Thursday, February 28 2019 | ASIA TODAY INTERNATIONAL - Reporting the Business that Matters in Asia
SINGAPORE - Concerns over a slowdown in China and the Asian region more broadly have sparked the largest foreign equity outflows in a month since August 2011. The region's debt markets fared better, managing to attract inflows. However, the previous strong inflows into the Chinese debt market came to a halt in October.
SHENZHEN - Tencent and Shangri-La Group have signed a strategic partnership which will focus initially on developing and deploying Smart Hotel solutions to transform hotel operations and services for Shangri-La.
Future collaboration will expand across various businesses within the Shangri-La Group worldwide.
The partnership will help drive technology innovation and business transformation of traditional industry models and enhance service quality and guest experience for hotel operators.
SINGAPORE - United Overseas Bank Limited (UOB) and Grab have entered a strategic alliance to accelerate the use of digital services in ASEAN. The alliance will enable UOB to deliver financial services to Grab's ASEAN-wide user base and to accelerate the Bank's efforts to service the region's fast-growing 'mobile-first' and 'mobile-only' consumers.
SHANGHAI - Companies will now be able to use all funds raised from private share placements to buffer operating capital and meet debt repayments, as the Chinese Government looks to give momentum to its cash-starved private sector.
HONG KONG - Natixis says its China Capital Flow Tracker shows China's net outflows have further widened in Q3 2018 to US$73 billion. Given 92% of the outflows were denominated in US dollars, Natixis says, China could face higher pressure in its slow and steady accumulation of foreign reserves in the future.
SYDNEY - Winners of the National Hong Kong-Australia Business Awards for 2018 are ROBAM Appliances Co Ltd (QLD), Import of Goods/Services of The Year award; Australian Institute of Company Directors ( NSW), Export of Goods/Services of The Year award; AGRIFresh Pty Ltd (WA), Business Excellence; and BGI International Pty Ltd (QLD), Business Development.
SHANGHAI - ECG, a China-based eCommerce technology company trading in China and Australia as eCargo, is to acquire 85% of Metcash's China export business.
Metcash supplies and supports more than 10,000 independent retailers and over 90,000 wholesale customers across the food, grocery, liquor and hardware industries in Australia and a number of supermarkets and retail groups in China.
It also operates cross-border e-Commerce stores in key platforms of Alibaba's Tmall Global and JD Worldwide.
KUALA LUMPUR - Encapsulated in three focus areas, including implementation of institutional reforms, ensuring the well-being of people and nurturing a culture of entrepreneurship, the broader direction of Malaysia's 2019 Budget is positive, according to ANZ Bank.
SHANGHAI - Australian businesses are confident that their specialist expertise will appeal to Chinese consumers, understand that distribution partnerships and e-commerce platforms are the key to success in this market and are targetting the growing spending power of consumers aged under 40.
MANILA - A recent softening in food and fuel prices indicate that inflation in the Philippines is nearing an inflection point, according to an ANZ Bank research note, which says the Government's decision to suspend the fuel excise tax increase in 2019 and the likely passage of the rice tariffication bill bode well for the economy.
HONG KONG - In a new research note, French banking group Natixis says China's economic slowdown is more likely to be a result of domestic issues (such as lower returns on capital) than on external shocks. It says that while the market tends to attribute slower growth to the US-China trade war, the ironic reality is that, in the third quarter, China's exports continued to gain ground, even into the U.S. market.
TAIPEI - Taiwan improved two spots to 13th among 190 economies worldwide and fifth in the Asia-Pacific, according to the World Bank's Doing Business 2019 report. Scoring 80.9 out of 100, up 0.24 of a point from the previous edition, Taiwan finished ahead of regional neighbours Malaysia, 15th; Australia, 18th; and Japan, 39th, but trailed New Zealand, first; Singapore, second; Hong Kong, fourth; and South Korea, fifth.
JAKARTA - Indonesia's growth slowed slightly from 5.27% y/y in Q2 to 5.17% in Q3, broadly in line with expectations. Investment was a key driver of growth, with its pace of expansion picking up from 5.86% y/y in Q2 to 6.96% in Q3. Government consumption growth also accelerated during the same period.
SEOUL - South and North Korea on November 1 officially ceased all hostile acts against each other on land, sea and air in accordance with their bilateral military agreement signed on September. The South Korean Government described the move as a milestone in removing the threat of war on the Korean Peninsula.
SEOUL - Higher export volumess of high-value added goods along with exports from new industries have puit South Korea on track to achieve a record high of US$600 billion in exports this year.
TAIPEI - The external tailwind for Taiwan's economic growth is fading, with exports decelerating to 3.1% YoY in Q3 2018, a big fall from 11.2% last quarter. In addition, imports are increasing as Taiwanese companies push for investment, especially in machinery.