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COMPANIES AND MARKETS

Renminbi strengthens against greenback

The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, strengthened 36 pips to 7.0262 against the US dollar on Monday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System. In China's spot foreign exchange market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by 2 percent from the central parity rate each trading day. The central parity rate of the yuan against the US dollar is based on a weighted average of prices offered by market makers before the opening of the interbank market each business day.

BMW, Great Wall in new energy vehicle pact

German automaker BMW has teamed up with its Chinese partner Great Wall Motor to build a new factory for new energy vehicles (NEVs) in East China's Jiangsu province. The new plant, due for completion in 2022 in the city of Zhangjiagang, will produce BMW's electric MINIs and Great Wall Motors models, with a capacity of 160,000 cars per year. BMW and Great Wall Motors are investing 650 million euros ($715 million) in their joint venture Spotlight Automotive Ltd. to build the factory. "This joint venture will enable us to produce a larger number of MINI-brand fully electric vehicles at attractive prices for the world market," said Nicolas Peter, a member of BMW AG's Board of Management.

German firms shell out $79.2b for R&D efforts

German companies invested more than 72 billion euros ($79.2 billion) in research and development (R&D) in 2018, a German association has announced. The amount marked an increase of around 3 billion euros, or 5 percent, over the previous year, according to Stifterverband, which compiled the data on behalf of the German Ministry of Education and Research. The value of German research contracts awarded to companies, universities or research institutions remained unchanged at 19.5 billion euros compared to the previous year, according to the German association.

Daimler to cut jobs for reducing expenses

German car manufacturer Daimler AG has announced that it plans to cut thousands of jobs worldwide by the end of 2022 to reduce costs amid the auto industry transformation. The maker of Mercedes-Benz said it would reduce staff costs by around 1.4 billion euros ($1.54 billion) by the end of 2022 and, among other things, to reduce the number of management positions worldwide by 10 percent. The job cuts is part of a program launched in mid-November to streamline the German carmaker's structure and increase competitiveness, innovation, and investment strength. The company said in a statement that the program is a response to "the biggest transformation" in the history of the automotive industry, as the development toward CO2-neutral mobility requires large investments.

AROUND THE WORLD

Manufacturing output declines in Australia

Australia's manufacturing sector has run into a brick wall, according to a leading business lobby on Monday, with activity levels hitting their lowest point in three years. With 50 marking the line between expansion and contraction, the Australian Industry Group's Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index, which measures production, new orders, deliveries, inventories and employment, found a 3.5 point drop to 48.1 in the month of November. Hampered by unprecedented drought conditions across large parts of the country, a downturn in Australia's agriculture sector is thought to be one of the key reasons for the decline.

S. Korean production falls by 0.4% in Oct

South Korea's industrial production, private consumption and facility investment reduced last month simultaneously, marking the first "triple" fall in eight months, a government report showed. The seasonally-adjusted output in all industries, which exclude the agriculture, forestry and fishery industries, dipped 0.4 percent in October from a month earlier, according to Statistics Korea. The industrial output kept sliding for the second straight month as the continued slump in export weakened activity among manufacturers. Production in the mining and manufacturing industries diminished 1.7 percent last month as the global supply glut of display panels and the weaker demand for large-sized sedans negatively affected the automotive and electronic parts sectors. The country's export continued a downward trend for the 11th consecutive month through October amid the global chip industry's downturn.

Unemployment rate slips further in Brazil

Brazil's unemployment rate fell to 11.6 percent in the quarter ending in October, from 11.8 percent in the quarter ending in July, the country's Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) said. The rate also fell slightly, compared with the same period of 2018 when it was at 11.7 percent. IBGE said in its report that the country's unemployment rate "remained statistically stable." The statistics agency said the unemployed population amounted to 12.4 million people in the quarter ending in October, while the employed population reached 94.1 million people, achieving a 0.5-percent growth compared with the previous quarter ending in July.

China mainstay of Sept trade in Botswana

China accounted for 30 percent of Asia's total exports to Botswana in September, the southern African country's statistical agency said. Statistics Botswana said in its report for September that imports from Asia were valued at $36.4 million, representing 7.5 percent of the country's total imports. Meanwhile, 81.6 percent of imports were sourced from the Southern African Customs Union, which consists of Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Lesotho and Eswatini, valued at $395.3 million. Botswana's imports from China were worth $11.0 million, or 2.3 percent of total value, followed by India at 2.1 percent, and Japan at 1.2 percent.

Ireland retail sales up by 3% on yearly basis

Ireland's retail sales in October increased by 3 percent compared with the same month last year, said the country's Central Statistics Office (CSO). The "core" sales, which refer to sales excluding motors, in the month rose by 3.2 percent over a year ago, said the CSO. During the first 10 months of this year, retail sales in the country edged up by 1.8 percent compared with the corresponding period of last year while its "core" sales posted a year-on-year increase of 4.4 percent, it said. Commenting on the CSO figures, Alan McQuaid, an economist with a local consultancy firm, said that the retail sales figures, especially the "core" sales ones for the first 10 months of 2019 suggest that the Irish economy continued to grow at a solid pace during the period.