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US and most European equity indices closed higher, while most
major APAC markets were lower. US government bonds and most
benchmark European bonds closed slightly lower. European iTraxx and
CDX-NA closed modestly tighter across IG and high yield. The US
dollar and oil closed higher, while gold, silver, and copper were
all lower.
Americas
US equity indices closed higher; Russell 2000 +2.0%, Nasdaq
+1.2%, and DJIA/S&P 500 +1.1%.
10yr US govt bonds closed +1bp/1.15% yield and 30yr bonds
closed +1bp/1.94% yield.
The difference between the yields on the 30-year Treasury and
the shorter-term five-year note reached 147.3 basis points on
Thursday, the widest since October 2015. Investors said the
development reflected the prospects of a large additional injection
of economic stimulus from the Biden administration, along with the
stronger global growth expected as vaccination drives gather pace.
(FT)
CDX-NAIG closed -1bp/51bps and CDX-NAHY -8bps/289bps.
DXY US dollar index closed +0.4%/91.53.
Gold closed -2.4%/$1,791 per ounce, silver -2.5%/$26.23 per
ounce, and copper -0.6%/$3.55 per pound.
Crude oil closed +1.0%/$56.23 per barrel.
Seasonally adjusted (SA) US initial claims for unemployment
insurance fell by 33,000 to 779,000 in the week ended 30 January.
The not seasonally adjusted (NSA) tally of initial claims fell by
23,525 to 816,247. Even as initial claims trend down, they remain
at historically high levels—the high during the Great Recession
was 665,000. (IHS Markit Economist Akshat Goel)
Seasonally adjusted continuing claims (in regular state
programs), which lag initial claims by a week, fell by 193,000 to
4,592,000 in the week ended 23 January. The insured unemployment
rate edged down 0.2 percentage point to 3.2%.
There were 348,912 unadjusted initial claims for Pandemic
Unemployment Assistance (PUA) in the week ended 30 January. In the
week ended 16 January, continuing claims for PUA fell by 125,969 to
7,217,713.
In the week ended 16 January, continuing claims for Pandemic
Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) fell by 289,910 to
3,603,098. With the latest extension to 24 weeks for PEUC, eligible
recipients can receive up to 50 weeks of unemployment benefits
between the regular state programs and PEUC.
The Department of Labor provides the total number of claims for
benefits under all its programs with a two-week lag. In the week
ended 16 January, the unadjusted total fell by 486,405 to
17,835,525; a year earlier, this total was 2,108,515.
US employers announced 79,552 planned layoffs in January,
according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas—up 3.3% from
December's 77,030. January's total was the highest January reading
since 2009 and was 17.4% higher than the number of cuts announced
in January 2020, prior to the onset of the pandemic. (IHS Markit
Economist Juan Turcios)
January was the 11th month to report job-cut announcements
specifically because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which totaled 4,620
for the month. Employers cited other reasons including a downturn
in demand (29,822), restructuring (19,526), and market conditions
(15,056) more frequently than COVID-19 as causes of job-cut
announcements in January.
Last year, 2,304,755 job cuts were announced, 289% higher than
in 2019. The yearly total was the highest on record and surpassed
the previous annual record of 1,956,876 announced job cuts in 2001
by 17.8% (Challenger began tracking job-cut announcements in
January 1993). The bulk of those job-cut announcements were
concentrated in the second and third quarters.
Of the 2,304,755 total job cuts announced over 2020, nearly
half (1,109,656) were because of COVID-19, according to employers.
COVID-19 was the leading reason cited for job-cut announcements
last year but was cited less frequently toward the end of the
year.
Amid disruptions stemming from COVID-19, US productivity
(output per hour) and compensation per hour in the nonfarm business
sector each rose sharply during the second quarter, but they
diverged in the third and fourth quarters. (IHS Markit Economists
Ken Matheny and Lawrence Nelson)
Productivity declined at a 4.8% annual rate in the fourth
quarter following increases in the third and fourth quarters (10.6%
and 5.1%, respectively). Hours worked rose 10.7% in the fourth
quarter following a 37.1% increase in the third quarter. For the
year, productivity rose 2.5% as hours declined 5.0%.
Compensation per hour increased at a 1.7% rate in the fourth
quarter after declining 2.2% in the third. Over the second half of
2020, compensation per hour edged lower at a 0.3% rate after
surging 16.5% over the first half.
Productivity declined more than we expected in the fourth
quarter while compensation per hour increased by less than
expected. Unit labor costs rose at a 6.8% pace in the fourth
quarter, 1.2 percentage points above our estimate.
Manufacturers' orders rose 1.1% in December, while
manufacturers' shipments rose 1.7%. The increase in orders was
slightly above expectations. Meanwhile, inventories rose 0.3% in
December, ahead of the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)'s
assumption, and November inventories were revised higher. (IHS
Markit Economists Ben Herzon and Lawrence Nelson)
As of December, manufacturers' shipments were 0.9% above
February 2020, and manufacturers' orders were only 0.6% below
February 2020; that is, at least by this measure, the recovery in
the manufacturing sector is essentially complete.
With goods production fully recovered, continued broad recovery
hinges on services, much of which is "in-person" spending. Recovery
here depends on the spread of the virus and the extent to which
individuals, businesses, and local governments are willing to
re-engage the services economy.
General Motors (GM) is the latest automaker whose production is
being affected by the semiconductor shortage facing the auto
industry globally, involving the company's plants in the United
States, Canada, Mexico, and South Korea, reports Reuters. According
to the report, GM is to stop production for one week starting on 8
February at its plants in Fairfax, Kansas, United States;
Ingersoll, Ontario, Canada; and San Luis Petosi, Mexico. In
addition, GM's Bupyeong 2 plant in South Korea will run at half
capacity during the same week. GM has not indicated how much
production it expects to be lost. However, the plants were selected
for the production slowdown to ensure sufficient microchip supply
for higher-margin and higher-selling products, including full-size
pick-ups and sport utility vehicles (SUVs), as well as the
Chevrolet Corvette. GM indicated that it intends to make up as much
of the lost production as possible later in the year. As of the
week ending 29 January, IHS Markit's estimate of the impact of the
microchip shortage on global auto production was about 628,000
units in 2021. However, the situation is very fluid and that figure
is likely to change with automakers' announcements early in
February, including from GM. (IHS Markit AutoIntelligence's
Stephanie Brinley)
Amazon has started testing its Rivian-produced electric vans in
Los Angeles and making customer deliveries with the vans, according
to an Amazon blog post. The testing will expand to 15 other cities
in 2021, although Amazon did not indicate whether these will be
cities in California or elsewhere in the United States. The company
said that it had begun testing four months earlier, but it is now
using the vehicles for customer deliveries and on customer routes.
Ongoing testing work includes performance and safety durability in
various climates and geographies; full production is still
scheduled for late 2021. The test vehicles were produced by Rivian
at its Plymouth, Michigan, facilities; the production vehicle will
be built at Rivian's Illinois production facility. In preparation
for the fleet, Amazon also reported that it has installed thousands
of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at its delivery stations
across North America and Europe. The announcement is significant in
indicating that the program is moving forward quickly and on
schedule. Amazon placed its orders for 100,000 EV vans in 2019.
(IHS Markit AutoIntelligence's Stephanie Brinley)
Aptiv has released its financial results for the fourth quarter
and full year 2020. In the fourth quarter, the automotive industry
further normalized, aside from sporadic supply-chain disruptions,
after production shutdowns in the second quarter. Aptiv reports
that its sales increased 17% during the fourth quarter compared
with the same period of 2019, to USD4.2 billion. For the full year
2020, however, Aptiv posted a 9% decrease in revenue to USD13.1
billion; this was most directly tied to a 46% year-on-year (y/y)
decline in revenue in the second quarter on the back of production
disruption caused by the COVID-19 virus pandemic. The automotive
industry supplier reported net income of USD283 million in the
fourth quarter, an increase from net income of USD230 million in
the corresponding period a year earlier. Revenue increased 10% in
Asia (including a 9% rise in China), 37% in South America, 20% in
Europe, and 11% in North America. (IHS Markit AutoIntelligence's
Stephanie Brinley)
The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (Instituto
Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística - IBGE) shows that in
December 2020, industrial output grew by 8.2% compared with
December 2019, driven by strong production of capital goods as well
as durable goods. However, growth deceleration is expected based on
lower demand resulting from lower fiscal stimulus. (IHS Markit
Economist Rafael Amiel)
For the full-year 2020, industrial production (IP) plunged by
4.5% as many factories were closed during March and April. IP had
recovered to pre-pandemic levels in September and strong growth
continued during the final quarter of the year.
Intermediate goods, which account for more than half of the
index, were down by 1.1% in the full year, while production of
capital goods and durable goods still has ample room to catch
up.
As per IHS Markit's Commodities at Sea, during January 2021,
Brazilian iron ore and pellet shipments stood at a healthy 28.2mt,
up 28% y/y. During the reported month, total Brazilian iron ore and
pellet shipments to China (Mainland) stood at 20mt (up 37% y/y).
Thus, representing 71% of all Brazilian cargoes to China (Mainland)
versus 66% a year ago. For 1Q21, Brazilian iron ore and pellet
exports forecasted at 84.5mt (up 28% from previous year levels) and
for full 2021 at 375mt (up 11% y/y). (IHS Markit Maritime and
Trade's Pranay Shukla)
Europe/Middle East/Africa
Most European equity markets closed higher; Italy +1.7%, Spain
+1.4%, Germany +0.9%, and UK -0.1%.
Most 10yr European govt bonds closed lower except for Italy
-4bps; UK +7bps and Germany/France/Spain +1bp.
iTraxx-Europe closed -1bp/48bps and
iTraxx-Xover-5bps/244bps.
Brent crude closed +0.7%/$58.84 per barrel.
The U.K. will require travelers from coronavirus hot spots to
quarantine starting Feb. 15, the government said, adding flesh to a
policy first announced last month. Arrivals from countries on the
U.K.'s travel ban list will be required to isolate for 10 days in
government-approved accommodation, the Department for Health and
Social Care said Thursday. The government is seeking bids from
hotels near airports and ports to support the program.
(Bloomberg)
Siemens Gamesa has scored a mega deal worth GBP6.5 billion
(USD8.9 billion) as the preferred bidder for the supply and
installation of its newest 14+ MW offshore wind turbines for the
East Anglia Hub. The two companies will work together to lower the
cost of power for the next round of Contracts for Difference bids
schedules later this year. Siemens Gamesa will focus on developing
its turbine design to achieve further efficiencies and maximize
local supply chain opportunities. The East Anglia Hub consists of
offshore wind farms East Anglia ONE, TWO, and THREE in the southern
North Sea, and are developed ScottishPower Renewables, a subsidiary
of Iberdrola. (IHS Markit Upstream Costs and Technology's Melvin
Leong)
Jazz Pharmaceuticals (US/Ireland) has agreed to acquire GW
Pharmaceuticals in a USD7.2-billion cash-and-stock deal, which is
the largest merger and acquisition deal of the year so far and a
probable indicator that the merger and acquisition environment in
2021 is on course to be highly active. In value terms, this is the
fourth-largest deal observed by IHS Markit in the past 14 months.
The companies announced on 3 February that Jazz Pharma will pay
USD220 per depository share, which amounts to a premium of about
50%. This comprises USD200 in cash plus USD20 in Jazz Pharma
shares. The buyout by Jazz Pharma will give the company rights to
GW Pharmaceuticals' oral cannabidiol-derived drug Epidiolex, which
is approved for use in the European Union and the US as a treatment
for Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome, two rare and
severe forms of childhood-onset epilepsy. Including the US FDA's
approval of Epidiolex in a new indication for tuberous sclerosis
complex in July 2020, GW Pharmaceuticals has previously forecast
that the drug treatment could generate sales in 2020 amounting to
USD510 million. The combined new business entity will be
well-positioned in the sleep disorder and epilepsy therapeutic
areas and the oncology space. (IHS Markit Life Sciences' Eóin
Ryan)
The European Commission could end funding to promote red and
processed meats under a review of the EU's €200 million annual
"promotion of agricultural products" policy announced on 4 February
as part of a new Europe's Beating Cancer Plan. (IHS Markit Food and
Agricultural Policy's Sara Lewis)
Between 2016 and 2019, 24% of the EU agricultural promotion
policy budget was allocated to campaigns promoting meat and meat
products, for example the €1.4 million "Pork Lovers Europe"
marketing drive or the €4.5 million "Proud of EU beef"
initiative.
With prevention a key pillar of the Cancer Plan, the Commission
wants to reduce exposure to risk factors for cancer, including
dietary ones. The aim of the review, which should bring proposals
at the end of this year, is to bring the agricultural promotion
policy more in line with healthy eating recommendations, including
lowering consumption of red and processed meat.
"Diet can influence cancer risk many years before the diagnosis
of cancer, already during childhood. Diets with ample intake of
fruits and vegetables, whole grains instead of refined grains, and
low intake of red meat and processed meat, sugar-sweetened
beverages, and salt will reduce the risk not only of cancer, but
also of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and overall mortality,"
writes the Commission in response to a question on actions it will
be taking on food in a question-and-answer paper on the Cancer
Plan.
The promotion policy review is also linked to the Farm to Fork
(F2F) Strategy, which aims to make food and farming more
sustainable. "The Commission is undertaking a review of the
promotion policy for agricultural products, with a view to
enhancing its contribution to sustainable production and
consumption, and in line with the shift to a more plant-based diet,
with less red and processed meat and other foods linked to cancer
risks and more fruit and vegetables," states the Cancer Plan
itself.
Moreover, the Commission pledges to propose a revision of the
EU school fruit, vegetables and milk scheme to make more healthy
products available to children.
The German passenger car market posted a highly accelerated
31.1% y/y decline in January to 169,754 units, according to the
latest set of data released by the Federal Motor Transport
Authority (Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt: KBA). The principal reason for the
marked decline last month, which followed an increase of 9.9% y/y
in December 2020, was the return of the VAT rate from 16% to its
pre-COVID-19 level of 19% on 1 January. The January sales numbers
were always likely to be painful reading for the German market's
major players as a result of the VAT rate returning to its
pre-pandemic level and the resultant pull-forward effect seen in
December last year. For the full year 2021, IHS Markit sees the
German passenger car market coming in at 3.16 million units, which
is a strong improvement on 2020's 2.92 million units, although it
will lag behind 2019's pre-pandemic figure of 3.61 million units.
(IHS Markit AutoIntelligence's Tim Urquhart)
France's inflation rate, as measured by the "flash" Harmonised
Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) stood at 0.8% in January, according
to a "flash" estimate released by the National Institute of
Statistics and Economic Studies (Institut national de la
statistique et des études économiques: INSEE). Inflation had
stagnated in December 2020. (IHS Markit Economist Diego Iscaro)
The inflation rate in January was the highest since July 2020,
when it had spiked due to the effect of the delayed summer sales.
Inflation averaged 0.5% in 2020.
In January, the delay in winter sales (they started on 20
January, as opposed to 8 January in 2020) led an acceleration in
prices of manufacturing goods prices, which rose by 1.0% year on
year (y/y). Prices of manufactured goods had contracted by 0.9% in
December and 0.2% in 2020.
The increase in manufactured goods prices explained around 70%
of the acceleration in the inflation rate in January. Increasing
prices of services (+0.9% y/y, following +0.7% y/y in December) and
a less intense decline in energy prices (-5.9% y/y, after a fall of
7.0% y/y in December).
Food prices rose by 1.0% y/y in January, unchanged from
December. Meanwhile, tobacco prices continued to rise strongly,
increasing by 12.7% y/y following a rise of 12.5% y/y during the
previous month.
According to the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO),
the quarterly index of Swiss consumer sentiment - seasonally and
calendar-adjusted and compiled from a survey of around 1,400
randomly chosen households (although structured across language
regions) - slipped slightly further from last October's -13 to -15
in January. This nonetheless remains well clear of the April 2020
all-time low of -39 and only modestly below the January 2020
pre-pandemic level of -10, but it also continues to undershoot the
long-term average of -5. (IHS Markit Economist Timo Klein)
Fugro's Robodock project has received a subsidy of USD3.9
million (EUR3.3 million) from Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend
Nederland (RVO) to develop an uncrewed drone based maintenance
platform for offshore wind projects. The aim of the project is to
develop a platform from which unmanned vessels and drones can
perform inspection and maintenance tasks above as well as below
water. Robodock will provide recharging facility for the drones,
establish communication with the shore, and monitor safety and
environment around the wind farm. Fugro has partnered with three
other companies and a research institute for this project. (IHS
Markit Upstream Costs and Technology's Neeraj Kumar Tiwari)
Tikkurila says that its board has unanimously recommended that
the company's shareholders accept an improved tender offer from PPG
Industries of approximately €1.52 billion ($1.82 billion), or
€34.00/share. The offer represents a premium of approximately 8.8%
over AkzoNobel's competing bid of €1.4 billion or €31.25/share
submitted on 18 January. Analysts at Bernstein (London, UK) note
that PPG's proposed deal "has a high likelihood of going through,"
since some of Tikkurila's major shareholders including Oras Invest,
representing a total stake of 29.34% in the company, have
unconditionally agreed to sell their shares to PPG. Meanwhile, PPG
says it expects the deal to close as early as March, or early in
the second quarter of 2021. PPG submitted its initial offer for
Tikkurila of €1.1 billion, or €25/share, on 18 December 2020. PPG
raised its offer to €1.24 billion, or €27.75/share, on 5 January,
in response to a competing offer by Hempel. Tikkurila's board
recommended on 15 January that shareholders accept the revised
offer by PPG. (IHS Markit Chemical Advisory)
The Baltyk I project, owned by Poland's Polenergia and Equinor,
have signed an agreement through their company MFW Baltyk I, with
Polish grid operator Polskie Sieci Elektroenergetyczne (PSE). The
agreement will allow the connection of the 1,560 MW Baltyk I
project offshore wind farm to the Polish electricity distribution
network, after complying with the specifications laid out by PSE in
early 2019. Besides the Baltyk I project, Polenergia and Equinor
are jointly developing two other projects - Baltyk II and Baltyk
III. The later two projects each have a capacity of 720 MW,
bringing the total capacity of the three projects to 3 GW if fully
realized. The projects are located in water depths of 20 to 40
meters, and are expected to come online as early as 2025. (IHS
Markit Upstream Costs and Technology's Melvin Leong)
Annual consumer price inflation in Turkey continued to
accelerate as 2021 began, rising to 15.0% in January. Sharp losses
in the lira in November continue to contribute to inflationary
pressures, even as the Turkish currency has since recovered
strongly. The Turkish central bank has become much more defensive
since November, aiming to confine the continued acceleration of
inflation. The bank has also urged the government to take action to
rein in inflation. (IHS Markit Economist Andrew Birch)
In January 2021, Turkey registered 15.0% annual consumer price
inflation, continuing the steady acceleration that began in October
2020. Annual inflation is now back at its highest level since
August 2019.
Over the past year, surges in the cost of transportation and
food and beverages have been primary contributors to the upward
movement in consumer price growth. However, limited consumer
activity has kept price gains in clothing and footwear, recreation
and culture, and hotels, cafes, and restaurants lower.
Vigorous credit expansion and sharp lira losses in November
2020 are continuing to exert upward inflationary pressures, even as
the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (Türkiye Cumhuriyet
Merkez Bankası: TCMB) has since taken measures to combat those
influences. The recent rise in commodity prices is also continuing
to fuel price growth. According to consumer surveys, the perpetual,
double-digit rate of inflation has solidified inflationary
expectations, further adding another barrier to future deceleration
of price growth.
Asia-Pacific
Most APAC equity markets closed lower; South Korea -1.4%, Japan
-1.1%, Australia -0.9%, Hong Kong -0.7%, Mainland China -0.4%, and
India +0.7%.
Tesla's supercharger production facility has begun operations
in China. According to the company, its third-generation fast
charging pile, the V3 Supercharging, officially started to roll off
the assembly line at the facility yesterday (3 February). Tesla's
fast-expanding charging network has played a critical role in
helping the company to accelerate the adoption of its electric
vehicles (EVs). The launch of the Tesla Model Y and the 2021
version of the Model 3 in January will further boost demand for
Tesla vehicles in the Chinese market, while also placing strain on
its charging network. With an annual capacity of 10,000 Tesla
Superchargers, the production facility will enable the EV
manufacturer to increase the availability of its charging
infrastructure across China. As of the end of 2020, Tesla said it
had more than 730 Supercharging stations in the country, of which
410 were built during the last year. (IHS Markit AutoIntelligence's
Abby Chun Tu)
Chinese state-owned automaker FAW Group is considering
acquiring Brilliance China Automotive Holdings for about USD7.2
billion, reports Reuters, citing people with direct knowledge of
the matter. Brilliance, which is listed on the Hong Kong Stock
Exchange, is the joint-venture (JV) partner of BMW in China. Under
the reported plan, FAW would first purchase 30.43% of Brilliance
shares owned by Huachen Automotive Group, Brilliance's main
shareholder, and 11.89% held by the state-controlled Liaoning
Provincial Transportation Investment Group. The rest of
Brilliance's shares would be acquired through a mandatory bid. The
report adds that FAW is looking for other investors to participate.
Huachen, owned by the government of Liaoning province, has long
been struggling with the poor performance of local brands
introduced by Brilliance. The automaker's passenger vehicle brand,
Zhonghua, for instance, recorded sales of only 1,045 units in the
first three quarters of 2020. However, thanks to the strong sales
performance of the BMW Brilliance JV, Brilliance still reported a
net profit of CNY6.763 billion (USD1.046 billion) in 2019. (IHS
Markit AutoIntelligence's Abby Chun Tu)
Renault Group plans to deploy electric vehicles (EVs) built by
one of its Chinese joint ventures (JVs) for ride-hailing services
in 2022, reports Automotive News China. The mid-size sedan, dubbed
the EZoom Yi, which is expected to go on sale this year in China,
is manufactured by JMEV, a JV between Renault and Jingliang Motors.
The EZoom Yi has a power output of about 150 hp from its electric
motor and has between 350 and 400 km of range. Renault is one of
the leaders in the French electric mobility field and is
aggressively expanding its presence across the electric ecosystem.
Renault, in partnership with Ferrovial, is already running an
electric car-sharing service, called ZITY. The automaker recently
created the Mobilize mobility business, which aims to develop
profitability in new areas such as data, mobility, and
energy-related services for the benefit of vehicle users, and which
is planned to generate more than 20% of group revenues by 2030, by
providing solutions and services to other brands and external
partners. (IHS Markit Automotive Mobility's Surabhi Rajpal)
Pork and poultry prices have started to stabilize in China
after rising steadily in the lead up to the Lunar New Year
celebrations, which get underway towards the end of next week. (IHS
Markit Food and Agricultural Commodities' Max Green)
Having increased steadily for two months, wholesale prices for
pork decreased in the final two weeks of January to stand at
CNY45.8 per kg (USD7.08/kg). A report from the Chinese agriculture
ministry said this was partly because slaughterhouses started
ramping up supplies of lighter weight pigs. The Chinese government
has also played a part by releasing thousands of tons of pork from
central reserves.
By the end of 2020, China saw its live-pig inventory reach
406.5 million, recovering to 92.1% of the 2017 level. The stock of
breeding sows stood at 41.61 million, doubling from the level at
the end of 2019, according to the National Development and Reform
Council (NDRC). Chinese authorities say they are confident supplies
of pigs will continue rising as the year progresses.
Some doubts were raised last week when Reuters reported that a
new variant of African Swine Fever (ASF) had been found in pigs on
some large Chinese pig farms. However, New Hope Group, China's
fourth largest pig producer, subsequently played down these fears -
saying the variants had not been detected recently. In comments
reported by Bloomberg, New Hope's chief science officer Yan Zhichun
said methods employed by local companies were effective at
controlling the spread of the virus strains.
Wholesale chicken prices stayed at CNY17.34 per kg in the final
week of January - unchanged on the previous week - having risen by
5% over the previous two months. Egg prices followed a similar
trend, slipping back following two months of increases.
Beef prices were almost unchanged on the previous week at
CNY72.61 per kg having gained about 3% since November. The upward
surge in sheep meat prices maintained momentum however - with a
further 0.4% w/w increase taking wholesale prices to almost CNY69
per kg - up from just CNY64 per kg in November.
South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy plans to
raise KRW200 billion (USD179.3 million) this year to nurture
alternative-powertrain vehicles and other future vehicle
technologies, reports the Yonhap News Agency. The ministry has
signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with a slew of
industrial and financial partners, including Hyundai Motor Group.
Of the total fund, the South Korean government will contribute
KRW50 billion, Hyundai and the Korea Evaluation Institute of
Industrial Technology will each provide KRW30 billion, and the
Industrial Bank of Korea plans to allocate KRW10 billion. The fund
will be spent on developing parts for alternative-powertrain
vehicles and future vehicles, such as autopilot technologies. It
will also be used to build the infrastructure for
alternative-powertrain vehicles, such as charging stations for
electric and fuel-cell vehicles. (IHS Markit AutoIntelligence's
Jamal Amir)
Posted 04 February 2021 by Chris Fenske, Head of Fixed Income Research, Americas, S&P Global Market Intelligence
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