Bulk commodity market rebounds

The bulk commodity market rebounded in November with a key industry index rising for three consecutive months. The China Bulk Merchandise Index, a gauge of domestic bulk commodity market growth, stood above the boom-or-bust line of 100 percent at 102.5 percent in November, up 1.2 percentage points from October, according to the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP). The uptick indicates the steady rebounding of the bulk commodity sector, the CFLP said. In the sub-indexes, the supply index and sales index continued to rise, while the inventory index and price index both fell.

'New third board' raises $3.51b in first 11 months

China's National Equities Exchange and Quotations (NEEQ), also known as the "new third board," raised 24.74 billion yuan ($3.51 billion) in the January-November period. Qualified NEEQ investors stood at about 231,500 at the end of November, up 3.61 percent from that at the end of last year, data from the NEEQ showed. A total of 233 new listed companies were added to the new third board in the past 11 months. By the end of November, there were 9,107 listed companies on the new third board with a total market value of 2.96 trillion yuan. During the 11 months, 834 companies were delisted from the board due to cost-benefit ratio considerations. Another 348 were forced to be delisted for failing to disclose regular reports on schedule.

Software developers to build domestic OS

China Standard Software Co Ltd (CS2C) and Tianjin Kylin Information Ltd Co (TKC) will jointly build a domestic operating system, according to China Electronics Corp. It is an urgent need to develop a domestic independent operating system with a unified technical system and ecosystem to provide better user experience, said He Wenzhe, chief financial officer of China National Software and Service Co Ltd. The NeoKylin Linux operating system developed by CS2C and the Kylin server operating system developed by TKC are the two most important domestic operating systems in the market.

BYD gets electric bus order in Netherlands

BYD, a leading new energy vehicle manufacturer in China, has cut a deal to provide 259 electric buses for the Netherlands, the largest single order the Chinese company has ever landed in Europe. The deal was made with Keolis Nederland BV, the Dutch subsidiary of global public transport provider Keolis. "This is a momentous occasion for BYD and also represents a huge commitment to electric mobility since it becomes the largest European fleet ever switched to electric at one time," said Isbrand Ho, managing director of BYD Europe, adding that his company has worked tirelessly with Keolis to provide a complete transport solution.

Mercedes-Benz sales increase by 5.3% in Nov

Mercedes-Benz sold 209,058 cars worldwide in November, an increase of 5.3 percent compared to the same period of 2018, the German car manufacturer has announced. It was the first time that more than 200,000 Mercedes-Benz cars had been delivered to customers in November, according to the company. In the Jan-Nov period, sales increased by 1.4 percent year-on-year to a total of 2,133,594 vehicles.

Pea protein product for Asia market launched

US agricultural giant Cargill has launched Radipure, a new pea protein product to meet Asian consumers' increasing demand for plant-based proteins. Featuring high solubility with various tastes, the hypoallergenic, non-GMO(genetically modified organism) pea protein is a highly versatile ingredient that can be used in dairy, ready-to-drink beverages, baked goods and can serve as a meat alternative, the company said. "More consumers are seeking the benefits of a high-protein diet, and we are at the forefront of this trend and innovation with our latest pea protein offering," said Franck Monmont, managing director of Cargill's starches, sweeteners and texturizers business unit in Asia.

South Korean people see wage peaks at 41

South Korean people's labor income hit the highest at the age of 41 as of 2016, statistical office data showed on Monday. The annual average labor income, which includes the income of wage earners and the self-employed, reached the highest of 32.09 million won ($27,000) at the age of 41 in 2016, according to Statistics Korea. People aged 41 accounted for an annual average 17.74 million won as of 2016. The consumption includes goods and services provided by the government and private consumption. The 41-year-olds posted the biggest life-cycle surplus of 14.35 million won thanks to the highest annual average labor income.

Philippines GIR growth helps keep momentum

The Philippines' gross international reserves (GIR) rose by $560 million to $86.39 billion as of end-November from $85.83 billion as of end-October, the Philippine central bank Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said. "The month-on-month increase in the GIR level reflects the inflows arising from the BSP's foreign exchange operations and income from its investments abroad, and the national government's net foreign currency deposits," the BSP said. According to the BSP, the end-November 2019 level of the GIR provides an ample external liquidity buffer that is equivalent to 7.5 months' worth of imports of goods and services and payments of primary income.

Indonesian consumers upbeat on economy

The consumers in Indonesia are strongly sanguine on the country's economy based on November's rising consumer confidence index, a survey of the Indonesian central bank (Bank Indonesia) showed. The consumer confidence index nudged higher by 124.2 in November than that in the preceding month when the figure was recorded at 118.4. Reading above 100 level indicates consumers are optimistic over the country's economy, while the reading below the figure suggests pessimism.

International reserves robust in Malaysia

Malaysia's central bank, Bank Negara, said that its international reserves remained unchanged at $103.2 billion as of Nov 29 this year. The central bank said in a statement that the reserves position is sufficient to finance 7.7 months of retained imports and is 1.1 time total short-term external debt. The international reserves consist of $96.8 billion in foreign currency reserves, $1.1 billion in International Monetary Fund Reserves Position, $1.1 billion in Special Drawing Rights, $1.9 billion in gold and $2.3 billion in other reserves assets.