ATI Newswire - Subscriber Only

China's still credit driven, India generating positive news: S&P

April 20, 2016

SINGAPORE – In an assessment of regional economies, ratings agency Standard & Poor's says that China's first-quarter GDP growth came in on target at 6.7% but remains too credit driven, while India's growth story improved on a pick-up in industrial production and projections of a good monsoon season. Japan, S&P says, is still struggling to reflate.

Global steel sector risk to peak in 2016 as overcapacity bites: Coface

April 19, 2016

PARIS – The steel sector is most at risk among the 12 structures assessed by global credit insurer Coface. It is now assessed as "very high risk” in Latin America, emerging Asia, the Middle East and Western Europe, and "high risk” in Central Europe Steel is one of the least profitable sectors in the world (ranked 90th out of 94) and the deepest in debt.

Outlook on China's department stores remains negative – S&P

April 18, 2016

HONG KONG -  Ratings agencyStandard & Poor's  says the outlook on China’s department stores sector remains negative because of deteriorating liquidity and weak operating performance amid tepid consumer demand - and the continued aggressive expansion appetite of some department store companies.

"Chinese department stores seem to have been swimming against the current in recent times," says S&P credit analyst Shalynn Teo. "Faced with sluggish sales growth and declining profitability, operators are struggling to survive in a highly competitive market."

China’s export data turns positive for March

April 18, 2016

HONG KONG – China’s export data for March was solid even after eliminating the base effect, with exports in RMB terms growing by 18.7% y/y, up from a 20.6% contraction in February and beating market expectations of a 14.9% gain. ANZ economists say this is consistent with a better-than-expected PMI in March.
“However, the figure still needs to be interpreted with caution as the distortions in February and March often cause wild swings in export growth figures,” ANZ says. “In Q1 as a whole, exports declined 4.2% y/y.” 

With China importing less, global growth will be mediocre: Natixis

April 15, 2016

HONG KONG - With the Chinese Government unveiling a lower economic growth target rate of 6.5%-7%, Natixis says it expects China’s manufacturing over-capacity problem to spread to the world an at even faster rate. “Although the Government has a strong wish to tackle the overcapacity problem, it has a big concern that shutting down overcapacity factories will hurt the labour market as well as the overall economy,” the bank says.

World’s five largest banks based in Asia, four in China, one in Japan

April 13, 2016

NEW YORK- The world's five largest banks are all based in Asia, and China-headquartered banks made up the top four, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence's latest global bank rankings, which ranks the largest banks in the world by converting their total assets into US dollars using the exchange rate as of the end of the period measured.

Most banks were ranked by total assets as of December 31, 2015. The previous ranking was published in August 2015 and ranked most banks by total assets as of March 31, 2015.

New export facility improves access to finance for Australia’s SMEs

April 6, 2016

SYDNEY - Australia’s export finance agency, Efic, has launched a new Small Business Export Loan facility which will enable small and medium-sized businesses with annual revenue between AUD250,000 and AUD5 million to access up to AUD250,000 to support an export contract. The loan will be available to small exporters when their main bank is unable to help.

The Small Business Export Loan has been developed to meet the needs of small exporters, with a focus on convenience and speed throughout the application and approval process.

Vietnam’s trade position still firm, but agriculture a soft spot

April 6, 2016

HO CHI MNH CITY - Vietnam remains the only Asian economy bucking the regional trade recession, continuing to record firm export growth in a region where sustained double-digit contractions in exports remain the norm, but the numbers do not tell the whole story, ANZ Bank warns.  “It is important to remember that though total trade is more than 160% of the Vietnamese economy, domestic demand is 65% of GDP given exports and imports are roughly the same size.” 

Malaysia an economy on stilts on a tightrope, says ANZ

April 5, 2016

KUALA LUMPUR – ANZ Bank believes that of all the countries in ASEAN, Malaysia is currently the most vulnerable to a turn in the credit cycle, given its significantly higher debt service ratio compared to regional peers. “Malaysia is also caught in a confluence of unfavourable demand and supply dynamics; a bleak growth outlook and tighter liquidity have shifted the demand and supply curves inwards respectively,” ANZ says.

“Malaysia’s precarious situation is also exacerbated by a large increase in leverage.

86.7% of all Taiwanese want China cross-border status quo, says new survey

April 4, 2016

BEIJING – With the former opposition Democratic Progressive Party coming to office, the results of a new survey just released by Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) show that 86.7% of all people in Taiwan prefer maintaining the status quo between China and Taiwan.
The poll shows 81.9% support the Government in continuing to promote peaceful and stable development of cross-strait relations in accordance with the ROC Constitution and President Ma Ying-jeou’s principle of no unification, no independence and no use of force.

Beijing nominates local government debt ceiling for 2016

April 4, 2016

BEIJING – China’s Ministry of Finance has detailed a new ceiling on local government debt for 2016. The Ministry says total outstanding debt must be kept under RMB17.2 trillion (US$2.7 trillion), as set down in Chia’s new budget approved by the National People’s Congress in March.

China is determined to rein in local government debt mainly caused by borrowing over the past few years. A debt swap mechanism allows local governments to convert their debt to low-interest bonds, which subsequently eases the debt burden without disrupting the broader economy.

McDonald’s seeking strategic partners to add value in ,high-growth markets of China, Korea, HK

April 4, 2016

BEIJING - McDonald's Corporation (NYSE: MCD) has announced its intent to identify strategic partners who will add value and unlock growth potential in key markets throughout Asia to advance the company's future growth plans.

The company is seeking partners who woll enhance its competitive advantages and resources to enable localised decisions on growth initiatives and increase capital resources to further invest in restaurant expansion and modernisation.

Pages