October, 2020

• 12 October

  Hong Kong bankers losing their jobs to Chinese rivals

  

  Bloomberg Hong Kong’s homegrown investment bankers are rapidly losing their status as city’s go-to dealmakers, supplanted by mainland Chinese rivals who now hold a majority of senior jobs in Asia’s biggest financial hub. While the shift has long seemed inevitable given the expanding pool of mainland talent and dominant role of Chinese issuers in Hong Kong, the recent pace of ...

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• 12 October

  ICBC’s biggest surge in three years bodes well for Hong Kong stocks

  

  Bloomberg For some investors, Chinese bank shares in Hong Kong finally became cheap enough to buy. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. (ICBC) surged as much as 7.2%, its best intraday gain in three years, after trading at the biggest discount to its Shanghai shares since early 2018. Its mainland shares only rise as much as 1.2%. ICBC’s Hong ...

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• 12 October

  Denmark to let banks fund early retirement for workers

  

  Bloomberg The Danish government’s plan to fund early retirement for some workers by introducing an extra tax on the financial industry has gained enough support among opposition parties to be turned into law next year. After negotiations into the early hours of Saturday, the Danish Social Democrat-led government announced that it had reached an agreement with opposition parties to support ...

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• 12 October

  EU weighs creating a network of bad banks

  

  Bloomberg The European Commission is considering setting up a network of bad banks amid growing worries over non-performing loans during the coronavirus crisis, according to German newspaper Boersen-Zeitung. The network would bring economies of scale by directly opening the affected institutions and their assets to multiple jurisdictions, according to the report. It cites a presentation by the Directorate-General Fisma, which ...

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• 12 October

  SNB gets all clear from BIS on currency interventions

  

  Bloomberg Bank of International Settlements’ General Manager Agustin Carstens doesn’t consider the Swiss National Bank (SNB) to be a currency manipulator, according to an interview with Neue Zuercher Zeitung. Carstens told the Swiss newspaper the SNB is merely responding to loose monetary policy worldwide and using the purchases as a defensive measure in light of the large global demand for ...

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• 12 October

  Covid-19 can persist for four weeks on banknotes

  

  Bloomberg The new coronavirus may remain infectious for weeks on banknotes, glass and other common surfaces, according to research by Australia’s top biosecurity laboratory that highlights risks from paper currency, touchscreen devices and grab handles and rails. Scientists at the Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness showed Sars-CoV-2 is “extremely robust,” surviving for 28 days on smooth surfaces such as glass ...

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• 12 October

  European stocks advance with US futures; yuan falls

  

  Bloomberg Stocks and US futures rise as investors focused on the prospect for more stimulus and improving corporate earnings. The offshore yuan falls after China’s central bank took steps to restrain a recent rally. The Europe Stoxx 600 Index gained 0.5%, Nasdaq 100 Index futures added 1% and the MSCI Asia Pacific Index rallied to the highest since mid-2018. Chinese ...

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• 12 October

  China stocks jump on hopes Xi will announce reforms in Shenzhen

  

  Bloomberg China stocks climbed on optimism before President Xi Jinping’s address in the southern city of Shenzhen this week. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index rises 2.7%, poised for the most since July 6, as of 3:07 pm in Hong Kong. Xiaomi Corp. surged 7.9% to lead gains, while Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. (ICBC) jumped the most ...

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• 12 October

  Libya readies to pump more oil as it reopens biggest field

  

  Bloomberg Libya took a major step towards reviving its battered oil industry by reopening its biggest field, as Opec+ tries to curb global supplies. The National Oil Corp, Libya’s state energy company, lifted force majeure on the western deposit of Sharara and instructed its operator to resume production, according to a statement on Sunday. The field will initially pump 40,000 ...

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• 12 October

  Damac awards $49mn contract for Zada project

  

  Dubai / WAM Damac Properties has awarded Trans Emirates Contracting, LLC, a contract worth AED181,000,000 ($49 million) to start main work construction of Zada, a 26-storey building located in coveted Business Bay neighbourhood in Dubai. The development is significant given the challenges the property market has faced in current pandemic. According to a recent survey by the global real estate ...

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