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Most APAC and all major US equity indices closed higher, while
European markets closed mixed. The US bond market was closed for a
market holiday and benchmark European government bonds were higher
across the region, with longer maturity Italian bonds reaching new
record low yields. iTraxx closed tighter across IG and high yield,
while WTI/Brent were both lower on the day. The US dollar ended the
day flat and both gold and silver were higher on the day.
Americas
US equity markets closed higher today; Nasdaq +2.6%, S&P
500 +1.6%, DJIA +0.9%, and Russell 2000 +0.7%.
Today's rally in the Nasdaq coincided with an increase in the
CBOE NDX Volatility Index, which potentially indicates that the
buying of option contracts is fueling a more significant share of
the day's gains given that volatility typically decreases during
rallies. A similar trend occurred during the Nasdaq rally in August
and early-September. (Bloomberg)
US bond markets were closed for a market holiday.
DXY US dollar index closed flat/93.05.
Gold closed +0.1%/$1,929 per ounce and silver +0.6%/$25.27 per
ounce.
Crude oil closed -2.9%/$39.43 per barrel.
The first confirmed case of COVID-19 reinfection in the US has
added to doubts about "herd immunity" from the virus, and worried
experts because the patient became more seriously ill following the
second infection. A 25-year old Nevada man tested positive for
COVID-19, after developing moderate symptoms in April. He then
suffered more severely two and a half months later, requiring
emergency oxygen therapy. University of Nevada scientists found
many more differences in the two genetic fingerprints of the
viruses than could be explained by mutations during one long
illness, confirming two separate infections. (FT)
Tesla has requested approval to build battery cells as well as
vehicles in Texas, according to media reports. Bloomberg reports
that in a 188-page filing with the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality, Tesla indicated its battery intent.
Bloomberg quotes the document as saying, "The facility is proposing
to operate a cell-manufacturing unit to produce the battery packs
that are installed in the vehicle." Bloomberg noted that Tesla's
senior vice-president for powertrain and energy strategy, Drew
Baglino, did not respond to requests for comment. Tesla announced
the site selection of Austin (Texas) for its next US plant in July.
At a recent Battery Day event, Tesla outlined plans for a new
battery that will be cheaper and easier to produce, but also
indicated the company will continue to source batteries from its
current partners, although other than saying the new batteries are
in the pilot production phase at the Fremont (California) plant,
did not identify which plants will build them. (IHS Markit
AutoIntelligence's Stephanie Brinley)
Plant- and cell-based meat advocates have teamed up again with
Tofurky to challenge yet another state labeling law restricting the
use of traditional terms on the labeling of alternative "meat"
products. In a lawsuit filed on Oct. 7 on behalf of alternative
meat producer Tofurky, the Good Food Institute (GFI) and the Animal
Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) have challenged a sweeping labeling law
in Louisiana, which prohibits the use of terms such as "meat,"
"sausage" or "burgers" on any products made from non-traditional
sources, including plants, insects or cell based meat. The
Louisiana statute, which went into effect Oct. 1, was enacted with
wide support from the state's agriculture industry in June and had
caught GFI's attention months ago, as it sought to impose broad
restrictions on the use of common terms such as "meat," "rice" or
"sugar" on the labels of non-traditional products. Under the
statute, producers cannot use traditional terms such as "burgers,"
"hot dogs" and "rice" in products, such as "veggie burgers,"
"meatless hot dogs" or "cauliflower rice," even when the labels
include a modifier to clarify the products were derived from
non-traditional sources. Moreover, the statute established a fine
of up to $500 per day, per product, for manufacturers who violate
the restrictions. While Louisiana's ag industry has hailed the
statute as a way to protect consumers from confusing labels, the
new lawsuit claims it violates Tufurky's First Amendment right to
truthful commercial speech. Filed with the U.S. District Court for
the Middle District of Louisiana, on behalf of Hood River, Ore.-
headquartered Tofurky manufacturer Turtle Island Foods, the
complaint argues that the Louisiana law violates the company's
First Amendment right to truthful commercial speech. The complaint
also highlights the protectionist nature of the statute, noting
that rather than based on evidence of confusion among consumers,
the statute was enacted only to protect the state's traditional
meat and cattle industry. (IHS Markit Food and Agricultural
Policy's Margarita Raycheva)
Arbiom has achieved successful operation of its fermentation
technology for seven days without contamination or product quality
issues. The company is aiming to move from batch production of its
SylPro protein-rich feed ingredient to continuous commercial
manufacturing. The start-up converts wood into protein for animal
feed using biomass processing, fermentation technology and enhanced
microorganism strains. Durham, North Carolina-based Arbiom said
fermentation and downstream process stages "ran smoothly and
continuously" during a demonstration version of its technology. The
company produced over half a ton of SylPro - an alternative protein
approved for use in the EU, Canada and the US. SylPro has an
enhanced amino acid profile and high digestibility for use in
animal feed. The amount of SylPro produced during the demonstration
exceeded Arbiom's initial target. The firm worked with Bio Base
Europe Pilot Plant (BBEPP). The demonstration as conducted at
BBEPP's facility in Belgium. BBEPP is an independent facility that
operates from a laboratory level to a multi-ton scale. It operates
as service provider for process development, scale-up and custom
manufacturing of bio-based products and processes. Arbiom continues
to work on scaling up its technology with the help of BBEPP. The
start-up has completed over 1,500 hours of process scale-up
operations for SylPro. By the end of 2020, it expects to have run
its bioconversion process continuously at the 15m3 scale (15,000
liters). Earlier this year, Arbiom secured successful results from
a study evaluating SylPro for use in Nile tilapia feed. The firm
has also gained positive results from trials testing SylPro as a
feed ingredient for weanling pigs. (IHS Markit Animal Health's
Joseph Harvey)
The Central Reserve Bank of Peru (Banco Central de Reserva del
Perú: BCRP) opted to maintain the policy rate during its 7 October
meeting, citing below-target inflation and the continued need to
support access to credit. (IHS Markit Economist Jeremy Smith)
October marks the sixth consecutive month at the 0.25% level
after the BCRP cut its key policy rate by 100 basis points in
April. Annual consumer price inflation ticked up to 1.8% in August
from 1.7% in July, which remains below the 2% target rate but is
within the bottom portion of the target range.
During the session the BCRP also agreed to hold constant the
overnight deposit rate at 0.15% and the rate on security/currency
repo operations at 0.50%. These measures, along with the Reactiva
Perú program, which provides businesses with access to credit,
offer continued liquidity support for the economy.
The Peruvian government guarantees commercial bank loans issued
under the program at up to 95% of the principal amount.
Private-sector credit and private-sector liquidity grew at annual
rates of 14.4% and 25.8%, respectively, in August.
The BCRP signaled its intention to maintain a strong
expansionary stance for as long as the effects of the coronavirus
disease 2019 (COVID-19)-virus pandemic continue to put downward
pressure on inflation, even as preliminary indicators point to
significant progress towards recovery for the Peruvian and global
economies in the third quarter.
In the short-to-medium term, Peru will continue to provide
strong support to the private sector through the Reactiva program.
Although the reference policy rate has held steady at 0.25% since
April, average annual lending rates to small businesses fell from
22.19% in April to 3.29% in August.
IHS Markit expects annual inflation for 2020 to remain below
the 2.0% target rate because of weak domestic demand amid a harsh
economic recession; we therefore currently expect the BCRP to keep
its policy rate constant until late 2021.
The media reports that JBS, the world's largest meatpacking
company, has set a target for zero deforestation and the
introduction of measures to track the history of all animals in its
supply chain by 2025 to ensure that no cattle originate from
illegally deforested land. In 2019 and 2020, forest fires destroyed
large areas of the Brazilian Amazon rainforest. In response,
non-governmental organizations (NGOs), foreign governments, and
companies have increasingly blamed deforestation on the expansion
of Brazil's agribusiness industry and perceived lack of
environmental controls. Amid a growing global focus on climate
change, environmental sustainability is becoming increasingly
important for international suppliers and consumers, with the
Brazilian Amazon a key focal point. Given this dynamic, companies
operating in Brazil face increasing pressure from exporters to
demonstrate efforts to ensure sustainability to avoid reputational
damage and the risk of consumer or investor boycotts. (IHS Markit
Country Risk's Ailsa Bryce and Carlos Caicedo)
The growth and geographical expansion of cattle ranching and
agribusiness in Brazil is increasingly encroaching on the Amazon
rainforest. Numerous NGOs, including the World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
have reported rising Amazon-based deforestation. WWF reported that
9,205 square kilometers were deforested between 1 August 2019 and
31 July 2020, a 33% increase on the same period in 2018-19.
Threats of boycotts by international brands and global
supermarket chains selling Brazilian products with potential links
to deforestation are increasing pressure to ensure environmental
sustainability. In May 2020, more than 40 supermarkets, including
the United Kingdom's Sainsbury's, Tesco, Morrisons, and Marks &
Spencer, signed an open letter demanding that the Brazilian
Congress implement stricter regulations to prevent deforestation,
without which they pledged to boycott Brazilian meat products.
International condemnation of deforestation puts pressure on
companies in other sectors to meet Environmental, Social, and
Governance (ESG) requirements, with increased risk of blacklisting
of Brazilian companies. In June 2020, 29 financial institutions,
including Legal & General Investment Management, Sumitomo
Mitsui Trust Asset Management, and Nordea Asset Management,
delivered a letter to the Brazilian government stating that should
deforestation continue, they would consider divesting their
interests in Brazilian companies.
Europe/Middle East/Africa
European equity markets closed mixed; Germany/France +0.7%,
Italy +0.6%, Spain flat, and UK -0.3%.
10yr Italian govt bonds closed -4bps/0.68% yield and 30yr bonds
-7bps/1.53% yield, which both broke through new all-time low yields
today.
10yr European govt bonds closed higher across the region;
Germany/France/Spain -2bps and UK -1bp.
iTraxx-Europe closed -1bp/51bps and iTraxx-Xover
-10bps/307bps.
Brent crude closed -2.6%/$41.72 per barrel.
EU farming association Copa-Cogeca has welcomed the European
Parliament's support for the creation of a carbon-crediting scheme
for farmers, which would pay food producers for the greenhouse
gases they store in soils. Copa-Cogeca made the statement after
MEPs voted their position on the new EU climate law, which the
European Commission proposed in March to legally enshrine its Green
Deal ambition of reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by
2050. In amendment 144 to the draft Regulation, the MEPs state that
the Commission should explore the feasibility of introducing
carbon-crediting schemes, including for land use in agriculture,
and present the results of this assessment by 30 June 2021. Pekka
Pesonen, secretary-general of Copa-Cogeca, said this would be an
"excellent opportunity" to boost the carbon sequestration potential
of agricultural lands and increase farmers' income through a
market-based approach. (IHS Markit Food and Agricultural Policy's
Pieter Devuyst)
Mercedes-AMG is to drop its 'Hot-Vee' 4.0-litre V8 turbocharged
powertrain from the next-generation C63 high-performance sedan and
replace it with a hybrid 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbocharged unit,
reports Autocar. According to the report, the unit will be based
closely on the M 139 engine, in the current Mercedes-AMG A45 S and
which has the highest specific output of any current production
model, at 421 bhp; however, the unit will have enhanced hybrid
capability. This is an example of dramatic engine 'downsizing' on a
performance vehicle, with the proposed new C63 having exactly half
the capacity and number of cylinders as its direct predecessor. It
will be the first time that Mercedes' performance variant in this
segment has had four cylinders since the 1980s and the Mercedes
190E 2.3 16v. It is brave of Mercedes-AMG to go down this route on
a high-performance D-segment sedan and coupé, as customers enjoyed
the character of the 'Hot Vee' V8 - so-called because its turbos
are packaged on top of the engine in between the cylinder banks -
an integral part of the experience of the current C63 and also the
AMG-GT, which it also powers. For example, BMW retained the
turbocharged straight-six layout of the previous M3 and M4 on the
just-launched new iterations. The new C63, which will utilize 48v
technology to boost its power, is due to be launched in 2022. (IHS
Markit AutoIntelligence's Tim Urquhart)
In August, on a seasonally and working-day-adjusted basis,
Dutch manufacturing output was up by 0.7% month on month (m/m), a
significant deceleration from an increase of 4.0% m/m in July.
Output was down by 4.4% year on year (y/y) and also by 4.4%
compared with February, prior to the impact of the COVID-19 virus
pandemic. (IHS Markit Economist Daniel Kral)
On a seasonally unadjusted basis, in July average daily output
of the Dutch manufacturing sector was down by 4.0% y/y. On a
three-month moving average basis, output was down by 6.4% y/y - an
improvement from 9.1% in July.
In July, most major sub-components were a drag in annual terms.
The biggest drops were recorded in repair and installation of
machinery, which was down by 28.1% y/y; transport, down by 12.6%
y/y; and metals, down by 10.5% y/y.
At 52.5 in September, the Dutch manufacturing purchasing
managers' index remained largely unchanged from August. However,
the output sub-index increased to 55.9 indicating a continued
strong rebound in output in the short term.
The latest output and survey data reinforce our baseline of a
strong, but partial, bounce back in the third quarter after a
record contraction in the previous quarter. The pace of the rebound
is likely to fade over time.
The Dutch export sector is highly dependent on European demand,
with 70% of goods exports going elsewhere in the European Union.
The continued recovery in Dutch manufacturing activity is heavily
dependent on European demand.
According to Statistics Finland, working-day adjusted output
contracted by 2.4% year on year (y/y) in August, following a slide
of 6.1 y/y in July. This brought the cumulative fall in industrial
output in January-August to 3.1% y/y. Seasonally adjusted data show
growth of 2.0% from July in August. (IHS Markit Economist Venla
Sipilä)
The manufacturing of electronics and metal output both returned
to annual growth in August. Meanwhile, chemical-sector
manufacturing contracted in August, while the mining sector
continued its significant slide.
Finnish Customs reports that the value of goods exports
decreased by 14.8% y/y in August, and by 16.4% y/y in
January-August. Imports fell by 14.4% y/y in August and by 12.3%
y/y during the first eight months of the year.
As a result, the trade balance in August showed a deficit of
EUR245 million (USD290 million), which presents a narrowing of 7.2%
y/y. However, the January-August gap of EUR2.4 billion marks more
than triple of the shortfall in annual comparison
The August fall in exports was broad-based, with oil
processing, chemical, and mechanical forest industries and
industrial machinery and equipment sectors all reporting sharp
decreases. An aircraft delivery to the United States contributed
EUR116 million to the value of exports of transport equipment, and
without this, total exports in August would have decreased by 17.1%
y/y (instead of 14.8% y/y).
Exports to nearly all key trade partners decreased in August,
with the notable exception of the US. In particular, exports to
Russia fell by nearly 40% y/y and exports to China dwindled by
around 26% y/y, while exports to Germany decreased by 5.2% y/y. EU
exports on the whole decreased by 14.3% y/y and extra-EU exports by
15.4% y/y.
The moderating pace of the industrial contraction well matches
our forecasts. Although the June collapse of 7.1% y/y seems to have
presented the bottom of this output cycle, the recovery's momentum
is weak and fragile, as the Finnish economy and its European trade
partners are coping with increasing cases of the COVID-19, which
brings uncertainty to the outlook.
The autonomous vehicle operation technology entity formerly
known as Zenuity has been renamed Zenseact. According to the
company's website, the new name combines the words zen, sense and
act, reflecting not only the abilities of its technology but also
giving occupants an opportunity to relax. The decision to change
the name comes in the wake of Volvo Cars and Veoneer announcing
that they would split the Zenuity joint venture (JV) which they had
previously established. Under this move which was completed on 1
July, Zenuity became a standalone independent company wholly owned
by Volvo Cars which includes operations and staff in Gothenburg
(Sweden) and Shanghai (China). Veoneer received intellectual
property licenses and around 200 software engineers located in
Germany, the US, and Sweden, as well as USD15 million in cash. The
change of name is likely to be in order to signal the end of the
earlier JV. Zenseact will focus on the development of autonomous
technology for Volvo's next-generation SPA2 architecture, which
will be first used on the XC90 sport utility vehicle (SUV) and is
set to feature the 'Highway Pilot' technology, as well as building
on and further developing what was previously Zenuity's software
platform. (IHS Markit AutoIntelligence's Ian Fletcher)
Both merchandise export and import contraction remain severe as
of August 2020, contributing with lost service revenues to a
contraction of overall trade activity in Croatia. With the sluggish
recovery of both European and Croatian economic activity, total
volume of trade will remain low throughout the remainder of 2020.
(IHS Markit Economist Andrew Birch)
Detailed trade data show a more than 7% year-on-year (y/y)
contraction in Croatian exports in January-July 2020 in nominal
kuna terms. Preliminary data for August report a moderation in the
fall of merchandise goods that month, to just 1.8% y/y, though the
cumulative losses remained large, at 6.5% y/y.
With a re-emergence of COVID-19 infections within Croatia,
domestic demand has failed to drive imports back upwards. After
contracting by 11.5% y/y through the first seven months of the
year, imports fell by another 7.8% y/y in August. With losses still
severe, imports were down by 11.1% y/y in January-August 2020.
Tourism statistics through July paint a dismal picture for the
export of services. In January-July, the number of foreign tourist
arrivals was down by 68.8% y/y. After essentially evaporating in
April and May, foreign tourist arrivals remained far below
year-earlier levels in both June (down 86.4% y/y) and July (down
51.2% y/y).
Lost merchandise exports is severely disrupting domestic
industrial activity and, thus, overall economic prospects. With the
sluggish recovery of the European production cycle, we do not
anticipate any substantial improvement in either exports or
industrial production in the final quarter of 2020.
Asia-Pacific
Most APAC equity markets closed higher except for Japan -0.3%;
Mainland China +2.6%, Hong Kong +2.2%, Australia/South Korea +0.5%,
and India +0.2%.
Japan's private machinery orders (excluding volatiles), a
leading indicator for capital expenditure (capex), notched up by
0.2% month on month (m/m) in August following a 6.3% m/m rise in
July. That said, private machinery orders remained weak, dropping
13.7% below the year-earlier level, gradually softened from a 25.3%
year-on-year (y/y) decrease in June. Seasonally adjusted figures by
industry groupings were rather sluggish, as manufacturing fell by
0.6% m/m and non-manufacturing (excluding volatiles) dropped by
6.9% m/m. (IHS Markit Economist Harumi Taguchi)
The first m/m drop in orders from manufacturing in three months
reflected declines in orders from chemical and chemical products,
shipbuilding, iron and steel, and some other groupings, and these
were largely offset by solid rises in orders from general-purpose
and production machinery, non-ferrous metals, and other transport
equipment. The weakness in orders from non-manufacturing was due
mainly to drops in orders from finance and insurance.
A solid improvement in orders from overseas (up 49.6% m/m)
could drive industrial production and in turn support recovery of
orders from manufacturing. However, recovery in orders from
overseas is still patchy and the resurgence of COVID-19 infections
in some countries could dampen further improvement. Substantial
declines in corporate profits and continued sluggish cash flows
could push out fixed investment.
Baidu has announced the opening of its Apollo Go Robotaxi
service at full scale to users in Beijing, reports Gasgoo.
Customers will be able to take driverless taxi rides free of charge
(without needing to pre-book) in pick-up spots in Beijing Economic
Technological Development Area, Haidian District and Shunyi
District. The free robotaxi service is available from 10 October
until 6 November 2020. The service can be used via Baidu Maps or
Apollo Go Apps. At the moment, Apollo Robotaxi allows two
passengers aged between 18 and 60 with a safety driver on board. In
September, Baidu opened the "Apollo Go Robotaxi" service to the
public in Beijing. Initially, it deployed 40 robotaxis in a trial
area with a total length of 700 km. Baidu is the first company to
use robotaxis picking up passengers in Beijing. It has previously
launched Apollo Go in Cangzhou (see China: 24 August 2020: Baidu
launches public trial of robotaxis in Chinese city Cangzhou), and
has been offering free robotaxi rides to the public in Changsha, a
service that was previously limited to verified volunteers. (IHS
Markit Automotive Mobility's Tarun Thakur)
Great Wall Motor has recorded a 17.8% year-on-year (y/y)
increase in sales to 117,812 units during September. <span/>(IHS Markit
AutoIntelligence's Abby Chun Tu)
The strong performance in September helped the automaker to
narrow the gap further between its year-to-date (YTD) sales in 2020
and last year's volumes for the same period. Great Wall's combined
sales volumes total 680,690 units in the YTD (January to
September), down 6.0% y/y.
Total deliveries of the automaker's Haval brand increased 5.14%
y/y to 79,120 units in September, while sales of the WEY brand rose
by 3.86% y/y to 9,037 units.
Sales of the automaker's pick-up trucks, including the Wingle
and P-series, were 22,885 units last month, up 67.29% y/y.
Sales of the Ora electric vehicle (EV) brand were 6,619 units
last month, compared with 1,877 units in September 2019.
Great Wall's export volumes totaled 7,773 units in September.
In the YTD, the automaker reports export volumes of 41,457
units.
Great Wall's pick-up product line was the main contributor to
its sales growth in September.
General Motors (GM) delivered more than 771,400 vehicles in
China in the third quarter of the year, up 12% year on year (y/y).
The figure includes both imported vehicles and locally produced
models. (IHS Markit AutoIntelligence's Abby Chun Tu)
Among its brands, Buick delivered 252,000 vehicles in the third
quarter, up 26% y/y.
Cadillac deliveries increased 27.6% y/y to 65,200 units while
Chevrolet delivered 77,500 vehicles, down 20% y/y.
Baojun and Wuling, GM's two brands under the SAIC-GM-Wuling
joint venture (JV) reported mixed results for the third quarter.
Baojun deliveries fell by 18.6% y/y to 100,100 units while
deliveries of Wuling increased 26.3% y/y to 276,600 units.
GM's sales performance in the third quarter is in line with the
overall passenger car market, which has been rising continuously
since May.
Strong consumer desire for new vehicles and a resilient Chinese
economy despite the COVID-19 virus pandemic are underlying forces
behind the rebound in passenger vehicle demand.
Following its July 2020 announcement on its new MySE11-203 11
MW hybrid drive turbines, Mainland Chinese company MingYang Smart
Energy has signed an agreement with certification body DNV GL to
conduct tyoe certification for its new offshore wind turbine.
MingYang has stated that the MySE11 is based on the similar compact
design and dybrid drive of its predecessor product MySE5.5 MW
turbine. The company has claimed that the light-weight and compact
size will suit the fast-growing offshore wind market sector, and is
setting its sights on the European market. (IHS Markit Upstream
Costs and Technology's Melvin Leong)
The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) newly appointed Monetary
Policy Committee (MPC) kept the key interest rates unchanged
following its October policy meeting, with the repo rate at 4.0%,
the reverse repo rate at 3.35%, and the marginal standing facility
rate and the bank rate at 4.25%. (IHS Markit Economist Hanna
Luchnikava-Schorsch)
Despite inflation being above the RBI's tolerance band of 2-6%
- which prevented the MPC from making a rate cut in October - it
decided to continue with the accommodative stance "as long as
necessary - at least during the current financial year and into the
next financial year", while ensuring that inflation remains within
the target range.
The decision was unanimous among all six MPC members -
including the three newly appointed external members, who are
regarded as more dovish than their predecessors.
In the RBI's assessment, the underlying factors behind the
current elevated consumer price inflation - which stood at 6.7% in
both July and August - are supply shocks related to the COVID-19
virus pandemic and the measures to combat it, which should
dissipate once the economy gradually reopens and supply chains are
restored.
Despite keeping policy rates unchanged, the RBI announced other
measures to lower banks' lending rates and provide sufficient
liquidity for the economy and the government. Specifically, it
pledged to double the size of open-market bond purchases to INR200
billion (USD2.7 billion) and to buy state government bonds as an
exceptional measure (this is usually reserved for central
government debt only).
The latter is particularly important in light of the growing
fiscal burden of India's state governments amid a sharp rise in
healthcare spending and a goods and services tax (GST) revenue
shortfall.
To boost liquidity for other parts of the economy, the RBI
raised the limit on banks' retail credit exposure and committed to
providing INR1 trillion of targeted long-term funds (TLTRO) for
banks to extend loans and invest in corporate bonds and commercial
papers in specific sectors.
The MPC also released its updated real GDP projections. It
expects real GDP growth to contract 9.5% in the financial year
ending March 2021 (FY 2021) and to rebound to growth of 20.6% in FY
2022.
The RBI's October statement clearly indicates that it is ready
to prioritize growth revival over inflation, which would require it
to deploy further monetary stimulus as domestic demand gradually
recovers. In 2020 alone, the RBI has cut the policy repo rate by
115 points, and it is now likely to cut rates again as early as its
next meeting in December 2020 or the first quarter of 2021.
The Delhi state government has waived road tax on electric
vehicles (EVs) under its new EV Policy, reports the PTI. The
transport department stated that the Lieutenant Governor of the
national capital territory of Delhi, Anil Baijal, has exempted the
tax levied on all EVs. This will be applicable on all EVs with
immediate effect. "Another crucial step towards ensuring a
pollution-free Delhi. This incentive-based policy will encourage
large scale adoption of EVs, and bring us closer to fulfilling our
dream of making Delhi the EV capital of India," Chief Minister
Arvind Kejriwal tweeted. The state government also revealed its
intention to waive the registration fee for EVs in the next few
days. The Delhi state government rolled out a new three-year EV
Policy in August with the aim of countering the rising level of air
pollution, and in line with the Indian government's goal to
encourage sales of environmentally friendly vehicles in the
country. (IHS Markit AutoIntelligence's Isha Sharma)
Groupe PSA is reportedly looking to launch a mass-market
electric sport utility vehicle (SUV) model in the Indian passenger
vehicle market in 2022, reports ETAuto. The model, codenamed eCC21,
is expected to be priced around INR800,000 (USD10,959).
Additionally, the company is looking to add a flexi-fuel small SUV
that is compatible to run on a 1.2-litre gasoline (petrol) engine
with ethanol blends starting from 27% to 100% on the biofuel, in
the second half of 2021. Citroën India has confirmed its plans to
launch its first model in India, the Citroën C5 Aircross SUV,
during the first quarter of 2021. The model was previously expected
to debut at the end of this year, but the plan was deferred owing
to the ongoing challenging business environment due to the COVID-19
virus outbreak. (IHS Markit AutoIntelligence's Isha Sharma)
South Korea's National Assembly became the country's first
state organization to adopt a fuel-cell bus, and it will use it to
help transport people within the parliament and from neighboring
subway stations, reports the Yonhap News Agency. "We will initially
operate the hydrogen [fuel-cell] bus two to four times a day as a
shuttle bus for those who visit the National Assembly, along with
other combustion engine buses," said an unnamed National Assembly
official. The fuel-cell bus, manufactured by Hyundai, can travel up
to 434 km on a single charge, and it takes about 13 minutes to
fully charge the 180 kilowatt-hour battery installed in the bus.
The National Assembly set up a hydrogen charging station inside the
parliament in September last year. This latest development is in
line with the South Korean government's wider aims to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions, generate new growth momentum for its
automotive industry, and reduce its heavy reliance on imported oil.
Hydrogen fuel has a strong potential to revive sluggish
manufacturing businesses, including small and medium-sized
enterprises, which in turn will create new jobs. (IHS Markit
AutoIntelligence's Jamal Amir)
Hyundai will voluntarily recall around 77,000 units of the Kona
Electric, manufactured between September 2017 and March 2020,
globally over a potential battery fire risk, reports Yonhap News
Agency. The recall comes after 13 fires have been reported
involving the model since 2018. Hyundai has already decided to
recall 25,564 units of the Kona Electric sold in the domestic
market after the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and
Transport (MOLIT) pointed out that a possible short circuit in the
faulty battery cell system may start a fire in the affected
vehicles. Hyundai's US unit reportedly filed its recall plan to the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently. It
reportedly plans to recall more than 11,000 units of the Kona
Electric in North America and more than 37,000 units in Europe, as
well as 3,000 units sold in other countries. (IHS Markit
AutoIntelligence's Jamal Amir)
DSME has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with
Kepco Engineering & Construction Company (Kepco E&C), a
unit of Korea Electric Power Corporation, to jointly develop
floating nuclear power plants. DSME will provide its shipbuilding
knowledge and expertise while Kepco will provide its expertise in
nuclear power plant design under the cooperation agreement. It is
believed that the floating offshore nuclear plant will be equipped
with the Bandi-60, a small modular nuclear reactor which Kepco has
been developing since 2016. (IHS Markit Upstream Costs and
Technology's Jessica Goh)
Australia's draft federal budget has proposed several changes
to so-called "super" (superannuation or pension) fund arrangements.
Under the proposals, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority
(APRA) would undertake regular benchmark performance testing. Funds
deemed to be underperforming would be obliged to notify their
investors and would be prevented from taking on new members after
two years of poor performance. Benchmarking procedures also would
entail the creation of a new web platform to enable employees to
review funds' fees and past performance before selection. The
proposals additionally suggested so-called "stapling" of funds to
employees to avoid the need for them to create a new pension
account when moving employment. Finally, funds would be legally
required to act in the best interests of their members and to
disclose their outlays. The "stapling" feature is designed to
reduce costs for pension savers. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said in
his budget speech that the savings could reach AUD450 million
(USD324.5 million) annually, avoiding approximately six million
accounts from being duplicated or becoming redundant. (IHS Markit
Economist Brian Lawson)
Keppel O&M has secured a contract worth approximately
USD442 million (SGD600 million) from an undisclosed energy company
for the EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) of a vessel
for the offshore wind industry. No details of the vessel or
expected delivery date were provided. Last year, Ørsted contracted
Keppel O&M's wholly owned subsidiary Keppel FELS to build two
600 MW offshore wind farm substations for the Greater Changhua 1
and 2a OWFs (offshore wind farms) in Taiwan. Keppel FELS is also
building two converter stations as part of the DolWin cluster
servicing German OWFs. Further, Keppel O&M delivered and has a
stake in Fred. Olsen Windcarrier's jackup installation vessel Blue
Tern. (IHS Markit Upstream Costs and Technology's Jessica Goh)
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