May, 2019

• 29 May

  CVC-backed Softex mulls $500m IPO

  Bloomberg PT Softex Indonesia, a sanitary product maker backed by PE firm CVC Capital Partners, is planning an initial public offering that could raise as much as $500 million, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The Tangerang-based company has met with potential advisers for a share sale in Indonesia that could happen as soon as this year, the ...

  Read More »
• 29 May

  Sun Pharma profit halves, chief moved amid scandal

  

  Bloomberg Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd’s fourth-quarter profit halved from a year ago as the fallout from a corporate governance scandal caused it to take a 10.85 billion-rupee charge ($155.7 million) and led to the brother-in-law of billionaire founder Dilip Shanghvi moving to a non-executive role. Shares rose by as much as 2 percent on Wednesday morning trading as investors cheered ...

  Read More »
• 29 May

  China firm admits it overstated cash holding by $4.3b

  

  Bloomberg One of China’s largest listed drug makers that’s been under a regulatory probe for months said it overstated cash positions after using false documents and transaction records. The stock tumbled by the 5 percent daily limit. Kangmei Pharmaceutical Co, a producer of traditional Chinese medicines, said in a filing that such methods have led to an overstatement of cash ...

  Read More »
• 29 May

  S’pore dethrones US in ‘competitiveness rank’

  

  Bloomberg Singapore leapfrogged Hong Kong and the US to take the top spot among the world’s most competitive economies for the first time in nine years. The city state’s advanced technological infrastructure, availability of skilled workers, favourable immigration laws, and efficiency for starting businesses supported its rise to the No. 1 spot, the Switzerland-based IMD Business School said in its ...

  Read More »
• 29 May

  Global Payments to buy Total System in a $21.5 billion deal

  

  Bloomberg Global Payments Inc. agreed to buy Total System Services Inc. in a deal valued at $21.5 billion, the payment industry’s third mega-merger of the year. The transaction will create a powerhouse that provides payment technology and software to more than 3.5 million small to midsize merchants and more than 1,300 financial institutions worldwide, the two companies said in a ...

  Read More »
• 29 May

  Mediaset expands into Germany with ProSiebenSat.1 stake

  

  Bloomberg Italian broadcaster Mediaset SpA has bought a stake in Germany’s ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE as it seeks to diversify beyond its home country and fend off growing competition from Netflix Inc. The 9.6 percent holding is worth about 340 million euros ($380 million), based on ProSieben’s closing price. ProSieben shares gained 4.4 percent in Frankfurt, while Mediaset fell less than ...

  Read More »
• 29 May

  ArcelorMittal tumbles after cutting European steel output

  

  Bloomberg ArcelorMittal fell the most in two years after announcing that it’s cutting steel production across its European plants to cope with weak demand and rising imports. The world’s largest steelmaker will reduce primary production in Dunkirk, Fra-nce and Eisenhuettenstadt, Germany, according to a statement on Wednesday. It will also cut output in Bremen, Germany and extend a stoppage planned ...

  Read More »
• 29 May

  Unemployment rises in Germany as weak economy starts to bite

  Bloomberg German unemployment unexpectedly rose for the first time in almost two years as the economic slowdown finally started to take a toll on the labour market. The number of people out of work unexpectedly climbed by 60,000 in May, compared with economists’ forecasts for a decline of 8,000. The jobless rate also rose, to 5 percent from a record-low ...

  Read More »
• 29 May

  EPA poised to scrap biofuel trading curbs

  

  Bloomberg The Environmental Protection Agency is poised to jettison proposed trading rest- rictions on a $5.2 billion market for biofuel compliance credits in a coming rule, casting aside changes sought by independent refiners complaining of hoarding and wild price swings. The EPA’s shift comes as the agency races to meet a May 31 rulemaking deadline amid pressure from large oil ...

  Read More »
• 29 May

  Macron, Merkel at odds over EU jobs; decision due in June

  

  Bloomberg For an eagerly-anticipated decision on who will lead the European Union’s institutions, investors will need to tune in at the end of June for clarity. EU leaders gathered after the continent-wide ballot and differences were immediately apparent between key players German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron. Together they have a lot riding on who will run ...

  Read More »