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GOVT AND POLICIES

PBOC skips open market operations

China's central bank, the People's Bank of China, skipped open market operations via reverse repos on Wednesday, citing abundant liquidity in the banking system. The system posts a relatively high level of liquidity at present, the People's Bank of China said in an online statement. A reverse repo is a process in which the central bank purchases securities from commercial banks through bidding, with an agreement to sell them back in the future. China vowed to keep its prudent monetary policy "neither too tight nor too loose" while maintaining market liquidity at a reasonably ample level in 2019.

Logistics sector sees robust expansion

China saw active logistics activities in November due to growing market demand, industrial data showed. The Logistics Performance Index stood at 58.9 percent for last month, increasing 4.7 percentage points from October, the highest level so far this year, according to the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing. A reading above 50 percent indicates expansion, while one below 50 percent reflects contraction. The federation attributed strong logistics growth to a warming global trade environment and a robust e-commerce market.

COMPANIES AND MARKETS

CRRC unveils new metro train in Sydney

The China Railway Rolling Stock Corp (CRRC), the world's largest rolling stock manufacturer, unveiled its latest metro train in Australia's largest rail event in Sydney on Tuesday. The new metro train, featuring a world-leading intelligent control system, light weight construction and passenger information system, will provide a safe, efficient and green service, said Deputy director of the CRRC National Engineering Research Center of Railway Vehicles Hong Haifeng at the AusRail, an annual rail event hosted by the Australasian Railway Association. According to Hong, the new metro train was fully automatically operated, and capable of starting and stopping, controlling the doors and handling emergencies autonomously.

Didi expands to 13 more Chilean cities

China's ride-hailing giant Didi kicked off operations in 13 more Chilean cities on Tuesday, bringing the total to 23. The company's expansion means the service is available from north to south, with five northern cities of Arica, Iquique, Calama, Copiapo and Ovalle and seven southern cities of Curico, Chillan, Los Angeles, Valdivia, Osorno, Coyhaique and Punta Arenas, as well as the central city of Los Andes, now within DiDi's sphere of operations. DiDi's ride-sharing and taxi services have been well-received in the South American country, enabling the company's rapid expansion, said Simeng Wang, general manager of Didi Chile.

Trade volume at border port in Yunnan bustling

The cargo volume at southwestern China's Tianpeng port, located on the border of Yunnan province and Vietnam, totaled 63,095 metric tons in the first three quarters of 2019, up 22.86 percent year-on-year. From January to September, trade value at the port amounted to $46.77 million, expanding 19.71 percent year-on-year. Border authorities recorded a total of 120,302 inbound and outbound visits in the first nine months, a year-on-year increase of 4.67 percent, according to the port's administrative office.

Ryanair handles 11m passengers in Nov

A total of 11 million passengers were handled by Ryanair Group in November 2019, up 6 percent compared with the same month last year, said the airline on Tuesday. Of all the passengers handled by the group in the month, 10.5 million were carried by Ryanair while another half a million were contributed by its subsidiary Lauda, an Austria-based budget airline acquired by Ryanair last year, it said. Lauda posted a 67-percent increase in its November passenger numbers while Ryanair only registered a 4-percent growth in the month, according to the figures released by the airline.

Maruti Suzuki to raise car prices from next year

Maruti Suzuki India will raise prices of its vehicles across various models in January to overcome the adverse impact of input costs, said the company statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange, on Tuesday. It has become imperative for the company to pass on some impact of the additional cost to customers through a price increase across various models in January 2020, the statement said. Indian automobile sector has been going through low demand during the current fiscal year with slight revival seen during the festive season in October.

AROUND THE WORLD

Australian economy sees sluggish Q3 growth

Australia's economy has grown at a lackluster pace in the third quarter of 2019, with official figures on Wednesday showing a mere 0.4 percent rise over the three months to September. Falling short of the 0.5 percent increase predicted by economists, the Australian Bureau of Statistics National Accounts data revealed that over the year, the rate of growth Down Under remains well below the long run average at just 1.7 percent. While net exports, mainly from the mining sector, accounted for 0.2 percent to the overall growth rate, government spending on services such as disability, health and aged care was by far the largest contributor domestically.

South Korea's revised GDP rises by 0.4%

South Korea's revised gross domestic product for the third quarter grew 0.4 percent on a quarterly basis, central bank data showed on Tuesday. Real GDP, adjusted for inflation, rose 0.4 percent in the July-September quarter from three months earlier, unchanged from the preliminary figure, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). From a year ago, the real GDP gained 2.0 percent. During the second quarter, the real GDP increased 1.0 percent. The BOK lowered this year's growth outlook for the economy from 2.2 percent to 2.0 percent last week. Private consumption added 0.2 percent in the third quarter from the previous quarter, with facility investment rising 0.6 percent.

US crude oil inventories fall on weekly basis

The American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday reported a decrease of 3.72 million barrels of crude oil in the US crude oil inventories for the week ending Nov 29. API reported a build of 3.639 million barrels of crude oil inventories for the previous week ending Nov 22, and the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported an increase of 1.6 million barrels. Oil prices ended on a mixed note Tuesday as traders awaited a meeting by the world's major oil producers to see their next move on output cuts. The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for January delivery increased 14 US cents to settle at $56.10 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Motorcycle exports increase in Indonesia

Exports of Indonesia's motorcycles from January to October grew the highest pace in five years amid favorable prices and improved quality, media reported on Tuesday. The Indonesian Motorcycle Association recorded that the shipment of the products overseas expanded 34 percent to 682,325 units in the first 10 months this year. "This is because the price of motorcycles produced by Indonesia is very competitive and complies with the international standard," said Sigit Kumala, head of the association's commercial unit. On domestic sales, Sigit expected the sales of the products would start drifting higher before the end of the year.

S. Africa growth wanes as mining output falls

South Africa's gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate decreased by 0.6 percent in the third quarter of 2019, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) said on Tuesday. The largest negative contributors to growth in GDP in the third quarter were the mining, manufacturing and transport, storage and communication industries, the agency said. The mining and quarrying industry decreased by 6.1 percent, contributing-0.5 percentage point to GDP growth. Decreased production was reported for mining of PGMs (platinum group metals), coal and iron ore. Manufacturing industry decreased by 3.9 percent, contributing-0,5 percentage point to GDP growth. Decreased economic activity was reported in basic iron and steel, nonferrous metal products, metal products and machinery; and petroleum, chemical products, rubber and plastic products.

Sri Lanka aims to narrow fiscal deficit

Sri Lanka aims to narrow its fiscal deficit from 7 percent of GDP in 2019 to 4 percent of GDP in the medium term, a statement by the Ministry of Finance said on Tuesday. The Finance Ministry identified dips in government revenue due to slow growth and election-related expenditures as reasons for the higher-than-expected fiscal deficit of 7 percent of GDP in 2019. The statement said the government would pursue a sustainable reduction of the fiscal deficit to 4 percent of GDP in the medium term.

Mongolia central bank boosts gold purchases

Mongolia's central bank announced on Tuesday that it has bought a total of 14.4 metric tons of gold from legal entities and individuals in the first 11 months of this year. As of November, the bank's average gold purchase price was 128,002.45 Mongolian tugriks ($47) per gram, the Bank of Mongolia said in a statement. Purchasing gold is said to be one of the key instruments for the Asian country's central bank to increase its official foreign exchange reserves. The Bank of Mongolia has been striving to ensure economic stability by consistently increasing its foreign currency reserves.