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RIYADH, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia expects to post a second consecutive budget surplus in 2023, though down 84% from this year as an uncertain global economic outlook and lower crude prices look set to weigh on the top oil exporter's revenues. Spending is slightly lower than 1.132 trillion riyals this year. Revenues are expected at 1.13 trillion riyals, down from 1.234 trillion riyals in 2022 as oil prices are seen falling from this year's high levels. Public debt is seen falling 3.5% to 951 billion riyals next year, or 24.6% of GDP. Government reserves at the Saudi Central Bank are estimated to reach 399 billion riyals at the end of next year, the finance ministry said.

☆ Analysis: Peru markets take in political drama as investors focus on fundamentals
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Rodrigo Campos | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Peruvian sol currency and dollar bond prices recovered early losses after President Pedro Castillo was removed in an impeachment trial following his attempt to dissolve Congress. The sol remains one of the few emerging market currencies with gains against the U.S. dollar so far this year. "So much political uncertainty is never welcome, yet the reason why markets have historically shrugged off political developments in Peru has to do with the fact that the country's fundamentals are decently strong." The sol fell over 2% against the dollar at its session low of 3.8898 before recovering slightly to trade down 1.4% at 3.8625 per dollar in early afternoon trading. Vice President Dina Boluarte was sworn as president through 2026 and the first woman to lead the Andean nation.

☆ Gulf states, looking East, to reinforce economic ties with China as Xi visits Saudi
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Rachna Uppal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Saudi Arabia is China's top oil supplier, making up 18% of China's total crude oil purchases, and state-run Saudi Aramco has annual supply deals with half a dozen Chinese refiners. Outside energy, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states provide markets for Chinese goods, construction contracts and investment opportunities in infrastructure, manufacturing and digital economies that fit Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative. Saudi Arabia and the UAE are also investing in future technologies as a pillar of economic diversification, which has gained impetus in a global transition away from fossil fuels. Online giant Alibaba has partnered with STC Group for cloud services in Saudi Arabia. BALANCING ACTHow Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states handle both Chinese and Western supply chains in sensitive areas like critical national infrastructure is likely to remain a point of friction with key security partner the United States, analysts say.

[1/2] U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks about the student loan forgiveness program from an auditorium on the White House campus in Washington, U.S., October 17, 2022. The investment is a big win for Biden after supply-chain issues disrupted the U.S. economy early in his presidency. They will attend a "tool-in" ceremony, which is the symbolic moving of the first equipment onto the shop floor of the new $12 billion facility. The $52.7 billion "Chips and Science" act, signed by Biden in August, is aimed at preventing a resurgence of supply-chain woes. Biden's victory in Arizona in the 2020 presidential election helped catapult him to the White House after Republican Donald Trump won the state in 2016.

☆ I tried to cut a deal with Jeff Bezos to save my hometown's paper mill and failed. Here's what I learned from it.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Justin Vandehey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Justin Vandehey wanted to save the paper mill in his hometown of Wisconsin Rapids. He presented a proposal to Jeff Bezos on how the paper industry could reinvent itself. Is the paper industry really dead? It takes paper to make paperThe two machines in the Wisconsin Rapids mill are currently set up to produce 570,000 tons of coated paper each year. The CEO of BillerudKorsnäs, Christoph Michalski, hasn't committed to any plans regarding the Wisconsin Rapids Mill; however, it does appear that there's interest from the local Timber Professionals Cooperative to acquire and keep the Wisconsin Rapids Mill operating in Wisconsin Rapids.

☆ TSMC ups its Arizona chipmaking investment to $40 billion ahead of Biden’s visit
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN Business —Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is upping its investment in the United States, announcing Tuesday that it’s building a second semiconductor factory in Arizona and raising its investment there from $12 billion to $40 billion. On Tuesday afternoon, Biden plans to visit the manufacturer’s site in Phoenix and speak about bringing jobs and investment to the state. TSMC previously announced that it was building a $12 billion facility in Arizona that will eventually manufacture 3-nanometer chips, TSMC’s most advanced technology. The White House is touting the new investments as a direct result of Biden’s economic plan, including the $200 billion CHIPS and Science Act. The facility Biden will visit Tuesday in Phoenix is slated to begin producing chips in 2024.

☆ Analysis: Saudi prince seeks Mideast leadership, independence with Xi's visit
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Aziz El Yaakoubi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

The Saudi government did not respond to requests for comment on Xi's visit and its agenda. It is China's top oil supplier, although fellow OPEC+ producer Russia has increased its Chinese market share with lower-priced fuel. The Chinese delegation is expected to sign dozens of agreements with Saudi Arabia and other Arab states covering energy, security and investments, diplomats have told Reuters. U.S. officials have declined to comment when asked about Saudi-China bilateral relations ahead of Xi's visit. "The relationships with China pale versus those with the United States in terms of both complexity and intimacy," he said.

☆ Western firms’ Chinese red lines are not their own
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Lisa Jucca | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Yet companies’ red lines on China are out of their hands. Undeterred by growing geopolitical tensions and slowing Chinese growth, several Western companies have this year intensified the rate at which they bet on the People’s Republic. If Western states decide to impose sanctions, boards would have their red lines decided for them. Western companies will keep betting on the Middle Kingdom, until their governments stop them. The report predicts China will become the largest global market for luxury goods by 2025.

☆ Huge trade partner and ‘systemic rival.’ Europe has a China problem
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The Covid-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and tit-for-tat sanctions between China and EU lawmakers have strained relations since. The total value of the goods trade between China and Europe hit €696 billion ($732 billion) last year, up by nearly a quarter from 2019. China was the third largest destination for EU goods exports, accounting for 10% of the total, according to Eurostat data. Even so, the United States may exert more pressure on Europe to pull away from China, Borges de Castro noted. EU investment into China has also become more concentrated.

☆ China decoupling takes one step forward, one back
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Pete Sweeney | Thomson Reuters | Asia Economics Editor Pete Sweeney Joined Reuters Breakingviews In Hong Kong In September Previously He Served As Reuters' Chief Correspondent For China Economy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

It has pushed for reshoring production of electric vehicles and silicon chips, and legislated to delist Chinese companies from New York. Europe, Japan, Australia and India have implemented their own measures ranging from restrictions on Chinese investment, excluding equipment from telecoms networks, and banning consumer apps. The impact the pandemic has had on Chinese supply chains has retroactively validated the push to separate. For politicians who hope to replicate the Chinese supply chain via tax tweaks, subsidies and sanctions, it’s worth remembering China started building out the requisite logistical infrastructure in the 1980s. Non-financial outbound direct investment in the same 10-month period rose 10.3% year-on-year to 627.4 billion yuan, Shu said.

☆ India regulator asks One 97 Communications unit to reapply for payment aggregator licence
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MUMBAI, Nov 26 (Reuters) - India's banking regulator has declined a payment aggregator licence for the One 97 Communications Ltd (PAYT.NS) unit that owns the popular Paytm brand, asking it to reapply with 120 days after meeting certain conditions. The regulator asked Paytm Payments Services Ltd, a 100% subsidiary of One 97 Communications, to reapply after getting the necessary approvals for foreign direct investment in the company to comply with existing rules, the company said in a notification to stock exchanges on Saturday. Payment aggregators, platforms that bring together various online payment options, must be licensed by India's central bank and banking regulator, Reserve Bank of India. In its communication to exchanges, One 97 Communications said it does not expect the delay in securing a payment aggregator licence to impact its business. The regulator also asked that Paytm Payments Services not bring onboard new online merchants until it reapplies for the licence.

☆ Vatican Tells Catholics How to Make ‘Faith-Consistent’ Investments
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Francis X. Rocca | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Pope Francis has made protection of the environment and economic justice signature causes of his pontificate. ROME—The Vatican called on Catholic institutions and believers around the world to avoid investing their money in companies that produce fossil fuels, violent videogames and drugs that induce abortion, among other products. The Vatican’s first-ever guidelines on “faith-consistent investing,” released on Friday, are the highest-level effort so far to direct investments in accordance with Catholic teaching. They call for “proactive positive investing” in industries such as renewable energy and microfinance.

"The Egyptian pound will likely remain under pressure until more U.S. dollar inflows from GCC (Gulf nations) and committed foreign direct investment materialises," said Carla Slim at Standard Chartered Bank. Last month's IMF deal has provided some respite. ,"Egypt has got a high debt load and arguably it is more vulnerable even than Pakistan in terms of debt payments as a share of revenues," said Renaissance Capital's chief economist Charlie Robertson. "But the difference is, it has been proactive and been quick to go to the IMF," Robertson added, noting Egypt also has strong support from rich Gulf countries. Egypt's IMF negotiations dragged on for seven months and drove its second big devaluation of the year.

☆ Nexperia and Elmos cases show how the US-China chip war is spilling over to Europe
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Last week, the new owner of Britain’s biggest chipmaker was ordered to unwind its takeover, just days after another chip factory sale was blocked in Germany. “These decisions mark a shift towards tougher stances regarding Chinese investment in critical industries in Europe,” said Xiaomeng Lu, director of geo‑technology at Eurasia Group. A worker in a clean room for silicon semiconductor wafer manufacturing at the Newport Wafer Fab, owned by Nexperia, in Newport, Wales on Aug. 18. A company sign of Elmos Semiconductor, seen on Nov. 9 in the German city of Dortmund. Both Britain and Germany have recently added rules that expand government oversight over such decisions, making outcomes harder to predict.

☆ Brazil posts current account deficit of $4.6 bln in October
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The deficit was $4.6 billion in October, below a $4.9 billion shortfall forecast in a Reuters poll with economists. Year-to-date, the current account deficit reached $44 billion, approaching the $46.4 billion deficit recorded for the entire year of 2021. The data was affected by a methodological review by the central bank that increased the shortfall from last year and this year to September. Meanwhile, foreign direct investment in October totaled $5.5 billion, lower than the $6.5 billion projected by economists. Year-to-date, however, FDI reached $74 billion, handily surpassing the full-year 2021 amount of $46.4 billion.

☆ Opinion: It's time for African countries to consider a climate tax on exports
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Adjoa Adjei-Twum | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

I welcome progress here, as African nations are bearing the brunt of climate change. It is now time for African nations to levy a climate export tax on commodities, such as cocoa and rubber, to help pay for climate adaptation. Adaptation is all about building resilience and capacity, and I believe our governments, banks, and businesses must also adapt. Additionally, G20 countries are asking their banks to forecast how risky their loans are due to climate change. It is a wake-up call for African governments, banks, institutions, and companies to unite, step up, and adapt to a new climate reality.

☆ JPMorgan expects to keep growing in Latin America with improved outlook
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Tatiana Bautzer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SAO PAULO, Nov 23 (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) will keep growing in Latin America over the next few years as it expects the region's geopolitical outlook to improve, said Alfonso Eyzaguirre, the bank's chief executive for Latin America and Canada. He expects Latin America to profit from the changes. Latin America also stands to receive a large portion of private investment to tackle climate change, Eyzaguirre added. JPMorgan has been adding headcount and new services for corporate clients in Latin America. Brazil and Britain are the only countries apart from the United States where JPMorgan has retail banking activities.

☆ IMF urges China to boost COVID vaccinations, restore property sector confidence
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( David Lawder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Nov 23 (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund urged China on Wednesday to boost COVID-19 vaccination rates and give more robust support to its troubled property sector to restore confidence and reduce risks from a global economic slowdown and high energy prices. In a statement following virtual meetings for its annual review of China's economic policies, the IMF said it was maintaining GDP growth forecasts issued in October. The IMF said economic risks for China were tilted to the downside, due to headwinds from a global slowdown, higher energy prices and tighter global financial conditions. PROPERTY SUPPORTThe Fund applauded authorities' recent support initiatives for China's slumping property sector, including a loan program to help complete unfinished homes and allowing forbearance on troubled property loans. The IMF also renewed its longstanding call for more market-based reforms in China, including ensuring "competitive neutrality" between private and state-owned firms.

☆ Manufacturers shifted to Thailand and Southeast Asia due to U.S.-China uncertainty, says Amata CEO
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailManufacturers shifted to Thailand and Southeast Asia due to U.S.-China uncertainty, says Amata CEOVikrom Kromadit of Amata discusses the outlook for foreign direct investment in the region and says concerns about U.S.-China relations have pushed more manufacturers to look to Southeast Asia.

☆ Sri Lanka announces budget aimed at clinching IMF deal, sees recovery by end-2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Uditha Jayasinghe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

COLOMBO, Nov 14 (Reuters) - The crisis-hit Sri Lankan economy can turnaround by end of 2023 if budget policies, which are not limited to the International Monetary Fund's recommendations, are followed, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said in the budget speech on Monday. IMF recommendations have only been looked at to stabilise the economy, Wickremesinghe, who is also the country's finance minister, told parliament, delivering the first annual budget since he took office in July. The budget is likely to include specific measures aimed at reducing the government's deficit and persuading the International Monetary Fund to provide a desperately needed bailout package. Wickremesinghe said the government plans to reduce debt to less than 100% of GDP over the medium term and achieving economic growth of 7%. Reporting by Uditha Jayasinghe; Writing by Swati Bhat; Editing by Simon Cameron-MooreOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Saudi wealth fund, BlackRock to jointly explore Mideast infrastructure projects
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DUBAI, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund and BlackRock (BLK.N) have signed an agreement to jointly explore infrastructure projects in the Middle East, focused on Saudi Arabia. The Public Investment Fund (PIF), which manages more than $600 billion in assets, said their non-binding memorandum of understanding will serve as the anchor for BlackRock's Middle East Infrastructure strategy. It added that the world's biggest fund manager plans to build a dedicated infrastructure investment team in Riyadh. In October last year, Saudi Arabia launched a national infrastructure fund to support up to 200 billion riyals ($53 billion) in projects over the next decade. It was not immediately clear whether the MoU was related to that National Infrastructure Fund, which is part of the National Development Fund.

☆ For East Timor president, ASEAN membership a lifelong dream
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Kate Lamb | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

At the time, East Timor was ruled by Portugal, although it was clear that Lisbon would soon relinquish its colony. East Timor was later annexed by Indonesia and gained full independence only in 2002. At a summit in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh this week, ASEAN said East Timor would be granted observer status at high-level meetings of the bloc as it formulates a "roadmap for full membership". He served as the country's first foreign minister, prime minister from 2006 to 2007, and president from 2007 to 2012, during which time he survived an assassination attempt by rebel soldiers. East Timor celebrated 20 years of independence this year, but the country of 1.3 million people is heavily dependent on dwindling reserves of oil and gas.

☆ Wall Street pushed into digital assets. Now investors are paying the price as FTX's crisis raises questions of a ripple effect in cryptoworld.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Rebecca Ungarino | Danielle Walker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

FTX, the crypto exchange in crisis, found backers in BlackRock, VanEck, and Ontario Teachers. The solvency crisis facing the exchange and its famous CEO raises questions of a ripple effect. Now, in the middle of crypto winter, FTX is in the middle of a solvency crisis. Binance, a rival crypto exchange that was initially going to buy FTX, backed out. "What we like about it is that we're not really speculating on whether prices of crypto assets, bitcoin or otherwise, are going up or down.

☆ In bankrupt Lebanon, locals mine bitcoin and buy groceries with tether, as $1 is now worth 15 cents
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +32 min

Others arrange clandestine meetings via Telegram to swap the stablecoin tether for U.S. dollars in order to buy groceries. In Jan., police raided a small crypto mining farm in the hydro-powered town of Jezzine, seizing and dismantling mining rigs in the process. But mining crypto tokens to earn a living is not for everybody. Younes tells CNBC that he initially moved 15% of his money into bitcoin, and he kept the remaining balance in cash. Lebanon has six bitcoin ATMs — one in Aamchit and five in Beirut, according to metrics offered by coinatmradar.com.

The visit — the first by a G7 leader to China in roughly three years — comes as Germany slides towards recession. A spokesperson for Hamburger Hafen und Logistik (HHLA), the company operating the port terminal, told CNN Business on Thursday that it was still negotiating the deal with Cosco. “The restrictions are suffocating economic growth and heavily impact China’s attractiveness as a destination for foreign direct investment,” he told CNN Business. The ministry did not respond to a request for comment from CNN Business. He predicted that “the large majority will stay committed to the Chinese market and is expecting to expand their business.”Companies appear to be toeing that line.

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