September, 2018

• 1 September

  Italy could be shut out of ECB’s control room after Draghi era

  

  Bloomberg Italy could soon find itself excluded from the heart of euro-area monetary policy for the first time in the currency’s two-decade history. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi’s eight-year term ends in October 2019 and his country has no automatic path to a seat on the Executive Board after that. Instead, its populist leaders must negotiate with the same ...

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• 1 September

  Yes Bank plunges as India defers 3-year extension for CEO

  

  Bloomberg Shares of India’s Yes Bank Ltd. plunged after the central bank deferred approving another three-year term for Chief Executive Officer Rana Kapoor, while allowing him helm the bank for the time being. Kapoor has received the RBI’s approval to continue as managing director and CEO of the Mumbai-based lender until “further notice” from the regulator, Yes Bank said in ...

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• 1 September

  StanChart’s Winters wants to ‘take a look’ at Ethiopia banking

  

  Bloomberg One emerging market has so far eluded Standard Chartered Plc Chief Executive Officer Bill Winters: Ethiopia. Winters, head of London-based Standard Chartered since mid-2015, would “love to think that there are opportunities” in Ethiopia, he said in an interview in Nairobi, Kenya. The problem is that it’s entirely closed to foreign banks. “The underlying fundamentals are pretty interesting,” said ...

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• 1 September

  Banks worry ideology trumping economic needs in South Africa

  

  Bloomberg Banks are worried that South Africa is taking a wrong turn with laws being considered by the nation’s parliament that could leave the economy worse off. “They do not seem to be the legislative underpinning of a comprehensive, implementable national economic recovery plan,” the Banking Association of South Africa (BASA) said in a statement distributed in Johannesburg. “Rather they ...

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• 1 September

  Indian bank quits Antwerp diamond hub in blow for gem financing

  

  Bloomberg Union Bank of India is pulling out of the global diamond hub of Antwerp, joining a retreat of lenders from the industry, which has been hit by fraud and bad debt. The bank has given notice that it will close its branch in the Belgian port city within a year, according to Chief Executive Officer Rajkiran Rai Gundyadka. Antwerp ...

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• 1 September

  HNA’s debt declines for first time, shrinking by $8.3bn

  

  Bloomberg HNA Group Co.’s debt, one of the highest among Chinese companies, declined for the first time after the embattled conglomerate reversed a multi-year acquisition spree by selling off dozens of assets to stay in business. Total debt fell 9.5 percent to 541.6 billion yuan ($79 billion) at the end of June, down about $8.3 billion from the record high ...

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• 1 September

  Meituan plans to raise $4.5 billion in Hong Kong IPO

  

  Bloomberg Meituan Dianping, a Chinese food delivery giant, plans to raise as much as $4.5 billion in an initial public offering in Hong Kong, according to people with knowledge of the matter, The company plans to sell shares between HK$60 ($7.64) and HK$72 apiece, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. The offering has ...

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• 1 September

  Fugitive tycoons to get US standard prisons in India

  Bloomberg The largest and oldest prison in India’s financial hub Mumbai will get a new block of cells that will meet international norms on prisoner rights. The reason: fugitive businessmen are citing poor jail conditions to stave off extradition. The Mumbai Central Prison, popularly known as the Arthur Road Jail, is demolishing an old structure to make way for the ...

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• 1 September

  Australia, Indonesia wrap up talks on free trade agreement

  

  Bloomberg Indonesia and Australia announced the conclusion to talks on a free-trade deal as the Pacific neighbours attempt to boost economic ties. In his first overseas trip since becoming Australia’s prime minister, Scott Morrison met with President Joko Widodo in Bogor, outside the capital Jakarta, where they committed to finalising the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. The two also signed ...

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• 1 September

  S Korea exports rise on record chip, petrochemicals shipments

  

  Bloomberg South Korea’s export growth accelerated in August at the fastest pace in three months, easing concerns that the trade fight between China and the US will sap momentum in Asia’s fourth-largest economy. Exports rose 8.7 percent from a year earlier, the trade ministry said in a statement on Saturday. That compared with a 10.2 percent gain forecast by economists ...

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