Tue, May 23, 2023 page10

• World Business Quick Take

  • Agencies
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  EQUITIES

  NatWest to buy back shares

  NatWest Group PLC has agreed to buy back ￡1.26 billion (US$1.6 billion) of its shares from the British government, as the Treasury continues to sell down its stake after a bailout during the financial crisis more than a decade ago. The off-market purchase of 469.2 million shares would be made at Friday last week’s closing price of 268.4 pence, a statement said yesterday. The deal would mean the Treasury’s voting rights in the lender would drop to about 38.6 percent from about 41.4 percent. The government would “keep other disposal options under active consideration, including by way of accelerated bookbuilds, when market conditions permit,” it said. “This transaction reduces government ownership below 40 percent and demonstrates positive progress on the bank’s strategic priorities and the path to privatisation,” NatWest chief executive officer Alison Rose said in a statement.

  REAL ESTATE

  UK advance sales drop

  The proportion of new homes sold in advance in London dropped to 44 percent last year, tumbling from a peak of 71 percent in 2016, a report by Hamptons International said. That is largely due to an exodus of investors from the capital’s presale market, as their attention turns to higher-yielding regions such as the northwest of England. “With house price growth in the capital lagging the rest of the country since 2016, it’s meant they’ve increasingly been looking further north,” Hamptons senior analyst David Fell said. “Higher interest rates are likely to exacerbate this shift, with these cheaper locations offering higher yields.”

  United states

  Inflation progress ‘modest’

  The US Federal Reserve is likely to make only modest progress in its fight against inflation for the rest of this year, despite keeping its benchmark interest rate at a 16-year high, a group of business economists said in a survey released yesterday. The National Association for Business Economics’ survey of 45 economists found that the median forecast is for inflation to average 4.2 percent this year, up from a 3.9 percent forecast in the group’s survey in February. The economists expect the Fed to keep its key rate at its current level of about 5.1 percent, its highest in 16 years.

  OIL

  Demand to strain supply

  Oil demand is set to pick up in the second half of this year, with as much as 2 million more barrels per day (bpd) needed due to Asian growth, independent oil trader Vitol SA president Mike Muller said yesterday. “We are going into a second half of the year where, largely on account of Asian demand growth, the world will need around 2 million bpd more,” he told the Middle East Petroleum and Gas conference in Dubai. Demand would rise seasonally, resulting in stock draws and less excess supply, Muller said.

  AUCTIONEERS

  Christie’s eyes Asia

  Auction house Christie’s has appointed Kevin Ching (程壽康) as its Asia chairman, as competition heats up in the industry. Ching was Sotheby’s Asia chief executive officer for 15 years before retiring in 2021. He starts with Christie’s tomorrow, ahead of the firm’s spring auction season. “We’d be looking to develop business and increase Asia buying not only in Asia, but also globally,” Ching said in an interview yesterday. Hong Kong is well placed to remain Asia’s art and culture headquarters, he said.
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