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The overnight Shanghai Interbank Offered Rate (Shibor), which measures the borrowing cost of China's interbank market, decreased 24.5 basis points to 2.041 percent on Thursday. The seven-day Shibor shed 9.2 basis points to 2.705 percent, while the two-week rate was down 0.9 basis points to 2.923 percent. The one-month Shibor dropped 1.8 basis points to 2.825 percent, the three-month rate was down 1.2 basis points to 2.807 percent, and the six-month rate edged down 0.9 basis points to stand at 2.848 percent.

China Construction Bank profits increase

China Construction Bank, one of the country's largest State-owned commercial banks, said on Wednesday its 2018 net profits climbed 5.11 percent to 254.66 billion yuan ($37.9 billion). The lender's business revenue rose 5.99 percent to 658.89 billion yuan last year. Its net interest income rose 7.48 percent to 486.28 billion yuan, it said in a financial report filed to the Shanghai Stock Exchange. By the end of 2018, the lender's total assets amounted to 23.22 trillion yuan, up 4.96 percent from one year earlier, while liabilities came in at 21.23 trillion yuan.

Carmaker BYD to post strong quarterly results

The net profit of BYD, one of China's leading carmakers, is expected to surge by 538.39 to 778.65 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of this year. BYD said it is expecting a net profit of 700 million to 900 million yuan ($104 million to $134 million) in Q1. Net profits attributable to its shareholders totaled 2.78 billion yuan in 2018, a drop of 31.63 percent year-on-year, according to its annual report filed to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

ZTE reports lower revenue in 2018

Chinese telecommunications company ZTE reported full-year operating revenue of 85.51 billion yuan ($12.7 billion) last year. It marked a yearly decrease of 21.41 percent, according to the company's annual report filed to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on Thursday. The company's net profit last year plummeted by 252.88 percent year-on-year, suffering a loss of 6.98 billion yuan.

iQIYI issues convertible bonds worth $1.05b

China's leading online entertainment company iQIYI has announced the pricing of its proposed offering of convertible bonds, worth $1.05 billion in total and with a tenor of 6 years. With an interest rate of 2 percent per year, the bonds will mature on April 1, 2025, unless repurchased, redeemed or concerted before the date, according to a company statement. The company has also granted initial buyers of the bonds a 13-day option to purchase up to additional such bonds worth $150 million.

Saudi Aramco buys 70% of SABIC's shares

Saudi petroleum company Aramco on Wednesday announced the signing of an agreement to acquire 70 percent of shares of the Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) from the Public Investment Fund for $69.1 billion. The remaining 30 percent shares in SABIC are not part of the transaction, and Saudi Aramco has no plans to acquire the remaining shares, said a statement by the Saudi Press Agency. The transaction is subject to certain closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, the statement said.

Swiss institute lowers 2019 growth forecast

Worsening international conditions are forecast to negatively impact Switzerland's export-driven economy, with the Swiss Economic Institute (KOF) saying on Wednesday it is lowering its outlook for this year. "Brexit uncertainty ... downturn in the euro area: the Swiss economy is operating in a tough environment. KOF is lowering its forecast for GDP growth in 2019 from 1.6 percent to 1.0 percent," said the institute affiliated to the Swiss university ETH Zurich in a news release.

Italian economy to just exit recession in 2019

The Italian economy would exit recession during 2019, if only by a very small margin, a report by an economic think tank forecast on Wednesday, on the same day as the country's central bank governor warned structural reforms were urgent. "In a context of slowing global growth, Italy overcomes the technical recession with no change in gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter of 2019," Bologna-based think tank Prometeia stated in its Quarterly Economic Outlook. Thanks to this slight improvement, the think tank said a corrective budget action by the Italian government would be needed for the current year.

US mortgage rates stay at lower level

Mortgage applications in the United States rose last week as mortgage rates remained at a low level, Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said on Wednesday. For the week ending March 22, MBA's market composite index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, rose 8.9 percent from a week earlier. "The spring buying season is off to a strong start. Thanks to an unexpectedly large drop in mortgage rates following last week's FOMC meeting, purchase applications jumped 6 percent and refinance applications surged over 12 percent," said Joel Kan, associate vice-president of economic and industry forecasting at MBA.

Crude oil production to maintain steady trend

US crude oil production remained level during the week ending March 22, US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday. According to EIA's data, US crude oil production last week stayed the same as the previous week at 12.1 million barrels per day, up by about 1.7 million barrels per day year-on-year. In its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), EIA said that US crude oil production averaged 11.9 million barrels per day in February, down slightly from the January average. EIA forecast that US crude oil output will average 12.3 million barrels per day in 2019 and 13.0 million in 2020, with most of the growth coming from the Permian region in the states of Texas and New Mexico.

Australia to boost mud crab exports

More Australian mud crabs will be exported to China thanks to a government fund supporting producers in the state of Queensland. Australian Gulf Seafoods (AGS) were announced as a beneficiary of the Growing Queensland's Food Exports program on Thursday, allowing them to ship their catch from Australia's northern Gulf of Carpentaria to markets across Asia. "Whether it's mud crabs, barramundi, grey mackerel or pomfret, Queenslanders know AGS only supplies the freshest and best," state Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries Mark Furner said.

Mobile payments make headway in Malaysia

Malaysia's mobile payments saw its total purchase transactions surged 20 times to 23.7 million, underpinned by non-bank players, its central bank said on Wednesday. "We expect the mobile payment to continue to gain momentum with further acceleration in the migration to e-payments," its governor Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus told a press briefing. After implementing instant payments in December last year, the central bank will launch unified QR code for merchants to accept payments in the second half.

Kyrgyzstan expects 5% inflation this year

The National Bank of Kyrgyzstan predicts 5 percent inflation by the end of 2019, the press service of the central bank reported. "The price dynamics in Kyrgyzstan remain low. In March, the overall price level in annual terms fell by 0.4 percent. The National Bank forecasts inflation by the end of 2019 at the level of 5 percent, and its average annual value is expected to be no higher than 3 percent," the report said. The growth tendency continues in the economy of Kyrgyzstan, mainly in the manufacturing industry, with real GDP rising by 4.9 percent from January to February this year, according to the bank.

China Daily - Agencies