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CSCI Morning News Circular - 20180413

1. Macro News

• Bank chief tells of HK belt and road funds role. Beijing would work with international organisations, commercial lenders and leading financial centres such as Hong Kong and London to diversify funding sources for its massive international infrastructure drive, the “Belt and Road Initiative”, PBOC’s governor Yi Gang said.  [SCMP]     
• China 1Q Economic Data Bode Well for 2018 Growth, PBOC’s Yi Says. People’s Bank of China Governor Yi Gang said economic indicators have performed better than expected in the first quarter, amid continued improvement in the global economic outlook.  [Bloomberg] 
• Bank of Korea Holds Interest Rate as Inflation Trails Target. The Bank of Korea left its key interest rate unchanged on Thursday, as inflation remains below target and global trade disputes cloud the outlook for its export-dependent economy.  [Bloomberg]

1. Industry News

• China Regulator Held Meeting on New QDII Quota. State Administration of Foreign Exchange held meeting with fund management companies, brokerages, insurers and banks on adding Qualified Domestic Institutional Investors quota, Securities Times reports. New QDII quotas will be calculated based on size of non-currency funds, and previous quota utilization will also be considered.  [Bloomberg]    
• China Is Said to Consider Easing Curbs on Index Futures. China is considering a relaxation of stock-index futures trading curbs that were introduced during the nation’s 2015 market crash. Officials have drafted a proposal that would allow institutional investors with so-called non-hedging accounts to open new positions in as many as 100 contracts a day before they are deemed to be engaged in “abnormal trading,”.  [Bloomberg]    
• Caps on foreign ownership eased in life insurance JVs. China will lift foreign ownership restrictions in the life insurance sector in three years and raise foreign ownership limits to 51 percent in joint-venture life insurance firms by the end of June, a top regulatory official said.  [China Daily]    
• Corporate News
• Chinese online medical platform Ping An Healthcare and Technology to raise US$1b from Hong Kong IPO. Ping An Healthcare and Technology is to raise US$1bn from an IPO in Hong Kong and will be traded in early May, after it got a verbal go-ahead by the city’s bourse, sources said on Thursday.  [SCMP]    
• China State Construction Corp. Full Year Net Income 32.9 billion Yuan. China State Construction Corp. reported net income for the full year of 32.9 billion yuan. FY revenue came in at 1.05 trillion yuan and EPS at 1.05 yuan. Final dividend per share is 21.5RMB cents.  [Bloomberg] 
• Toshiba Is Said Likely to Miss Deadline for China Chip Approval. Toshiba Corp. is likely to miss the second deadline for winning approval from China regulators for the $19bn sale of its memory chip unit, possibly delaying a deal aimed at raising capital for future investments.  [Bloomberg] 
• Tencent-Backed WeDoctor Is Said to Win AIA, New World as Backers. WeDoctor, the online healthcare platform backed by Tencent Holdings Ltd., has drawn insurer AIA Group Ltd. and Hong Kong conglomerate New World Development Co. to a latest funding round that values the startup at $5.5bn.  [Bloomberg]
• Tencent, China Resources to Cooperate on Smart Cities. Tencent and China Resources Group to cooperate on smart city solutions, real estate management, healthcare, big data and retails, Hong Kong Economic Times reports, citing a strategic agreement between the two companies.  [Bloomberg]
• Moody's upgrades Yanzhou Coal to Ba3; outlook stable. Moody's Investors Service has upgraded to Ba3 from B1 the corporate family rating of Yanzhou Coal Mining Company Limited. Moody's has also upgraded to Ba3 from B1 the senior unsecured debt rating on the bonds issued by Yancoal Int'l Resources Development Co., Ltd and guaranteed by Yanzhou Coal.  [Bloomberg]
• Moody's upgrades Times China's corporate family rating to Ba3; outlook stable. Moody's Investors Service has upgraded Times China Holdings Limited's corporate family rating (CFR) to Ba3 from B1. At the same time, Moody's has upgraded the senior unsecured rating on the bonds issued by Times China to B1 from B2.  [Bloomberg]
• Tencent's $50bn Plunge Isn't Enough to Scare Analysts. The Asian social media colossus has bled more than $50bn of value since warning on March 21 of dwindling margins. The 53 analysts who cover Asia’s largest stock are mostly standing firm. The gap between its shares and their average price target has ballooned to more than 20%.  [Bloomberg] 
• Hong Kong in the running to host three Kazakh state IPOs. Samruk-Kazyna, Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund, is planning IPOs for three of its major assets this year, and Hong Kong is being viewed as a strong choice as the potential venue.  [SCMP]
• Foxconn bullish on future of 8K displays. Electronics manufacturing giant Foxconn Technology Group has high hopes for its 8K display ecosystem, especially in the security, healthcare and manufacturing industries, according to a senior executive of the firm.  [China Daily]
• Mexican airline Interjet seeks cooperation with China's Hainan Airlines. The third largest Mexican airline Interjet announced on Wednesday it is seeking an alliance with China's Hainan Airlines in the second half of 2018 to attract more tourists from Asia.  [China Daily]
• Dutch dairy giant plans big in China. Dutch global dairy giant Royal FrieslandCampina plans to invest 100mn euros in the China market this year, its CEO Hein Schumacher said in Beijing. The investment will be used to expand the production and sales channels of Friso, its high-end infant and toddler formula brand, and further expand its sales in smaller Chinese cities.  [China Daily]
• Sa Sa International 4Q Turnover Up 14.4% year on year. Sa Sa International announced that the turnover of retail and wholesale for the fourth quarter from 1 January 2018 to 31 March 2018 grew 14.1% year on year to $2.289 billion.  [AAStocks] 
• Stella Holdings 1Q Revenue Down 4% to USD294.6mn. Stella Holdings announced that for the three months ended 31 March 2018, the unaudited consolidated revenue of the Group was USD294.6 million, representing a decrease of approximately 4% as compared to the corresponding period of last year.  [AAStocks] 
• Galaxy Entertainment (00027.HK) President Michael Mecca May Join Board. Galaxy Entertainment announced for the nomination of Michael Mecca to join the Board and the appointment of Ted Chan as Chief Operating Officer - Japan Development.  [AAStocks]
• Changan Automobile-Tencent JV Develops Car Networking Platform. Changan Automobile announced that it proposed to increase capital of RMB98mn in its wholly owned subsidiary. The subsidiary will then contribute RMB98mn for a JV with a company of Tencent, which will also contribute RMB102mn in the JV.  [AAStocks]