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March
29-March-2009
Top 5 headlines
China
eases foreign debt caps to help trade finance
- After lowering debt quotas in 2007 and 2008 China's State
Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) increased short-term
foreign debt quotas by 12% to $32.9 billion in a measure to ease
trade financing.
- SAFE reduced the quota by 10 percent in 2008, after lowering it
in 2007 over concerns about speculation on yuan appreciation.
- China's exports plunged 25.7% in February from a year earlier,
the fourth straight month of decline, and its trade surplus
narrowed to $4.84 billion from $39.1 billion in January.
China
challenges US global financial leadership
- In the lead up to the April 2 G20 summit on the financial crisis
Zhou Xiaochuan, PBOC governor, made remarks about the superiority
of China's swift reaction to the crisis.
- Zhou called on foreign governments to give their finance
ministers and central bankers broad authority so that they can
"act boldly and expeditiously without having to go through a
lengthy or even painful approval process."
- "So far, China has been playing a game set up by other
powers. Now China wants to be part of the agenda or
rules-setting," said Ding Xueliang, a China expert at Hong
Kong's University of Science and Technology.
Li
& Fung says cost of Chinese goods falling
- Hong Kong-based Li & Fung said export prices for Chinese
manufactured goods began to fall in the second half but stayed
flat for all of 2008. Bruce Rockowitz, president of Li &
Fung’s trading arm noted that prices were down “at least 5-10%t”
compared to 2008.
- The value of China’s exports fell 25.7% year-on-year in
February, exacerbating a 17.5% decline in January.
- Despite a 20 per cent increase in turnover, to HK$110.7bn
($14.2bn), Li & Fung on Wednesday reported a 21 per cent
decline in net profit, to HK$2.42bn, for 2008. Mr Fung attributed
the profit fall to “one-off” events including HK$254m in
restructuring costs at companies it has recently acquired,
especially in the US.
Australia
rejects China bid for OZ Minerals
- Australia rejected a bid by Chinese state-owned firm, Minmetals,
to takeover OZ Minerals in a deal that would have been worth $1.7
billion.
- The key concern was national security concerns, in particular OZ
Minerals' "Prominant Hill copper-gold mine" which is
very near the Woomera weapons-testing range.
- Other China-Australia mining deals include Fortescue's agreement
to sell a 16.5% stake to China's Hunan Valin Iron and Steel, and a
$19.5 billion tie-up between Chinese state-owned aluminium firm
Chinalco and Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto; both of which are
awaiting government approval.
Shell
Hopes To Finish Feasibility Study For China Refinery In 09
- Lim Haw-Kuang, the executive chairman of Shell Companies in
China noted that Royal Dutch Shell hopes to finish the feasibility
study of a JV refinery and petrochemical complex with PetroChina
Co. (PTR) and the international arm of Qatar Petroleum by the end
of this year
- The CAPEX for this project will hit $4.1 billion and the
refining capacity will exceed 10 million tons per year, according
to an earlier report from China Business News.
- Shell and Qatar Petroleum International will each have 24.5%
stakes in the refinery and petrochemical facility, with PetroChina
having majority control of a 51% interest.
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