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Govts & policies

Central bank injects more money to market

China's central bank made a net cash injection via open market operations for the third consecutive day on Monday in an effort to ease a cash strain. The People's Bank of China conducted 170 billion yuan ($24.7 billion) of reverse repos, a process by which the central bank purchases securities from banks through bidding with an agreement to sell them back in the future. The injection saw a net 100 billion yuan pumped into the market on Monday, offset by 70 billion yuan in maturing reverse repos. The operations included seven-day reverse repo priced to yield 2.35 percent, 14-day contracts with a yield of 2.5 percent, and 28-day agreements with a yield of 2.65 percent, according to a central bank statement.

PPPs to drive China's infrastructure projects

Public-private partnerships will be the main financing model Chinese local governments use for infrastructure investments up to 2020, with State-owned enterprises to play the leading role, global ratings agency Fitch said on Monday. The PPP model will also help Chinese construction companies to expand their order books as well, according to a recent Fitch report. However, the PPP model is in its early stages of development and SOEs have emerged as the main partners of Chinese local governments, rather than private investors, it noted. "This is mainly because returns on most PPP projects, typically 5 percent to 8 percent, are not appealing to private investors, but are sufficient for SOEs, which enjoy lower financing costs," Fitch said.

Govt sets minimum prices for rice

China has set minimum prices for State procurement of rice products in 2017 to protect the interests of growers, according to the top economic regulator. The National Development and Reform Commission said in a statement that the minimum price for japonica rice will be three yuan (44 cents) per kg, down from 3.1 yuan per kg in 2016. Government procurement prices for other kinds of rice are also slightly lowered from 2016, the statement said, adding that the adjustments have taken into account production costs, market demand and supply, as well as prices at home and abroad.

Companies & markets

Yuan weakens against the greenback

The central parity rate of the renminbi, or the yuan, weakened 287 basis points to 6.8743 against the US dollar on Monday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System. In China's spot foreign exchange market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by 2 percent from the central parity rate each trading day. The central parity rate of the yuan against the US dollar is based on a weighted average of prices offered by market makers before the opening of the interbank market each business day.

Chengdu to run 1,000 cargo trains to Europe

Southwestern China's Chengdu is expected to run 1,000 cargo trains to Europe in 2017, more than double the number last year, the Chengdu International Railway Services Company said on Monday. Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan province, ran 460 cargo trains to cities in Poland, the Netherlands and Germany last year - more than any other Chinese city. Chengdu delivered a total of 73,000 metric tons of goods worth $1.56 billion in 2016 globally. The southwestern hub has planned three major rail line services to Europe, with a middle route to Germany, Poland and the Netherlands, a southern route to Turkey and beyond, and another northern route to Russia.

HK Disneyland records loss for second year

Hong Kong Disneyland has reported a net loss of 171 million HK$ ($22.03 million) for 2016 fiscal year, a second loss following the 2015 fiscal year, due to the slower Hong Kong tourism market. During fiscal 2016, the resort generated revenues of 4.8 billion HK$. The resort has received more than 64 million guests since its opening in 2005, including 6.1 million during the 2016 fiscal year.

Kraft Heinz withdraws Unilever landmark bid

US food giant Kraft Heinz has stopped its attempt to acquire Anglo-Dutch consumer goods company Unilever, both companies said in a joint statement. "Kraft Heinz has amicably agreed to withdraw its proposal for a combination of the two companies," said the statement. "Unilever and Kraft Heinz hold each other in high regard. Kraft Heinz has the utmost respect for the culture, strategy and leadership of Unilever," it said. A deal, if reached, would have been one of the biggest takeovers ever in corporate history.

Around the world

Australia to get note for vision impaired

Australia will introduce a brand-new A$10 ($7.5) bank note in September, in what will be the second in a series of new notes featuring tactile "raised dots" to help the vision-impaired. The Reserve Bank of Australia announced the currency note will retain its blue coloring but will feature all-new images of native Australian flora and fauna. The Reserve Bank said the new notes will be introduced in September, while all existing A$10 bank notes in circulation will remain legal tender. RBA Governor said Philip Lowe said the A$10 banknote would also continue to honor two famous Australian writers on both the front and back.

Iran discovers shale oil reserves

Iran has discovered new shale oil reserves containing 2 billion barrels of light crude oil in its western Lorestan province, an Iranian official has announced. "According to preliminary studies, this huge reserve is estimated to hold more than 2 billion barrels of oil in place," the Iranian news agency Tasnim on Saturday quoted Bahman Soleimani, an official at the Exploration Directorate of the National Iranian Oil Company, as saying. Exploration of shale gas reserves is also in progress in the province, and is projected to be completed in October this year, the official added.

FDI in Bulgaria drops in 2016 by 59.7 percent

Foreign direct investment in Bulgaria dropped by 59.7 percent year-on-year in 2016, preliminary data from the Bulgarian National Bank showed. In 2016, FDI in Bulgaria amounted to 682.8 million euros ($726.9 million) or 1.5 percent of gross domestic product, the BNB said.

Immigration, car sales drive NZ retail

Immigration is believed to be driving rising car sales, which have bolstered total retail sales in New Zealand, the government statistics agency said. Car sales rose 1.9 percent in the fourth quarter, pushing up the volume of total retail trade by 0.8 percent, according to Statistics New Zealand. Motor vehicles sales led most of the quarterly industry movements over 2016. More expensive cars and SUVs (sport utility vehicles) were selling well, especially in the largest city of Auckland - home to a third of the population, business indicators manager Tehseen Islam said.

Nation to protect visiting seafarers

Shipping companies must ensure they treat their crews according to international minimum standards when they visit New Zealand from next month, maritime authorities warned. New Zealand would begin enforcing the International Labour Organization's Maritime Labour Convention to ensure fair treatment of seafarers, said Maritime New Zealand. The convention, which sets minimum standards to address the health, safety and welfare of seafarers on commercial vessels, would come into force on March 9.

Wholesale trade remains flat in Q4

Domestic wholesale trade in Singapore was flat in the fourth quarter of 2016 on a year-on-year basis, said Department of Statistics Singapore on Monday in its latest report. Excluding petroleum, domestic wholesale trade fell 3.7 percent compared to the same period last year, said SingStat. After adjusting for price changes, overall domestic wholesale trade registered a year-on-year decrease of 7.4 percent.

China Daily - Agencies

(China Daily USA 02/21/2017 page14)