BRICS Business

The currencies of three BRICS economies have steadily strengthened against the US dollar in recent weeks.
Brazil’s real, Russia’s ruble and South Africa’s rand have benefited from a ‘pause’ in the momentum to raise interest rates, particularly in the US.
All three countries have battled recession in contrast to BRICS members China and India, which are forecast to grow 6.7 per cent and 7.6 per cent, respectively, in 2016.
The rand is up nearly 15 per cent against the dollar in 2016 after suffering a significant slump in mid-2015.

Photo taken on Sept. 27, 2011 shows a worker checking trucks in a FAW plant in Johannesburg, South Africa [Xinhua]
The Coega Development Corporation has signed an R11 billion ($823 million) deal with the Beijing Automobile International Corporation (BAIC) to launch the biggest automotive investment in Africa in the last 40 years.

Chinese markets rallied on the prospect of increased real estate industry activity on the heels of a possible trading link between Honk Kong and Shenzhen [Xinhua]
Emerging markets kicked off this week with another boost as Chinese stocks rallied on news of an imminent trading link between commercial hub Hong Kong and its closest city on the mainland, Shenzhen in Guangdong Province.

China’s refrigerated-product exports to Russia have been on the rise [Xinhua]China’s first refrigerated-container train left for Moscow from northeast China’s Dalian on Monday, marking the opening of a new transport link between the two countries.
The new refrigerated-freight line is 8,600 km long, with trains taking about 10 days to reach Moscow. The train is carrying products worth $150,000, including pears from Hebei, pomelos from Guangdong and garlic from Shandong.
After crossing the border, goods will switch to a Russian freight train in Baikal, Siberia.

Have global markets turned back toward an oil glut? Some investment firms think so [Xinhua]
It’s been a bad week for big oil.
While oil futures slid further on Monday to $41.12 (US West Texas) and $42.96 (Brent) due to rising inventories in the US and a drop in global demand, major companies were feeling the bite of the (yes, we have to say it) ongoing glut.

Didi has formed an international coalition with the likes of Lyft Inc. in the U.S. and Ola in India [Xinhua]The fierce battle in China between ride-hailing leaders Uber and Didi Chuxing has ended.
Uber Technologies Inc. will merge its China operations with local Chinese ride hailing service, Didi Chuxing, both companies confirmed on Monday.
The combined company will be valued at $35 billion, media reports said on Monday.
Uber has lost more than $2 billion in China in a costly battle with Didi for market share in the country.

Workers make bicycle parts at a factory at Ludhina in the Indian state of Punjab. India remains one of the strongest emerging market performers, analysts agree [Xinhua]
In the wake of the uncertainty following the Brexit referendum vote and while waiting for markets to settle, analysts and investors are increasingly turning to emerging economies as lucrative destinations for cash inflow.
The economies of many of the 23 emerging markets have in the past two quarters shown stabilization and are on their way into growth territory, new reports have shown.

Talks between unions and the mining companies started this month [Xinhua]Sibanye Gold, South Africa’s largest gold miner has dismissed wage demands by miners in South Africa as “ridiculous”.
Talks between unions and the mining companies started this month.
Reuters quoted the chief executive of Sibanye Gold on Thursday as saying that pay cuts should be on the agenda of talks and that demands of pay hikes of upto 50 per cent by mining unions are “ridiculous”.

Apple was able to boost iPhone sales in emerging economies such as Brazil, India and Russia [Xinhua]India is now one of the fastest growing markets for Apple, with 51 per cent growth in iPhone sales, CEO Tim Cook said on Tuesday amid disappointing iPhone sales results.
“India is now one of our fastest growing markets,” Cook told analysts on Tuesday.
As revenue from China dropped, Apple was able to boost iPhone sales in emerging economies such as Brazil, India and Russia, as well as Japan.

China’s Huawei is one of the world’s biggest communications equipment providers [Xinhua]Huawei Technologies Co., one of the world’s largest maker of telecom gear, on Monday posted a 40 per cent rise in first-half sales revenue and said it would “maintain current momentum” this year.
Sales revenue reached 245.5 billion yuan ($36.8 billion) in the first six months of 2016, the company said in a statement.
Huawei had ploughed 15 per cent of its 2015 revenue into research.