Alibaba’s hunger for Ele.me brings about multibillion deal
CHINESE e-commerce giant Alibaba is to acquire full ownership of food delivery firm Ele.me in a deal that values the Shanghai-based startup at US$9.5 billion.
Alibaba and its affiliate Ant Financial currently own 43 percent of the app-based Ele.me and said in a statement yesterday that it would acquire all remaining shares.
“Ele.me can leverage Alibaba’s infrastructure in commerce and find new synergies with Alibaba’s diverse businesses to add further momentum to the new retail initiative,” said Daniel Zhang, Alibaba Group’s chief executive.
Buying Ele.me is a major step for Alibaba to expand its local lifestyle services within its “e-commerce ecosystem” and to provide new shopper experience, Zhang said.
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China’s March forex reserves gain to US$3.14t
CHINA’S foreign exchange reserves edged up 0.27 percent from a month earlier to US$3.14 trillion at the end of March, the People’s Bank of China said yesterday.
The increase reversed a slight drop in February. Previously, the forex reserves gained for 12 straight months between February 2017 and January.
“The foreign exchange market continued to see generally balanced supply and demand,” the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said in a statement.
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Shanghai drives to build ‘global exhibition capital’
SHANGHAI is on track to build itself into a “global exhibition capital” by 2020 as notable improvements have been achieved in various aspects over the past few years, according to government officials.
In 2017, the city held around 1,020 exhibitions and conventions which took up 17.7 million square meters, up 19.9 percent and 17 percent, respectively, from 2015 (the end of the 12th Five-Year period), said Shang Yuying, director of the Shanghai Commerce Commission.
During the whole of last year there were 36 large-scale exhibitions and conventions occupying over 100,000 square meters each, accounting for 32 percent of the country’s total. Six of them were mega-size events taking up 300,000 square meters and above.
“Shanghai has in recent years been accelerating the development of its exhibition industry, one of the key growth engines to boost the city’s economy,” Shang told a press conference yesterday. “By both number and scale of exhibitions and conventions, Shanghai is No. 1 in the country and one of the leading players in the world.”
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Shanghai to trial commercial pension model
SHANGHAI will launch a pilot program to offer tax benefits to entice the city’s aging population to buy commercial pension insurance from May 1, said a statement by the Ministry of Finance yesterday.
Under the program, buyers of commercial pensions will enjoy tax exemption of up to 1,000 yuan (US$159) of their monthly income.
The pilot stipulates that the eligible commercial pension must be invested in low-risk or risk-free areas, and needs to be approved by the ministry, according to the statement.
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US retail sales rebound in March on auto buying
US retail sales rebounded in March after three straight monthly declines as households boosted purchases of motor vehicles and other big-ticket items, suggesting consumer spending was heading into the second quarter with momentum.
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The Commerce Department said yesterday retail sales added 0.6 percent last month after an unrevised 0.1 percent dip in February. January data was revised to show sales falling 0.2 percent instead of the previously reported 0.1 percent drop.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast retail sales rising 0.4 percent in March. Retail sales in March increased 4.5 percent from a year ago.
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IMF: Central banks urged to tighten monetary policy gradually
THE International Monetary Fund urged central banks yesterday to take a gradual and transparent approach to tightening monetary policy, warning that unexpected moves could shock the global economy.
The IMF cautioned that investors and financial markets expect a steady approach to monetary tightening based on the belief inflation will remain relatively tame.
But the IMF pointed to some fragilities in global finance after a lengthy period of easy money policies and low interest rates, including a flood of high-risk bonds, record-high debt levels and lofty prices for risky assets.
If conditions change abruptly that could even derail the economic recovery, the IMF warned.
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IMF to address corruption with member states
THE International Monetary Fund will systematically address corruption and its impact on economic growth with all its member countries under new guidelines launched on Sunday.
The stricter new policy also aims to tackle how rich countries contribute to corruption in the developing world by failing to prevent bribery and money laundering or by allowing anonymous corporate ownership.
“We know that corruption hurts the poor, hinders economic opportunity and social mobility, undermines trust in institutions and causes social cohesion to unravel,” IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said in a statement.
“We have now adopted a framework for enhanced engagement on governance and corruption that aims for a more systematic, evenhanded, effective and candid engagement with member countries.”
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Apple set to buy back extra stocks worth US$100b
APPLE Inc on Tuesday reported resilient iPhone sales in the face of waning global demand and promised US$100 billion in additional stock buybacks, reassuring investors that its decade-old smartphone invention had life in it yet.
Apple’s quarterly results topped Wall Street forecasts, which dropped ahead of the report on growing concern over the iPhone. The Cupertino, California-based company also was more optimistic about the current quarter than most financial analysts, driving shares up 3.6 percent to US$175.25 after hours.
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