Russian company pulls London IPO raising questions about investor sentiment
With the European equity markets turning choppy in recent days it is no surprise that would-be issuers are thinking twice about pricing – or whether to go ahead at all. Among the companies to have decided against braving the unpredictable tides of market sentiment is Uralchem, the Russian fertiliser producer, which this week pulled a $600m London listing. But the decision may say less about the general state of the market than about Uralchem’s specific challenges.
Russia bids to increase grip on Ukraine
It was never likely that Russia’s campaign to reassert its influence in Ukraine would end with last week’s deals for cheap gas, investments and agreement over a Black Sea naval base. However, today’s news that Moscow is proposing for Gazprom to take over Ukraine’s Naftogaz state gas company comes as a shock. To be moving so far and so fast shows how serious Vladimir Putin, the Russian prime minister, is about reinforcing Moscow’s power in the former Soviet Union.
[Update] Indian ban on Chinese telecoms
Revelations that the Indian government has been blocking Chinese telecom equipment makers from selling their products in the subcontinent has had ripple effects across Asia.
The share price of major Chinese producer ZTE fell as much as 8.7 per cent to Rmb36.96 on Friday afternoon in Shenzhen, the company’s base. Its Hong Kong-traded stock fell 4.7 per cent to HK$28.15.
Foreign tech firms fear China’s new encryption rules
Foreign technology companies are bracing for the horror scenario that they might lose part or all of their market in China overnight as new rules are expected to take effect Saturday that make government certification compulsory for information security related products but fail to spell out how foreigners can apply.
Is fame a blessing or a curse for China’s rich? Mr and Mrs Li are about to find out
Rich lists are so unpopular among wealthy Chinese that they are often called “death lists” thanks to the disproportionate numbers of nominees who seemingly find themselves under investigation for financial crimes. But compilers of Chinese rich lists insist the fame that publicity brings rich people is more often a blessing than a curse.
Li Li and his wife Li Tan are about to find out who is right. The couple, entrepreneurs from Shenzhen, in southern China, this week became the country’s richest couple virtually overnight after their small pharmaceutical export company sold shares in a Chinese IPO.
CEE market snapshot: mild recovery but fear of contagion still present
Central and eastern European markets resumed a mild recovery early on Friday, as Greece seemed close to securing the multibillion euro eurozone – International Monetary Fund aid package. The markets settled down after European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said a programme to avoid a Greek default would be hammered out within days, but investors still feared a spread of the Greek fiscal crisis.
Poland: does Warsaw really want a new IMF credit line?
A difference of opinion has emerged between Poland’s central bank and the government about whether to ask the International Monetary Fund to extend its $20.5bn flexible credit line which expires very soon. While, the dispute is not serious – the bank says it will go along with whatever the government decides – it seems that even in the heat of the Greek crisis, officials have their positions to defend.
By Joe Cochrane in Jakarta
With its 200m people and 17,500 islands, Indonesia is in dire need of transport and energy infrastructure investment. But foreign companies have long struggled to bring schemes to fruition in the face of delays, legal uncertainty and bare-faced corruption. But the remarkable progress made with one $5.2bn scheme suggests conditions may be getting better.
New York morning headlines
Asia markets wrap: Baoshan shines, Chinese equities down
Mainland Chinese equities underperformed their Asian peers, on lingering worries about policymakers’ determination to cool property markets in the world’s fastest growing economy.
Baoshan Iron and Steel stood out after it said interim profits were expected to rise somewhere between sixfold and tenfold year-on-year.
Elsewhere in the region easing fears about potential contagion from the Greek debt crisis helped foster modest gains. Hong Kong fared better on well-received earnings news from the banking sector.
bb: further reading
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