Saturday, May 18 2024 | ASIA TODAY INTERNATIONAL - Reporting the Business that Matters in Asia
SHANGHAI – UnionPay, the universal credit card in China, says its cards are now accepted at about 30,000 ATMs and more than 600,000 POS terminals in Australia, covering 90% of all ATMs and about 70% of local merchants (over half of which also accept UnionPay mobile QuickPass).
SINGAPORE - S&P Global Ratings said today that the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye does not have a material effect on the sovereign credit rating of South Korea, which is rated AA/Stable/A-1+. “Although political uncertainty could remain a distraction to policymakers for some time, we believe the effective Korean bureaucracy will keep the Government running smoothly,” S&P says.
SEOUL – South Korea’s Acting President and Prime Minister, Hwang Kyo-ahn, has expressed his unwavering determination to maintain state affairs and uphold a stable stance regarding national security following the impeachment of President Park Guen-hye.
HONG KONG - The Guangzhou International Optics Fair has highlighted the huge potential of the Mainland eyewear market, with the existing number of online and offline retailers unlikely to be able to meet growing demand predicted over the next three years, according to a HKTDC research report.
KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), has introduced measures to shore up the ringgit and liquidity. Global asset manager, Natixis, says Malaysia’s choice has implications for similarly smaller economies that are considering their options in the months ahead.
HONG KONG – Building on the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect programme launched in 2014, Shenzhen-Hong Kong Direct launched today offers an expanded list of eligible stocks to give international and Hong Kong investors direct access to most companies traded in Mainland China for the first time. There are also more choices for Mainland investors, with 100 small cap stocks listed in Hong Kong now available through Shenzhen Connect.
HONG KONG - HSBC in China has launched the Bank’s first credit cards in Mainland China – across all cities in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) and 30 other cities across China - as the HSBC Group accelerates investments in Asia.
JAKARTA - Indonesia’s CPI inflation accelerated in November, printing higher than market expectations. ANZ Bank says the print reinforces its view that inflation troughed in Q3 and should be on an upward trajectory going forward.
HONG KONG - With oil prices on average 9% lower than in October, but bouncing sharply on the last day of the month, HSBC’s proxy for the IMF commodity price index showed a 3% drop for the month (on average), despite the fact that 19 of the 32 commodities included in the measure had higher average prices.
In particular, metals prices showed strong gains, with the average price for iron ore hitting a two-year high and the average price for zinc at its highest level in nine years.
BEIJING - Buyers of super-luxury cars in China will have to pay a 10% consumption tax at the time of purchase, under a new policy effective from December 1. The Ministry of Finance announced the new tax on its website, and said it will apply to cars costing 1.3 million yuan (US$188,700) before the addition of value-added taxes.
BEIJING - Profits made by individual investors from the link between the Shenzhen and Hong Kong stock exchanges will be temporarily exempted from personal income tax, China’s Finance Ministry said yesterday. Individual mainland investors buying shares in Hong Kong through the program will be exempt from personal income tax on profits for three years, but will still be liable for tax on dividends.
SINGAPORE - Affirming its 'BBB-' long-term issuer credit rating on State Bank of India (SBI) today, S&P Global Ratings said it does not see any upside potential because it would not rate the bank above the sovereign rating “and we do expect to upgrade the sovereign rating on India in the next 18-24 months.
MELBOURNE – The recently-listed Broo Limited (ASX: BEE) has signed with China’s Jinxing Beer Group in a deal which will see the company’s Broo Premium Lager added to Jinxing’s national product portfolio list. Broo will be Jinxing’s only international label on offer toits entire nationwide Chinese distribution network.
SYDNEY - Qantas Freight has been named exclusive air freight partner for VAN Dairy’s fresh Tasmanian milk exports to Ningbo, China. In the first half of 2017, subject to Government and regulatory approvals, Qantas will carry more than 50,000 litres of fresh VAN milk from Hobart to Ningbo, the second largest city in Zhejiang Province, which has a population of 55 million people.
HONG KONG - The China Securities Regulatory Commission and the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission have announced December 5 as the start date for Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect (Shenzhen Connect), a mutual market access programme of the Hong Kong and Shenzhen stock markets.
SYDNEY – Australia’s Solar D Sunscreen, manufacturer of the world’s first vitamin D promoting sunscreen, and KW International, a US-based supply chain and distribution company specialising in introducing innovative products into the marketplace, have formed a strategic partnership to sell the product into Asia and North America.