December, 2019

• 15 December

  Malaysia to publish oil-palm concession maps in traceability bid

  

  Bloomberg Malaysia, the world’s second-largest grower of palm oil, plans to publish concession maps and make them accessible to the public, according to the Malaysian Palm Oil Certification Council. The group, also known as MPOCC, said it aims to achieve 100% traceability at the farm level via the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil certification scheme — or MSPO — by 2025, ...

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• 15 December

  Indonesia files WTO lawsuit against EU over palm oil limits

  

  Bloomberg Indonesia has taken legal action against the European Union (EU) over stricter limits on how palm oil can be used in green fuels, marking a further deepening in trade tensions. The nation filed a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization on December 9 alleging discrimination against Indonesian palm-oil exports, the trade ministry said. Indonesia, the world’s biggest producer of ...

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• 15 December

  China plans to target 6% growth next year

  Bloomberg China plans to target economic growth of around 6% in 2020, at the low end of this year’s range of 6% to 6.5%, Reuters reported, citing policy sources. To cushion a sharper slowdown, the state also plans to spend more on infrastructure by allowing local governments to issue more special bonds next year, Reuters said. The proposed target to ...

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• 15 December

  China threatens Germany with retaliation if Huawei banned

  

  Bloomberg China’s ambassador threatened Germany with retaliation if it excludes Huawei Technologies Co as a supplier of 5G wireless equipment, citing the millions of vehicles German carmakers sell in China. Resistance against Huawei is growing among lawmakers in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s governing coalition, who have challenged her China policy with a bill that would impose a broad ban on “untrustworthy” ...

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• 15 December

  Japan Post probe finds 9,000 cases of missold insurance

  

  Bloomberg Japan Post Holdings Co is set to release a final report on missold insurance as early as December 18, and the findings will show more cases than an interim probe uncovered, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. After speaking to more than 120,000 clients, a special investigation committee composed of external lawyers found 9,000 incidents of insurance sales at post offices ...

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• 15 December

  California governor dismisses PG&E’s restructuring proposal

  

  Bloomberg California Governor Gavin Newsom rejected PG&E Corp’s proposed restructuring plan, dealing a major blow to the power giant as it tries to exit the biggest utility bankruptcy in US history. Newsom said in a letter to PG&E Chief Executive Officer Bill Johnson that the utility’s restructuring plan falls “woefully short” of the state’s requirements. The governor said any reorganisation ...

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• 15 December

  Congo revises plan for Inga hydra plant

  Bloomberg The Democratic Republic of Congo will proceed with a smaller version of the Inga III hydropower project and expand the facility over time, President Felix Tshisekedi said. The Inga III dam, which will begin as a 4,800 megawatt plant, will have its capacity increased to 7,500 megawatts and 11,000 megawatts eventually, Tshisekedi told lawmakers in his first state of ...

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• 15 December

  China’s State Grid to buy stake in Oman firm

  Bloomberg State Grid Corp of China is nearing an agreement to acquire a 49% stake in Oman’s state-owned transmission company in the first major privatisation by the Middle East’s largest non-OPEC oil producer, people with knowledge of the matter said. The Beijing-based company will acquire the stake in a deal that values Oman Electricity Transmission Co at about $2 billion, ...

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• 15 December

  Indonesia stirs ghosts of 1998 with deficit debate

  

  When even Indonesia starts talking about relaxing deficit rules, you know government spending is back in vogue as a remedy for faltering economic growth. The country has more reason than most to be wary of backsliding on its commitment to budget discipline. Its deficit ceiling is an important piece of the economic and political architecture that emerged from the Asian ...

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• 15 December

  China’s steel spike isn’t a stimulus sign

  

  Is China about to embark on a fresh bout of stimulus? Some people in the metals market seem to think so. Prices of benchmark 62% iron ore in Singapore have been booming, jumping 5.3% on December 9 and closing more than 21% up on their level a month earlier. There seems to be real activity behind that movement: Rolling three-month ...

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