January, 2019

• 14 January

  Sinopec wins approval for retail unit IPO

  

  Bloomberg Sinopec, China’s top oil refiner, won approval from the country’s cabinet for a long-awaited initial public offering of the retail unit that runs its vast chain of gas stations and convenience stores, people with knowledge of the matter said. The green light from the State Council clears the final Chinese regulatory hurdle for the deal and means the IPO ...

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• 14 January

  Shell seeks Canada refinery sale to focus on LNG

  

  Bloomberg Royal Dutch Shell Plc is seeking buyers for an Ontario refinery and some sour gas facilities in Alberta as the company focuses on its $31 billion liquefied natural gas project in British Columbia. “These assets have been a cornerstone of Shell Canada for many years, however, they are no longer a fit with Shell’s evolving portfolio,” the company said ...

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• 14 January

  China’s slumping trade adds pressure for ‘US settlement’

  

  Bloomberg China’s exports slumped in December as a rush of orders to beat expected tariffs showed signs of fading and as domestic buyers succumbed to a worsening economic outlook. The worse than expected figures, with exports falling 4.4 percent in December from a year earlier, set a grim domestic backdrop for China’s negotiators as they seek a deal to end ...

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• 14 January

  Viacom in talks to sell stake in China business

  

  Bloomberg Viacom Inc is in talks to sell a majority stake in some of its China operations, according to a person familiar with the matter. The New York-based company has had talks about a sale with at least one Chinese entity, the person said. The discussions involved the potential sale of a majority share in Viacom’s channel brands, such as ...

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• 14 January

  Bangkok air pollution hits dangerous levels

  Bloomberg Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha has urged those living in the Thai capital, Bangkok, to stay indoors as the city’s air pollution reached dangerous levels. The air quality index, or AQI, climbed to 182 in Bangkok at 10:14am — higher than the levels in Asia’s famously polluted metropolises of New Delhi, Beijing and Jakarta — before falling back to ...

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• 14 January

  China car sales dip first time in 28 yrs

  

  Bloomberg China vehicle sales fell for the first time in 28 years, raising the prospect of a government-led stimulus to revive demand in the world’s biggest auto market as consumers from Europe to US balk at buying new cars. Deliveries of passenger vehicles to dealers fell 4.1 percent to 23.7 million units last year, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers ...

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• 14 January

  Samsung targets Indian millennials with cheaper phones

  

  Bloomberg Samsung Electronics Co unveiled a new range of inexpensive smartphones for India, seeking to win back customers in the world’s fastest-growing smartphone market and regain ground lost to Xiaomi Corp and other Chinese rivals. The three M series devices, all priced below 20,000 rupees ($283) apiece, will launch on February 5 on the Samsung India online store as well ...

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• 14 January

  Merkel seeks to bridge rift over role of coal in economy

  

  Bloomberg Angela Merkel this week will seek to bridge divisions in Germany about how quickly to cut the nation’s reliance on coal, a controversial issue that has sparked violent clashes between green protesters and police and rattled its brittle governing coalition. The Chancellor will use a Tuesday dinner meeting in Berlin to press a panel plotting an exit from the ...

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• 14 January

  Brazil owes nothing in climate change fight, says minister

  

  Bloomberg Brazil owes nothing in the fight against global climate change and should be paid for its work so far, according to the country’s new environment minister. For Ricardo Salles, the Paris Accord in itself is neither good nor bad, but it must bring economic benefits to Brazil. If the agreement limits production or the use of land, Brazil could ...

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• 14 January

  FedEx tests home delivery of bulky goods for $9 billion online market

  

  Bloomberg FedEx Corp is testing full-service residential delivery of bulky products, a $9 billion market that couriers had left to more traditional trucking companies because large items don’t fit well in their sorting operations. The service would be offered through FedEx’s freight business, which is a less-than-truckload operation geared more towards industrial shipments. Under a pilot project, FedEx is carrying ...

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