Tue, Aug 24, 2021 page10

• World Business Quick Take

  • Agencies
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  NEW ZEALAND

  No Delta pressure on RBNZ

  The outbreak of the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 in New Zealand is not yet a “game changer” and there is no pressure to act on monetary policy, a senior official at the central bank said yesterday. “At this stage we don’t see it as a game-changer in the sense that our underlying economic analysis and views should be thrown out of the window and we should start again,” Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) chief economist Ha Yuong said in a telephone interview. However, Ha said the outbreak of the highly transmissible variant has raised some economic uncertainty.

  STEEL

  Merger to upset rankings

  China is shaking up the global steelmaking rankings again, with a merger of two mills set to create the world’s third-biggest producer. Ansteel Group’s (鞍山鋼鐵) annual crude steel capacity would rise to 63 million tonnes, with sales worth 300 billion yuan (US$46.23 billion), after acquiring a 51 percent stake in Benxi Steel Group Co (本溪鋼鐵), Ansteel said in a statement on Friday. That would see it trail only China Baowu Steel Group Corp (中國寶武鋼鐵) — already the world’s biggest producer and with plans to be even bigger — and ArcelorMittal SA. The acquisition would deepen the country’s ongoing steel supply cuts, enhance industry concentration and also boost security of iron ore supply, Ansteel said.

  ENERGY

  Spark agrees to takeover

  Spark Infrastructure Group agreed to a takeover offer from a consortium led by KKR & Co valuing the Australian energy company at about A$5.2 billion (US$3.7 billion). The private equity firm and its partners offered A$2.95 per share in a scheme-of-arrangement deal for the Sydney-based company, an exchange filing said yesterday. The deal was unanimously recommended by Spark’s board of directors. The consortium also includes Canadian investors Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board, the filing said.

  TECHNOLOGY

  Comic app raises US$240m

  Kuaikan (快看), a comics app backed by Tencent Holdings Ltd (騰訊), has raised US$240 million in a new funding round that elevated it to unicorn status, giving the company a boost as competition in China’s online entertainment arena intensifies. The investment is the largest fundraising deal in China’s comics industry, the Beijing-based start-up said in a statement yesterday. The Series F round was conducted at a valuation of about US$1.25 billion, a person familiar with the matter said, asking to not be identified as they were discussing private information. Kuaikan was founded in 2014 by cartoonist Anni Chen (陳安妮) as a digital library for original comics by Chinese artists.

  CRYPTOCURRENCY

  Binance names new CEO

  Binance Singapore, the local affiliate of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, named former Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX) executive Richard Teng (鄧偉政) as chief executive officer. Teng was previously chief executive of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority at Abu Dhabi Global Market and prior to that was chief regulatory officer at SGX. He also spent 13 years at the Monetary Authority of Singapore. The announcement confirms a Bloomberg News report last week that said Teng was in line for the role as parent Binance Holdings Ltd (幣安控股) pivots to a more compliance-oriented outlook and Binance Singapore seeks local licenses.
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