Bank of China's Singapore operation stops financing Russian oil trades: Source - The Straits Times

SINGAPORE (REUTERS, BLOOMBERG) - Bank of China's Singapore operation has stopped financing deals involving Russian oil and Russian companies, amid concerns of western sanctions following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, said a source on Monday (Feb 28) with knowledge of the matter.

Bank of China did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

Reuters reported last Thursday that major buyers of Russian oil were struggling to open letters of credit from Western banks to cover purchases or find ships willing to transport Russian oil.

European banks Societe Generale and Credit Suisse Group have halted the financing of commodities trading from Russia, it was reported on Sunday. The two banks, key financiers to commodity trading houses, are no longer providing the money needed to move raw materials such as metals and oil from Russia. 

At least two of China’s largest state-owned banks are restricting financing for purchases of Russian commodities, underscoring the limits of Beijing’s pledge to maintain economic ties with one of its most important strategic partners in the face of Western sanctions.

Western nations agreed over the weekend to exclude some Russian banks from the Swift bank messaging system and targeted the central bank’s foreign reserves. BP also moved to dump its shares in Russian oil giant Rosneft PJSC, taking a financial hit of as much as US$25 billion (S$34 billion).

“Removing some Russian banks from Swift could result in a disruption of oil supplies as buyers and sellers try to figure out how to navigate the new rules,” Mr Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates in Houston, said earlier in a note.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has roiled markets from energy to metals and grains, heaping more inflationary pressure on a global economy already hit with surging costs.

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2022-02-28 02:47:06Z
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Russian central bank hikes rates, scrambles to limit fallout of tough sanctions - CNA

RUN ON BANKS?

Russians waited in long queues outside ATMs on Sunday, worried that new Western sanctions over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine will trigger cash shortages and disrupt payments.

"A bank run has already started in Russia over the weekend ... and inflation will immediately spike massively, and the Russian banking system is likely to be in trouble," said Jeffrey Halley, Asia-based senior market analyst at OANDA.

Nomura analysts said the fresh reprisal measures by the West against Russia is likely to have wider global implications.

"These sanctions from the West are likely to eventually hurt trade flows out of Russia (about 80 per cent of FX transactions handled by Russian financial institutions are denominated in USD), which will also hurt the growth outlook of Russia's key trading partners including Europe and lead to greater inflationary pressures and risk of stagflation, we think," the analysts wrote in a note to clients.

Energy major BP opened a new front in the West's campaign to isolate Russia's economy, with its decision to abandon its stake in state oil company Rosneft at a cost of up to US$25 billion, the most aggressive move yet by a company in response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

The Russian business operations of other Western corporations are also in the spotlight as governments tighten the financial screws on Moscow

Several European subsidiaries of Sberbank Russia, majority owned by the Russian government, are failing or likely to fail due to the reputational cost of the war in Ukraine, the European Central Bank, the lenders' supervisor, said on Monday.

FINANCIAL STABILITY

The Russian central bank in several announcements on Sunday sought to ensure financial stability. It said it would resume buying gold on the domestic market from Feb 28.

It added that customers of sanctioned banks would be unable to use their bank cards outside Russia, and that cards issued by the sanctioned banks won't work on Google Pay or Apple Pay.

It also ordered market players to reject attempts by foreign clients to sell Russian securities, according to a central bank document seen by Reuters.

That could complicate plans by the sovereign wealth funds of Norway and Australia, which said they planned to wind down exposure to Russian-listed companies.

In a bid to inject cash into the financial system, the central bank said there would be no limit at a "fine-tuning" repo auction it plans to hold on Monday and added that the banking system remained stable after the new sanctions targeting Russia's financial institutions.

The central bank said bank cards were working as normal and that customers' funds could be accessed at any time. It said it would substantially increase the range of securities that can be used as collateral to get central bank loans.

The central bank also said it is temporarily easing restrictions on banks' open foreign currency positions after the sanctions. The measure, allowing banks suffering from "external circumstances" to keep positions above the official limits, will be in place until Jul 1, it said in a statement.

The central bank said that it would continue to monitor changes in currency positions "in order to guarantee the normal functioning of the currency and money markets and the financial stability of lending institutions".

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2022-02-28 07:58:00Z
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Hong Kong reports record 26026 daily COVID-19 cases - CNA

Some experts predict the city of 7.4 million will have up to 180,000 cases daily next month.

The most vulnerable are particularly at risk, with 67 of the 83 deaths reported on Sunday at nursing homes. Vaccination rates among the elderly have been relatively low and many suffer from chronic illnesses.

Hong Kong is hiring 1,000 temporary workers from mainland China to care for elderly COVID-19 patients at its isolation and treatment facilities, said Law Chi-kwong, secretary for labour and welfare.

Officials have said the mainland would help provide testing, treatment and quarantine capacity. Last week city leader Carrie Lam used emergency powers granted under British colonial-era laws to exempt mainland Chinese staff and projects from any licensing or other legal requirements.

On Saturday, authorities said they would adjust COVID-19 testing procedures to allow some people to test from home to ease long queues at designated testing centres, as the city's outbreak proves increasingly hard to control.

Health secretary Sophia Chan said about 1.3 million rapid testing kits would be handed out to those in higher risk areas and jobs, and people testing positive would have to register their results online.

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2022-02-27 08:58:00Z
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Poland refuse to play Russia in 2022 World Cup playoff game - ESPN

5:59 PM GMT

Poland are refusing to play their World Cup qualifier against Russia in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Polish soccer federation president Cezary Kulesza said on Saturday.

Russia are set to face Poland on March 24 and the winner of that match plays whoever triumphs between Sweden and Czech Republic in a playoff on March 29 in the Path B final to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Sweden said on Saturday that they won't play Russia in a possible playoff "regardless of where the match is played."

But Kulesza made the announcement on Twitter, citing Russia's assault, and indicated Poland was in talks with other federations to present a unified position to FIFA.

"No more words, time to act!" Kulesza wrote, saying the move was prompted by the "escalation of the aggression."

Poland striker Robert Lewandowski added: "It is the right decision! I can't imagine playing a match with the Russian National Team in a situation when armed aggression in Ukraine continues. Russian footballers and fans are not responsible for this, but we can't pretend that nothing is happening."

Previously, Poland had only said they didn't want to play the qualifying playoff semifinal in Moscow on March 24.

Earlier this week, the Football Associations of Poland, Sweden and Czech Republic released a statement urging FIFA to stage any World Cup playoff against Russia outside of the country following its attack on Ukraine.

In a letter addressed to the FIFA General Secretary Fatma Samoura, the three associations wrote: "Based on the current alarming development in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, including the security situation the Football Associations of Poland (PZPN), Sweden (SvFF) and Czech Republic (FACR) express their firm position that the playoff matches to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, scheduled for March 24 and 29, 2022, should not be played in the territory of the Russian Federation.

"The signatories to this appeal do not consider travelling to Russia and playing football matches there. The military escalation that we are observing entails serious consequences and considerably lower safety for our national football teams and official delegations.

"Therefore, we expect FIFA and UEFA to react immediately and to present alternative solutions regarding places where these approaching playoff matches could be played."

On Thursday, FIFA said in a statement that the "hope for rapid cessation of hostilities and peace in Ukraine."

"Violence is never a solution and FIFA calls on all parties to restore peace through constructive dialogue. FIFA also continues to express its solidarity to the people affected by this conflict," FIFA said. "Regarding football matters in both Ukraine and Russia, FIFA will continue to monitor the situation and updates in relation to the upcoming FIFA World Cup Qatar 202 qualifiers will be communicated in due course."

Information from AP was used in this report

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2022-02-26 10:33:16Z
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Oil prices break US$100, S'pore stocks sink as Russia launches military attack on Ukraine - The Straits Times

SINGAPORE - Global stocks dived and oil soared on Thursday (Feb 24) as investors fled to safety after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion of Ukraine.

Futures for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both slid more than 2 per cent, putting the tech-heavy Nasdaq at risk of a bear market. European markets plummeted, with the Stoxx 600 Europe index down 3.6 per cent.

“The markets are pricing in a full-scale war now that Putin has finally launched attacks on Ukraine,” KGI analyst Joel Ng told The Straits Times.

In Singapore earlier, shares moved sharply lower immediately after news of the latest developments, with the Straits Times Index (STI) closing 3.5 per cent lower.

The last time the STI had a steeper one-day drop was on March 30, 2020, when it fell 4.5 per cent after relief from global fiscal support measures faded with uncertainty over the length of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Compared with its regional peers, shares in Singapore were the most affected in Asia. Major indexes in Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea and Australia closed between 1.8 per cent and 3.2 per cent lower.

“The STI has fallen the most among Asian bourses since it was also the index that rose the most year to date,” said Mr Justin Tang, head of research at United First Partners.

“Investors may be seeing the opportunity to take profit, as many of the component stocks on the STI are dividend-yielding stocks. With oil prices rising, many may also be offloading Reits (real estate investment trusts) in anticipation of higher interest rates to come,” he added.

Dragging down the STI were bank stocks OCBC, UOB and DBS, which have a combined 45 per cent weighting in the index, after OCBC posted underwhelming fourth-quarter earnings due to higher expenses and lower trading income.

OCBC and DBS each lost more than 4 per cent, while UOB shed more than 5 per cent. 

Singapore Airlines tumbled more than 6.2 per cent, while in-flight caterer and ground handler Sats lost more than 5 per cent, due to concerns that “higher oil prices may be passed on in the form of higher air fares, which could dampen demand for travel", Mr Ng said.

But against the sea of red, oil and gas plays RH Petrogas and Rex International chalked up gains of nearly 12 per cent and 4.8 per cent respectively. 

The run-up in gold prices also rubbed off on gold producer CNMC Goldmine Holdings, which jumped 4.6 per cent on Thursday.

Brent crude futures soared past US$100 a barrel for the first time since 2014 amid fears of a disruption to the region’s critical energy exports.

Natural gas in Europe rose as much as 41 per cent, while prices of metals like gold, aluminium and nickel, and grains like wheat and soya bean spiked, piling on inflationary pressures.

Russia is a key seller of multiple commodities to global customers, with Europe relying on the nation for about a quarter of its oil and a third of its gas.

The increase in the prices of key commodities is contributing to a surge in inflation already at its highest level in decades. This is posing a cost-of-living crisis for millions around the world and may force central banks to raise interest rates.

Both inflation and higher rates may derail the global economy's rebound from the pandemic.

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2022-02-24 02:12:20Z
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Hong Kong Budget targets COVID-19 relief with tax breaks, handouts - CNA

Bars, gyms, beauty parlours and 12 other types of venues are closed, while restaurants cannot operate beyond 6.00 pm. Apart from grocery stores, most shops are deserted as residents are back working from home. The border is virtually shut with the finance sector complaining this has caused an exodus of talent and made operating a regional hub out of Hong Kong difficult.

The restrictions will last until at least Apr 20.

TAX CUTS

The Budget measures announced on Wednesday include a 100 per cent reduction in salaries tax, capped at HK$10,000, handouts of HK$10,000 consumption vouchers, financial aid for the unemployed, and subsidies for directly impacted businesses.

Residents will also be given tax deductions related to their rent payments, as well as subsidies for transport and utilities.

A 100 per cent reduction in profits tax capped at HK$10,000 is expected to benefit 151,000 firms, Chan said. In addition, the government will help small firms with loan guarantees, export financing, and debt repayment holidays.

New legislation will be introduced to prevent landlords from terminating rental contracts of struggling small firms for up to six months.

Funds worth HK$1.26 billion will be given to firms in the tourism industry, reeling from two years of inactivity with no near-term prospects of recovery.

The "anti-epidemic" measures include HK$22 billion to boost COVID-19 testing capacity, HK$6 billion to procure more vaccines, and HK$12 billion for the construction of more health facilities, among others.

Hong Kong's economy is expected to grow 2 per cent to 3.5 per cent this year after expanding 6.4 per cent in 2021, Chan said, adding the forecast takes into account a recovery in the second part of the year once the epidemic is brought under control.

"The successful control of the epidemic is the key to safeguarding our economy and people's livelihood," Chan said.

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2022-02-23 06:28:14Z
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Covid-19 may cut sperm count and sex drive: HK study - The Straits Times

HONG KONG (CAIXIN GLOBAL) - Covid-19 infection could reduce male sperm count and lower sex drive, a new study from the University of Hong Kong (HKU) showed, while suggesting that vaccination can prevent such damage.

The findings are based on a study of testicular and hormonal changes in hamsters infected with the coronavirus and conducted by the university's microbiology researchers.

The study found that the hamsters suffered from acute decrease in sperm count and serum testosterone after four to seven days of infection. They also developed testicular atrophy with reduced testicular size and weight.

Previously, international studies found that male Covid-19 patients experienced testicular pain and lower sperm motility and lower sperm counts after recovery.

Autopsy results of some male Covid-19 victims showed that they had suffered from symptoms of orchitis, the inflammation of one or both testicles.

Professor Yuen Kwok-yung, chairman of infectious disease at the HKU's Department of Microbiology who led the research, said: "In managing convalescent Covid-19 males, it is important to be aware of possible hypogonadism (low sex drive) and subfertility."

Prof Yuen added that Covid-19 vaccination can prevent this complication.

Similar testicular changes were also found in hamsters infected with Omicron or Delta, two highly transmissible variants of Covid-19, the study said, noting that vaccination can prevent this testicular damage.

Researchers found hamsters who received two inactivated vaccine doses after three days of infection with the virus did not suffer from testicular injury while achieving immune protection.

They also found hamsters infected with a type of influenza virus showed no testicular infection or damage.

The hamsters in the tests developed "light pneumonia" from which they can recover without treatment, the study said.

The study has been accepted for publication in the peer-reviewed journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.

This story was originally published by Caixin Global.

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2022-02-23 03:51:19Z
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