Emerging Markets Daily - October 19
Singapore Travel Opening Stirs Hope for Asia, GlobalFoundries and Mubadala in $2.6B IPO, China Flying Cars, First Bitcoin Futures ETF, China To Sway Coal Market
The Top 5 Stories Shaping Emerging Markets from Global Media - October 19
Singapore Quarantine-Free Travel Stirs Hope for Wider Asia Travel
Nikkei Asia
“Quarantine-free travel is slowly resuming in Asia, with Singapore and some other key destinations opening up to passengers who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.”
“Asia has lagged far behind Europe and North America in reviving cross-border travel. But as inoculation rates rise and economic pressures mount, the Philippines, Thailand and other countries are also gradually reopening their borders to visitors from selected departure points -- moves the aviation industry hopes will spread.”
“Starting Tuesday, Singapore is allowing vaccinated travelers from the U.K., the U.S. and six other countries -- Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain -- to enter for any purpose, without isolating upon arrival. These eight countries add to two existing partners, Germany and Brunei, already eligible for Singapore's ‘vaccinated travel lane’ program.”
“The first passengers from the new countries are expected to depart from Amsterdam on Tuesday and arrive in Singapore early on Wednesday, according to the schedules of airlines operating designated flights for the program. As for the U.S., the designated flights include routes from New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle.” Kentaro Iwamoto reports.
GlobalFoundries, Mubadala Seek to Raise $2.6 Billion in IPO
Bloomberg
“Chipmaker GlobalFoundries Inc. and major shareholder Mubadala Investment Co. plan to raise as much as $2.6 billion in a U.S. initial public offering.”
“The company is marketing 33 million shares while Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala plans to sell 22 million shares, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday. The shares are being offered at $42 to $47 each, the filing showed. At the top of that range, GlobalFoundries would have a market value of $25 billion based on the outstanding shares listed in its filing.”
“Funds managed by BlackRock Inc., Columbia Management Investment Advisers, Fidelity Management, an affiliate of Koch Industries Inc. and Qualcomm Inc. have indicated interest to buy a combined about $1.05 billion of the shares in the offering as cornerstone investors, the filing showed…”
“The chipmaker was created by purchasing the manufacturing operations of Advanced Micro Devices Inc. in 2009 and later combining it with Singapore’s Chartered Semiconductor. Mubadala was planning for the business to be valued in a listing at around $30 billion, Bloomberg News reported in July.” Bloomberg reports.
China Flying Car Start-Up Secures a Record $500 Million - the Most for Urban Air Transport in Asia
South China Morning Post
“HT Aero, a Chinese company that is developing flying cars, has raised US$500 million from a clutch of investors, the most for any urban air transport start-up in Asia.”
“The Guangzhou-based firm, an affiliate of Xpeng Motors, said it is trying to get its vehicles certified as airworthy by regulators. Unlike many of its rivals who are aiming for corporate customers, HT said it will target individuals and hopes to launch its first flying car commercially in 2024…”
“IDG Capital, 5Y Capital and Xpeng were the leading investors in HT’s Series A financing. Another five investors – Sequoia Capital, Eastern Bell Capital, GGV Capital, GL Ventures and Yufeng Capital – also participated.” Daniel Ren reports.
First Bitcoin Futures ETF Rises in Trading Debut
Wall Street Journal
“The first bitcoin-focused exchange-traded fund rose modestly in its debut Tuesday. The ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF was up 4.1% in afternoon trading at $41.65. So far, roughly 21.4 million shares of the ETF changed hands worth more than $890 million, making it one of the most highly traded fund debuts ever.”
“The launch is being closely watched on Wall Street, where finding a way to sell securities linked to bitcoin has been a priority for many firms. Bethesda, Md.-based ProShares rang the bell at the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday to celebrate the launch of its ETF, which goes by the ticker BITO and holds bitcoin futures contracts rather than the cryptocurrency.”
“‘There are a multitude of investors who have brokerage accounts and are comfortable buying stocks and ETFs,’ said ProShares Chief Executive Michael Sapir in an interview. ‘We think this will appeal to them…’”
“Other asset managers are expected to launch similar funds, including Valkyrie Investments, VanEck and others. But one of the biggest global asset management firms, Invesco, on Monday put its bitcoin futures ETF on hold.” Michael Wursthorn reports.
China Considers Intervening in Coal Market to Cool Prices
Financial Times
“China’s powerful state planning agency is considering intervening in the coal market after rising prices added to the country’s energy crunch. Record prices have made it too expensive for coal-fired power stations to operate at a profit, forcing them to curtail output and adding to electricity shortages that are crippling the country’s economy.”
“The National Development and Reform Commission said on Tuesday it had organised a meeting with big coal producers and the China Electricity Council. ‘The National Development and Reform Commission will . . . study specific measures to intervene in coal prices.’”
“In the wake of the comments, thermal coal futures for December traded on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange fell 8 per cent to just Rmb1,928, having earlier climbed above Rmb2,000, or $300 a tonne.”
“The NDRC said the move might be needed because coal prices were still rising and coal was an important energy source as the country entered winter. Thermal coal is burnt in power stations to generate electricity.”
“Beijing has already ordered coal producers to boost output, with officials in Inner Mongolia, one of China’s largest coal-producing regions, instructing 72 local miners to expand capacity by 100m tonnes.” The FT Breaking News reports.
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