We need to find a fairer way of providing Goods and Services to the rest of the people on Earth.Cryptocurrencies and/or Gold Standard of money....maybe the answer to fight hyperinflation caused by too much printing of paper/fiat currencies by Governments and Central Banks all over the World. (https://nomorefiatmoneyplease.blogspot.com)
South Korea's FDI pledges hit record US$20.9b in 2015, up 32.3%
South Korea received a record high US$20.9 billion in pledges of foreign direct investment (FDI) during 2015, government data showed on Wednesday, on surging interest from the United States, China and the Middle East.
PHOTO: AFP
[SEOUL] South Korea received a record high US$20.9 billion in pledges of foreign direct investment (FDI) during 2015, government data showed on Wednesday, on surging interest from the United States, China and the Middle East.
The total was 10 per cent higher than the record set in 2014, when the FDI pledges stood at US$19.0 billion, according to data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
Service sector businesses were the top attraction, according to the ministry, with foreigners pledging US$14.7 billion in 2015, up 31.7 per cent from a year earlier.
Middle East money lay behind a sharp increase in pledges for construction, which totaled US$1.6 billion last year.
Pledges for the manufacturing sector, however, suffered a 40.3 per cent decline to US$4.6 billion in 2015, due to low global oil prices and a weak Japanese yen, the ministry said.
In quarterly terms, South Korea saw US$7.6 billion worth of pledges in the fourth quarter, also the highest on record for a three-month period.
Pledges from the US grew 51.8 per cent in 2015 from a year ago to US$5.5 billion while those from China jumped 66.3 per cent over the same period to US$2.0 billion, the data showed.
FDI pledged from the Middle East soared 514.1 per cent to US$13.8 billion, the trade ministry also said, as President Park Geun-hye's state visit to the region in March yielded a surge in investment.
The increased FDI pledges from China were attributed to a bilateral free trade agreement ratified last year.
Meanwhile,FDI pledges from Japan declined in 2015 due to a weakened yen, the ministry said.
US stocks opened little changed on Tuesday as markets stabilized after a bruising selloff on the first trading day of the year.
PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
[NEW YORK] US stocks opened little changed on Tuesday as markets stabilized after a bruising selloff on the first trading day of the year.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 11.5 points, or 0.07 per cent, to 17,160.44, the S&P 500 3.28 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 2,015.94 and the Nasdaq Composite index 14.75 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 4,917.84.
Tenaga's US$3 billion global-sukuk plan to kickstart fading market
Malaysia's biggest electricity company plans to breathe some life into the global Islamic bond market with a US$3 billion issuance program after offerings slumped to a five- year low in 2015.
PHOTO: REUTERS
[KUALA LUMPUR] Malaysia's biggest electricity company plans to breathe some life into the global Islamic bond market with a US$3 billion issuance program after offerings slumped to a five- year low in 2015.
Tenaga Nasional Bhd is asking bankers to submit pitches for the planned sale, according to people familiar with the matter, and proceeds will be used to fund overseas investments including the purchase of a 30 per cent stake in Turkish power firm Gama Enerji A.S. for US$243 million. Offerings of global sukuk fell 28 per cent to US$34.8 billion last year, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
The power company's issuance will be Malaysia's first since the Federal Reserve raised interest rates in December. Tenaga last issued dollar-denominated debt in 1996, selling 100-year conventional notes.
The ringgit sank 19 per cent versus the dollar in 2015, Asia's worst performance, as tumbling crude oil prices, an investigation into political donations received by Prime Minister Najib Razak and troubles at debt-ridden state investment company 1Malaysia Development Bhd dented investor confidence.
"Timing is everything and Tenaga's plan is telling people the ringgit won't depreciate too much from here and that it will stand to benefit from the debt sale," said James Lau, a Kuala Lumpur-based investment director at Pheim Asset Management Asia Bhd overseeing US$300 million.
"1MDB's problem is more of a governance issue, which shouldn't affect Tenaga's financials or borrowing costs."
Mr Najib, who chairs 1MDB's advisory board, said last week the company will have trimmed its debt by 40.4 billion ringgit (S$13.2 billion), from 42 billion ringgit in March 2014, once it completes the ongoing disposals of its power and property assets.
Malaysia's CIMB Group Holdings Bhd, the top sukuk arranger worldwide for seven of the last nine years, predicts a pickup in sales this year to at least US$40 billion. Offerings of the global securities, which pay returns on assets to comply with Islam's ban on interest, fell in 2015 from US$48.5 billion in 2014, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Issuance was a record US$50.1 billion in 2012.
Bankers' proposals for Tenaga's programme have to be submitted by the end of this week, the people familiar said, asking not to be identified because the process isn't public. The utility's Chief Financial Officer Fazlur Rahman Zainuddin declined to comment when contacted on his mobile phone.
Tenaga plans to add 5,000 megawatt of regional capacity as part of a five-year expansion, Chief Executive Officer Azman Mohd said in a Dec 14 statement. That's sufficient to power 12.5 million Malaysian homes.
The electricity company has a market capitalization of 74.6 billion ringgit and a total installed capacity of 10,818 MW. It sold the country's third-biggest sukuk in November - an 8.98 billion ringgit offering - to part-finance the construction of a 2,000 MW coal-fired power plant.
Tenaga is rated BBB+, the third-lowest investment grade by Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings. The yield on the company's existing conventional dollar bonds due 2025 climbed 31 basis points last year to 4.39 per cent and was at 4.35 per cent on Tuesday, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
Were five-year notes to be included in Tenaga's coming sukuk programme, the securities would be "considered attractive" at a yield of 160 basis points above similar-maturity US Treasuries, according to Maybank Islamic Asset Management Sdn. The yield on US government debt of that maturity jumped 40 basis points to 1.76 per cent in the fourth quarter. It was at 1.74 per cent on Tuesday.
"The sooner the better for Tenaga to tap the dollar sukuk market as we expect borrowing costs to rise," said Syhiful Zamri Abdul Azid, chief investment officer at Maybank Islamic Asset Management, who helps oversee 17 billion ringgit in Kuala Lumpur. "We are always on the lookout for primaries and if the price is right at the point of issue, we are most likely to participate."
Opec oil output fell in December, a Reuters survey found on Tuesday, led by lower supply from Iraq following a record-breaking month in November and smaller declines elsewhere in the producer group.
[LONDON] Opec oil output fell in December, a Reuters survey found on Tuesday, led by lower supply from Iraq following a record-breaking month in November and smaller declines elsewhere in the producer group.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is still pumping close to record amounts as Saudi Arabia and other big producers focus on market share, weighing on any recovery in oil prices from near 11-year lows.
Opec supply fell in December to 31.62 million barrels per day (bpd) from a revised 31.79 million in November, according to the survey, based on shipping data and information from sources at oil companies, Opec and consultants.
Oil prices have more than halved in 18 months and hit an 11-year low in the wake of Opec's Dec 4 decision to keep its year-old policy of no output restraint. The current crisis between Saudi Arabia and Iran - expected to pump more oil as sanctions are lifted - makes cooperation over supply even less likely, analysts say.
"There is certainly no chance of Saudi Arabia scaling back its oil supply to make space for Iranian oil," said Carsten Fritsch, analyst at Commerzbank, adding the tensions still justify a risk premium on prices because they could escalate. "In other words, the existing oversupply may actually grow further in the short term."
Opec has boosted production by almost 1.40 million bpd since its November 2014 refusal to cut supply and prop up prices. Output is not far below July's 31.88 million bpd, the highest since Reuters records began in 1997.
The biggest monthly decline in output came from Iraq, the world's fastest growing source of supply growth last year.
boosted by delayed October cargoes, but are likely to reach new highs in thExports from Iraq's main outlet, its southern terminals, have slipped from November's record level which had been e coming months, industry sources said.
Shipments from Iraq's north by the Kurdistan Regional Government via Ceyhan in Turkey have edged lower, while those by Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organisation have remained at zero for a third month, the survey found.
Top exporter Saudi Arabia has kept output steady to slightly lower, sources in the survey said, due to less demand from outside the country and largely steady domestic use. "Directionally supply is down a little bit," said a source who tracks Saudi output. Saudi production reached a record high of 10.56 million bpd in June.
Nigerian output declined by 50,000 bpd due to disruptions to exports from the Brass River and Bonny production streams, sources in the survey said.
Output in Iran, eager to reclaim its spot as Opec's second-largest producer when sanctions over its nuclear programme are lifted, is edging up, the survey found. Kuwait and Qatar also posted small supply rises.
Indonesia, which rejoined Opec on Dec 4 bringing the membership to 13, will be included in the January survey.
Barclays to announce investment banking job cuts across Asia next week: sources
Barclays Plc will announce job cuts in its investment banking businesses across Asia, including closing the businesses in Korea and Taiwan, people with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters, in the latest cuts for the London-based lender in the region.
PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
[SINGAPORE] Barclays Plc will announce job cuts in its investment banking businesses across Asia, including closing the businesses in Korea and Taiwan, people with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters, in the latest cuts for the London-based lender in the region.
Next week's cuts will include corporate finance and advisory staff in those two countries, as well as equities sales and research staff, the people said, and will include at least 50 jobs across Asia as the bank seeks to slash costs in a global restructuring.
The job losses will include staff from countries in Asia in which the bank's business is sub-scale, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the subject matter.
"We are constantly monitoring our opportunities in different geographies and businesses over the cycle. If any firm decisions are made, we will provide an update," a Hong Kong-based spokeswoman at Barclays said in an email.
See who is talking about BARCLAYS
Last 30 days:
1879
21
266
30 days avg
HOT COMPANIES
Barclays +119% messages
Next +52%
Sainsbury +43%
Bunzl +26%
BAE Systems +22%
Old Mutual +20%
Inmarsat +19%
Persimmon +16%
Direct Line +12%
Fresnillo +9%
Next +52%
Sainsbury +43%
Bunzl +26%
BAE Systems +22%
Old Mutual +20%
Inmarsat +19%
Persimmon +16%
Direct Line +12%
Fresnillo +9%
The closure of the Korean and Taiwan businesses reflect Chief Executive Jes Staley's desire to trim in countries where the bank's corporate relationships are weaker to focus on core centres, including Hong Kong, the people said.
Global investment banking fees fell 8 per cent in 2015 compared to a year earlier, with a boom in mergers and acquisition activity failing to offset a slump in equity and debt capital markets fees, Thomson Reuters data published on Tuesday showed.
PHOTO: AFP
[LONDON] Global investment banking fees fell 8 per cent in 2015 compared to a year earlier, with a boom in mergers and acquisition activity failing to offset a slump in equity and debt capital markets fees, Thomson Reuters data published on Tuesday showed.
Global fees for services ranging from merger and acquisitions advisory to capital markets underwriting totalled US$86.9 billion in 2015, the lowest annual figure since 2013.
Regionally, fees in Europe declined 16 per cent compared with a year ago, Asia Pacific fees fell 12 per cent and fees from the Americas were down by a more modest 3 per cent.
One bright spot was mergers and acquisitions (M&A), where fees from completed activity rose 8 per cent year-on-year, as worldwide M&A in 2015 rose 42 per cent to US$4.7 trillion, the strongest year for deal making on record.
Investment banking income was dragged down by a 13 per cent decline in equity capital markets fees compared to a year ago, and an 18 per cent decline in debt capital markets fees as global markets were hit by volatility sparked by global growth worries, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and a China slowdown.
JPMorgan topped the global league table for fees, drawing in US$5.98 billion during the year, down 7.5 per cent compared to a year ago, but maintaining 6.9 per cent of the overall wallet share.
The top five banks were all American, with Goldman Sachs the only one in the top five to increase its fees intake for the year, up 6.9 per cent to US$5.94 billion.
Europe's biggest investment banks continued to lose market share, with Deutsche Bank, ranked sixth, seeing a 20 per cent year-on-year decline in fees to total US$3.45 billion, or a 0.6 per cent decline in the wallet share.
Credit Suisse saw a 13.9 per cent decline in fees to US$3.32 billion and Barclays a 11.2 per cent decline to US$3.29 billion.
