Yuan, stocks cheer prospect of fresh trade talks

THE yuan jumped Thursday and stocks rose after the Trump administration invited Chinese officials to restart trade talks, offering hope for a possible easing of the bitter trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies.

The yuan opened at a near one-week high against the U.S. dollar, supported as well by a firmer official yuan midpoint setting by the central bank. China’s benchmark stock indexes jumped more than 1 percent. The Trump administration has invited Chinese officials to restart trade talks, the White House’s top economic adviser said Wednesday.

Meituan raises US$4.2b in IPO

ONLINE food delivery-to-ticketing services firm Meituan Dianping raised US$4.2 billion in the world’s biggest Internet-focused initial public offering (IPO) in four years as it priced the float near the top of an indicative range, people close to the deal said.

Meituan sold about 480 million primary shares, or 8 percent of its enlarged share capital, at HK$69 (US$8.79) each in the Hong Kong IPO, the sources said Thursday. That values the company at around US$52.8 billion.

Polluting diesel trucks to be replaced

CHINA is drawing up a plan to replace as many as 1 million heavy duty diesel trucks in its northern regions with ones that burn cleaner fuel by 2020, as the government ramps up its battle against dirty fuel, an industry source said.

The transport and environment ministries are considering proposals that include replacing vehicles with more modern trucks using a higher grade of diesel called National 5, and using electric trucks or ones that run on liquefied natural gas, said the source, who is involved in the discussions. It was not clear when the two ministries would make their final decision.

Plans unveiled to straighten up ratings firms

THE central bank and securities regulator in China have announced steps to strengthen supervision of credit-rating businesses in a bid to improve the quality of ratings.

In a joint statement, the People’s Bank of China and the China Securities Regulatory Commission listed guidelines Tuesday for the ratings business to “push forward communication in the bond market, and promote the orderly development of the rating industry.”