beyondbrics

* China manufacturing grows at faster pace, resists tightening

* Indian census shows slower population growth

* EU eyes anti-subsidy duty oChina’s Baidu to shut e-commerce platformn Chinese paper

* Guangdong Development Bank said to plan $4bn dual listing

* Rothschild venture taps China private equity demand

* Topaz postpones $1.7bn flotation

* Budgets could push Saudis to high oil price

* Pratt & Whitney wins big engine order from low-cost airline IndiGo

* Schneider Electric in talks to buy stake in India’s Luminous

* China’s Baidu to shut e-commerce platform

* Markets, mixed

China manufacturing grows at faster pace, resists tightening
China’s manufacturing growth accelerated for the first time in four months, easing concern that monetary tightening may lead to a sharp slowdown in the world’s second-biggest economy, Bloomberg reports. The Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to 53.4 in March from 52.2 in February, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said in a statement on its website today.

Indian census shows slower population growth
India’s population grew at its slowest pace since independence in the decade to 2011, the government said on Thursday, a trend welcomed by some since it may lead to higher living standards and sounder public finances in a country with enough young people, Reuters reports. Its population, pegged by the Census of India at 1.21 billion at the beginning of 2011, has been a drag on economic growth, with successive governments unable to find the schools, jobs or food productivity to match the demographic bulge. The growth of 17.6 percent from 2001, the last time Indians were counted, compared with 21.5 percent in the previous decade, the preliminary census report said.

EU eyes anti-subsidy duty on Chinese paper
Europe is poised to open a new front in its trade battle with China after member states agreed to a proposal to put anti-subsidy duties on imports of high-end paper, the FT reports. The case, which still requires a final vote, would mark the first instance in which the European Union has imposed anti-subsidy tariffs against Chinese manufactured goods.  The move suggests that the EU is willing to take more aggressive measures to confront what it believes are unfair trade practices by the world’s largest exporter.

Guangdong Development Bank said to plan $4bn dual listing
Guangdong Development Bank Co., part owned by Citigroup Inc. (C), plans to raise about $4 billion in an initial public offering in Hong Kong and Shanghai, two people with knowledge of the matter said, Bloomberg reports. The lender may sell stock as early as the third quarter, the people said, declining to be identified because the sale process is confidential. Guangdong Development, with 544 outlets in China, will probably send a formal request to investment banks to submit proposals for the IPO the next week, they said.

Rothschild venture taps China private equity demand
Financier Jacob Rothschild has launched a $750 million private equity fund to help Chinese investors to take part in international deals, Reuters reports. The new fund, capitalising on fresh economic reforms and appetite for overseas investment, will target investors from the newly-formed China International Chamber of Commerce for the Private Sector. Rothschild’s private equity venture RIT Capital Partners, and Chinese investor Creat Group will provide seed capital for the fund, hoping to raise some $650 million from other Chinese enterprises. It could be ready for investing from July, Rothschild told Reuters in a telephone interview.

Topaz postpones $1.7bn flotation
Topaz Energy & Marine, one of the biggest oilfield service companies in the Middle East, has pulled its $1.7bn flotation in London less than a month after announcing its intention to list, becoming the latest corporate victim of the civil unrest sweeping the region, the FT reports. Oman’s Renaissance Services, which owns Topaz, in a statement blamed the “increasingly uncertain investment climate for new issues caused by international events” for the decision but said the initial public offering was delayed rather than cancelled.

Budgets could push Saudis to high oil price
Saudi Arabia could need the oil price to average more than $100 a barrel by 2015 to sustain the big public spending rises it plans in an effort to forestall the political unrest sweeping the Middle East, the FT reports. The oil market is growing increasingly worried about Riyadh’s fiscal needs as it fears that they could force Saudi Arabia to pursue oil policies similar to those of Venezuela and Iran, traditionally the price hawks at the Opec oil cartel.

Pratt & Whitney wins big engine order from low-cost airline IndiGo
Calling it the company’s largest single order in the past 50 years, Pratt & Whitney said Thursday it received an order for 300 new Geared Turbofan engines from Indian low-cost carrier IndiGo, the WSJ reports. The new engines will power 150 Airbus A320neo jets IndiGo ordered in January. The company declined to put a dollar value on the contract. The deal is another boost for Pratt’s newest entry into the commercial jet engine market.

Schneider Electric in talks to buy stake in India’s Luminous
French energy major Schneider Electric is in advanced talks to acquire a majority stake in the Delhi-based Luminous Power Technologies, people familiar with the development said, the Economic Times reports. Luminous has revenue of about 1,150 crore and is an important player in the industry.

China’s Baidu to shut e-commerce platform
Baidu Inc, China’s largest search engine, will shut its online e-commerce store, Youa, and migrate its users to other platforms, it said on Thursday, Reuters reports. The shutdown will take effect in May and Youa’s existing merchants will be migrated to Rakuten China and Yaodian100, Baidu said in a statement.The closure of Youa, which Baidu had set up to rival Alibaba’s popular online shopping site, Taobao, cements Taobao’s position as the leading e-commerce player in China.

Emerging Markets
MSCI Emerging Market Index up +1.48% at 1,160

Americas
DJIA down -0.25% at 12,320
S&P 500 down -0.18% at 1,326
Bovespa up +0.87% at 68,587

Asia
Nikkei 225 up +0.11% at 9,765
Topix down -0.14% at 868.20
Hang Seng up +0.16% at 23,566
Shanghai Composite up +0.24% at 2,935
MSCI Asia ex-Japan up +0.31% at 574.19
S&P CNX Nifty Index down -0.17% at 5,824

Currencies
€/$ 1.42 (1.42)
$/¥ 83.72 (83.18)

Commodities
Brent Crude (ICE) down -0.15 at 117.21
Light Crude (Nymex) up +0.32 at 107.04
100 Oz Gold (Comex) down -6.90 at 1,432