FREE

CSCI Morning News Circular - 20180427

1. Macro News

• China Eases Grip on Outflows, Lifts Outbound Investing Quota. China granted additional quota for funds to invest in securities overseas for the first time in three years, easing capital curbs and further opening its $40 trillion financial sector.  [Bloomberg]   
• China's SOE profits grow at slower pace. Profits at China's state-owned enterprises continued steady growth in the first quarter, but at a slower pace, data showed Thursday. Combined profits amounted to 711.04bn yuan ($112.9bn) for January-March, up 16.7% YoY, according to the Ministry of Finance.  [China Daily]    
• China-India bilateral trade volume jumps 15.4% in Q1. China's trade with India saw robust growth in the first quarter, with bilateral trade hitting $22.1bn, up 15.4% YoY, official data showed Thursday. The growth continued from the upward momentum seen last year, when bilateral trade reached a record high of $84.4bn, up 20.3% YoY.  [China Daily] 

1. Industry News

• Strategic plan and CEO’s contract top priorities in first 100 days for new HK exchange chief Laura Cha. Laura Cha Shih May-lung, the newly elected chairwoman of HK Exchanges and Clearing, has identified the next three-year strategic plan as well as chief executive Charles Li Xiaojia’s contract renewal as top priorities during her first 100 days in office. [SCMP]     
• China Is Said to Mull Cutting Car Import Duty by About Half. China is considering cheaper rates of import duty on passenger cars as part of the government’s plan to further open up the automobile market. The State Council, or China’s cabinet, is weighing proposals to reduce the levy on imported cars to 10 percent or 15 percent.  [Bloomberg]
• China to pilot real estate investment trusts, moves a step closer to US$1.8 trillion market. China moved a step closer to standard real estate investment trusts (Reits) on Wednesday, after the government said it would pilot a product to support the residential leasing market, kick starting a market that could potentially be worth US$1.8 trillion.  [SCMP]     
• Corporate News
• Investors in mad scramble for margin loans as US$1.12b Good Doctor IPO lights up market. The margin loans extended to retail investors easily outstrips the shares on offer and has far surpassed the HK$12.5 billion extended to investors for China Literature’s IPO last November.  [SCMP]  
• Ping An’s Good Doctor Is Said to Price $1.1b IPO at Top End. Ping An’s Good Doctor has raised $1.1b after pricing its Hong Kong IPO at the top end of a marketed range. The company sold 160m shares at HK$54.80 apiece. Shares were offered at HK$50.80 to HK$54.80 each, according to terms for the deal obtained earlier by Bloomberg.  [Bloomberg]  
• HNA’s Record Bond Rally Has ANZ Saying ‘Sell’ as Repayments Loom. HNA Group Co.’s bonds are rebounding as the Chinese conglomerate steps up asset sales. But its debt remains large despite efforts to pay it down, prompting some observers to recommend selling the notes.  [Bloomberg]  
• Las Vegas Sands Beats Estimates on Macau, Singapore Strength. Las Vegas Sands Corp., the casino operator controlled by billionaire Sheldon Adelson, said first-quarter sales and profit rose as the company’s newest casino in Macau continued to draw gamblers and results in Singapore soared.  [Bloomberg]
• China Shipbuilding Industry Group posted First Quarter Net Income of 207 Million Yuan. China Shipbuilding Industry Group reported net income for the first quarter of 207 million yuan, with 1Q revenue of 5.06 billion yuan.  [Bloomberg]  
• China DNA Giant’s Equipment Arm Said to Seek $1 Billion Funding. BGI Genomics Co., the listed arm of the world’s biggest DNA-sequencing group, is seeking to raise about $1 billion selling a stake in its equipment unit ahead of a planned initial public offering of the business.  [Bloomberg]  
• Bank Indonesia Sees Rate Hike as Last Resort to Support Rupiah. Indonesia’s central bank is bracing for more market turbulence, but doesn’t plan on lifting interest rates to protect the rupiah. Bank Indonesia will instead continue favoring market intervention to boost the currency, Deputy Governor Dody Budi Waluyo said in an interview.  [Bloomberg]
• Hormel Is Said to Mull Bid for $600 Million Chinese Wasabi Maker. Hormel Foods Corp.is among suitors studying potential bids for Chinese condiment producer Jiahao Foods. Chinese buyout firm Citic Capital is also weighing an offer for Jiahao ahead of the Friday deadline for first-round bids.  [Bloomberg]  
• Volkswagen, partners to invest 15bn euros in developing electric vehicles. Volkswagen Group China and its JV partners will invest 15bnn euros (c.$18.3bn) in developing NEVs and automated driving by 2020. It plans to roll out 15 new car models in China by 2020, and launch 40 NEV models for the Chinese market by the end of 2025.  [China Daily] 
• Ctrip, Boom Supersonic partner to bring supersonic travel to China. China's leading online travel agency Ctrip said it has made a strategic investment in supersonic airplane developer Boom Supersonic. The two companies are working together to bring supersonic flight to China, according to a statement from Ctrip.  [China Daily] 
• JD expands in cloud computing market. JD Cloud, the cloud unit of e-commerce site JD, will accelerate steps to expand its presence in the burgeoning cloud computing market. In future, JD Cloud will continue to promote technological innovations to offer highly efficient, stable and secure cloud computing services and solutions to clients and partners.  [China Daily] 
• Nissan to introduce 20 new electric models to China within five years. Japanese automaker Nissan will launch 20 new electric vehicles in China in the next five years, the company announced at the on-going Beijing International Automotive Exhibition.  [China Daily] 
• Sany Group to invest billions in new heavy truck production bases. Sany Group Co Ltd, China's leading machinery equipment maker, will invest billions of yuan in constructing five heavy truck production bases by 2019, and to road test autonomous ones this year, said executive.  [China Daily] 
• Disney emphasizes China roots in Shanghai. Walt Disney Co. stressed its deep China connections as it opened an extension of Shanghai’s US$5.5bn Disney Resort on Thursday amid escalating tensions over trade and technology between Beijing and Washington.  [The Standard]    
• China Overseas Land and Investment quarterly profit climbs. China Overseas Land and Investment (0688) saw its operating profit gaining 5.7 percent to HK8.24 billion in the first three months this year compared with the same period of 2017. Its revenue was HK$27.64 billion.  [The Standard]
• ZTE sees trade spat as motive for US ban. A company representative of ZTE Corp. suggested the trade dispute with Beijing may have been a factor in last week's U.S. order banning American firms from selling goods to the smartphone maker, according to a person familiar with the call, Reuters reports.  [The Standard]
• HKEX Appoints Laura M Cha as Chairman. The Hong Kong Exchange and Clearing announced yesterday (26 April) for the appointment of Cha May-Lung, Laura as the Chairman of the Board for a term to be coterminous with her directorship.  [AAStocks]