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CSCI Morning News Circular - 20190219

1. Macro News     

• Thailand’s Economic Growth Accelerates in 4Q. Thailand’s economy grew at a faster pace in the 4Q than the previous three months, as local demand helped to offset a slide in exports. GDP rose 3.7% from a year ago, up from a previously reported 3.3% in the 3Q, the National Economic and Social Development Council said on Monday.  [Bloomberg] 
• Romanian Economic Slowdown Exceeds Estimates as Stimulus Fades. Romania’s economic growth slowed more than estimated as the euro area falloff and a controversial new bank tax hit markets and investment. Romania’s economy grew 4.1 percent in the fourth quarter of last year. That’s less that the 4.4 percent median estimate in a Bloomberg survey.  [Bloomberg] 
• German Economy Stagnated at End 2018, Barely Dodging Recession. Germany’s economy ground to a standstill at the end of 2018, just barely avoiding a recession, and prospects are waning that Europe will see a boost from its powerhouse anytime soon. The fourth-quarter stagnation means the country trailed most of its peers in the euro area, where average growth was just 0.2 percent.  [Bloomberg]

1. Industry News                      

• MIIT Unveils 1st Batch of 106 Subsidized NEV Models. Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced the first batch of new energy vehicles which will be subsidized this year, involving 106 models of 49 automakers. Among which, 98 models are pure electric products.  [AAStocks]
• China sold 2M cars in Jan. China sold 2.02mn passenger vehicles in January, down 17.71% YoY, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers on Monday. Total automobile sales during the same period amounted to 2.37mn units, a drop of 15.8% compared with the same period last year, CAAM added.  [China Daily] 
• Indonesia Says It Plans Rule Changes to Spur Telecom Mergers. Indonesia’s communications minister said he plans to modify local airwave rules to promote consolidation in the country’s mobile-phone industry, prompting shares of some local carriers to surge in Jakarta trading.  [Bloomberg]
• Corporate News5
• Huawei to deply 5G at Shanghai station. Huawei Technologies said it would deploy and ultra-fast 5G wireless network at Shanghai’s Hongqiao railway station by the end of the year, making the station the first in the world where passengers can experience data speed up to 100 times faster than currently available.  [SCMP]
• Tencent Reportedly In Talks to Tip 'Apex Legends' into China's Mkt. Tencent is in talks with Electronic Arts for the introduction of its new game Apex Legends to China's market, South China Morning Post cited sources. Yet, both parties are yet to confirm any cooperation at this juncture, sources said.  [AAStocks]
• Huawei Founder Says U.S. Can’t Crush the Company, BBC Reports. Huawei Technologies Co.’s founder Ren Zhengfei said "there’s no way the U.S. can crush us," according to an interview he gave to BBC. "The world cannot leave us because we are more advanced. Even if they persuade more countries not to use us temporarily, we can always scale things down a bit," he said.  [Bloomberg] 
• New Zealand Says China’s Huawei Hasn’t Been Ruled Out of 5G. New Zealand’s government is holding the door open for China’s Huawei Technologies Co. to help develop the nation’s 5G network, amid concerns the issue is fraying ties between the two nations.  [Bloomberg] 
• TSMC Cuts Sales Outlook After Contamination Hits Chip Output. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. slashed its first-quarter revenue guidance by as much as 5.4 percent as chemical contamination led it to scrap more production than previously expected.  [Bloomberg] 
• HNA Is Said to Mull $1 Billion Sale of Aircraft Maintenance Firm. HNA Group Co. is exploring options for Swiss aircraft- maintenance firm SR Technics including a potential sale. The Chinese group is working with a adviser on the potential disposal, the people said. HNA’s 80% stake in SR Technics could be valued at $700 million to $1 billion.  [Bloomberg] 
• Citigroup Is Said in Talks With Owner of Its Canary Wharf Tower. Citigroup Inc. is in talks with a Middle East-backed private-equity group to buy a tower it leases in London’s Canary Wharf financial district. The U.S. bank is negotiating to buy the 25 Canada Square building from AGC Equity Partners Ltd.  [Bloomberg] 
• China’s Ping An Slashes ETF Costs in Echo of Vanguard’s Approach. Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. is trying the approach that Vanguard Group brought to the U.S., slashing costs for exchange-traded funds. Ping An Fund Management Co., the fund arm, is launching an ETF tracking ChiNext startup stocks with a management fee of 0.15%, a quarter of the average for peer products.  [Bloomberg] 
• China Overseas Grand Oceans Expects 85% YoY Increase in 2018 Net. The company cites increase in recognized revenue from sale of properties, according to statement to Hong Kong stock exchange. The company Company reported HK$1.27b net income for year ended December 2017.  [Bloomberg] 
• StanChart, BNP Among Banks Said to Be Added to Saudi Aramco Bond. Standard Chartered Plc and BNP Paribas SA are among about a dozen banks likely to be added as co-managers for Saudi Aramco’s landmark international bond sale. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Mizuho Financial Group Inc., as well as Samba Financial Group and Gulf International Bank BSC are among those being appointed.  [Bloomberg] 
• Ronshine China Says $390.5M of 2021 Notes Tendered for Exchange. The company expects to issue $392.2m of new notes, incl. capitalized interest, following the exchange offer, according to statement to HK stock exchange. The company will deliver $392.2m in principal amount of new exchange notes and $1.08m in cash in full satisfaction of the exchange consideration to eligible holders whose old notes have been validly tendered and accepted for exchange.  [Bloomberg] 
• R&F Properties: 2018 Consolidated Profit Down c.60% YoY. R&F Properties issued a profit warning, where the Group is expected to record a decrease in its consolidated profit for the year ended 31 Dec 2018 of c.60% annually, mainly attributable to the Group recorded a substantial amount of exceptional bargain purchase gain in connection with its acquisition of hotel assets in 2017 and had fewer exceptional transactions of similar nature in 2018.  [AAStocks] 
• Huawei launches new round of 'Seeds for the Future' project in Banglades. Huawei has launched a new round of its global flagship corporate social responsibility program "Seeds for the Future" to select 10 youngsters from Bangladeshi universities.  [China Daily] 
• Baidu, Ctrip team up in promoting smart tourism. Baidu has partnered with Ctrip to make travel services smarter. Baidu Cloud, the cloud unit of Baidu, will leverage its cloud computing and AI capabilities to help Ctrip improve operational efficiency and customer experience as well as reducing costs, according to an agreement inked earlier this week.  [China Daily]