Emerging Markets Daily - October 26
UN Says 'Climate Catastrophe' Looms, DP World Posts Strong 3Q Results, Nigeria's e-Naira Launches, COSCO and Piraeus Port, Facebook's Threat to 'Global South'
The Top 5 Stories Shaping Emerging Markets from Global Media - October 26
World is On Track For ‘Climate Catastrophe,’ UN Chief Warns
Wall Street Journal
“The world’s emissions-reduction plans would allow far more global warming than targeted in the Paris climate accord, and some of the biggest emitters, including the U.S., aren’t on track to hit their pollution targets, according to a report from the United Nations.”
“Tuesday’s report adds urgency to the summit set to begin in a few days in Glasgow, Scotland, the first major climate meeting since more than 190 nations signed the Paris agreement in 2015.”
“Countries are searching for ways to reach the agreement’s goals, which call for them to ensure the rise in global temperatures by the end of the century is well under 2 degrees Celsius compared with the preindustrial era, and to strive to limit warming to 1.5 degrees.”
“The U.S. and Europe are pressing big developing nations, mainly China and India, to make more ambitious pledges to cut emissions. But China and India are rebuffing them. They want the West to do more, arguing that Americans and Europeans are responsible for far more carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases per person than their developing-world counterparts.”
“The U.N. report analyzes all plans submitted under the Paris accord as of Sept. 30, and those—such as China’s—that haven’t been submitted. It finds the measures detailed in those plans through 2030 would still leave the world 2.7 degrees warmer by the end of the century.”
“This confirmed a finding from September that didn’t include analysis of China’s plan or big polluters such as South Africa and Japan. ‘We are still on track for climate catastrophe, even with the last announcements that were made,’ said U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres.” Matthew Dalton reports.
DP World Posts Strong 3Q Shipping Growth Amid Trade Recovery
The National
“DP World, one of the world's largest port operators, posted an 8.1 per cent increase in third-quarter gross container shipping volumes, beating the industry average of 6.4 per cent, with all the regions it operates in reporting growth.”
“The Dubai-based ports company handled 19.8 million twenty-foot equivalent units, or TEUs, across its global portfolio of container terminals in the third quarter of 2021, up from 18.2 million TEUs in the same quarter a year ago, it said on Tuesday.”
“The growth was mainly driven by the company's operations in the Middle East, Africa, Australia, the Asia-Pacific region and India, with a ‘strong performance’ reported in Qingdao in China, Mumbai in India and Sokhna in Egypt, it said.”
"‘This strong performance illustrates the resilience of the global container industry and DP World’s continued ability to outperform the market,’ said Sultan bin Sulayem, group chairman and chief executive of DP World/ ‘Encouragingly, all our regions continue to deliver volume growth, with India being a key driver.’”
“Global trade is expected to grow 9.7 per cent a year in 2021 and 6.7 per cent in 2022, after shrinking 8.2 per cent in 2020, despite ‘temporary disruptions’, according to the International Monetary Fund.” Deena Kamel reports.
eNaira: Nigeria Rolls Out Africa’s First Digital Currency
AfricaNews
“Nigeria is officially launching a new digital version of its currency, the eNaira, after postponing the operation initially planned for early October, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari announced Monday.”
“With this launch, Nigeria, Africa's largest economy in terms of GDP and the continent's most populous country (over 200 million inhabitants), is a pioneer on the continent, alongside Ghana, which has been testing its e-Cedi as a new means of exchange since September.”
"‘We have become the first country in Africa and one of the first in the world to have introduced a digital currency for our citizens,’ said Buhari. The president said the new digital currency would improve cross-border trade, financial inclusion for people outside the formal economy and increase remittances.”
“Originally scheduled for October 1, the launch of the eNaira had been delayed by the Central Bank, citing the country's independence anniversary celebrations. Crypto-currencies are widely used in Nigeria, ranked in 2020 as the third largest user of virtual currencies in the world after the United States and Russia, by a study from specialist research firm Statista.”
“With cryptocurrencies, Nigerians are mainly looking to escape the constant depreciation of the naira in recent years. They also make it easier for them to receive money from the diaspora or move their savings out of the country.” AfricaNews reports.
China’s COSCO Raises Stake in Top Greek Port Piraeus to 67%
Nikkei Asia
“State-owned China COSCO Shipping, China's top maritime freight company, has lifted its stake in Greece's largest port to 67%, tightening control over an important link in the country's Belt and Road initiative.”
“An event was held Monday to mark the completion of the transfer to COSCO of an additional 16% stake in the Mediterranean Sea port of Piraeus, a container ship hub for Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.”
“COSCO says China's involvement in Piraeus has helped it develop, citing increased container traffic through the port. But the Chinese presence remains contentious, both among locals accusing COSCO of failing to meet its obligations, and among countries like the U.S. that have expressed concern over possible military uses.”
“COSCO acquired a 51% stake in operator Piraeus Port Authority in 2016 for about 280 million euros ($326 million at current rates). It has provided no further details about this additional investment.”
“With the second phase of its share acquisition, the shipper will further expand its investment, increase its input of resources and launch new shipping routes to build the port into a regional logistics distribution center, Chairman Xu Lirong said, according to an announcement Monday.” Shin Watanabe reports.
Facebook Puts ‘Global South’ in Danger, Whistleblower Warns
Rest of World
“When Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen was asked what motivated her to share a trove of internal company documents with 18 news organizations and researchers in India and the Middle East, her response was straightforward. ‘The reason I wanted to do this project is because I think the Global South is in danger,’ she said.”
“Now, the publication of the so-called ‘Facebook Papers’ confirms what activists, journalists, and civil society organizations in the Global South have been alleging for years: that Facebook chronically underinvests in non-Western countries, leaving millions of users exposed to disinformation, hate speech, and violent content.”
“Over the last 72 hours, Rest of World combed through more than 60 pieces of reporting from the New York Times, CNN, Washington Post and the rest of the Facebook Papers consortium to offer a country-by-country view of how Facebook’s repeated underinvestment around the world has helped spur hate, violence, and even armed conflict.” Rest of World reports.
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