Tourism doubles economic surplus With tourists flowing in and shelling out on gambling tables, Macau saw its balanceof-payments surplus almost double last year. A huge services account surplus was able to offset the chronic merchandise trade deficit, slowing investment and falling non-resident workers’ remittances. Page 5
Govt shows hand on table counting A
new way of accounting for poker and mahjong tables under the general table cap of 5,500 is seen as positive for Macau casino operators. Casinos operating up to 20 poker or mahjong tables in a single room are “allowed to count them as only one table,” a government source told Business Daily yesterday, confirming an earlier report from Union Gaming Research Macau. The move gives gaming operators much needed room to breathe. “In practical terms, this equates to a nearly 2 percent increase in table supply market-wide, as we believe there are about 110 poker tables in operation,” Union Gaming’s Grant Govertsen wrote in a note to investors on Wednesday.
A total of 5,498 live gaming tables were in operation in the second quarter of this year, government data show. The move is seen as a sign that the administration is willing to help with capacity issues prior to the table-cap expiration in 2013. Sands China Ltd will open the second phase of the Sands Cotai Central development on September 20 and the operator admitted it will have to “take tables from elsewhere” to get up to 200 tables. Sands China is likely to benefit most from this new table math, with perhaps nearly 50 “found” tables, followed by SJM Holdings Ltd and Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd in the teens, Union Gaming said. More on page 3
I SSN 2226-8294
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HANG SENG INDEX 20150
20100
20050
20000
19950
19900
August 23
New duty-free life for cross-border park
Affordable pledge holds no water
Starting August 28 the Zhuhai-Macau Cross-Border Industrial Park will finally get a new direction, after it failed to prevent the decline of Macau’s textile manufacturing. A trial duty-free commercial street will focus on high-end consumer goods, trading and wholesale to mainland China merchants as well as cross-border e-commerce. If the idea works, the whole are can be transformed in three to five years’ time, Zhuhai authorities announced yesterday.
The average price per square foot of construction area at the latest affordable housing complex to be made available is almost 1,650 patacas, much higher than the 1,100-pataca figure promised by secretary Lau Si Io last year, the New Macau Association stressed yesterday. The pan-democrats called on the government to explain how prices are set and who exactly in charge of doing it. The activists are also worried a loophole could allow affordable flat buyers to rent them out.
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HSI - Movers Name
%Day
WHARF HLDG
4.71
HENDERSON LAND D
4.70
WANT WANT CHINA
4.06
CHINA UNICOM HON
3.99
TINGYI HLDG CO
3.40
CHINA COAL ENE-H
0.28
AIA GROUP LTD
0.19
CLP HLDGS LTD
0.08
CATHAY PAC AIR
-0.15
POWER ASSETS HOL
-0.32
Source: Bloomberg
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Debt-stricken MGM gets loan backing
Slowing casinos still hiring Page 2
www.macaubusinessdaily.com
Borrowed time for sorry Reolian Page 5
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2012-8-24
2012-8-25
2012-8-26
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Year I - Number 105 Friday August 24, 2012 Editor-in-chief: Tiago Azevedo Deputy editor-in-chief: José I. Duarte MOP 6.00
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business daily August 24, 2012
macau
MGM closes in on Cotai finance A US$1.5-billion loan could be finalised within a fortnight and the board has its sights on Taiwan and Cotai Vítor Quintã vitorquinta@macaubusinessdaily.com
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asino operator MGM China Holdings Ltd is close to securing a US$1.5 billion (11.9 billion pataca) loan to pay down debt and expand into Cotai. Bloomberg news reported that MGM China currently had commitments from 12 banks for just over US$1.4 billion. The Macau casino operator controlled by United States-based MGM Resorts International, plans to close syndication of the loan in about two weeks, Bloomberg reported. MGM China, which operates MGM Grand Macau, is offering to pay 0.25 percent above the London interest rate benchmark, currently set at 1.05 percent. MGM China would ensure its assets were at least four times as valuable as its debts. The actual margin of the five-year loan will fluctuate depending on changes in MGM China’s leverage ratio. Bloomberg’s report says the loan will be used to repay debt, as MGM China currently owes about HK$4.1 billion on existing projects, chiefly the US$1.25 billion MGM Macau. But earlier this month MGM China chief executive Grant Bowie told Business Daily the loan would also be used to kick-start MGM’s US$2.5-
MGM China is waiting for approval for a US$2.5 billion resort in Cotai to complement the MGM Grand Macau
billion Cotai resort. Mr Bowie is on record as saying the board has an objective to expand throughout Greater China and the company is also looking at opportunities for a gaming resort in Taiwan. “The key for us is we want to create
cash resources that don’t just limit us to Cotai,” added the CEO. “We’ve got a lot more flexibility to look at other places as well.” The Taiwan project would be independent of the Matsu islands scheme recently put forward by former Las Vegas Sands Corp. president Bill Weidner. “We are looking positively at Taiwan, and at other opportunities in Macau. While that’s a challenge [Macau expansion], it’s not impossible, so we are looking at how we can add other income streams,” Mr Bowie said.
US$1.4 billion Loan commitments secured by MGM China
with Bloomberg
Junket operator aims for HK listing in 2013 NASDAQ-listed Asia Entertainment is preparing to float its shares in Hong Kong Vítor Quintã vitorquinta@macaubusinessdaily.com
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unket operator Asia Entertainment & Resources Ltd intends to list in Hong Kong in the first half of next year. If successful, the company will be listed in Hong Kong and on the NASDAQ. Asia Entertainment announced on Wednesday that the investment bank it engaged to assist with the process has asked the Hong Kong Stock Exchange about an initial public offering there. It said it expects to receive a reply within 60 days that will identify any difficulties with a dual listing. Asia Entertainment hopes to formally apply for a Hong Kong listing in the fourth quarter of this year and to float its shares there in the first half of next year. The company said it would engage one of the top four auditing firms in Hong Kong to ensure it complied with listing requirements. It first mooted the idea of listing in Hong Kong on May 29.
Asia Entertainment has three VIP rooms in Macau – in StarWorld, the Galaxy Macau and The Venetian Macao – and has stuck a preliminary deal to buy a five-table room in the City of Dreams. Earlier this week, the company announced it would switch from a fixed commission arrangement with casinos to a revenue-sharing deal from next month. Analysts said the new arrangement could be more profitable but was also riskier. The company also plans to institute a new arrangement with middlemen that require no credit to bring in VIP gamblers, in an effort to “mitigate the volatility” and “reignite growth in rolling chip turnover”. Asia Entertainment’s chip turnover in the second quarter was 40 percent lower than a year before because it lost a single player who had bet US$200 million (1.6 billion patacas) a year before.
August 24, 2012 business daily | 3
MACAU
Fuzzy logic creates room for more gaming tables The government says inspectors will count 20 poker or mahjong tables as one, leaving leeway for casinos to add more live table games Tiago Azevedo tiago.azevedo@macaubusinessdaily.com
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he government has changed the way it calculates the number of live poker and mahjong tables on gaming floors to create leeway for casinos to add more tables, while maintaining the official cap of 5,500 on the total number. “Casinos operating up to 20 poker or mahjong tables in a single area are now allowed to count them as only one table,” a government source told Business Daily yesterday. Union Gaming Research Macau said in a note to investors on Wednesday that the government’s new maths was seen as a big win for casino operators. Union Gaming analyst Grant Govertsen said that counting poker tables only, the change would allow the number of live tables on the city’s gaming floors to increase by 2 percent. The government imposed the cap of 5,500 on the number of live gaming
20 poker tables in one room now count as one tables in 2010, and it is due to remain until next year at least. Casinos will then be allowed to increase the number of tables by a maximum of 3 percent a year until 2023. A total of 5,498 live gaming tables were in operation in the second quarter of this year, Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau data show. The government source said the compromise was “a make-orbreak deal”.
Breathing space Casinos have lobbied the gaming regulator intensely, officially requesting an easing of the limit and demanding more flexibility. “A balance was needed to introduce some flexibility, since we are very close to the limit of 5,500 tables,” the source said. “The only restriction is that all the tables have to be in the same room.” However, Mr Govertsen said the casinos “are being allowed to count
Casinos had 5,498 tables in operation in the second quarter of 2012.
all of them as only one table, provided that there is one master table (e.g. for all buy-ins) and the remaining games are operated as satellites”. Even so, casino operators have gained some breathing space. “In practical terms, this equates to a nearly 2 percent increase in table supply market-wide, as we believe there are about 110 poker tables in operation, which would now could be classified as only 10 tables,” Mr Govertsen said. But he added that the new rule would apply only to player-banked poker games, and not casino-banked games such as Three Card Poker. Casinos consider the change a
realistic compromise. “We think this move is indicative that the government will be willing to work with casino operators to help ease capacity constraints prior to the expiration of the table cap next year,” Union Gaming Research said.
Quick, Sands The government would have struggled to maintain the cap. Las Vegas Sands Corp, the parent company of Sands China Ltd, said in an earnings call last month that its newest casino resort, Sands Cotai Central, “would need to take tables from elsewhere” to provide 200 tables
New revenue record on the way The days may be numbered for the record for gross gaming revenue, as casinos are performing strongly this month. Gaming tables are bringing in daily revenue of about 849 million patacas (US$106 million) on average, a source in the industry told Business Daily. “Revenue from gaming tables may reach about 26.3 billion patacas by the end of this month,” the source said. Add the revenue from slot machines, and this month’s gross gaming revenue “may pass the 27 billion pataca mark”, the source said. That would mean this month’s revenue would be about 8 percent higher than the 24.7 billion patacas the industry raked in at the same time last year. The monthly gross gaming record was 26.85 billion patacas, set last October. Bank of America Merrill Lynch expects revenue this month to be between 26 billion patacas and 27 billion patacas. But in a note to clients yesterday by analysts Billy Ng and Mandy Chan, the bank cut its forecast for annual growth to 11 percent from 14.5 percent. If the forecast pans out, average monthly gross gaming revenue for the remainder of the year will be 24.8 billion patacas, about 3.7 percent higher than the average for the corresponding months last year. Bank of America Merrill Lynch said it had reduced its forecast because of a slowdown in growth in high-stakes gambling and the slowing of growth in the mainland.
KEY POINTS New rule for calculating the number of poker, mahjong tables More room created under government-imposed table cap Sands China stands to benefit most, says analyst for the opening of its second phase on September 20. Union Gaming Research said Sands China was likely to benefit most from the new rule. “Based on our proprietary survey of table games in Macau, we believe that the largest beneficiary of this new poker math, unsurprisingly, is Sands China, with perhaps nearly 50 ‘found’ tables, followed by SJM and Galaxy in the teens,” Mr Govertsen said. The new rule, and repossession of tables from the operator of a satellite casino, mean SJM Holdings Ltd may be able to add more than 50 tables in its own casinos. SJM will reallocate some of its gaming tables in September to optimise revenue, and repossess 40 tables from its crisis-hit satellite operation, the Greek Mythology Casino. The Greek Mythology Casino has an SJM gaming licence but is operated by another company. “The business has been affected, so they will now give us back 40 tables, as well as 200 employees,” SJM chief executive Ambrose So Shu Fai said this month.
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business daily August 24, 2012
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HOSPITALITY Tourism slowdown Last month’s tourist arrival figures seem to confirm a trend that has been developing over the course of the past couple of years. Arrivals in July fell by 4.2 percent compared to the same month last year. Monthly oscillations are, however, normal. This analysis here focuses on the growth in the cumulative number of arrivals for the first seven months of this year. Overall, there has been a small increase in arrivals of about 1.4 percent. But that is a significant slowdown in growth, which reached 14.8 percent in 2010 and 12.2 percent last year.
Duty-free jump-start for cross-border park The Zhuhai government aims to give the Zhuhai-Macau Cross-border Industrial Park the jolt it needs Xi Chen xi@macaubusinessdaily.com
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The cross-border industrial park could get a new lease of life this month, when a new duty-free shopping area opens
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If we break down the results according to the mode of arrival – either by land, sea or air – the slowdown is most pronounced for tourists entering Macau by land and sea. By land, arrivals growth drops from 14.3 percent in 2010 to 16.9 percent last year, to virtually nil – just 0.1 percent – for the first seven months of this year. In practical, there is no change in the number of visitors from one year to the other. Arrivals by land represent about 55 percent of all arrivals and they are an important part of the city’s tourism landscape. For arrivals by sea, the slowdown is just as noticeable and began even earlier. Growth fell from almost 18 percent, two years ago, to 7.6 percent last year and a comparatively respectable 3.3 percent this year. Growth rates for air arrivals have evolved differently but they represent just about 6 percent of all arrivals and do not have a great influence on overall growth rates. J.I.D.
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he Zhuhai government intends to reinvigorate the struggling Zhuhai-Macau Cross-border Industrial Park by opening a duty-free shopping area for imported products. More than 5,000 square metres of duty-free retailing space is scheduled to open in the park on Tuesday. Hundreds of kinds of goods will be sold there, ranging from milk powder to cosmetics. The director of the park’s administrative committee, Yan Hong, said yesterday that at least four Macau companies and one French company were setting up shop in the area. UshopIN Import Commodity Centre, a Macau company, will be the first. The park was established in December 2003, becoming the first cross-border industrial zone in Greater China. The central government authorised the
park with the aim of helping Macau’s textile industry but it had failed to live up to its potential. Mr Yan said 70 percent of the businesses in the park were small and medium enterprises. Mr Yan said that if the new area was a success, duty-free shopping area might be allowed everywhere in the park. He said the whole park could be a duty-free zone in three to five years from now. “With the assistance of Macau’s business associations and the media, we hope to attract businesses here to use the Zhuhai platform to further expand into mainland China,” he said. Although the park was open to all comers, Mr Yan said priority would be given to companies registered in Macau. Businesses could stand to profit from an untapped mainland market and
strict customs inspections that would ensure buyers had access to the highest quality goods. The park would offer incentives to keep operating costs low. The tax regime, for example, is the same as on Hengqin Island. The Zhuhai government will offer subsidies to rent or renovate shops. Trading among companies on Hengqin will be exempt from value-added tax and consumption tax. Some companies will be eligible for a reduction of 15 percent in profits tax. Mr Yan said the amount of subsidies given would decline gradually over the years as the park developed. Management wanted the park’s focus to remain on trading, exhibiting and selling high-end consumer goods, wholesaling to mainland merchants and cross-border e-commerce.
August 24, 2012 business daily | 5
MACAU The outflow of income from loans and investments increased, the deficit in factor income rising by 43.5 percent to 33 billion patacas, mainly because of an increase in the income earned by foreign direct investors here.
In reserve
BoP surplus doubles as tourists shell out Merchandise imports jump but all that money the gamblers bring in keeps balance of payments in surplus Vítor Quintã vitorquinta@macaubusinessdaily.com
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he balance-of-payments surplus almost doubled to 81.6 billion patacas (US$10.2 billion) last year from 41.3 billion patacas in 2010, mostly because of strong growth in tourism and gaming. The balance of payments, comprising the current account and the capital and financial account, is the sum of
MOP81.6 bln Last year’s balance-ofpayments surplus
the city’s economic transactions with the rest of the world. The Monetary Authority of Macau said that among the components of the current account, services trade had a surplus of 235.8 billion patacas last year, 39 percent more than in 2010, due to “strong exports of travel services”. Service imports grew by more than one-third to 80.9 billion patacas but this was more than offset by a rise of 37.9 percent in services exports to 316.7 billion patacas. The service trade surplus was enough to offset deficits in merchandise trade, factor income and transfer payments. The merchandise trade deficit increased for the second consecutive year, by 41.7 percent to 62.5 billion patacas. Merchandise exports showed what the Monetary Authority called “a relatively mild increase” of 6.3 percent to almost 9 billion patacas, after four consecutive years of contraction.
Casino job openings sink to two-year low
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he number of job vacancies in the city’s casinos has fallen to its lowest level in two years, tracking the slowdown in gaming revenue growth. The Statistics and Census Service yesterday released its latest labour survey of the gaming industry. It confirmed the gambling sector with a record-high 52,789 staff, an 11.6 percent increase over the same time last year. More than 4,278 new employees started work in the gaming industry in the first half, a significant decrease from the 5,182 new recruits that started in the second half of last year. There were 1,821 job vacancies at the end of the second quarter, 321 jobs fewer than in were available at the same time last year. This is the lowest figure since mid-2010 and a far cry from the 3,761 employees the gambling industry was searching for at the end of that year. Most of the openings (787) at the end of June were for dealers, which also account for the biggest group of employees (23,144). With the casino sector still hiring, average wages for full-time staff continued setting new records, this time at 17,740 patacas (US$2,220), up by 6.1 percent from December. However, the salary hikes only reached resident workers. On the contrary, the monthly earnings of imported labour dropped 2.5 percent from the end of last year to 17,010 patacas. The survey does not include employees working for VIP gambling promoters, more commonly known as junkets, and their associates, which employ a further 22,000 people. V.Q.
However, merchandise imports increased much faster, by 36 percent to 71.4 billion patacas, “reflecting buoyant local consumption and increased visitor spending”.
In contrast, the deficit in transfer payments, which are for the most part remittances sent home by people working abroad, fell by 27.1 percent to 4.3 billion patacas. The capital and financial account deficit rose by 42.3 percent to of 72.9 billion patacas. One reason was a slowdown in inward direct investment, which dropped to 16.5 billion patacas from 30.4 billion patacas the year before. The balance-of-payments surplus meant the Monetary Authority had to buy almost twice the amount of foreign currency it bought in 2010. At the end of May the authority held almost 98.4 billion patacas worth of foreign currency. The foreign exchange reserves are part of the fiscal reserve, set up in February. The fiscal reserve amounted to 99.2 billion patacas at the end of May. Secretary of the Economy and Finance Francis Tam Pak Yuen told the Legislative Assembly this month that half of the fiscal reserve has been invested in sovereign bonds, but none of it in European bonds. Of the amount invested in sovereign debt, 5 billion yuan is held in mainland bonds. Mr Tam said the rest was in cash deposits, 50 per cent of it in US dollars, 39 per cent in Hong Kong dollars and 8.6 per cent in euros.
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business daily August 24, 2012
macau
Affordable flats’ lack transparency
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A tale of two trades The exchange rate of a currency can be objectively verified but the effective exchange rate (EER) of a currency is a statistical construct. Its purpose is to provide a figure that takes into account the structure of external trade of a country or territory and provides an indication about the changes in the international purchasing power of a currency. It is expected to be a better gauge of those changes than volatile market rates. As a rule, the calculation of EER is based on total trade, both exports and imports. But external flows may have dissimilar structures. Imports and exports may involve significantly different partners and currencies with markedly different performances. In fact, three indicators are often used: one for all external trade, the most commonly used, and one each for exports and imports. They latter two may exhibit very clear differences. To facilitate the comparison, in the graphs below, the actual series was re-based to 2010.
Pan-democrats want more transparency from the government when it sets prices for affordable flats Tony Lai tony.lai@macaubusinessdaily.com
105.0 102.5 100.0 97.5 95.0 92.5
The difference between the old and new series for imports is never great. The tight connection between both indicators reflects that the structure of imports has not changed significantly. With the exception of the middle of 2010, their difference is less than one unit. On average, in the period represented, the old series under-valued the import index by about half a point. In those two years, after an initial appreciation, the import value of the pataca decreased by about 3 percent, making imports slightly more expensive at the end of the period.
The structure of exports changed noticeably and that is reflected in the sharp differences between the indexes. Leaving aside the changes in the currency basket, the new series is built on the basis of a very different structure for Macau’s exports. In also shows, after a sharp revaluation in early 2010, a trend of devaluation has emerged, which makes the city’s exports comparatively cheaper. The new bout of appreciation, at the end of the period, is much less pronounced in the new series. J.I.D.
The price of Cheng Chong public flats is much higher than the government has promised, according to the New Macau Association
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ubsidised housing is too expensive and the government must offer clarity in how it arrives at its price, the New Macau Association said yesterday. The average price in the latest Cheng Chong complex in Ilha Verde is 1,351 patacas per square foot of construction area. But at a press conference yesterday, the association said that if the calculation was altered to account only for a flat’s usable area, the cost is 1,647 patacas a square foot. “Such a figure is much more than the price of 1,100 [patacas] per square foot that Secretary for Transport and Public Works Lau Si Io promised when the law on affordable housing was discussed last year,” said Jason Chao Teng Hei, the association’s president. The government says there are four affordable housing projects on sale, including Seac Pai Van in Coloane, with average prices between 927 patacas per square foot and 1,256 patacas per square foot.
Mr Chao said the prices were based on construction area and prices for usable area exceed the levels set by the government. “The government should tell the public clearly the formula they use for calculating the price and the members of the committee that sets the price.” The law states the asking prices of affordable homes are calculated through a formula that takes into account the buyer’s purchasing power, the location and age of the building, and the size of the flats. Earlier this week, another member of the Legislative Assembly, Kwan Tsui Hang, said she disagreed with the formula the government uses to calculate prices.
Service fees Mr Chao was critical of the government for forcing applicants to choose homes that were not in an area they preferred. The law states that buyers can choose other areas when the houses in the
area they applied for are not sufficient but Mr Chao said “it is not a must”. He recommended applicants appeal to the court. The New Macau Association also worries some subsidised homebuyers may lease their homes using the “service fees” loophole used by the Chinese-language newspaper Macao Daily News. “The terms in both the affordable housing law and the land concession to Macao Daily [News] state the space is only for self-usage,” he said. “But if Macao Daily [News] can give part of its office space to some associations through service fees, some buyers may take advantage of this and lease their houses.” The government told the Legislative Assembly earlier this month they did not see any wrongdoing in the Macao Daily News providing offices to the Macau Civility Development and Research Centre by receiving 29,000 patacas in service charges.
Weather Beijing 29/20o C Changchun 28/16o C
Harbin 27/17o C
Xian 25/17o C Shanghai 29/25o C Chengdu 30/20o C Kunming 26/17o C Haikou 31/23 o C Sanya 32/27o C
Guangzhou 35/26o C
MACAU (20-25 August) Day
Temperature
Humidity
08/20
27/32o C
60/90 %
08/21
27/33o C
55/90 %
08/22
26/32o C
55/90 %
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08/24
26/32o C
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Shenzhen 34/26o C
ASIA (today)
Hong Kong 32/26o C
Manila
TOKYO
Jakarta
31/25o C
30/25o C
31/26o C
29/23o C
Macau 34/26o C
Bangkok
SEOUL
K. lumpur
34/24o C
SINGAPORE
26/21o C
31/24o C
taipei
32/26o C
August 24, 2012 business daily | 7
MACAU
Reolian asks for time to improve After yet another accident, the city’s newest bus operator asks the public to be patient while it improves safety Tony Lai tony.lai@macaubusinessdaily.com
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eolian Public Transport Co Ltd has asked for more time to improve the patchy safety record of its bus services. A Reolian employee was crushed between two buses at the Border Gate bus terminus on Tuesday, and was in a critical condition in hospital yesterday. Reolian general manager Cédric Rigaud and deputy general manager Larry Lam visited the terminus yesterday and told reporters that the company was investigating the cause of the accident. Mr Rigaud blamed the company’s poor safety record on a general “lack of communication between drivers and the management board” and said the company’s drivers “lack safety awareness”. He said the number of serious
accidents had increased this year but defended the company’s safety record, saying Reolian’s accident rate was comparable to the accident rates of the city’s other bus operators. “The workforce is not fully united,” he said. “But the management is putting [in] all the energy, all the effort, to resolve [the problem].” Mr Rigaud said a management team would talk with the drivers to try to understand their difficulties and to improve their attitude towards the public and their compliance with safety regulations. He said “a culture difference” was hampering communication, as Reolian had begun operating here only last year. The company is a joint venture between France’s Veolia
Transport RATP and Macau’s H. Nolasco Group. Mr Lam said there was room for management to improve but did not comment on whether there would be changes in the board of directors. “I, personally, don’t mind to step down … but this should be decided by the company,” he said.
Mr Lam said Reolian’s efforts should instead be concentrated on solving the problems at hand. “The public and the media should give us more time to improve our service,” he said. Mr Rigaud said the government’s suspension of its undertaking to increase the amount it pays the bus operators to run the buses “has impact on our business, as we are losing money every month”. The government said this year it would give the three bus companies an increase of 23 percent. But it went back on its undertaking in the face of public anger and told the operators to raise their standards first. Reolian made a loss of 58.5 million patacas (US$7.31 million) last year due to higher salaries and fuel prices. But Mr Rigaud said his company would focus first on service quality.
Traditional Chinese medicine to become future pillar industry for Macau economy, visiting experts say Xi Chen xi@macaubusinessdaily.com
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of Macau’s priorities in the “National 12th Five-Year Development Plan” by the central government. The territory has since seen a few new developments in this area. The State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, jointly operated by Macau University of Science and Technology and University of Macau, was formally established in January last year. The construction of the Guangdong-Macau Chinese Traditional Medicine Park in Hengqin Island also commenced last year with a total investment of 1.2 billion yuan (1.5 billion patacas). “All these policies and
out for every accident,” Mr Rigaud said. “Disciplinary actions will be taken.” He said four Reolian drivers had been permanently suspended from driving since last year. Reolian is having a whip-round to raise money to support the victim of Tuesday’s accident and his family.
Disciplinary action
Macau hosts global Chinese medicine forum
acau is well positioned to develop into a major worldwide centre for traditional Chinese medicine, it was said during a threeday meeting that attracted scholars, governmental officials and industry professionals. The 11th Meeting of Consortium for Globalisation of Chinese Medicine concluded in Macau yesterday. This was the first time the event was hosted in the territory since it was established at the University of Hong Kong in 2003. The development of traditional Chinese medicine has been identified as part
“We need to be responsive and by September 1 we will prove to the public that we have improved the service,” Mr Rigaud said. Reolian will install more equipment on its buses this year. This will include a warning system to prevent passengers being caught in the doors. An investigation will be carried
measures provided a solid foundation for the development of Macau as a major centre for Chinese medicine locally and abroad,” the vice rector of Macau University of Science and Technology, Liu Liang, wrote. “And hence the meeting held in Macau is not just particularly appropriate but also has a special significance and value.” The event had 14 forum sessions with over 100 panel members covering different research areas in traditional Chinese medicine. A further 17 exhibition booths from universities, hospitals and industry players also participated in the event.
comment
Filipino workers can help bring the best out of Macau
Zen Udani Assistant Professor of Management, University of Macau
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acau serves as the second home to about 15,000 Filipinos. They are among the more than 10 million Filipino emigrants in more than 200 countries. Filipinos working abroad on a temporary, contractual arrangement are known by the moniker OFW or Overseas Filipino Worker. In 2011, the top 10 destinations of 1.3 million expatriates were Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Qatar, Singapore, Kuwait, Taiwan, Italy, Bahrain and Malaysia. They work abroad principally to support their families and to create a brighter future for themselves. Due to their sacrifice, these workers are regarded as modern day heroes. Their talent and professional contribution have also been duly recognised in various parts of the world. Their cash remittances have contributed to steadily boosting the Philippines’ foreign currency reserves and reducing poverty among the workers’ families. Last year’s remittances were US$20.1 billion (160.6 billion patacas), an increase of more than 7 percent from the previous year. There are economic benefits to be gained from working abroad, but there are social costs too. Separating parents from their children can result in family life suffering. Children need their parents.
A worker eventual return to the Philippines can create significant benefits, including good work experience, high-level skills and a broader view on work life. Filipino workers yearn for personal growth and development. While employers may be satisfied with entry-level skills and competencies, their employees need learning and development opportunities to enhance their talents. In Macau, Filipinos in the hospitality and gaming industries benefit from the quality training and corporate culture their employers provide. They commit to their employers, contribute to the organisation’s mission and offer a willingness to be trained. Treating employees properly and nurturing their talent will empower them to add greater value to the business and the organisation’s service culture. Any worker will be highly motivated if they work for a good boss, who leads as a servant leader; a workplace with a healthy organisational culture; and a rewarding compensation package. And to continually bring out the best in them, effective learning and development opportunities must be made available to lead to a clear career path.
Brain drain The way the Philippines is developing its workforce tends to indicate that overseas employment is not just a stop-gap measure to address domestic labour problems, but a relatively long-term strategy to battle unemployment, increase income and generate more foreign currency reserves. But expatriate workers also represent a brain drain, since they are people that would have been useful in the Philippines. Working abroad is their response to a dearth of suitable jobs and better pay.
Expatriate workers also represent a brain drain, since they are people that would have been useful in the Philippines
8 |
business daily August 24, 2012
greater china Egypt’s president to visit China Egypt’s new President Mohamed Morsi will make his first official visit to Beijing next week, China’s foreign ministry said. Mr Morsi, Egypt’s first freely elected civilian and Islamist head of state, took over on June 30 after popular revolts last year toppled longtime leader Hosni Mubarak. “This will be President Morsi’s first visit to China since taking office, and China attaches great importance to it,” foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said in a statement late on Wednesday. China and Egypt will sign cooperation agreements and discuss regional and international issues of mutual interest, he said, without giving details.
Factory sector shrinks most in 9 months Growth slowdown lasting longer than expected Lucy Hornby and Gabriel Wildau
C
hina’s manufacturing sector contracted at its sharpest pace in nine months in August, according to a survey yesterday showing falling export orders and rising inventories, a signal that more policy stimulus may be needed to engineer a second half pick-up in growth. As calls grew louder from analysts and investors for further measures from Beijing to support the economy, China’s central bank yesterday completed its largest weekly injection of funds into the financial system in seven months – a move traders saw as a substitute for a cut in banks’ required reserve ratio. The HSBC Flash China manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) – a preliminary read-out that provides an early peek at data for August – fell to 47.8 this month, its lowest level since November and well down from July’s final figure of 49.3. “Inventory numbers are the highest on record. Orders to inventory are the lowest since December 2008. Foreign orders to inventory are the lowest since January 2009. It’s very hard to put a positive spin on anything within the data,” said Robert Rennie, chief currency strategist at Westpac Bank In Sydney. “Bottom line – a very poor update with some very poor China data to come.” Falling demand from debt-ridden Europe, China’s single biggest export market, has put the Chinese economy under pressure, with the ripples now being felt throughout east Asia. Japan said on Wednesday that exports slumped the most in six months in July as shipments to Europe and China tumbled. Exports from Taiwan, a key
part of the global technology supply chain, fell for a fifth straight month in July and South Korea, home to major carmakers, computer chip and flat-screen producers, recorded its sharpest export fall in July in nearly three years. Sixth consecutive quarters of slowing Chinese growth have also taken a toll on commodities markets, with falling prices and an uncertain outlook prompting miner BHP Billiton to shelve a US$20 billion expansion project in Australia.
2008. Instead, it has chosen to open more sectors to private capital to help fund new investment projects. “To achieve the stated policy goal of stabilising growth and the jobs market, Beijing must step up policy easing to lift infrastructure investment in the coming months,” Qu Hongbin, chief China economist at HSBC in Hong Kong said in a statement accompanying the index. China has been “fine tuning” policies to keep growth on track without releasing curbs on the property sector.
Easing expected The HSBC PMI has been below the 50 mark that divides expansion from contraction for 10 straight months, and the index is now at levels rarely seen since the 2008-2009 global financial crisis. But China is loath to unleash a massive stimulus package as it did in
KEY POINTS Shows growth slowdown lasting longer than expected Prompts calls for fresh growth measures to boost economy Central bank completes biggest weekly cash injection in 7 months Cash injections seen as substitute for bank reserve cuts
The HSBC PMI has indicated a contraction in activity, a reading of below 50, for 10 straight month
Henderson Land profit grows As rental income rises to HK$2.19 billion in the first half Kelvin Wong
H
enderson Land Development Co., the Hong Kong builder controlled by billionaire Lee Shau Kee, reported first-half profit that beat estimates as higher rental income and earnings from its energy businesses offset lower property sales. Underlying profit, which excludes revaluation gains, advanced to HK$3.59 billion (US$463 million) in the six months ended June 30, from HK$3.43 billion a year earlier, the company said in a stock exchange statement yesterday. The shares rose as much as 5.1 percent to close at HK$49.25 in
Beijing has fast-tracked fiscal spending on key projects, cut the amount of cash banks must keep as reserves (RRR) to free an estimated 1.2 trillion yuan for lending (US$190 billion) and, in the space of four weeks in June and July, twice lowered benchmark lending rates. Traders and analysts had widely expected that another cut was imminent, and many analysts still believe a cut is needed to give banks the liquidity they need to boost lending.
Hong Kong trading. “This was above our estimate,” Morgan Stanley analysts, led by Praveen Choudhary, said in a note to clients yesterday. “The stock remains attractively valued, especially given the prospect of much better market share – or pre-sale – over the next six to nine months.” Henderson Land and developers including billionaire Li Ka Shing’s Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd are reporting lower apartment sales in the first half as the city’s government pledged to increase housing supply to curb prices that have gained more
than 80 percent since early 2009. Hong Kong developers sold 5,530 homes in the first half, the thirdlowest for a six-month period since the start of 2006. Henderson Land’s revenue from property sales was HK$4.28 billion in the first half, almost half the HK$8 billion a year ago. The company said more than 4,000 homes will be available for sale in the second half of 2012.
Home sales “The deepening debt crisis in Europe and slowdown in the global
economy had affected the Hong Kong economy,” the company said. Still, “pay rises, thriving inbound tourism, low interest rates and a rising inflationary environment are expected to lend support to housing demand.” The company said rental income rose to HK$2.19 billion in the first half, from HK$1.87 billion a year ago. Property rental operating profit jumped 22 percent to HK$1.5 billion from a year ago, boosted by higher occupancy at Henderson Metropolitan in Shanghai and World Financial Centre in Beijing. Profit was also helped by contributions from units. Henderson’s share of underlying profit from associates in the six months rose 26 percent to HK$1.67 billion from HK$1.33 billion a year earlier. Henderson Land will pay an interim dividend of HK$0.32, compared with 30 cents a year earlier. Bloomberg
hs
August 24, 2012 business daily | 9
greater china Chinese stocks close up Shanghai shares ended higher in choppy trade yesterday after resources stocks were buoyed by media reports of support for high energy consuming industries. The Shanghai Composite Index closed up 0.3 percent at 2,113.1, moving in the same 30-point range for a third-straight session. Hong Kong shares produced their best showing in almost three weeks, with the Hang Seng Index closing up 1.2 percent at 20,132.2. Taiwan stocks also closed up 0.11 percent, reversing earlier losses and lifted by defensive shares such as construction and tourism counters. The main TAIEX index rose 8.59 points to 7,505.17, after opening down 0.13 percent.
“I would cut RRR tomorrow,” Ting Lu, economist at Bank of AmericaMerrill Lynch, told Reuters. Instead, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) appears to be using an alternative policy tool, injecting a net 278 billion yuan (US$43.77 billion) into the interbank money market this week, the largest net injection since early January.
Slowing growth The PBOC’s decision to inject the funds through open market operations, rather than through a cut in bank reserves, indicates its concern about stoking inflation. House prices have now risen for two straight months on a monthly basis, following eight consecutive monthly declines resulting from Beijing’s campaign to bring prices down. Employing open market operations
To achieve the stated policy goal of stabilising growth
Hengdeli rises on higher income
Beijing must step
Swatch partner sees profit jump 26 percent in the first half
up policy easing to
Vinicy Chan
and the jobs market,
lift infrastructure investment in the coming months Qu Hongbin, chief China economist at HSBC
offered the central bank more flexibility and precision, said Ma Yun, an economist at CEBM, a Chinese macro-economic consultancy, because the effect was temporary and could be targeted at specific banks in need of liquidity. By contrast, an RRR cut affects all banks and is effectively permanent unless the central bank moves actively to reverse it, so can have an inflationary affect. Evidence has been mounting in recent weeks that China’s economy is struggling to overcome strong global headwinds, with economists’ expectations of a second half pick-up being pushed steadily further back. Chinese government data last month showed July exports rose just 1 percent from a year earlier and that new loans were at a 10-month low. Factory output rose at its lowest pace in three years and pricing power faded. That raised the spectre of a seventh straight quarter of slowing growth in July-September, after the secondquarter expanded 7.6 percent from a year earlier, only just above Beijing’s official 7.5 percent target. Reuters
Hengdeli works with major watch groups in Asia including Swatch, LVMH and Bulgari
H
engdeli Holdings Ltd rose sell mid-priced watches and have the most in seven months higher profitability, Mr Zhang said. in Hong Kong trading after The company recorded a net income the Chinese partner of Swatch Group margin of 9.79 percent in the six-month AG posted a bigger-than-estimated period, the widest since the 10.24 percent first-half profit gain and said sales for the second half of 2007, according growth will improve next year. to data compiled by Bloomberg. The Chinese seller of Omega, The largest market for Swiss watches Cartier and Rolex watches is among is Hong Kong, where rich Chinese consumer-goods retailers in emerging shop to avoid the mainland’s taxes markets reporting higher earnings as on luxury goods. governments take steps including Swiss watch exports to the city rose interest-rate cuts to spur spending 26 percent to 2.18 billion Swiss francs and bolster growth. (US$2.2 billion) in the first half, double Hong Kong-based Hengdeli’s net income the size of the second-placed U.S. market, increased 26 percent to 563 million according to data from the Federation yuan (US$89 million) in the six months of the Swiss Watch Industry. Combined ended June, while exports to Hong sales climbed 6.3 Kong and China, percent to 5.75 the third-largest billion yuan. market, make “We shall see the up 30 percent of uptick in luxury Swiss watches sales next year,” distributed chairman Zhang worldwide, the Yuping said in data show. an interview Hengdeli predicts in Hong Kong sales growth yesterday after will accelerate the company in 2013, after Hengdeli’s first r e p o r t e d a single-digit half profit earnings. “Rapid increase expected urbanisation is for this full year, fuelling the rise Mr Zhang said. of the Chinese middle class, boosting “We’re a lot more upbeat about next their income levels.” year, as we believe the industry will Profit exceeded the 448.8 million- benefit from a mix of stimulus measures yuan average of four analyst estimates from the government, and there will compiled by Bloomberg. First-half be some preserved purchasing power earnings at Hengdeli, with 428 shops and pent-up demand,” he said. “The in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Chinese government may also adjust Macau, benefited from investment in taxes to boost domestic consumption.” Bloomberg stores in smaller Chinese cities that
US$89 million
Henderson Land’s revenue from property sales halved to HK$4.28 billion in the six months ended June
10 |
business daily August 24, 2012
ASIA Sharp leads corporate bonds to loss Sharp Corp. is leading Japan’s corporate bonds to their first monthly decline in nine months after the company’s forecast for a US$3.2 billion annual loss triggered a sell-off of its debt. Sharp’s notes slumped 25 percent this month, contributing to a 0.19 percent drop in the Bank of America Merrill Lynch index tracking Japanese company debt. The gauge is on course for its worst monthly performance since the 0.3 percent plunge in November 2011. Government debt lost 0.23 percent in the period, while global corporate bonds slid 0.04 percent, the data show.
Japan PM likely to call Nov. poll Politicians bet on election before end of year
E
mbattled Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda is likely to call a snap election for November, ruling and opposition party members said yesterday, despite the likelihood that his party will suffer a drubbing. Mr Noda, who took office last September as Japan’s sixth premier in five years, scored a rare policy win this month when parliament enacted a law to double the sales tax to curb public debt. But he had to pledge to call an election “soon” to gain opposition backing to pass the bill in a divided parliament. Members of Mr Noda’s Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) want to put off an election given their sagging support but opposition parties, which control parliament’s upper house, can force his hand by blocking a bill to allow fresh bond issues to fund the budget this fiscal year. “I expect the lower house will be dissolved in October and elections will be called in November,” Keiichi Ishii, policy chief of the New Komeito opposition party, told Reuters in an interview. The New Komeito is an ally of the biggest opposition Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). The parties backed Mr Noda’s tax increase legislation. “The scenario is that parliament will hold an extraordinary session early in October and may pass the deficit bond bill and an extra budget before the prime minister dissolves the [lower] chamber,” Mr Ishii said. “But to secure passage of the bond bill, Noda must promise to hold elections during the extra parliament session.” LDP President Sadakazu Tanigaki, speaking at a news conference,
PM Yoshihiko Noda may dissolve the parliament’s lower house in October, opposition party members say
declined to confirm whether he would accept a November poll, saying only that his party wanted a vote as soon as possible. Democratic Party lawmaker Sumio Mabuchi, however, agreed a November vote was on the cards. “Of course, no one [in the DPJ] wants an election now but the tide is shaping up already as the prime minister promised to call elections
Qantas reports US$256m annual loss Australian airline reported its first annual loss since it was privatised in 1995 Jane Wardell
A
ustralia’s struggling flagship carrier Qantas Airways cancelled orders for 35 Boeing Dreamliner jets to further cut costs after posting a fullyear net loss for the first time in 17 years due to its bleeding international division. Qantas shares jumped to their highest in more than two months as investors welcomed moves by the airline to slash costs following a year troubled by a record fuel bill, rising competition and a labour union that has opposed the carrier’s spending cuts. Shares rose as much as 6
percent, before closing 2.5 percent higher at A$1.20. The airline, which had earlier flagged a net loss, reported a shortfall of A$244 million (US$254.80 million) in the 12 months ended June 30. ChiefexecutiveAlanJoycedeclinedtogive any guidance for earnings in the current year, citing ongoing volatility, but said the airline remained committed to reaching break-even in its international business in financial 2015. “Given lower growth requirements in
soon to enact the sales tax bill on August 10. It’s natural to think elections are drawing near.” Finance Minister Jun Azumi has said that unless the funding bill passes, the government could run out of money by the end of October. Lower house members’ terms run to August next year but most of them are betting on polls before the end of this year. Kyodo news agency, citing senior
LDP members, said earlier that Mr Noda had indicated in a meeting with the LDP leader that he would call an election before compiling a budget for the next fiscal year, suggesting he had November 4 or November 11 in mind. Kyodo added, however, that the LDP had rejected the offer and that Mr Noda had also floated an October 7 election date.
this uncertain global context,” Qantas is cancelling orders to buy 35 Boeing 7879s, Mr Joyce said. The cancellation would result in an unspecified “reduction in our forward capital expenditure commitments,” the CEO said, noting that the aircraft are worthatotalofUS$8.5billionatlistprices. “There is not a lot of flexibility left in the Qantas balance sheet and with their operating performance they have not many options left to conserve capital other than by delaying or cancelling orders and staying with a older fleet,” said David Liu, head of research at fund manager ATI Asset Management, which exited all its Qantas holdings over the past two months. “Most of the cancelled aircraft were meant for the overseas routes and with the trading environment for their international operations, it is not surprising,” Mr Liu said. Qantas has a current fleet size of 308 aircraft. Options and purchase rights for another 50 Boeing 787-9 aircraft would be brought forward by two years to 2016, Mr Joyce said. The
moves mean a two-year delay in the delivery of the carrier’s first 787-9s. The payments from Chicago-based Boeing will include more than US$300 million of compensation for 787 delivery delays, said chief financial officer Gareth Evans. The cancellation is a major blow for Boeing, which said in a statement that it stood by Qantas as a “long-standing and valued Boeing customer”. Qantas will still take delivery of 15 Boeing 787-8s, the smaller variant of the wide-body, twin-engine jet, for its Jetstar subsidiary towards the second half of 2013, Mr Joyce said. Qantas yesterday posted a secondhalf underlying loss before tax of A$107 million, compared with a A$135 million profit a year earlier. The carrier, which has embarked on a five-year turnaround strategy announced last year, is separating its loss-making international business from its profitable domestic unit, eliminating loss-making routes, axing 2,800 jobs and slashing capital spending over two years by A$700 million.
Reuters
Reuters
August 24, 2012 business daily | 11
asia Singapore inflation slows in July Singapore’s inflation slowed to a 20-month low in July, giving the central bank room to ease monetary policy as the faltering global economy threatens growth. The consumer price index rose 4 percent from a year earlier, the Department of Statistics said in a statement yesterday. Singapore trimmed its prediction for 2012 expansion this month and said the island’s growth outlook “remains cautious”. The island has allowed the currency to strengthen to counter inflation and forecasts consumer-price gains will average 4 percent to 4.5 percent this year.
Vietnam stocks fall most as Kien arrest roils financials Economists worried about the fragility of the banking system
V
ietnam’s stocks slumped the most in Asia on speculation the detention of a banking tycoon this week will lead to further arrests in the financial industry. The benchmark money-market rate climbed to a four-month high. The VN Index closed 4.2 percent lower at 392.82 in Ho Chi Minh City, the lowest level since February 1. The gauge has fallen 19.5 percent from its high this year on May 8. Bao Viet Holdings, the nation’s biggest publicly traded insurer, dropped by the Ho Chi Minh City bourse’s 5 percent daily limit. Hanoi-listed Asia Commercial Bank plunged 6.7 percent. The VN Index slumped 10 percent the past three days. Nguyen Duc Kien, who helped found Asia Commercial, was arrested on Monday after he allegedly “conducted business illegally,” according to a central bank statement. The Supreme People’s Procuracy of Vietnam approved an arrest warrant for Ly Xuan Hai, Asia Commercial’s chief executive officer, online newswire Petrotimes reported on Wednesday.
“Markets don’t like uncertainty,” said Kevin Snowball, the Ho Chi Minh City-based chief executive of PXP Vietnam Asset Management. “Until such time we get clarity or hear exactly what’s going on and why these arrests are being made, there’s a good chance the markets
would continue to be weak.” The company has not received any official information on the matter, deputy CEO Nguyen Thanh Toai said by phone yesterday. More than half the VN Index’s 303 companies fell by at least 4 percent. Vietnam’s State Securities
Vietnamese are withdrawing money from Asia Commercial after tycoon’s arrest
Commission urged investors to be calm after Mr Kien’s arrest, the Thoi Bao Kinh Te Vietnam newspaper reported yesterday, citing Nguyen Son, head of the regulator’s market development department. Panicky Vietnamese are withdrawing money from Asia Commercial, prompting the central bank to make a rare public assurance that their funds are safe. The official Tuoi Tre newspaper said depositors began withdrawing money on Tuesday when the arrest was made public. A Ho Chi Minh City resident told Reuters that depositors were standing in large crowds at ACB branches waiting to withdraw money. The VN Index’s tumble this week dragged valuations to 9.5 times estimated profit, the lowest level since May 25, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s 8.7 percent lower than the MSCI Emerging Markets Index’s 10.4 multiple. “The Vietnam issue is more about confidence than market valuations,” said Gavin Parry, managing director of Hong Kong- based Parry International Trading Ltd. “The high probability of more high-profile banking arrests is creating uncertainty for the banking system. The central bank has stepped in to assure it will cover its liabilities.” The nation’s benchmark moneymarket rate has more than trebled in the past week on concern banks will hoard cash to meet customer withdrawals. Bloomberg/Reuters
Fairfax slashes value of newspaper titles Company posted a steep fall in profit; says no early turnaround Miranda Maxwell
A
ustralian publisher Fairfax Media Ltd slashed the value of its newspaper titles by almost US$3 billion yesterday, as it posted a steep fall in profit and said it saw no early turnaround in the worst advertising conditions in more than 30 years. Shares in Fairfax fell 9 percent to approach their all-time low as the publisher of the Sydney Morning Herald, Australia’s oldest newspaper, as well as the Australian Financial Review and The Age, warned sales in the new year were running 10 percent below a year ago. The group joined newspapers around the world in writing down the value of its mastheads to reflect a massive shift online by readers. Fairfax is already shedding almost a fifth of its staff as classified ad revenues collapse in the face of online competition for real estate, job and car advertisements. “I have been in this industry since the late 1970s and I have never seen an advertising environment of the type we are currently experiencing,” Fairfax chief executive Greg Hywood told a conference call.
“We are managing Fairfax Media with no expectation of an early recovery,” he said. “Difficult trading conditions are likely to continue.”
Gloomy outlook The publisher said its outlook worsened considerably since January. The number of people reading a newspaper once a week had dropped to 64 percent from 80 percent since 2007, Mr Hywood said, while revenue at The Age, the Sydney Morning Herald and the classified ads business fell 17 percent in the year. “It’s no longer the traditional newspaper and media companies who have a monopoly,” said University of Melbourne media analyst Andrea Carson. “Fairfax is doing what it can ... but the long terms trends do not bode well for it,” she said. Fairfax wrote down the value of its newspaper titles and goodwill by A$2.8 billion (US$2.9 billion), just weeks after local newspaper rival, Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., took a US$2.85 billion noncash restructuring and impairment charge, related mainly to the value
The number of people reading a newspaper once a week dropped to 64 percent from 80 percent since 2007
of its Australian newspapers. Shares in Fairfax, which have tumbled nearly 90 percent over the past five years, were last trading down 9.7 percent at A$0.51. The group posted a 36 percent fall
in underlying net profit to A$69.7 million in the six months to June 24, according to calculations by Reuters, in line with forecasts but down from A$108.4 million a year earlier. Reuters
12 |
business daily August 24, 2012
MARKETS Hang SENG INDEX NAME
PRICE
Day %
VOLUME
26.85
0.1865672
21402447
ALUMINUM CORP-H
3.34
1.829268
5385052
BANK OF CHINA-H
2.99
1.355932
245039572
BANK OF COMMUN-H
5.23
1.553398
16413205
AIA GROUP LTD
BANK EAST ASIA
NAME
PRICE
Day %
VOLUME
CHINA UNICOM HON
13.02
3.99361
52890887
CITIC PACIFIC
11.22
0.5376344
2425182
CLP HLDGS LTD
65.35
0.07656968
2185220
CNOOC LTD
14.96
0.8086253
93601431
29.1
1.748252
1439602
14.42
1.692525
19036036
ESPRIT HLDGS
24.9
1.840491
10818580
HANG LUNG PROPER
CATHAY PAC AIR
13.02
-0.1533742
5800802
HANG SENG BK
CHEUNG KONG
108.2
0.4642526
4940162
HENDERSON LAND D
CHINA COAL ENE-H
7.07
0.2836879
27451682
CHINA CONST BA-H
5.36
0.9416196
171235556
CHINA LIFE INS-H
21.6
1.17096
19946425
CHINA MERCHANT
24.45
1.875
1989313
CHINA MOBILE
BELLE INTERNATIO BOC HONG KONG HO
COSCO PAC LTD
HENGAN INTL HONG KG CHINA GS
NAME
PRICE
Day %
61.6
-0.3236246
2047582
SANDS CHINA LTD
28.55
2.329749
8622631
SINO LAND CO
13.56
2.108434
7689023
103
1.678184
4409691 1299415
POWER ASSETS HOL
SUN HUNG KAI PRO
10.5
0.7677543
3903756
SWIRE PACIFIC-A
93.35
1.743869
12.32
2.666667
4215981
TENCENT HOLDINGS
248
1.059495
2449689
27.7
1.279707
6158853
TINGYI HLDG CO
22.8
3.401361
10853544
10
4.058273
15626503
48.9
4.710921
11339750
111
0.5434783
625698
49.05
4.695838
7207883
74.8
0.6729475
1044061
18.5
0.87241
3634895
HONG KONG EXCHNG
107.8
1.315789
2080607
HSBC HLDGS PLC
69.35
0.8727273
10797883
69.75
0.6493506
6568284
4.48
1.587302
168874020
WANT WANT CHINA WHARF HLDG
MOVERS
47
2
0 20150
INDEX 20132.24
83.85
1.513317
22926862
HUTCHISON WHAMPO
CHINA OVERSEAS
18.6
2.649007
16884472
IND & COMM BK-H
CHINA PETROLEU-H
7.36
1.237964
79046678
12.88
1.098901
25109168
HIGH
20132.24
CHINA RES ENTERP
23.4
0.862069
2802824
MTR CORP
28.2
0.3558719
2583958
LOW
19859.81
CHINA RES LAND
15.32
2.680965
6279402
NEW WORLD DEV
10.2
2.719033
12931971
CHINA RES POWER
16.74
1.701094
3418306
PETROCHINA CO-H
9.71
0.8307373
54575805
CHINA SHENHUA-H
30.45
2.181208
13308480
PING AN INSURA-H
60.05
0.3341688
10499814
LI & FUNG LTD
VOLUME
52W (H) 21760.33984 (L) 16170.35
19850
21-Aug
23-Aug
Hang SENG CHINA ENTErPRISE INDEX NAME
NAME
PRICE
DAY %
VOLUME
24.75
1.64271
4936300
CHINA PETROLEU-H
7.36
1.237964
79046678
ZIJIN MINING-H
5385052
CHINA RAIL CN-H
6.22
-0.6389776
15883600
8384628
CHINA RAIL GR-H
3.08
-0.6451613
30639000
30.45
2.181208
13308480
PRICE
DAY %
VOLUME
AGRICULTURAL-H
3.1
1.30719
113563440
AIR CHINA LTD-H
5.14
1.380671
9315851
ALUMINUM CORP-H
3.34
1.829268
ANHUI CONCH-H
20.8
0.2409639
BANK OF CHINA-H
2.99
1.355932
245039572
CHINA SHENHUA-H CHINA TELECOM-H
BANK OF COMMUN-H BYD CO LTD-H CHINA CITIC BK-H CHINA COAL ENE-H CHINA COM CONS-H
CHINA PACIFIC-H
5.23
1.553398
16413205
4.45
6.714628
309004785
14.02
0.7183908
1684303
DONGFENG MOTOR-H
10.78
-0.5535055
11845327
4
2.30179
18374105
GUANGZHOU AUTO-H
5.95
2.233677
1222285
7.07
0.2836879
27451682
HUANENG POWER-H
5.41
1.121495
16590396
7
1.892285
18992440
IND & COMM BK-H
4.48
1.587302
168874020
CHINA CONST BA-H
5.36
0.9416196
171235556
JIANGXI COPPER-H
18.88
3.622393
18164726
CHINA COSCO HO-H
3.32
0
11316500
PETROCHINA CO-H
9.71
0.8307373
54575805
CHINA LIFE INS-H
21.6
1.17096
19946425
PICC PROPERTY &
9.4
0.2132196
18231001
5.2
1.761252
4549850
PING AN INSURA-H
60.05
0.3341688
10499814
14.02
0.7183908
17040607
SHANDONG WEIG-H
8.81
1.497696
4230300
CHINA LONGYUAN-H CHINA MERCH BK-H
NAME
PRICE
DAY %
11.82
0.681431
10696768
2.7
6.719368
112267425
ZOOMLION HEAVY-H
8.98
0.3351955
11055958
ZTE CORP-H
11.8
4.240283
11812800
YANZHOU COAL-H
MOVERS
37
1 9870
INDEX 9836.14 HIGH
9857.18
LOW
9674.48
CHINA MINSHENG-H
7.17
0.9859155
14665798
SINOPHARM-H
24.8
6.20985
3704303
52W (H) 11916.1
CHINA NATL BDG-H
8.22
0.3663004
22693795
TSINGTAO BREW-H
43.1
0.2325581
867800
(L) 8058.58
13.34
2.143951
11271422
WEICHAI POWER-H
22.65
2.027027
1693600
CHINA OILFIELD-H
2
VOLUME
9670
21-Aug
23-Aug
Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 NAME
PRICE
DAY %
VOLUME
PRICE
DAY %
VOLUME
AGRICULTURAL-A
2.48
-0.4016064
55291012
NAME CSR CORP LTD -A
4.23
0.2369668
7047302
AIR CHINA LTD-A
5.1
0.1964637
13817644
DAQIN RAILWAY -A
5.87
0.3418803
ALUMINUM CORP-A
5.9
1.200686
12198008
DATANG INTL PO-A
4.66
ANHUI CONCH-A
14.28
0.7762879
8388758
DONGFANG ELECT-A
BANK OF BEIJIN-A
7.29
-0.1369863
9013244
EVERBRIG SEC -A
BANK OF CHINA-A
2.78
-0.3584229
21005671
BANK OF COMMUN-A
4.38
0.228833
BANK OF NINGBO-A
9.53
BAOSHAN IRON & S
4.11
NAME
PRICE
DAY %
VOLUME
SAIC MOTOR-A
11.83
-0.08445946
14757472
22634381
SANY HEAVY INDUS
11.57
-0.6013746
14315135
0.4310345
2360571
SHANDONG GOLD-MI
36.54
3.924915
24095263
15.74
-0.1902346
5480536
SHANG PHARM -A
11.89
0.08417508
12193012
11.11
0.7252947
5099275
SHANG PUDONG-A
7.52
0
36366406
GD MIDEA HOLDING
9.26
0.3250271
9062410
SHANGHAI ELECT-A
4.25
0.4728132
2884595
45380912
GD POWER DEVEL-A
2.64
0.3802281
19422853
SHANXI LU'AN -A
19.98
0.9090909
5811328
-1.345756
12996140
GF SECURITIES-A
12.63
-0.2369668
11613229
SHANXI XINGHUA-A
38.55
-1.305684
1947366
0
16701635
GREE ELECTRIC
19.91
0.6063669
8580720
SHANXI XISHAN-A
14.19
0.9964413
7770196
12.91
0.2329193
15233539
SHENZEN OVERSE-A
5.45
-0.3656307
22363206 42230722
15.13
1.954178
6043420
GUANGHUI ENERG-A
CHINA CITIC BK-A
3.88
1.305483
12180182
HAITONG SECURI-A
8.58
0.7042254
35400813
SUNING APPLIAN-A
6.07
0.3305785
CHINA CNR CORP-A
3.62
0
12903446
HANGZHOU HIKVI-A
28.94
0.941751
2389388
TSINGTAO BREW-A
32.88
-0.06079027
701504
CHINA COAL ENE-A
7.42
0.6784261
10172611
HEBEI IRON-A
2.6
0.3861004
9498787
WEICHAI POWER-A
18.8
0.0532198
3408965
HENAN SHUAN-A
BYD CO LTD -A
CHINA CONST BA-A
4.01
-0.4962779
22850354
64
0.4236623
708419
WULIANGYE YIBIN
34.42
-0.5202312
16022281
CHINA COSCO HO-A
4.2
0.4784689
3685369
HONG YUAN SEC-A
16.86
1.627486
9641396
XIAMEN TUNGSTEN
45.13
6.993836
23937896
CHINA CSSC HOL-A
20.83
0.4823927
2046407
HUATAI SECURIT-A
8.63
1.29108
10568329
YANGQUAN COAL -A
15.3
1.932045
12357034
CHINA EAST AIR-A
3.65
0
5362482
HUAXIA BANK CO
8.73
0.3448276
10860689
YANTAI CHANGYU-A
55.5
0.03604903
2068691
CHINA EVERBRIG-A
2.75
-0.3623188
23844699
IND & COMM BK-A
3.81
-0.5221932
34482128
YANTAI WANHUA-A
13.07
0.4611837
4956596 2003122
17.25
0.232423
4977315
INDUSTRIAL BAN-A
12.3
-0.1623377
31974220
YANZHOU COAL-A
18.67
1.247289
CHINA MERCH BK-A
9.94
0.5055612
36770363
INNER MONG BAO-A
37.61
2.367991
44760432
YUNNAN BAIYAO-A
61.95
-2.132701
1704946
CHINA MERCHANT-A
10.12
0.5964215
5898191
INNER MONG YIL-A
20.29
1.704261
14959223
ZHONGJIN GOLD
15.28
2.00267
34908261
CHINA MERCHANT-A
19.86
1.223242
7861701
INNER MONGOLIA-A
5.94
1.712329
89953807
ZIJIN MINING-A
3.92
2.349869
80057799
30
2.880658
4929535
ZOOMLION HEAVY-A
8.95
-0.5555556
30238133
ZTE CORP-A
11.22
0.1785714
13024357
CHINA LIFE INS-A
CHINA MINSHENG-A
5.88
0.5128205
51762337
JIANGSU HENGRU-A
CHINA NATIONAL-A
6.27
0.6420546
19243850
JIANGSU YANGHE-A
126.2
-4.386696
3394489
CHINA OILFIELD-A
16.85
-0.5899705
3834897
JIANGXI COPPER-A
21.59
1.98394
7914285
CHINA PACIFIC-A
19.5
0.308642
10794901
JINDUICHENG -A
12.41
1.721311
3986623
CHINA PETROLEU-A
6.07
0.1650165
16241270
JIZHONG ENERGY-A
14.02
1.963636
8405559
15.87
-0.5015674
7551642
228.27
-1.684038
2795600
CHINA RAILWAY-A
4.42
-0.896861
8790339
KANGMEI PHARMA-A
CHINA RAILWAY-A
2.49
0.4032258
10704141
KWEICHOW MOUTA-A
CHINA SHENHUA-A
22.3
0.8137432
6247935
LUZHOU LAOJIAO-A
38.32
-1.491003
5699832
16250956
METALLURGICAL-A
2.25
0.4464286
10512257
MOVERS
187
4.86
-1.01833
CHINA SOUTHERN-A
3.78
0.265252
15417374
NINGBO PORT CO-A
2.48
0
6983568
CHINA STATE -A
3.04
-0.6535948
42373125
PANGANG GROUP -A
4.11
1.985112
43838388
HIGH
2350.02
CHINA UNITED-A
3.89
1.832461
67364778
PETROCHINA CO-A
8.88
-0.4484305
11698670
LOW
2288.07
CHINA VANKE CO-A
8.11
-0.3685504
62574209
PING AN BANK-A
14.62
-0.3408316
13128906
CHINA YANGTZE-A
6.5
-0.3067485
12505468
PING AN INSURA-A
41.03
0.342382
14452394
5.73
0.1748252
4339055
POLY REAL ESTA-A
9.41
-0.8429926
63571331
10.81
0
40985669
33.23
-0.4493709
4570079
CITIC SECURITI-A
QINGHAI SALT-A
27 2330
INDEX 2302.199
CHINA SHIPBUIL-A
CHONGQING WATE-A
86
52W (H) 2907.398 (L) 2254.567
2280
21-Aug
23-Aug
FTSE TAIWAN 50 INDEX NAME
PRICE DAY %
Volume
PRICE DAY %
Volume
ACER INC
26.1 -0.5714286
18063727
FORMOSA PLASTIC
83.2 -0.5973716
2754722
TAIWAN MOBILE CO
110
1.382488
ADVANCED SEMICON
22.5
0
18543809
FOXCONN TECHNOLO
114 -0.8695652
9692985
TPK HOLDING CO L
390
-0.128041
3389392
35.15
0
2401447
0
8655361
TSMC
82.7
0.3640777
22367001
ASIA CEMENT CORP
NAME FUBON FINANCIAL
30.65
ASUSTEK COMPUTER
290
0
2256516
HON HAI PRECISIO
87.1
1.16144
28541892
AU OPTRONICS COR
9.71
-1.220753
73547061
HOTAI MOTOR CO
208
0.4830918
208129 12460310
151
0
5960196
HTC CORP
250.5 -0.5952381
CATHAY FINANCIAL
CATCHER TECH
29.85
0.3361345
8340411
HUA NAN FINANCIA
16.35
0.6153846
0.5444646
3502492
LARGAN PRECISION
614
0
543967
LITE-ON TECHNOLO
36
0
2876402
CHIMEI INNOLUX C
10.25
0
45109396
MEDIATEK INC
312
3.140496
22564237
7.21 -0.5517241
38004129
MEGA FINANCIAL H
23.3 -0.4273504
16286966
CHINA STEEL CORP
26.35 -0.5660377
13816691
NAN YA PLASTICS
58.4
CHINATRUST FINAN
18.25
0.2747253
18635773
PRESIDENT CHAIN
90.6
0.1104972
5432161
QUANTA COMPUTER
76
-1.426719
5029331
27
-1.818182
11334033
SILICONWARE PREC
34 -0.2932551
3850331
102
-1.923077
6168035
SINOPAC FINANCIA
12.3
0.4081633
18262968
31.65
0
5931628
SYNNEX TECH INTL
67.5
0.148368
1836333
74.9 -0.3989362
2339745
TAIWAN CEMENT
34 -0.4392387
5637682
FIRST FINANCIAL
17.45
0.5763689
7150158
TAIWAN COOPERATI
81.6
0
1484050
TAIWAN FERTILIZE
FORMOSA PETROCHE
89.8 -0.7734807
956078
TAIWAN GLASS IND
0
3135328
165.5 -0.8982036
723585
16.75
0.2994012
5795761
75.6 -0.1321004
2501517
28.75
-0.862069
8159841
55.4
8438596 2846017
FORMOSA CHEM & F
33.95 -0.4398827
4158309 31499804
YULON MOTOR CO
0
FAR EASTONE TELE
WISTRON CORP
1.244813
12633892
-0.802139
FAR EASTERN NEW
12.2
0.3412969
74.2
DELTA ELECT INC
50.7 -0.7827789
UNITED MICROELEC
1388589
14.7
15.55
CHUNGHWA TELECOM
UNI-PRESIDENT
Volume
YUANTA FINANCIAL
CHANG HWA BANK
COMPAL ELECTRON
PRICE DAY %
4031519
CHENG SHIN RUBBE CHINA DEVELOPMEN
NAME
1763287
MOVERS
17
21
12 5180
INDEX 5149.28 HIGH
5176.04
LOW
5121.25
52W (H) 5621.53 5120
(L) 4643.05 21-Aug
23-Aug
August 24, 2012 business daily | 13
MARKETS GAMING STOCKS - DAILY PERFORMANCE (Hong Kong Stock Exchange) GalaXy enteRtaInMent
Melco cRown enteRtaInMent
MGM cHIna HolDInGS 31.1
22.5 22.4
13.1 13.0
30.9
12.9
22.3
Max 22.5
average 22.377
Min 22.15
12.7
22.1
last 22.5
12.8
30.7
22.2
Max 31
SanDS cHIna ltD
average 30.872
Min 30.6
30.5
last 31
Max 13.02
SJM HolDInGS ltD
average 12.796
Min 12.64
last 13.02
wynn Macau ltD 16.1
28.7
19.6
28.5
19.4
16.0
28.3
19.2
28.1
15.9
19.0
27.9 average 28.277
Max 28.55
Min 27.75
last 28.55
27.7
15.8 Max 16.04
average 15.975
Min 15.8
Commodities PRICE
DAY %
YTD %
(H) 52W
(L) 52W
WTI CRUDE FUTURE Oct12
98.01
0.771139294
-0.57821059
110.6499939
78.15999603
BRENT CRUDE FUTR Oct12
116.21
1.131320164
11.13129961
123.2900009
89.11000061
GASOLINE RBOB FUT Sep12
314.38
1.275690999
18.35259572
320.4399824
237.3699903
GAS OIL FUT (ICE) Oct12
996.5
1.039290241
10.9688196
1044.75
799
NATURAL GAS FUTR Sep12
2.816
-0.353857042
-14.2247944
4.630000114
2.221999884
315.59
0.869370665
10.77608902
332.9600096
251.5599966
1662.63
1.4646
6.2444
1921.18
1522.75
HEATING OIL FUTR Sep12 METALS
Gold Spot $/Oz Silver Spot $/Oz
30.425
3.698
9.3048
43.4088
26.085
1545.95
2.1251
10.8605
1896.75
1339.25
Palladium Spot $/Oz
634.2
0.6267
-2.9533
792.93
537.54
LME ALUMINUM 3MO ($)
1875
0.428494912
-7.178217822
2476
1827.25
LME COPPER 3MO ($)
7605
-0.065703022
0.065789474
9304
6635
LME ZINC
1835
1.38121547
-0.54200542
2311
1718.5
Platinum Spot $/Oz
3MO ($)
LME NICKEL 3MO ($) AGRICULTURE ROUGH RICE (CBOT) Nov12 CORN FUTURE
last 16.04
Dec12
16080
1.611374408
-14.0566542
22450
15236
15.805
-0.378190986
3.946070372
17.5
14.15499973
832.5
-0.269541779
42.00426439
849
499
WHEAT FUTURE(CBT) Dec12
average 19.106
last 19.6
Min 18.8
PRICE MAJORS
ASIA PACIFIC
CROSSES
AUD GBP CHF EUR JPY MOP HKD CNY INR THB SGD TWD PHP IDR AUDJPY EURCHF EURGBP EURCNY EURMOP EURJPY HKDMOP
0.9388 1.5235 0.7712 1.2043 75.35 7.9823 7.7526 6.2769 45.7725 29.87 1.2021 28.911 41.57 8507 72.057 1.1002 0.77553 7.7018 9.6245 94.12 1.0288
MACAU RELATED STOCKS (H) 52W
(L) 52W
3.25
1.88
1581524
153.6999969
CROWN LTD
8.97
0
10.87762
9.29
7.47
1636067
25.77999878
19.23999977
AMAX HOLDINGS LT
0.061
0
-29.88506
0.119
0.055
0
102.25
64.61000061
BOC HONG KONG HO
24.9
1.840491
35.32609
24.95
14.24
10818580 520000
629.5
1744.75
1115.75
COFFEE 'C' FUTURE Dec12
162.4
0.185070944
-31.18644068
285.6499939
SUGAR #11 (WORLD) Oct12
19.72
-1.10330993
-13.62242663
COTTON NO.2 FUTR Dec12
76.05
-1.195270885
-13.42213115
NAME
PRICE
CENTURY LEGEND
World Stock MarketS - Indices YTD %
(L) 52W
1.0857 1.6513 0.9972 1.4549 84.18 8.0413 7.8077 6.406 57.3275 32 1.3199 30.716 44.35 9662 88.637 1.24736 0.88845 9.2841 11.6793 111.94 1.0311
20.45454
953.25
43.28420179
DAY %
(H) 52W
2.7721 2.1296 -1.8929 -3.0939 -2.1626 0.1352 0.147 -0.9176 -3.8939 1.1542 4.1362 1.1424 4.2197 -4.4765 -4.8986 1.3139 5.3258 2.0769 3.1682 0.942 0.0097
0.3787879
27.5
-0.130227174
PRICE
YTD %
0.5173 0.5447 0.8471 0.8592 0.8269 0.0088 0.0129 -0.0236 0.5004 0.6412 0.498 0.137 0.4992 0.1159 0.3128 -0.0067 -0.3109 -0.5773 -0.8551 -0.0304 0
2.65
0.109051254
1725.5
COUNTRY
DAY %
1.0492 1.5874 0.9562 1.256 78.61 7.9888 7.756 6.3533 55.215 31.19 1.2451 29.937 42.065 9494 82.472 1.20101 0.79125 7.9687 10.0341 98.73 1.03
ARISTOCRAT LEISU
918
SOYBEAN FUTURE Nov12
NAME
18.8 Max 19.6
CURRENCY EXCHANGE RATES
NAME ENERGY
(H) 52W
(L) 52W
DOW JONES INDUS. AVG
US
13172.76
-0.2334215
7.818257
13338.66016
10404.49
NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX
US
3073.67
0.2090466
17.98438
3134.17
2298.89
FTSE 100 INDEX
GB
5798.69
0.424128
4.063151
5989.07
4868.6
DAX INDEX
GE
7035.29
0.2499377
19.27556
7194.33
4965.8
NIKKEI 225
JN
9178.12
0.5078988
8.548085
10255.15
8135.79
DAY % YTD %
VOLUME CRNCY
0.231
-2.941176
0.4347808
0.335
0.204
CHEUK NANG HLDGS
3.19
1.592357
13.92857
3.62
2.3
317000
CHINA OVERSEAS
18.6
2.649007
43.29739
19.16
9.99
16884472
CHINESE ESTATES
9.35
-1.578947
-25.2
13.68
8.3
500
CHOW TAI FOOK JE
10.22
6.237006
-26.58046
15.16
8.4
14479208
EMPEROR ENTERTAI
1.39
0.7246377
25.22522
1.48
0.97
760000
FUTURE BRIGHT
1.17
2.631579
178.5714
1.24
0.3
1644000
GALAXY ENTERTAIN
22.5
1.123596
58.00562
24.95
8.69
9585161
HANG SENG BK
111
0.5434783
20.45578
116.7
84.4
625698
HOPEWELL HLDGS
24.85
1.01626
25.12588
24.9
18.56
1020800
HSBC HLDGS PLC
69.35
0.8727273
17.54237
71.8
56
10797883
HUTCHISON TELE H
3.86
2.933333
29.09699
3.87
2.53
5651000
LUK FOOK HLDGS I
22.3
5.687204
-17.71218
42.7
14.7
4102556
MELCO INTL DEVEL
6.32
1.12
9.532063
9.17
4.3
1797000
MGM CHINA HOLDIN
13.02
4.326923
35.73594
14.804
7.6
2951389
HANG SENG INDEX
HK
20132.24
1.229197
9.210229
21760.33984
16170.35
CSI 300 INDEX
CH
2302.199
0.2880746
-1.856256
2907.398
2254.567
TAIWAN TAIEX INDEX
TA
7505.17
0.1145856
6.123939
8170.72
6609.11
MIDLAND HOLDINGS
4.45
3.971963
12.54292
5.217
2.887
2544000
KOSPI INDEX
SK
1942.54
0.3798077
6.397409
2057.28
1644.11
NEPTUNE GROUP
0.16
0
44.14414
0.205
0.08
10620000
S&P/ASX 200 INDEX
AU
4383.702
0.1750211
8.064507
4448.5
3840.2
NEW WORLD DEV
10.2
2.719033
62.93929
10.96
6.13
12931971
SANDS CHINA LTD
28.55
2.329749
30.06833
33.05
14.9
8622631
SHUN HO RESOURCE
1.13
0
13
1.28
0.82
0
SHUN TAK HOLDING
2.89
2.846975
12.92908
3.892
2.241
3457502
JAKARTA COMPOSITE INDEX
12.6
ID
4162.659
0.05170042
8.913342
4234.734
3217.951
FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI
MA
1651.61
-0.03873506
7.896886
1655.39
1310.53
NZX ALL INDEX
NZ
812.621
0.216806
11.3484
818.513
712.548
SJM HOLDINGS LTD
16.04
1.134931
28.26319
18.285
10.079
2168539
PHILIPPINES ALL SHARE IX
PH
3461.82
0.8776991
13.68718
3531.5
2695.06
SMARTONE TELECOM
17.02
1.309524
26.63691
18.5
9.8
1267716
HSBC Dragon 300 Index Singapor
SI
584.84
-0.21
17.83
NA
NA
WYNN MACAU LTD
19.52
2.736842
0.1025641
25.5
14.62
9228186
ASIA ENTERTAINME
4.02
4.6875
-31.63265
8
2.4
108962
BALLY TECHNOLOGI
44.78
1.106345
13.19514
49.32
24.74
505819
BOC HONG KONG HO
3.25
0
35.57555
3.25
1.81
2560
GALAXY ENTERTAIN
2.9
-0.6849315
55.08021
3.24
1.08
355
11.95
1.271186
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9979725
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business daily August 24, 2012
Opinion
A flock of black swans Jeffrey Frankel
Professor of Capital Formation and Growth at Harvard University
T
hroughout history, major political and economic shocks have often occurred in August, when leaders have gone on vacation believing that world affairs are quiet. Consider World War I’s outbreak in 1914, the Nazi-Soviet pact in 1939, the Sputnik launch in 1957, the Berlin Wall in 1961, and the failed coup in Moscow of 1991. Then there was the Nixon shock of 1971 (when the American president took the dollar off the gold standard and imposed wage, price, and trade controls), the 1982 international debt crisis in Mexico, the 1992 crisis in the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, and the 2007 subprime mortgage crisis in the United States. Many of these shocks constituted events that had previously been considered unthinkable. They were not even on the radar screen. Such developments have been called “black swans” – events of inconceivably tiny probability. But, in my view, “black swan” should refer to something else: an event that is considered virtually impossible by those whose frame of reference is limited in time and geographical area, but not by those who consider other countries and other decades or centuries. The origin of the black swan metaphor was the belief that all swans are white, a conclusion that a nineteenth-century Englishman might have reached based on a lifetime of personal observation and David Hume’s principle of induction. But ornithologists already knew that black swans existed in Australia, having discovered them in 1697. They should not have been viewed as “unthinkable”.
and many other financial prices. One reason for this historic mispricing of risk is that traders’ models went back only a few years, or at most a few decades (the period of the late “Great Moderation”). Traders should have gone back much further – or better yet, formed judgments based on a more comprehensive assessment of what risks might confront the world economy. Starting in August 2007, supposedly singular black swans begin to multiply quickly. “Big banks don’t fail?” No comment. “Governments of advanced countries don’t default?” Enough said. Debt troubles in Greece, especially, should not have surprised anyone, least of all northern Europeans. But, even when the Greek crisis erupted, leaders in Brussels and Frankfurt failed to recognise it as a close cousin of
Default in some euro countries or political dysfunction in the U.S. is a much more likely trigger
the Argentine crisis of 2001-2002, the Mexican crisis of 1994, and many others in history, including among European countries. Nowadays, a eurozone breakup has become one of the most widely discussed possible shocks. Considered unthinkable just a short time ago, the probability that one or more euro members will drop out is now well above 50 percent. A hard landing in China and other emerging markets is another possibility.
Many triggers An oil crisis in the Mideast is the classic black-swan event. Each one catches U.S. by surprise: 1956, 1973, 1979, 1990. Oil prices can rise for many other reasons, as they have in recent years. But the most likely crisis scenarios currently stem from either military conflict with Iran or instability in some Arab country. The threat of a supply shock typically fuels a sharp increase in demand for oil inventories – and thus in prices. The most worrisome financial threat is that currently over-priced bond markets will crash. In theory, inflation (particularly commodity-induced inflation, as in 1973 or 1979) could precipitate a collapse. But this seems unlikely. Default in some euro countries or political dysfunction in the U.S. is a much more likely trigger. Evidence of extreme dysfunction in U.S. politics is already plain to see, reaching a low in 2011 during the debtceiling showdown (also in August),
which cost America its AAA sovereign rating from Standard & Poor’s. In theory, as the “fiscal cliff” set for January 1, 2013, approaches, fearful investors should start dumping bonds now. But investors still believe that politicians, aware of the dire consequences of going over the cliff, will again find a last-minute way to avoid it. Perhaps observers believe that a clear result in November’s elections, one way or the other, would help to settle things. A true black swan – low probability, but high enough to think about – would be a repeat of the disputed 2000 presidential election. There has been no reform since then to ensure that people’s votes will be counted or that a disputed outcome will not be resolved by political appointees. Scariest on the black-swan list is a terrorist attack with weapons of mass destruction. There is a long-standing gap between terrorism experts’ perception of the probability of a nuclear event and the probability as perceived by the public. (Admittedly, the risk is lower now that Osama bin Laden is dead.) Last on the list is an unprecedented climate disaster. Environmentalists sometimes underestimate the benefits of technological and economic progress when they reason that a finite supply of resources must imply their eventual exhaustion. But it is equally mistaken to believe that a true climate disaster cannot happen simply because one has not already occurred. Have a nice vacation. © Project Syndicate
Misperceptions Before September 11, 2001, some experts warned that foreign terrorists might try to blow up American office buildings. Those in power did not take these warnings seriously. After all, “it had never happened before.” Many Americans did not know the history of terrorist events in other countries and other decades. Likewise, until 2006, most Americans based their economic behaviour on the assumption that nominal housing prices, even if they slowed, would not fall, because they had not done so before – within living memory in the U.S. They may not have been aware that housing prices had often fallen in other countries, and in the U.S. before the 1940’s. Needless to say, many indebted homeowners and leveraged bank executives would have made very different decisions had they thought that there was a non-negligible chance of an outright decline in prices. From 2004 to 2006, financial markets perceived market risk as very low. This was most apparent in the implicit volatilities in options prices such as the VIX. But it was also manifest in junk-bond spreads, sovereign spreads,
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August 24, 2012 business daily | 15
OPINION
Maine lobster tastes best wires with dash of supply side Business
Leading reports from Asia’s best business newspapers
Amity Shlaes
Bloomberg View columnist and the director of the Four Percent Growth Project at the Bush Institute
Thai Financial Post A ceremony has been held for the signing of a memorandum of understanding on copyright protection between the Department of Intellectual Property and the Software Industry Promotion Agency. The aim is to prevent IP right infringements and help Thailand’s software industry to expand further in the future. Each year, the software industry makes than 300 billion baht (US$9.6 billion) in revenue for Thailand. The market has increased by an average of 13.9 percent every year between 2006 and 2011.
Korea JoongAng Daily A total of 277 contracts worth US$73 million were signed by Korean game companies and European buyers at Gamescom 2012, which wrapped up in the German city of Cologne on Sunday, the Korea Creative Content Agency (Kocca) announced. It was Korea’s best performance yet in terms of business deals at a major international game show and marked an improvement of 55 percent from last year, when deals worth US$47 million were inked at Europe’s premier trade show for games and entertainment.
Jakarta Globe The Indonesian government is set to provide tax incentives to textile machinery industries next year as part of a move to boost the ailing textile sector, Industry Minister announced. The minister said the textile industry needed at least 500 pieces of new equipment next year to revive the sector. He added that such machines should be produced in Indonesia, and that a tax holiday was planned to reduce imports. The minister was not specific on the nature of the planned tax incentives.
Business Standard BNP Paribas, Societe Generale and Standard Chartered are among the seven foreign banks which have been given approval to open new branches in India this year, the government said yesterday. The other four which were also given approval are Morgan Stanley Bank International, Westpac Banking Corporation, Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait and State Bank of Mauritius. In 2011, as many as 10 foreign banks were given permission to open branches in India, while the number stood at six in the year before that.
H
istory repeats itself, first as tragedy, then as lobster. Or so you might think from reading this summer’s news in Maine, which speaks volumes, or crates, about the farcical nature of North American trade policy. First, to the dark side of the story, which involves, if not a tragedy, a tragically long dispute over the lumber trade. For decades, the U.S. has been alleging that Canada unfairly holds down the price of timber for its producers, squeezing out the noble U.S. lumberman, hurting his industry and therefore harming the American economy. In the latest spat, the U.S. accused Canada of intentionally misclassifying good timber as salvage quality, or Grade 4, to sell it at the lower price permitted for such wood under the 2006 Softwood Lumber Agreement. Humiliatingly, an international arbitration court found no conclusive evidence for such cheating. That didn’t deter U.S. authorities. “The Obama Administration is committed to continue vigorously enforcing” the softwood agreement, said Nkenge Harmon, the deputy assistant U.S. trade representative, in a statement. Not content with just lumber, President Barack Obama has also established an Interagency Trade Enforcement Unit to police other trade agreements and bring to justice any nation it deems a shirker. “We are looking at problems in at least a half-dozen countries and that number is going to grow,” said Tim Reif, general counsel in the office of the U.S. trade representative, in a speech.
Fishing expedition Theunderlyingpresumptionofthis fishingexpeditionisthateconomic growth would be stronger if only other nations could be policed and forced to price fairly. The absurdity of this position is clear
When governments turn into overly meddlesome enforcers of trade law, rather than promoters of trade freedom, they are no longer helping growth
when you consider the Canadian point of view in a newer dispute over lobsters. This year’s lobster crop has been enormous, probably because of warmer water temperatures this past winter and spring. For New England lobstermen, supply is now outstripping demand. As a result, lobster processors, most of which are in Canada, are paying very low prices to fishermen – US$2.50 or US$3 a pound, compared with the US$4 a pound the lobstermen want. That’s hitting Canadian lobstermen hard. Because of regulations that aim to sustain lobster supply – which seem pretty unnecessary now – the Canadians are permitted to harvest lobsters for only part of the summer, unlike their U.S. counterparts. They thus need to earn more per pound. Embarrassed American lobstermen keep reminding anyone and everyone that, heck, there are so few processing plants in Maine they had to come to Canada, and it’s not fair to punish them for trying to sell their catch.
Still, like the lumbermen of the Great Northwest, the Canadian lobstermen are furious. They’re picketing the processing plants that buy from the New England tricksters (or they were, until a court order stopped them). They tossed lobster traps into the office of the Canadian fisheries minister. Last month, they formed blockades to halt delivery of those heinous Maine lobsters. This time the “unfair trade advantage” is allegedly on the U.S. side. But U.S. authorities aren’t exactly riding to the rescue of Canadian lobstermen. They’re siding with the dumpers, and ostentatiously. “Snowe Welcomes Canadian Court Injunction in Lobster Dispute,” Maine Senator Olympia Snowe posted on her website after Canada’s courts stopped the lobster protesters. Snowe also wrote to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to call attention to the crisis.
Government’s role It’s doubtful that Clinton or any other American official could do much to solve such problems in the long term. After all, it wasn’t government policy but some mystery of the Atlantic
environment that led to the market glut. And, of course, the Maine lobster wouldn’t be so cheap for Canadian processors if the Canadian dollar wasn’t so strong. Federal authorities typically concern themselves with making sure the lobster catch is sustainable and that domestic processing plants are sanitary – not with whether the creatures are priced properly. If this lumber-lobster parable has a hero, it’s a young entrepreneur named Kyle Murdock, who is starting a new processing plant in Maine, called Sea Hag Seafood, and even hiring inmates from a nearby prison. That’s the kind of supply-side thinking that leads to creative business solutions. The main point is that in every industry, including lumber and lobster, economic challenges are as numerous as lobster legs. Sorting them out is beyond any man or woman, and, certainly, beyond a trade diplomat in Washington. When governments turn into overly meddlesome enforcers of trade law, rather than promoters of trade freedom, they are no longer helping growth; they are laying antigrowth traps. Bloomberg View
16 |
business daily August 24, 2012
CLOSING Islets tension rising
BOC profit up by 5.1 pct
S. Korea said it will return without response a letter to President Lee Myung Bak from Japanese PM Yoshihiko Noda, heightening tension between the two countries over islets claimed by both. The letter in its protest of Mr Lee’s August 10 visit to the islets referred to them by the Japanese name of Takeshima. “Such an island doesn’t exist,” a foreign ministry spokesman said. The rocks are known as Dokdo in Korean. Mr Noda’s letter also proposed taking the dispute to the UN International Court of Justice, which Seoul has rejected.
Bank of China Ltd, the country’s No.4 lender, reported a 5.1 percent rise in second-quarter net profit yesterday, its slowest quarterly profit growth in over three years. The bank said it made a net profit of 71.6 billion yuan (US$11.3 billion) in JanuaryJune, up 7.7 percent from the 66.51 billion yuan during the same period a year earlier. April-June net profit was 34.84 billion yuan, according to Reuters calculations from company figures. Non-performing loans fell to 0.94 percent from 0.97 percent at the end of March, the bank added.
reported missile defence plan. “The Chinese would probably think about how they would have to counter these counters, and that would probably mean acquiring more systems or perhaps targeting those radar sites.”
Radar sites
U.S. planning new missile defence system in Asia Move seen as countering N. Korea, China defence plans Non-stop military build-up in Asia
T
he Obama administration is planning an expansion of missile defences in Asia to address threats from North Korea that could also serve to counter China’s military build-up, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Pentagon is discussing with Japan a new radar installation on a southern Japanese island, the newspaper said, citing unidentified U.S. defence officials. Another facility is also being evaluated
for Southeast Asia, linked to land and sea missile-defence systems, the Journal said. Pentagon spokeswoman Wendy Snyder in Washington said she couldn’t immediately comment, and Japan’s top spokesman also declined to comment. President Barack Obama is escalating foreign-policy focus on Asia as China increases defence spending and contests jurisdiction over maritime territories with countries including Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines.
Meantime, North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un has shown no willingness since assuming power in December to abandon his regime’s nuclear weapons program, and oversaw an attempted launch of a long-range rocket in April. “If they are moving down to Southeast Asia, they are probably making an effort to counter Chinese missile systems,” Richard Bitzinger, a senior fellow at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, said of the
his country’s bailout agreement. The French and German leaders met yesterday to fine-tune their joint message to Samaras, who is on a charm offensive seeking more time for Athens to meet its bailout commitments. As part of a rescue package with its international creditors, Greece has committed to slashing some 11.5 billion euros (US$14.2 billion) from spending over two years from 2013. A team of auditors from the so-called Troika – the European Commission, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank – is due to report next month on whether Greece has done enough to unlock a further tranche of aid to stave off bankruptcy. AFP/Reuters
Bloomberg
PM Samaras had asked ‘breathing space’ for reforms, cuts
G
Wednesday, Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras called for more time to make spending cuts and reforms to unlock funds to keep the debtwracked country afloat. “All that we want is a little ‘breathing space’ to revive the economy quickly and raise state income. More time does not automatically mean more money,” Mr Samaras told the German daily Bild ahead of talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin today. Mr Samaras reportedly wants to discuss extending that period to four years in his talks in Berlin and with French President Francois Hollande in Paris tomorrow. But they are expected to tell Mr Samaras that they can give him little leeway on easing the terms of
X-Band radar The X-Band radar is used for tracking hostile ballistic missiles. It can be positioned at sea aboard Navy ships to support tests of U.S. missile-defence systems and to provide coverage against possible threats. Placing the radar in Southeast Asia means “the U.S. would actually have to step up patrols in the South China Sea and place these large destroyers in that region on basically regular patrols,” Mr Bitzinger added. “That could be obviously taken by the Chinese as provocative.” China called for the U.S. to stop gathering intelligence in waters off its shores after a 2009 incident in which its vessels harassed an American naval vessel 75 miles south of Hainan Island. The U.S. views the South China Sea as international waters and has repeatedly called for littoral states to respect freedom of navigation. Defence Secretary Leon Panetta in June became the highest-ranking American official to visit Vietnam’s Cam Ranh Bay since the Vietnam War, reflecting the U.S.’s expanding ties with a former enemy as China’s rise realigns relationships in the region. In November, Mr Obama and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced a defence accord to deploy American Marines on Australian bases in 2012.
German minister says no more time for Greece iving Greece more time to implement necessary structural reforms and austerity measures would not solve its severe problems, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told public radio yesterday. “More time is not a solution to the problems,” Mr Schaeuble told SWR radio. “More time would, in case of doubt, mean more money” and the eurozone had already gone to its very limits in hammering out the deal with Athens last year, the minister argued. It was not an issue “of being more generous or less generous” but about finding a way for the eurozone as a whole to regain the confidence of the financial markets, Mr Schaeuble argued. In a newspaper interview
Japan and the U.S. have decided not to put the new radar facility on Okinawa, given tensions over the American military presence there, the Journal said. The Philippines is a possible site in Southeast Asia for the X-Band early-warning radar manufactured by Raytheon Co., it said. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura, speaking to reporters in Tokyo, declined to comment on the article. North Korea is building a new launch pad for firing larger long-range rockets at its Musudan-ri site in the northeast, the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University in Washington said on its website in May. Japan is beefing up its anti- ballistic missile defence system in concert with the U.S. and “most of that is geared against North Korea,” Mr Bitzinger said. China last year continued “sustained investments” in advanced cruise and anti-ship missile technologies that “appear designed” to blunt U.S. military access to the region, the Pentagon said in a May report. The missiles are designed for launch to a general location, where the guidance systems take over and spot carriers for attack, with warheads intended to destroy aircraft on deck, airplanelaunching gear and control towers.