Sunday, March 24 2019 | ASIA TODAY INTERNATIONAL - Reporting the Business that Matters in Asia
PERTH - A Sydney company which has invested around US$120 million in two new nickel pig iron production lines in Indonesia, and is Australia's newest listed nickel company, says it expects the new plant to start commissioning by end of June next year.
HONG KONG - The world's longest sea crossing, the 55 km Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge, has been opened today by China's President, Xi Jinping, in a eremony at Zhuhai. The bridge connects the eastern and western sides of the Pearl River Delta. (ATI).
BEIJING - China's State newsagency, Xinhua, says the Foreign Ministry has refuted allegations that China uses "debt diplomacy" to expand its influence globally, and has urged the United States to correctly view China's co-operation with developing countries.
HONG KONG - September economic indicators for China reported today show Q3 GDP growth slowing to 6.5% y/y from 6.7% y/y in the previous quarter suggesting that the Chinese economy further moderated amid escalation of the trade war with the US and domestic deleveraging.
HONG KONG - China's GDP growth slowed to a post-global financial crisis low of 6.5% y/y in Q3, and is expected to moderate further in Q4, according to ANZ Bank's base scenario. China's GDP growth has tended to be weaker in Q3 in the past three years.
In a research note, ANZ says the 1.6% q/q growth registered in the quarter makes it the slowest Q3 since 2015, suggesting an actual decline in economic activity which cannot be explained by seasonality.
PARIS - In a report published today, global credit insurer Coface said increased protectionism is affecting a large number of economies - both advanced and emerging. It says use of import tariffs by the US has doubled since 2009, with a sharp increase between 2016 and 2018. Nevertheless, these tariffs still only account for one-sixth of protectionist measures in place worldwide, Coface says.
NEW DELHI – Prime Minister Narendra Modi has told the first Assembly of the International Solar Alliance to be held here that India is targetting 40% of electricity generation from non-fossil fuel-based resources by 2030 as it looks to tap vast solar and wind potential to replace reliance on coal.
HONG KONG – ANZ Bank says the jump in China’s exports in September suggests a strong front-loading effect ahead of the implementation of an additional US$200 billion of tariffs, and says it will watch for downside risks to China’s exports in Q4.
TAIPEI – In her Double Ten National Day address, Taiwan’s President, Tsai Ing-wen, has vowed to build a stronger Taiwan by boosting national security, economic competitiveness and the social safety net. In the face of dramatic changes in international politics and economics, and the expansion of China’s influence, Taiwan would pursue a strategy of stability, adaptability and progress rooted in national strength, Tsai said.
SINGAPORE - Recent global interest rate increases, followed by market turmoil, have raised concerns about potential liquidity problems spreading across emerging market (EM) sovereigns, but ratings agency Standard and Poor’s does not expect problems to spread across the emerging market asset class as a whole.
SINGAPORE – The online grocery segment is set to grow at a cumulative annual rate of 17.7% worldwide between 2017 to 2022, according to food processing and packaging solutions provider Tetra Pak.
NEW DELHI - India’s savings rate is falling and its composition has taken a turn for the worse, according to a research report by ANZ Bank. It says the fall is attributable to sluggish income growth, a development that has been reinforced by the demonetisation exercise in late 2016.
MELBOURNE – In a research note issued today, ANZ Bank says the decline of the Australian dollar looks set to extend. ANZ now expects it to slip below US$0.70 early in 2019.
BEIJING - Despite new challenges and changes in the external environment, the Chinese economy is on a solid footing to maintain a stable and positive outlook, said Ning Jizhe, Dputy Head of China’s National Development and Reform Commission and Head of the National Bureau of Statistics.
NOIDA, India - CIMIC Group company Leighton Asia has been selected by developer Bayaweaver Ltd. as its Alliance partner to construct the ‘Oh My God’ mixed use development project in Noida, India.
SEOUL - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s visit to North Korea has helped create an atmosphere and conditions for a second U.S.-North Korea summit to be held at an early date, according to South Korea’s President, Moon Jae-in. “A new order is about to take shape on the Korean Peninsula and this will lead to a new order in Northeast Asia,” he told a weekly Cabinet meeting.