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CSCI Morning News Circular - 20180918

1. Macro News

• Trump Ramps Up Tariff Pressure With $200 Billion China Hit. The Trump administration will slap a 10 percent tariff on about $200 billion in Chinese goods next week and more than double the rate in 2019, setting up what could be a prolonged trade war between the world’s two biggest economies.  [Bloomberg]    
• Saudi Arabia's Sovereign Wealth Fund Raises $11B Loan. Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund raised an $11bn loan, marking its first-ever borrowing. The loan was larger than initially planned due to strong interest from banks and establishes a core banking group for the Public Investment Fund to work with on future deals.  [Bloomberg]
• Ramaphosa Gives Taste of Plan to Kickstart South African Economy. President Cyril Ramaphosa shared parts of a package of reforms to kickstart an economy that’s in recession with business and labor leaders last week. The measures, already adopted by the cabinet, will “secure confidence in sectors affected by regulatory uncertainty” and cover mining, telecommunications, tourism and transport, the presidency said in a emailed statement.  [Bloomberg]

1. Industry News   

• China’s Central Bank Injects Liquidity Ahead of Upcoming Holiday. China’s central bank injected 265 billion yuan ($38.6 billion) into the financial system Monday via its medium-term lending facility, an instrument it is increasingly relying on to foster easy monetary conditions.  [Bloomberg]   
• Bank of Russia Lifts Rate by 25 bps, Hints Further Rate Hikes in Future. Central Bank of Russia announced last Friday (14 Sep) to lift the rate by 25 bps. The key interest rate will be lifted to 7.5%, making it the first rate hike since late-2014, against the consensus of keeping the rate unchanged for the third time.  [AAStocks] 
• S. Industrial Production Rose in August. U.S. industrial output rose for the third month in a row in August, largely because of strong utility and motor-vehicle production. Industrial production, a measure of factory, mining and utility output, grew a seasonally adjusted 0.4% in August from the prior month, the Federal Reserve said.  [WSJ]   
• Corporate News
• Haidilao Is Said to Raise $963m in H.K. IPO Priced at Top End. Haidilao, China’s biggest hotpot restaurant chain, has raised $963m after pricing its Hong Kong IPO at the top end of a marketed range.The company sold 424.5m shares at HK$17.80 apiece. Shares were offered at HK$14.80 to HK$17.80 each.  [Bloomberg]
• Haidilao’s Hong Kong IPO Retail Portion 4X Oversubscribed. Haidilao International’s Hong Kong IPO retail portion was 4x oversubscribed, Hong Kong Economic Times reports. That compares with Meituan Dianping’s 0.5x over-subscription for its retail offering in Hong Kong.  [Bloomberg]   
• Macau casinos reopen with US$186mn loss as gamblers stayed away during Typhoon Mangkhut’s onslaught. Macau casino stocks retreated after Typhoon Mangkhut forced a 33-hour shutdown of the world’s biggest gambling hub, a halt that’s estimated to cost operators including Sands China and Wynn Macau as much as US$186mn in revenue.  [SCMP]
• Tencent Starts Stringent Real-Name Control on 'Honor of Kings'. Tencents game "Honor of Kings" announced on its official website that it had further upgraded the health system on 15 Sept. All new users of "Honor of Kings" will have to go through the strictest real-name policy at their first registration, whereby the system will have check if the user is a minor, so that it can decide whether to include the account into the anti-addiction system.  [AAStocks]
• Sinopec Corp Plans to Build Oil Refining Plant in Canada. Sinopec Corp plans to build an oil refining plant in Alberta, Canada to strengthen the local demand for crude, Reuters reported. The consultancy firm of the project, Stantec, said Sinopec Corp will join hand with an enterprise in Alberta, CSCEC and Teedrum to process 167,000 bpd of crude oil to gasoline and other oil products, the reported cited. [AAStocks]
• Geely's Volvo Applies to U.S. for Tariff Waive on China-made SUVs. Volvo Cars confirmed that it had submitted an application to the United States Trade Representative for a tariff waive of 25% on XC60 SUVs manufactured in China, Reuters reported. In the application letter, the company claimed the additional 25% tariffs on the medium-sized SUVs will cause enormous economic loss on the company, while the U.S. consumers will suffer the cos.  [AAStocks]
• Geely Injects RMB50M to Establish Co. in Wuhan, Boosts Deployment of New Energy Battery. Cailian Press reported that Geely has contributed RMB50 million capital to set up a new energy company in Wuhan through its subsidiary. Xu Zhihao, Geely's CEO and new chairman, claimed that the purpose of forming a new company is to expedite the deployment of new energy powered battery, report said.  [AAStocks]
• China Eastern Airlines Completes Issue of RMB3B Short-term Debentures. China Eastern Airlines. China Eastern Airlines announced the completion of the issuance of the eighth tranche of ultra short-term debentures for 2018, with an issuance amount of RMB3 billion at an interest rate of 3.2%.  [AAStocks]
• New Higher Edu Invests in Guangxi Schools. New Higher Education said its consolidated affiliated entity Beijing Daai Consulting entered into Equity Transfer and Capital Increase Agreement with Greenwoods Jia Xin Rui Xuan, Li Jianchun, Songming Zhonghe and Songming Xinju to increase equity interest of Songming Xinju held by Beijing Daai Consulting from 45% to 51% and acquisition by Greenwoods Jia Xin Rui Xuan of 39% equity interest in Songming Xinju.  [AAStocks]
• Chalco Approved by SASAC for Acquisition of Assets by Issuance of Shares. Chalco said it received the approval from the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, pursuant to which, the overall plan for the acquisition of assets by issuance of shares of Chalco was in principle approved by the SASAC.  [AAStocks]
• Li eyes UK infrastructure IPO. Victor Li's CK Infrastructure Holdings is considering listing some UK assets through a London initial public offering. CK Infrastructure is speaking with investment banks about the listing of certain UK holdings through a potential multibillion-dollar fund, according to market sources.  [The Standard]
• Shell to Lay Out Targets to Manage Methane Emissions. Royal Dutch Shell PLC said it will announce plans to lay out targets to manage its emissions of the greenhouse gas methane Monday, joining a handful of major oil companies that have made similar pledges this year.  [WSJ]
• Amazon Investigates Employees Leaking Data for Bribes.com Inc. is investigating suspected data leaks and bribes of its employees as it fights to root out fake reviews and other seller scams from its website. Employees of Amazon, primarily with the aid of intermediaries, are offering internal data and other confidential information that can give an edge to independent merchants selling their products on the site.  [WSJ]
• Aviva-COFCO to expand presence in HR management. Aviva-COFCO Life Insurance Co Ltd will continue to build human resources management platform for companies, aiming to expand its business in the employee welfare domain. Aviva-COFCO Life Insurance Co Ltd will continue to build human resources management platform for companies, aiming to expand its business in the employee welfare domain, according to the firm's top management.  [China Daily]