News

  Beijing / AFP China’s rice, wheat and corn subsidies are in line with WTO rules, Beijing’s commerce ministry said after Washington launched legal action against what it says are “unfair” trade incentives worth $100 billion. The United States alleges China, the world’s largest producer of wheat and rice, doled out “market price support” for the grains above levels agreed ...

  BLOOMBERG Thailand’s central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged for an 11th consecutive meeting, the longest streak on record, as an economic recovery continues to gain momentum. The Bank of Thailand held its one-day bond repurchase rate at 1.5 percent, with monetary policy committee members voting unanimously in favor, it said in Bangkok on Wednesday. All but one ...

  BLOOMBERG Jindal Steel & Power Ltd. has ramped up output at the 100-year-old Wongawilli coking coal mine in Australia and is set to resume operations at another in Mozambique as prices more than doubled this year. The New Delhi-based company is producing about 100,000 metric tons a month at the mine in Australia’s New South Wales, which it started ...

  Bloomberg Japan’s government plans to privatize Kyushu Railway Co. through a share sale that may fetch about 500 billion yen ($5 billion), according to people with direct knowledge of the matter, in what would be the rail industry’s biggest initial public offering in more than two decades. The Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency, which fully owns the ...

  Strasbourg / AFP European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker on Wednesday issued a rallying cry for unity after Brexit, saying the EU is not in danger of splitting up but must fight back against “galloping populism”. In his annual State of the Union speech, Juncker unveiled a raft of economic and security proposals to find common ground after a year ...

  Frankfurt/ AFP German chemicals giant Bayer said on Wednesday it had agreed to buy the controversial US seeds and pesticides firm Monsanto for $66 billion, in a deal that triggered immediate criticism from environmentalists. After a months-long pursuit, Bayer said its US peer had accepted an improved offer of $128 per share for Monsanto in an all-cash transaction, avoiding ...

  Brasília / AFP Brazil announced a series of auctions and tenders aimed at privatizing infrastructure — part of new President Michel Temer’s plans to revive the moribund economy. Under the new program, four airports will be put on the auction block this year, along with two port terminals. Tenders in the transport and mining sectors will also be up ...

  Beijing / AFP A US billionaire’s giant gift to one of China’s top universities for a programme echoing Oxford’s Rhodes Scholarships comes as the country seeks to boost its schools’ prestige while tightening ideological control in classrooms. Tsinghua University in Beijing inaugurated its new Schwarzman College at the weekend, named after the co-founder of the Blackstone hedge fund Stephen ...

Buenos Aires / AFP Argentina opened a major investment conference, seeking to persuade executives from the world’s top multinational corporations to bet on Latin America’s third-largest economy and its new center-right government. With Argentina stuck in recession, President Mauricio Macri is keen to show foreign investors that things have changed since he took office. The former businessman took over in ...

  Abu Dhabi / WAM At this year’s Zurich Film Festival, taking place from September 22-October 2, visitors will be able to experience Etihad Airways’ 360-degree virtual reality movie featuring Academy Award winning actress Nicole Kidman, and have the chance to win flights to Abu Dhabi by participating in a draw for the Audience Award presented by Etihad Airways. Peter ...