October, 2018

• 14 October

  Abu Dhabi School of Government launched

  Abu Dhabi / WAM As part of the Abu Dhabi vision to accelerate the growth of its knowledge economy and bolster the development of human capital, the Abu Dhabi government announced the launch of the Abu Dhabi School of Government (ADSG), a world-class professional development academy for Abu Dhabi government employees. The Abu Dhabi School of Government will play a ...

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• 14 October

  Saudi Arabia looks past crude with $100bn in downstream projects

  

  Bloomberg As Saudi Arabia looks to its oil reserves to underwrite a record share sale, the authority is backing a push into the industry’s less glamorous corners — refining and petrochemicals — to ensure crude keeps paying the bills. State-run Saudi Aramco is working on more than $100 billion of refining and chemical projects, according to Bloomberg calculations, and a ...

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• 14 October

  China swoops in on Canadian oil that’s $50 below US crude

  

  Bloomberg Chinese oil buyers are making a beeline for a bargain across the Pacific. With Canadian oil over 60 percent cheaper than US benchmark West Texas Intermediate and global marker Brent, China’s refiners are being lured to the heavy, sludgy crude. That’s because — apart from being a source of fuel — it’s rich in bitumen, a black residue used ...

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• 14 October

  California raises costs for defectors from power utilities

  Bloomberg A growing number of California communities are opting to ditch big utilities in favour of alternative programs run by local governments. The state just made it more expensive. The California Public Utilities Commission voted to change the formula that determines how much utilities charge customers who switch to these so-called community choice aggregators, or CCAs. PG&E Corp. and the ...

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• 14 October

  Polluting giant to triple its clean-energy capacity

  Bloomberg Central Europe’s third-largest polluter plans to almost triple its clean-energy capacity as emission costs surge. Tauron Polska Energia SA is preparing to add at least 700 megawatts of clean, regulated power to “improve” its portfolio after carbon permits almost tripled over the past year, Chief Financial Officer Marek Wadowski said. That’s the equivalent of half a modern nuclear reactor ...

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• 14 October

  China mortgage bond rush spurs $44 billion structured debt sales

  

  Bloomberg With China’s economy slowing, banks under pressure to help invigorate growth are rushing to make room on their balance sheets for new lending. That’s unleashed a boom in a corner of the nation’s credit markets. Structured debt sales in China’s interbank bond market jumped in the last quarter to a record 300 billion yuan ($44 billion). Residential mortgage backed ...

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• 14 October

  Hong Kong’s $4 billion border project delayed until mid of next year

  

  Bloomberg A $4 billion border crossing between Hong Kong and Shenzhen will be delayed until the middle of next year as a key contractor, Leighton Contractors (Asia) Ltd., encounters problems, the South China Morning Post reported. The border control point in the northeastern New Territories was due to be finished this year, the SCMP reported on Sunday. Hong Kong’s government ...

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• 14 October

  Ex-Goldman banker looks to fill lending gap in India after IL&FS

  

  Bloomberg A shadow bank’s defaults have pushed up borrowing costs in India and made it harder for smaller companies to get funding. Alternative lenders including a fund run by an ex-Goldman Sachs Group Inc. banker think they can help. Indian firms that are too small to borrow from banks have typically relied on loans from non-banking financial companies, which raise ...

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• 14 October

  Philippines eyes 6.5% GDP growth

  

  Bloomberg Philippine Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said the economy will sustain growth exceeding 6 percent this year, as investment and infrastructure spending help counter the impact of higher interest rates. “We’re confident that we can weather the storms but we’re not complacent,” Dominguez said in an interview with Bloomberg Television in Bali, when asked about inflation. “Definitely, rising interest rates ...

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• 14 October

  Thailand tops ‘tourism spend’ ranking in Asia

  

  Bloomberg Just more than a year ago, I ate at Nahm, in Bangkok—and walked out after paying barely $60 for a tasting menu that currently ranks 49th on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. My grand, five-star hotel, the Anantara Siam, with its gilded murals and landscaped courtyards, cost $150 a night, including a breakfast buffet that was truly fit ...

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