GOVT AND POLICIES

PBOC skips open market operations

The People's Bank of China, China's central bank, skipped open market operations via reverse repos on Tuesday, 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.

Retail prices of diesel and gasoline raised

China has raised the retail prices of gasoline and diesel on Tuesday, the country's top economic regulator said. Based on recent changes in international oil prices, the retail prices of gasoline and diesel will rise by 55 yuan ($7.83) and 50 yuan per metric ton, respectively, according to the National Development and Reform Commission. Under the current pricing mechanism, if international crude oil prices change by more than 50 yuan per ton and remain at that level for 10 working days, the prices of refined oil products such as gasoline and diesel in China will be adjusted accordingly.

COMPANIES AND MARKETS

Digital energy trade center set up in Rizhao

A digital energy trade center was established in Rizhao, a coastal city of East China's Shandong province, over the weekend, aiming for developing a big data cloud platform for the energy industry with emerging technologies of 5G, AI, the internet of things and block chain. The center is jointly developed by the Rizhao government, Baoneng Logistics Co Ltd and Newlinks Group, a digital energy service provider. More than 30 transportation-related platforms such as Huolala, a vehicle-hailing platform for cargo, signed contracts to set up branches in the center.

Facebook service lets users transfer data

A new service developed by social media giant Facebook to allow its users to transfer data from Facebook to another online platform has been put into use on a trial basis in Ireland, local media reported on Monday. Starting from Monday, Facebook users in Ireland will be able to move their photos and videos directly to Google Photos, making them the first users of such a service in the world, said RTE, a national radio and television broadcaster in Ireland. The photo transfer tool can be accessed in the Your Facebook Information section of the app's settings, said the report, adding that all data transferred will be encrypted and users will be required to enter their password before a transfer begins.

Sluggish Nov sales hurt Indian automobile firms

Indian automobile companies continued with its declining sales trend in November with three companies on Sunday indicating a drop in its monthly sales volume. The Mahindra group's auto company reported total sales including domestic and exports of 41,235 vehicles in November compared to 45,101 vehicles in November 2018, down 9 percent. In the preceding month of October, the company had report sales of 51,896 units. "The month post festive season is historically a lean month for the automotive industry. Consumer demand, especially for passenger vehicles, typically picks up in the year-end that is in December. Therefore, we expect December to pan out better for the automotive industry," said Veejay Ram Nakra, chief of Sales and Marketing, Automotive Division, Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd.

AROUND THE WORLD

Corporate sales fall in Japan for first time

Corporate sales in Japan dropped for the first time in three years in the July-September quarter, the government said in a report on Monday. According to the Finance Ministry, domestic firms' total sales in the reporting period fell 2.6 percent from a year earlier to 349.50 trillion yen ($3.19 trillion). The decline came on the heels of a 0.4 percent rise booked in the previous quarter, the ministry's statistics showed, with the latest decline being partly attributed to declines on petroleum product prices. Companies in manufacturing industries, specifically those related to metal production and making telecommunication equipment, weighed heavily in terms of sales, the ministry noted.

ADB assistance to help add jobs in Philippines

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said on Tuesday that it has approved a $400 million policy-based loan to support the Philippine government's efforts to reduce the number of out-of-school and unemployed young Filipinos that impedes more inclusive growth in the country. The Manila-based ADB said this program will support government reforms aimed at improving the employability of young Filipinos through labor market programs and providing easier access to on-the-job training schemes to help them secure and retain jobs. The ADB said the program builds on ADB's previous support to the government's employment initiatives, particularly the Department of Labor and Employment's design and roll out of the Jobstart Philippines Program, a full-cycle youth employment facilitation program that has become law with adequate government funding.

South Korea's online shopping hits record

South Korea's online shopping hit a record monthly high in October amid a rapid change into consumption using smartphones, statistical office data showed on Tuesday. Shopping in the cyberspace gained 17.3 percent over the year to 11.8 trillion won ($9.9 billion) in October, according to Statistics Korea. It was the biggest since relevant data began to be compiled in 2001. The double-digit growth came amid the rising number of consumers doing the shopping through smartphone apps. Mobile shopping jumped 23.2 percent to 7.7 trillion won in the month, marking the biggest since the data began to be compiled in 2013.

Brazil economy to grow by 2.22% next year

Brazilian financial market analysts upgraded their 2020 economic growth forecast to 2.22 percent for the fourth week in a row, the Central Bank of Brazil said on Monday. Next year the country's gross domestic product (GDP) will see the biggest expansion since 2013, when it grew by 3 percent, according to the bank's weekly survey of some 100 economists. Last week's survey projected the 2020 economic growth of 2.2 percent. For 2019, the analysts maintained their previous forecast of 0.99 percent.

Vietnam's exports rise 7.8% in first 11 months

Vietnam made export turnovers of more than $241.4 billion in the first 11 months of this year, up 7.8 percent against the same period last year, while seeing import turnovers of more than $232.3 billion, up 7.4 percent, the country's General Statistics Office said on Monday. Specifically, Vietnam earned $48.7 billion from exporting phones and components, up 5.4 percent; reaping $32.4 billion from electronic goods, computers and components, up 19.4 percent; and $16.5 billion from footwear, up 12.5 percent.