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CSCI Morning News Circular - 20180326

1. Macro News

• China reveals US tariff plans. China unveiled plans Friday to impose tariffs on up to $3 billion worth of products from the United States to make up for losses caused by US tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum products. The list tentatively contains seven categories and 128 products.  [China Daily]   
• China implements $10bn worth of infrastructure projects in Bangladesh, says ambassador. China has begun implementing $10 billion worth of infrastructure projects in Bangladesh, said Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Zhang Zuo here on Wednesday at his first press conference since taking office.  [China Daily]   
• Venezuela to Slash Zeroes From Currency Amid Hyperinflation. President Nicolas Maduro announced that Venezuela will lop three zeroes off its bolivar currency with the country’s economy in the throes of quadruple-digit inflation and record shortages of food and medicine.  [Bloomberg]       

1. Industry News

• China to invest 40.5bn yuan in rural power grid upgrades. China will invest a total of 40.5bn ($6.4 billion) in rural power grid upgrades in 26 central and western regions this year, according to an energy official. Of the investment, 12bn yuan will come from the central budget, said Liu Baohua, deputy head of the National Energy Administration.  [China Daily]   
• China Seeks to Limit Loan Growth, Household Debt on Reform Push. China's economic priorities could lead to stable loan growth and lower household debt following this year's gathering of the National People's Congress. China will seek to promote growth in the real economy by encouraging microlending and affordable-housing loans.  [Bloomberg]      
• New listing rules ready in a month. New listing rules in the local bourse may be introduced in a month after inputs from a public consultation are consolidated, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing chief executive Charles Li Xiaojia said. The new rules may pave the way for the listing in Hong Kong of new-economy companies, he said.  [The Standard] 
• Corporate News
• Sinopec Offers Record Dividend as Profit Surges. China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., the world’s biggest refiner, will pay a record-high dividend as its massive fuels and chemical segments helped it post a nearly 10 percent increase in full-year profit.  [Bloomberg]
• Shenhua Profit Rises to 5-Year High as China Curbs Boost Coal. China Shenhua Energy Co., the country’s biggest coal miner, said profit jumped to the highest level since 2012 as robust demand and government efforts to rein in overcapacity helped bolster prices.  [Bloomberg]
• WuXi Biologics to Raise HK$3.99bn From Share Placement. WuXi Biologics to sell 57mn new shares at HK$70 apiece, according to statement to Hong Kong stock exchange. Placement shares represent ~4.66% of enlarged issued share capital. Proceeds to be used for funding future expansion.  [Bloomberg]
• PetroChina Pays Out Full Profit as Oil Rally Counters Writedowns. PetroChina Co. once again rewarded shareholders by paying out its entire net income as dividends. After a surprise payout from its half-year results in August, the company said it will send investors dividends that amount to slightly more than its 22.8bn yuan in 2017 net income. [Bloomberg]
• China Life Full-Year Profit Jumps as Investment Returns Rise. China Life Insurance Co., the nation’s largest life insurer, said profit jumped 69 percent last year as investment returns expanded. Net income rose to 32.3bn yuan ($5.1bn), or 1.13 yuan a share, from 19.13bn, or 0.66 yuan a share, a year earlier.  [Bloomberg] 
• Steve Wynn Sells Remaining Shares; Galaxy Gets 5% Stake. Steve Wynn sold his remaining 8mn shares in Wynn Resorts Ltd. Separately, in a surprise step, Wynn Resorts sold 5.3mn newly issued shares of common stock to Galaxy Entertainment Group. Ltd., giving the competing Macau casino operator an estimated 5% stake in the company.  [Bloomberg] 
• HNA Cuts Stake in Unit That Holds Hilton Shares Worth Billions. HNA Group Co. has quietly offloaded a piece of one of its largest companies. The firm disclosed in a regulatory filing this month that it owns 83 percent of HNA Tourism Group Co., the business that invested billions of dollars in hotel chain Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc.  [Bloomberg] 
• HNA Group Plans to Transfer HKICIM Stake to HNA Infra Investment. HNA Group plans to transfer the shares it holds in its Hong Kong-listed property arm, HKICIM, to Shanghai-listed HNA Infrastructure Investment Group as part of an internal restructuring, according to a Hong Kong exchange filing.  [Bloomberg] 
• PetroChina seeks more ‘Belt and Road’ acquisitions, lifts gas output to feed China’s war on air pollution. PetroChina will step up its acquisition efforts in nations covered by President Xi Jinping’s “Belt and Road Initiative” and boost gas output to meet rising demand stemming from Beijing’s war on pollution, according to its chief.  [SCMP]      
• Longfor sets 200 billion yuan sales target as core profit rises by a quarter. Longfor Properties, China’s eighth largest developer by sales, set its 2018 sales target at 200 billion yuan after posting a 25.9 per cent increase in core net profit last year.  [SCMP]      
• Alibaba is planning a China listing by mid-2018 via the use of Chinese depositary receipts. Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding is planning a mainland listing via depositary receipts that could come as early as the middle of this year, Thomson Reuters unit IFR reported.  [SCMP]        
• Baidu tests autonomous cars. Chinese internet search giant Baidu Inc obtained a license to test its self-driving cars on open roads in Beijing on Thursday, meaning a large-scale commercial use of such vehicles could cruise into people's lives faster than many have expected.  [China Daily]   
• CNPC takes stake in UAE oil concessions. China National Petroleum Corp. has signed two deals to take 10% stakes in two of Abu Dhabi National Oil Co's offshore concessions under a 40-year agreement. CNPC, through its majority-owned listed subsidiary PetroChina, paid 2.1bn dirhams ($575mn) to enter the Umm Shaif and Nasr concession, and 2.2bn dirhams to enter the Lower Zakum concession, according to the company.  [China Daily]  
• State Grid unit eases access steps for clients. State Grid Beijing Electric Power Company has come out with a new power installation service policy that can help small businesses reduce costs and improve efficiency. The company aims to make related procedures simpler and more convenient for small businesses as well as other low-voltage power users, in line with the Beijing municipal government's call for optimizing the local business environment.  [China Daily] 
• China Life Insurance seeks structural investments this year. China Life Insurance Co Ltd. will seek structural investment opportunities this year, betting on quality stocks with huge growth potential and a steady long-term investment return, the company’s top management said on Friday.  [China Daily]
• China Xinhua Education raises HK$1.2b in public float. China Xinhua Education said it aims to raise HK$1.23 billion after pricing its public share offer in Hong Kong at HK$3.26 per share. The company said that the Hong Kong public offering was more than 15 times oversubscribed.  [The Standard]