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Bloomberg Hong Kong’s economy ends the year wounded, with the chances for stabilisation in 2020 hanging on whether future protests are peaceful or lapse back into violence. Economists forecast a 1.3% contraction for 2019 and predict year-on-year declines will continue in the first two quarters of 2020. Yet the unrest has tapered in recent weeks after an electoral win for ...

Bloomberg Philippine authorities looked to soothe investor fears as uncertainty over the capital’s water service contracts triggered a stock rout of more than $2 billion. The government is “not thinking about” replacing Manila Water Co and Maynilad Water Services Inc as water concessionaires even as it seeks to renegotiate terms of their contracts, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra told reporters. The ...

Bloomberg The brother of Asia’s richest man won a preliminary motion in a dispute with three Chinese banks seeking $680 million in defaulted loans, but still suffered a setback as a London judge called his evidence “implausible and highly unlikely” ahead of a full hearing next year. Judge David Waksman also said there is “a plain case” to issue an ...

Bloomberg Malaysia signed a deal with developers to restart the $34 billion Bandar Malaysia project which languished for years after being conceived under the oversight of troubled state fund 1MDB. A consortium comprising Iskandar Waterfront Holdings Sdn and China Railway Engineering Corp will acquire 60% stake in the venture for 6.45 billion ringgit ($1.6 billion). That’s based on Bandar Malaysia’s ...

Bloomberg Toyota Motor Corp is forecasting sales of 10.77 million vehicles worldwide during 2020, nudging it closer to No 1 automaker Volkswagen AG. Toyota’s outlook, which includes vehicles sold by subsidiaries Daihatsu Motor Co and truck maker Hino Motors Ltd, shows slight growth from an estimated 10.72 million vehicles this year. Volkswagen sold 10.8 million units in 2018 and said ...

Bloomberg Coal consumption is set to rise in the coming years as growing demand for electricity in developing countries outpaces a shift to cleaner sources of electricity in industrialised nations. While use of the most polluting fossil fuel had a historic dip in 2019, the International Energy Agency (IRA) anticipates steady increases in the next five years. That means world ...

Bloomberg Bankrupt utility giant PG&E Corp has removed from its $13.5 billion settlement with wildfire victims the requirement that California Governor Gavin Newsom sign off on its restructuring plan. PG&E reached an agreement with representatives of the victims of fires ignited by its equipment to eliminate the provision after Newsom said last week that the power company’s proposed reorganisation plan ...

Bloomberg South Africa’s government revived a so-called Energy War Room to tackle the nation’s electricity crisis, as it brought forward the date when the incoming chief executive officer of the state power utility will start work. The team, to be headed by Deputy President David Mabuza, will seek to avoid a repeat of a nine-day blackout earlier this month that ...

Bloomberg The European Union (EU) agreed on a landmark green-finance regulation, advancing the bloc’s push to embed environmental goals in standards for banks, money managers and insurers. EU lawmakers approved an accord on the list of sustainable activities, following agreement by the bloc’s member states earlier in the day. Policymakers had to overcome last-minute divisions over the kinds of technologies ...

Bloomberg The UK labour market and manufacturing sector displayed further signs of nervousness around the now-postponed October 31 deadline to leave the European Union and in the run-up to last week’s general election. Vacancies fell below 800,000 for the first time in two years and wages grew at their slowest annual pace since 2018, the Office for National Statistics said. ...