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CSCI Morning News Circular - 20190621

1. Macro News     

• Bank of Japan keeps policy on hold despite Fed’s dovish tilt. The Bank of Japan has shrugged off US Fed Reserve’s shift to a dovish stance as it kept monetary policy on hold at its June meeting. By a majority vote of 7-2, the Japanese central bank kept interest rates at minus 0.1%, maintained its cap on ten-yr bond yields at around zero and pledged to keep buying govt. bonds at a pace of ¥8otn ($743bn) a year.  [FT]
• Brazil Central Bank Keeps Benchmark Rate Unchanged at 6.5%, In-line. The Central Bank of Brazil announced that the committee voted unanimously to hold the benchmark interest rate steady at a record-low of 6.5% for the 10th straight meeting, consistent with consensus.  [AAStocks]     
• Philippine Central Bank Holds Key Rate After Inflation Quickens. The Philippines central bank kept its benchmark interest rate steady, holding off from further policy easing after inflation quickened last month. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas maintained the overnight reverse repurchase rate at 4.5%, it said in a statement in Manila on Thursday.  [Bloomberg]     

1. Industry News                       

• Chinese Regulator Said to Suspend Some Developers’ Bond Sales. The National Association of Financial Market Institutional Investors has since last week suspended bond issuance from some of the nation’s developers via window guidance, according to people familiar with the matter.  [Bloomberg]     
• New class of active managed ETFs debuts in Hong Kong, as CICC rolls out US money market fu Asset managers have started selling active exchange-traded funds in Hong Kong, led by the asset management unit of China Int’l Capital Corporation, which debuted on Tuesday a US$120mn money market fund listed on the city’s stock exchange.  [SCMP]
• MOF Successfully Issues RMB5B Sovereign Bonds in HK. The Ministry of Finance has successfully issued RMB5bn of Renminbi Sovereign Bonds in HK. Among which, RMB4.5bn of bonds was issued to institutional investors through a competitive tender, comprising 2-yr bonds of RMB3.5bnn and 5-yr bonds of RMB1bn.  [AAStocks]     
• Corporate News
• China’s WeDoctor shelves overseas listing over data concerns. Tencent-backed WeDoctor is backpedaling on plans to list overseas, according to people familiar with the Chinese healthtech group’s thinking, as international disclosure requirements start to weigh on data-heavy companies.  [FT]
• HSBC becomes one of WeWork’s biggest tenants. WeWork has struck one of its biggest European deals, with HSBC agreeing to lease more than a thousand desks in London at what the shared office provider says will be the world’s largest co-working space.  [FT]
• China National Gold Said to Study Bid for Canada’s Iamgold. China National Gold Group Corp., the nation’s second-biggest miner of the metal, is studying a bid for a stake in Canada’s Iamgold Corp., people familiar with the matter said. Iamgold shares jumped the most in more than four years.  [Bloomberg]     
• Apple Warns of iPhone Tariff Risks as China Supply Chain Exposed. Apple Inc. urged the Trump administration not to proceed with tariffs of as much as 25% on a new slate of products imported from China, saying it would reduce the company’s contribution to the U.S. economy.  [Bloomberg]     
• Apple said to ask suppliers, including Foxconn, to explore major shift out of China to Southeast Asia. Apple has asked its largest suppliers to consider the feasibility of shifting 15 to 30 per cent of its output from China to Southeast Asia in a dramatic shake-up of its production chain, the Nikkei [SCMP]
• Alibaba joins hands with Yiwu to build a trading platform for SMEs. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd is taking its electronic World Trade Platform to fresh heights by cooperating with another Chinese city in an initiative to lower barriers to global trade for small- and medium-sized enterprises via e-commerce.  [China Daily]
• Sinopec starts building Qingdao-Nanjing gas pipeline. The Qingdao-Nanjing gas pipeline, owned by China Petroleum and Chemical Corp, the world's largest refiner by volume, started construction on June 14, which will ensure sufficient gas supply in the country's eastern parts, said the company.  [China Daily]
• Tencent to shift into movie production. Tencent Pictures, the motion picture business of Tencent Hldgs Ltd, is looking to be involved in the production and distribution of around 100 movies and TV series in the next 3-5 years as the internet giant banks on digital technology to bolster what is soon expected to be the world's top movie market.  [China Daily]
• Hainan Airlines to expand global network. Hainan Airlines Holding Co Ltd, China's fourth-largest carrier and the largest private airline, is launching more flights to international destinations from second-tier cities as part of the efforts to expand its network.  [China Daily]
• SAIC Motor to set up Egypt JV. Chinese major automaker SAIC Motor announced on late Monday plans to set up a manufacturing joint venture in Egypt. The move marks the company's official entrance in the African country, a sign of its accelerated steps in global expansion.  [China Daily]
• Sa Sa annual profit climbs to HK$471m. Cosmetics retailer Sa Sa International said net profit for the year ended March 31, increased by 6.96 percent from a year ago to HK$471 million. Total turnover from continuing operations increased by 4.5 percent from last year to HK$8.38 billion.  [The Standard]
• HSBC Keeps Best Lending Rate Unchanged at 5.125%. HSBC announced that the Best Lending Rate of the Bank will be put at 5.125% on hold. Meanwhile, the interest rate granted to HKD saving deposit accounts will also be kept unchanged.   [AAStocks]
• Alibaba, Yiwu Govt Seal Strategic Cooperation Deal. Alibaba and the Yiwu government signed an Electronic World Trade Platform (eWTP) strategic cooperation agreement to facilitate the digitization of commercial infrastructure in Yiwu, the world's largest small commodity wholesale market, and explore new rules and new models of trade.  [AAStocks]
• China Dongxiang 15M Net Profit RMB870M; Final with Spec. DPS 2.45 Fen. China Dongxiang announced the results for the fifteen months ended 31 March 2019. Net profit amounted to RMB866 million, down 27.2% yearly. EPS equaled 14.91 fen. Final DPS was 1.96 fen, together with special final DPS of 0.49 fen.
• China Mobile 4G Net Addition 4.99 Million in May. China Mobile announced that the number of 4G customers delivered a net addition of 4.99 million in May 2019, reversing the downtrend in April 2019. 4G customers added to 728 million.  [AAStocks]
• Milestone for CNNC at nuclear plant in Pakistan. The outer containment dome of the Karachi unit 2 nuclear reactor in Pakistan was successfully installed on Monday, a milestone marking the end of its general construction work, said China National Nuclear Corp, one of the country's largest nuclear power companies.  [AAStocks]