December, 2019

• 30 December

  Grab, Singtel team up to bid for Singapore digital bank license

  

  Bloomberg Grab Holdings Inc is partnering with Singapore Telecommunications Ltd to apply for a full digital banking license, jumping aboard a Singapore government initiative to attract technology firms into its financial sector. A Grab entity will own a 60% stake in the consortium that will apply for the bank license in Singapore, while the telco known as Singtel will hold …

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• 30 December

  ECB president Lagarde is trying to learn German

  

  Bloomberg European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde is attempting an endeavour possibly as daunting as reigniting inflation in the euro area: Learning German. It’s understandable that the region’s new monetary chief, an internationally minded Frenchwoman now based at the ECB’s headquarters in Frankfurt, might want to communicate in the first language of her latest home. Not only is German …

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• 30 December

  Taiwan dollar erases gains, remains off-limits to traders

  

  Bloomberg The Taiwan dollar has erased gains with remarkable regularity in afternoon trading over the past weeks, but the predictable moves remain off-limits to traders. The local currency rose as much as 0.6% on Monday before ending the session up 0.2% at 30.135 versus the greenback. Recent late-session paring had spurred speculation that the central bank is taking a more …

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• 30 December

  Italy’s Monte Paschi cuts bad-loan pile with $2b sale

  

  Bloomberg Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA sold about 1.8 billion euros ($2 billion) of troubled loans, reaching its goal for reducing risk two years early. About 1.6 billion euros of unsecured non-performing loans were sold to Illimity Bank SpA, Monte Paschi said in a statement on Monday. Separately, it sold 0.2 billion euros of unlikely to pay loans, …

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• 30 December

  Probe sought over Korea’s hedge fund

  Bloomberg Lime Asset Management Co, the firm at the centre of a scandal that sparked unprecedented withdrawals from South Korean hedge funds, now faces an investigation into its investment in a troubled US fund. A senior official at the Financial Supervisory Service said South Korea’s top financial watchdog will ask prosecutors to probe Lime’s investment in funds run by International …

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• 30 December

  The China bonds investors hate to love are top pick for 2020

  

  Bloomberg China’s local government financing vehicles are seen as the top investment among the nation’s corporate bonds next year as state backing limits the risk of default, a survey showed. Local governments’ financing vehicles, which now have 8.4 trillion yuan ($1.2 trillion) outstanding, have long had a shadow over them because many lack sustainable revenues to make debt payments, and …

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• 30 December

  Cebu Pacific boosts its fleet with Airbus A320Neo aircraft

  

  Dubai / Emirates Business Cebu Pacific, the Philippines’ largest national flag-carrier, signed a Purchase Agreement with Airbus SAS for the order of 15 A320Neo (New Engine Option) family aircraft. The transaction is valued at $2 billion. The 15-aircraft order includes up to 10 A321XLR (Xtra Long Range) jets, the world’s longest-range single-aisle aircraft. The increased capacity of the A320neo will …

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• 30 December

  Lufthansa’s Eurowings hit as three-day UFO union strike begins

  

  Bloomberg Cabin crew at Deutsche Lufthansa AG’s Germanwings unit began a three-day strike on Monday that will affect around 180 mostly domestic Eurowings flights out of about 1,200 scheduled during the New Year period. The latest industrial action affecting Lufthansa underscores fragile relations between Europe’s biggest airline group and labour representatives as the company fights a continent-wide capacity war with …

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• 30 December

  Emirates to provide fast-track Tikram services to its customers

  

  Amman / Emirates Business Emirates customers travelling in First and Business class, and Emirates Skywards Platinum and Gold members can now enjoy a smoother departure and arrival experience at Queen Alia International Airport (QAIA) with complimentary Tikram fast-track services. The Tikram services will facilitate smoother journeys for the almost 300 premium passengers that travel on Emirates First and Business Class …

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• 30 December

  Ted Baker opens flagship store in Dubai Mall

  Dubai / Emirates Business Ted Baker announces the reopening of his prestigious Dubai Mall store. After relocating just around the corner, Ted’s flagship location has undergone a tailor-made makeover. In the heart of Downtown Dubai, known for threading together internationally recognised fashion and fine dining, this is his most grandiose setting of all for the newly improved Ted Baker store. …

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