Friday, April 26 2024 | ASIA TODAY INTERNATIONAL - Reporting the Business that Matters in Asia
SINGAPORE – New SWIFT data shows that Singapore’s RMB payments value increased by 375% between March 2013 and March 2014, making Singapore number one in terms of RMB world payments value outside of China and Hong Kong. London overtook Singapore in June 2012, but, since February 2014 has slipped behind.
TAIPEI - The Administration of President Ma Ying-jeou and the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) agreed Sunday to halt construction of Taiwan’s controversial fourth nuclear power plant with immediate effect.
Construction of the plant's nearly completed no. 1 and no. 2 reactors will be halted. The no. 1 reactor, which is currently undergoing safety inspections, will not be brought online once inspections are complete, said Fan Chiang Tai-chi, head of the KMT's Culture and Communication Committee.
SINGAPORE - As Asia-Pacific's economic prominence grows, so does its demand for and trade in energy, with China accounting for a big part of it, according to a new report from Standard & Poor's, which says Asian nations are turning increasingly to energy resources outside to meet their needs. Crude oil, coal, and gas imports in Asia-Pacific have doubled as a percentage of total imports over the 20 years to 2012, S&P says. Although sourcing more for energy outside the region, Asia-Pacific needs for refined petroleum are being met increasingly from within.
SEOUL – South Korea’s GDP rose by 3.9% y/y in Q1, slightly above market expectations. ANZ Bank believes the economy will continue to expand at this pace due to a proactive fiscal policy alongside global economic recovery. “We maintain our forecast that the Korean economy will grow by 3.7% in 2014 and that the output gap will narrow gradually towards the year end,” ANZ says in a research note.
HONG KONG – Manufacturing output and new orders in China both contracted at weaker rates in April, with the HSBC Flash China Manufacturing PMI coming in at 48.3 for April (48.0 in March), a two-month high. And the Flash China Manufacturing Output Index at 48.0 (47.2 in March), also a two-month high.
HONG KONG - Revenue prospects will be increasingly gloomy for China's department stores over the next 12-24 months, according to a report published today by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, which says slower sales growth and intensifying competition have already tightened the profitability of major retailers, which include four companies rated by S&P: Parkson Retail Group, Golden Eagle Retail Group, Intime Retail (Group) Co, and Maoye International Holdings.
WASHINGTON - The US Treasury Department has again said that China cannot be ruled as a currency manipulator, but that the pace of RMB's appreciation has been insufficient. According to the latest US Treasury report, the yuan appreciated by 2.9% against the US dollar in 2013, and China's current account surplus declined to 2.1% of GDP in 2013, down from 2.3% of GDP in 2012 and from a peak of more than 10% in 2007.
BEIJING - While China’s first quarter GDP growth moderated to 7.4% y/y from 7.7% in the previous quarter, in line with expectations, in sequential terms, the slowdown was more pronounced, at 1.4% q/q sa from 1.7% q/q sa in Q4, according to BBVA Bank. “The weak GDP outturn reflects subdued exports,” BBVA said.
TAIPEI – In a strongly-worded editorial, Taiwan’s China Times newspaper asserts that the recent Sunflower Student Movement against a trade-in-services agreement with China has led to an early start of President Ma Ying-jeou's lame duck status - and left the KMT in danger of breaking apart.
NEW DELHI - The BJP-led NDA coalition, of which Narendra Modi is the Prime Ministerial candidate, has increased its lead further in the most recent polls, which now point to a potentially strong, Modi-led Coalition government, even though they will still have to partner with some large regional parties after final results are posted on May 16. In an update on the polling, ANZ Bank says it does seem likely that a BJP-led NDA coalition will form Government.
JAKARTA - In a dramatic turn of events, Indonesian politics finds itself in state of flux ahead of crucial Presidential elections on July 9. Early poll tallies, often a reliable indicator of actual outcomes, of Indonesia’s April 9 Parliamentary elections point towards a likely fragmented make-up in the House of Representatives, one characterised by a hotchpotch of Coalition parties.
BEIJING - The China Securities Regulatory Commission and the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong today announced a pilot plan to allow cross-border stock trading between the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock markets. The trial will begin in six months and enable Mainlanders to invest a maximum of RMB250 billion in Hong Kong stocks through local securities firms or brokers. Hong Kong investors will be able to trade up to RMB 300 billion of A-shares through Hong Kong brokers.
SYDNEY – With the Australian unemployment rate falling to 5.8% in March (market expectation 6.1%) to its lowest level since November last year, HSBC says the next move in interest rates in Australia will be upwards – probably before the end of this year. HSBC says the main message from today’s data is that the labour market is stabilising and the unemployment rate may now have passed its peak.
JAKARTA - Exit polls from Indonesia’s Parliamentary election show a likely win for PDI-P, but with a much narrower margin than recent opinion polls suggested. They suggest that Jokowi’s PDI-P captured about 19% of the vote, while Golkar received 14% and Gerindra 12%. The result was well below recent opinion polls, which suggested PDI-P was gaining about 35-40% of the popular vote. The official results will be published on May 9.
SYDNEY – While welcoming the new Free Trade Agreement between Australia and Japan, the Export Council of Australia says domestic barriers in Australia must be addressed to ensure that Australian producers can take full advantage of the deal. Council Chairman, Ian Murray, is adamant that the Australian Government must cut red and green tape to help facilitate trade.
SINGAPORE – ANZ Bank is now projecting that China’s imports from Australia will increase from the current level of US$99 billion to about US$160 billion by 2020. It says this growth will be facilitated by increasing use of both the renminbi and the Australian dollar in bilateral trade.