap into the fast-growing market of Chinese tourists travelling abroad. The United States now attracts only 2 percent of Chinese tourism. “We see this as a really big win,” the official said, estimating that the United
States could gain 440,000 jobs by 2021 and receive an US$85 billion annual infusion into the American economy as a result of the new policy. It will also make it easier for Chinese businesses and investors to get involved in U.S. projects. A second U.S. official said the political benefit of greater contact between Americans
Angolan president’s daughter offers to buy PT
Japan’s ‘Butter refugees’ cry over spilt milk
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sabel dos Santos, the daughter of Angola’s president, made a 1.2 billion-euro (US$1.5 billion) bid for Portugal Telecom SGPS SA, the holding company that owns a minority stake in the carrier created from a merger with Brazilian telecommunications carrier Oi SA. Dos Santos, an investor in Portugal Telecom rival Nos SGPS SA, is offering 1.35 euros a share through Lisbon-based Terra Peregrin-Participacoes SGPS SA, 11 percent more than the stock’s Nov. 7 close, according to a filing yesterday. Conditions include an acceptance level of more than 50 percent and no major changes such as a sale of strategic assets. Trading in Portugal Telecom shares was halted today in Lisbon. Portugal Telecom no longer controls the operating assets of the country’s former phone monopoly after its merger with Brazil’s largest landline carrier. Oi, which is selling assets in Portugal and Africa, is considering a 7 billioneuro offer made this month by billionaire Patrick Drahi’s Altice SA for the Portuguese assets. Oi said it considers any changes to the terms agreed with Portugal Telecom “inopportune.” Bloomberg News
and Chinese would “get to some of the core sources of distrust and competition at the heart of the U.S.-China relationship”. Chinese travellers have long complained about extensive waiting times for pending U.S. visa applications, although the United States says it has made significant improvements. Reuters
China to bid on Singapore-Malaysia train
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apanese shoppers are up in arms over a serious butter shortage that has forced Tokyo to resort to emergency imports, as some grocers limit sales to one block per customer. Some shop shelves are bare and stores are trumpeting the arrival of new supplies with posters in the windows announcing “We have butter!” With Christmas cake-baking season fast approaching, social media has been abuzz over the shortage, with Twitter user @justastarter1 claiming to be a “butter refugee” after trailing between shops without success. The agriculture ministry said the problem is linked to a broiling summer that left the nation’s cows exhausted and unable -- or unwilling -- to generate their usual milk supply. The bovine strike has sapped supply just as dairy farmers trim their herds to cope with Japan’s dwindling population and falling demand. And with farmers prioritising supply for liquid milk to keep the supermarket shelves stocked, Japan now faces a shortage in the raw material used to produce butter -- popular among home bakers.
hina is keen to help build a MalaysiaSingapore high-speed rail link and also to get involved in Chilean and Australian railway and port projects, state media and the government cited Premier Li Keqiang as saying yesterday. The interest, expressed at meetings with the leaders of Malaysia, Chile and Australia on the side-lines of a gathering of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders, comes amid growing efforts by China to export its rail technology and take part in overseas projects. Li told Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak China was willing to “actively participate” in the Singapore-Malaysia high-speed rail, the official Xinhua news agency reported. It did not provide details. Singapore and Malaysia said in February last year that they planned to build a high-speed rail link by 2020 that would cut travel time between the city-state and Kuala Lumpur to 90 minutes, without giving a cost estimate. In a separate meeting with Chile’s President Michelle Bachelet, Li said China was keen to take part in Chile’s rail, ports and utility projects.
AFP
Reuters