China’s e-yuan will be more cryptic than crypto 23 Dec 2019 Beijing is primed to launch the world's first digital sovereign currency in 2020. The rollout will give authorities a powerful tool to tackle fraud and money laundering. Deploying the breakout innovation into the wheeling-dealing banking system could also aid a cleanup.
Asia Pacific is primed for its next 11-digit LBO 23 Dec 2019 Over $250 bln of private equity money is sloshing around the region, as a new KKR fund looks set to exceed its flagship U.S. one. Cheap debt helps put another Toshiba-like deal in the frame. Dentsu and Haier fit the buyout profile. Even whoppers like Woolworths could be targeted.
Review: Bloomberg primer goes beyond hagiography 20 Dec 2019 A recent bio of the former New York mayor and Wall Street information tycoon was given relevancy by his unconventional bid to replace Donald Trump. It’s a book that might have just sat on the shelf gathering dust but for the fact he might have a shot at the presidency.
T-Mobile Sprint antitrust defense has a hole in it 20 Dec 2019 America’s No. 3 and No. 4 telecom firms are fighting state regulators to keep their $26 bln deal on track. Federal watchdogs want to preserve competition by making the companies help Dish build a new fourth mobile carrier. That only works if Dish is up to the job. It may not be.
Jack Dorsey adds third job as anti-Facebook hero 20 Dec 2019 The awkward Twitter boss banned political ads and did more than Mark Zuckerberg’s social network to prevent the silencing of Hong Kong protesters. Dorsey, also CEO of Square, fared surprisingly well in D.C. hearings, too. His style will put heat on rivals as U.S. elections loom.
New BoE boss is only partly the safe choice 20 Dec 2019 Andrew Bailey is the next governor of the Bank of England. His CV is more complete than internal rivals, and Brexit arguably means the role needs an unflashy Brit more than a carbon copy of Canadian incumbent Mark Carney. But Bailey will need to prove that his BoE is independent.
UK $7 bln food fight’s final course: indigestion 20 Dec 2019 Takeaway.com’s Jitse Groen upped his all-share bid for Just Eat, almost certainly seeing off rival cash bidder Prosus. Yet the likely return on his splurge looks low. And investors accepting his offer are betting that the new group will trade on an overcooked valuation multiple.
Payments M&A is timely bet on Italy’s cash purge 20 Dec 2019 Months after listing, Italian leader Nexi has spent 1 bln euros on Intesa’s merchant acquiring business. Buying state-backed peer SIA to forge a 13 bln euro European champion could be next. Bulking up while Rome is pushing measures to curb the use of banknotes makes sense.
Margrethe Vestager will open tech’s walled garden 20 Dec 2019 The European antitrust chief’s multibillion-dollar fines had little impact on the 12-digit market values of Google, Facebook and others. She will weaken their grip on the internet more effectively in 2020 by imposing common standards that allow seamless use of rival platforms.
NMC’s Muddy Waters vaccine needs a booster shot 20 Dec 2019 The FTSE 100-listed hospital group is under siege by the short-seller, sending shares down more than 45% this week. NMC has done the right thing in providing a detailed response - within two days. But its jittery investors could still do with greater clarity in some key areas.
ChemChina’s fortunes rest on Syngenta listing 20 Dec 2019 The state chemicals giant wants to raise $10 bln ahead of a mooted flotation of the Swiss firm it bought in 2016. Boss Frank Ning may settle for a lower valuation, Reuters reports. But the funds will help him pay down big debts, and pave the way for a merger with rival Sinochem.
Tencent is next in Western cross-hairs 20 Dec 2019 The WeChat app, indispensable to life and business in the People's Republic, is due unwanted foreign attention. Beijing uses the Tencent tool to influence and monitor users at home and abroad. Debate over restraining it will test democracies’ commitment to free information flow.
China swaps its poor for the merely miserable 20 Dec 2019 Beijing will hit its 2020 target of doubling disposable incomes and GDP in 10 years, while eliminating extreme poverty. That’s laudable, but forcing breakneck growth exacerbated inequality, while consumer debt ballooned. Political and financial risks are higher as a result.
Divorce will test Seoul chaebol’s reform stripes 20 Dec 2019 Chey Tae-won’s wife wants nearly half his $3 bln stake in SK Holdings. That would leave him more reliant on outside support for a mooted corporate rejig to get a tighter grip on a $58 bln chip unit. It’s a potential check on how fast Korea Inc is mending its own awkward past.
Viewsroom: Jack Dorsey’s heroic year ahead 19 Dec 2019 From banning political ads to developing cryptocurrency plans, the CEO of Twitter and Square has been politically more astute than rivals like Facebook. That sets him up for a good 2020. Also: the different ways that shareholders, the Fed and M&A bankers will tackle climate risk.
Disney will lose its magic touch 19 Dec 2019 The media giant’s valuation has soared on high hopes for its Netflix-like streaming service Disney+. While rivals have struggled, boss Bob Iger has seldom put a foot wrong. Expectations are now so high that meeting them will take a different sort of sorcery.
Goldman set for show of guilt without tears 19 Dec 2019 The Wall Street firm may pay $2 bln for its role in the 1MDB bribery scandal and offer a rare admission of wrongdoing. Neither fine nor mea culpa would carry much sting. As often happens in the cat-and-mouse game of enforcement, the end result looks half-baked.
Buyout barons’ debt machine will blow a gasket 19 Dec 2019 The $1 trln market for bonds backed by leveraged loans has fuelled the boom in private-equity dealmaking. A weaker economy will make investors wary of buying these so-called CLOs, and force vehicles to curb lending. That means higher borrowing costs, and probably fewer takeovers.
M&A bankers will turn climate risk into clients 19 Dec 2019 The financial impact of global warming is one of the biggest strategic issues CEOs face, yet it plays a small role in dealmaking. That might change in 2020 as shifting regulation and consumer habits start to affect the bottom line, giving climate-conscious advisers an edge.
Africa’s Alibaba looks more lemon than unicorn 19 Dec 2019 Jumia’s post-IPO limp could be life-threatening. The continent’s first billion-dollar tech firm has just enough cash to make it to 2021. But with losses widening due to high delivery costs and short-sellers questioning online transaction numbers, raising more money will be tough.
Audio feed goof makes BoE look naive – and stingy 19 Dec 2019 Traders got faster access to Bank of England briefings by paying the contractor responsible for internal broadcasts. The BoE should have better monitored what was happening. But the problem could have been avoided altogether had it invested in overhauling its two-speed system.
Italy and Germany will unite on EU tech taxes 19 Dec 2019 New European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen will struggle to persuade Rome and Berlin to compromise over much-needed euro zone banking reforms. Her best bet is to pick another battle. A levy on technology giants’ revenue may help the EU rivals find some common ground.
Macron needs to resist ghosts of reformers past 19 Dec 2019 A second week of strikes over President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to raise the full retirement age to 64 has paralysed the country. His predecessors met the guillotine over much less. But cutting pension spending to the EU norm isn’t ideological – it’s about fiscal sustainability.
Japan’s buyout teams face endurance challenge 19 Dec 2019 Industrial group Showa Denko is buying Hitachi’s chemical arm for $9 bln, disappointing private equity suitors like Bain and Carlyle. Firms are raising record sums in the hope that corporate reforms unleash a wave of dealmaking. Flush with cash, Japan Inc is crashing the party.
Singapore bank’s China rescue role raises red flag 19 Dec 2019 Hengfeng Bank is getting a $14 bln state bailout, with United Overseas Bank pitching in while getting heavily diluted. China wants foreign investors to help shore up its financial system and perhaps support M&A. Those eyeing a way into the market might change their approach.
Beijing’s bet on Macau market might pay 19 Dec 2019 Worried by violent protests in Hong Kong, President Xi wants to turn the casino enclave into a rival finance hub. Scepticism is warranted, but an open capital account gives it an advantage over Shenzhen and Shanghai. If it plays a good reform hand, Macau could defy the odds.
Lenovo founder’s M&A manual is missing an update 19 Dec 2019 Liu Chuanzhi will retire as head of Legend Holdings, the $8 bln PC-maker’s parent. His 2005 purchase of an IBM unit was one of the best examples of a Chinese firm building a global brand through foreign deals. That playbook looks more like an exception to today’s hostile rule.
Investors will rue their Hong Kong risk appetite 19 Dec 2019 The city’s stocks have lagged the S&P 500 since violent protests started in June. Yet the slide has been less severe than during the Asian financial crisis or the SARS outbreak. Local unrest, trade tensions and a U.S. market reversal should prompt some overdue reconsideration.
Tariff strain will outlast Trump, impeached or not 18 Dec 2019 The U.S. president will likely be the third to be charged with high crimes and misdemeanors. Whatever the Senate decides on his fate, he’s made another historic mark: normalizing trade tactics as punishment. It will long be a part of the economic toolkit in America and elsewhere.
Jay Powell has golden chance to avow independence 18 Dec 2019 The Fed boss can distance himself from President Donald Trump by nudging the U.S. central bank to join a global green network that already includes 51 peers. This will defuse criticism that he has been too malleable on rates. And it may even help to save the planet from frying.