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CSCI Morning News Circular - 20180412

1. Macro News

• IMF chief Christine Lagarde expresses concern over rising global debt levels, including China’s. The head of the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday that global debt, including that of China, had soared to 220 per cent of global output, a staggering level that did not bode well for member economies.  [SCMP] 
• China pledges to open up financial markets amid threat of US trade. China’s central bank unveiled a slew of measures to open up its financial sector to foreign investment on Wednesday, as Beijing tries to paint itself as an open economy and a key backer of free trade and globalisation amid a looming trade war with the United States.  [SCMP] 
• China's CPI up 2.1%, PPI 3.1 in March. China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, rose 2.1 percent year-on-year in March, the National Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday. The producer price index (PPI), which measures costs for goods at the factory gate, rose 3.1 percent year-on-year in March.  [China Daily]

1. Industry News

• China Aims for Shanghai-London Trading Link This Year. China is aiming to start a stock trading tie-up between Shanghai and London this year, according to a top official, creating a system that would give investors in the world’s most populous country direct access to shares listed in the U.K.  [Bloomberg]    
• China to Boost Mainland-Hong Kong Stock Connect Quota. China to raise Shanghai-Hong Kong daily southbound quota under stock connect program to 42b yuan from 10.5b yuan starting May 1, People’s bank of China Governor Yi Gang says at a panel discussion during Boao Forum.  [Bloomberg]    
• Passenger vehicles sales rebound in March. China's passenger vehicles sales rebounded in March after a dip the previous month, industry data showed. About 2.02 million passenger vehicles were sold last month, up 3.3 percent year-on-year, according to the China Passenger Car Association.  [The Standard]    
• Corporate News
• Cathay Pacific passengers to be squeezed into smaller seats but at least the screens are bigger. Passengers on some Cathay Pacific Airways flights will face narrower economy class seats from as early as this month as HK’s biggest carrier squeezes in more people to boost profits. The move is expected to add HK$700mn to Cathay’s bottom line annually when its refit is completed, helping the airline recover from two years of back-to-back losses.  [SCMP] 
• China's Ant Financial plans to raise funds at US$150bn valuation ahead of initial public offering. China’s Ant Financial Services Group is in talks with investors to raise at least US$8 billion in its next planned round of funding, potentially valuing the company at about US$150 billion ahead of an expected stock market flotation.  [SCMP] 
• Great Wall Motors, Baidu partner in self-driving. Chinese automaker Great Wall Motors announced Tuesday it will work with internet giant Baidu in intelligent connected vehicles, self-driving technology, shared vehicles and big data. The two companies signed a strategic cooperation memorandum on Monday.  [China Daily]
• Sunny time for handset lens shipments. Sunny Optical Technology (2382), a supplier of lenses to Apple, said its shipment volume of handset lens sets increased by 50.6 percent in March from a year ago, while the volume rose 11.3 percent from February.  [The Standard] 
• Sinopharm Loses $2.6 Billion in Value After Shock Profit Warning. Sinopharm Group Co. plunged by a record in Hong Kong, erasing $2.6 billion in value, after saying its profit fell about 30 percent in the first quarter. The Shanghai-based drugmaker closed down 17 percent,leading losses on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index. [Bloomberg]    
• Singapore’s Temasek Considers Stakes in HNA Units Swissport and Gategroup. Temasek Holdings Pte is studying potential investments in Swissport Group and Gategroup Holding AG, both owned by HNA Group Co., as it considers deals with the indebted Chinese conglomerate.  [Bloomberg]   
• Baidu-Backed Qeeka Home Files Hong Kong Pre-Listing Documents. Qeeka Home, an interior design and construction online platform in China, files pre-listing documents with the Hong Kong stock exchange, according to the filing.  [Bloomberg]   
• CICC Says Central Huijin to Sell 9.5% of Its Shares. Central Huijin published information about the sale of 398.5mn CICC domestic shares on the website of Beijing Financial Assets Exchange with appraised value of 5.05bn yuan and quoted price of 5.41b yuan, CICC says in filing to Hong Kong stock exchange.  [Bloomberg]   
• Columbia Sportswear to Buy Rest of China JV From Swire. Columbia Sportswear intends to acquire the remaining 40% stake in Columbia Sportswear Commercial (Shanghai) Co., a JV with Swire Resources, owned by Swire Pacific Ltd, acording to statement.  [Bloomberg]   
• China Vanke Unit Increases MTN Program to $7bn From $4.4bn. Application has been made to Hong Kong stock exchange for the listing of the medium term note program for the 12 months after April 10, according to statement to Hong Kong stock exchange.  [Bloomberg]   
• HNA Postpones Swissport Sale, Shelving Second IPO in 2 Weeks. HNA Group Co. is postponing a planned share sale in its aircraft ground-handling company Swissport Group, roughly two weeks after abandoning a similar plan for its Swiss airline caterer Gategroup Holding AG.  [Bloomberg] 
• Solar Giant to Build $1.4bn Plant on China Clean Air Push. GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Ltd. plans to build a 9bn yuan ($1.4bn) manufacturing plant in China amid a government push toward cleaner energy. The facility will have the capacity to produce 20 gigawatts of monosilicon ingots a year, GCL-Poly said in a statement to the HK stock exchange. [Bloomberg]
• Ping An Spends $1bn a Year on R&D, Says Innovation Officer. Pure R&D spending is about 1% of co. revenue, Jonathan Larsen, chief innovation officer, said. The company is recruiting talent in Silicon Valley through local office. It is also seeking technology partnerships around the world.  [Bloomberg]
• WeDoctor: To Complete Pre-listing Financing by End-Apr; Not Rule out Deep Cooperation with Tencent. WeDoctor Chief Strategy Officer Chen Hongzhe said that the ongoing pre-listing financing of the group is believed to be completed at end-April and has confirmed strategic investor(s). As to whether Tencent will add stake in WeDoctor, Chen said the negotiation is underway, but did not rule out deeper cooperation between the company and Tencent.  [AAStocks]
• China Resources Power March Total Net Generation of Subsidiary Power Plants Down 1.5% YoY. China Resources Power announced that total net generation of subsidiary power plants in March 2018 decreased by 1.5% to 12.3544mn MWh for the same period of 2017.  [AAStocks]