BRICS Business

Artists perform for customers in a traditional restaurant in Yuyuan, east China’s Shanghai [Xinhua]Business activity in China’s non-manufacturing sector expanded in April although at slower pace, official data showed on Sunday.
The purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for the non-manufacturing sector stood at 53.5 in April, down from 53.8 in March but well above the 50 mark that separates expansion and contraction, according to a report released jointly by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing.

BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda stunned markets when it was announced there would be no expansion of Tokyo’s stimulus program [Xinhua]
In a surprise decision contrary to expectations by regional experts, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) on Thursday announced it would not expand its stimulus program to revitalize the local economy.
The announcement left most Asian and emerging markets reeling.

China is the world’s largest consumer of coal, accounting for around half of global consumption [Xinhua]China’s coal consumption will be around 4.3 billion tonnes by 2020 amid a push to use cleaner fuels and shift a slowing economy away from heavy industry, the China National Coal Association (CNCA) said on Monday.
The annual growth of coal consumption during 2016-2020 will remain at 2 per cent and prices will remain at a low level, according to the state-run Xinhua News Agency, citing CNCA president Wang Xianzheng.

Workers construct a solar power field in Qinhuangdao, north China’s Hebei Province, Oct. 28, 2015 [Xinhua]China replaced the United States as the top issuer of green bonds geographically in the first quarter (Q1) of 2016, credit rating agency Moody’s said in a report. Green bonds are issued to fund clean energy and other environmental projects.
Chinese institutions issued $7.9 billion of green bonds in Q1, nearly half of the global total, according to the report.

Markets are hoping that the Doha summit to discuss the oil glut could yield a production freeze for OPEC members and Russia [Xinhua]
A quorum of members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other oil producers such as Russia attempted to reach consensus on freezing output but had to play second fiddle to geopolitical rivalry between heavyweight exporters Iran and Saudi Arabia.

South Africa’s seven biggest vehicle producers have invested at least 24 billion rand in their plants in the past five years, helping to boost domestic output by about 30 percent [Image: Ford]Ford Motor Co. will invest 2.5 billion rand ($170 million) in expanding its South African operations and creating about 1200 jobs in the country.

The RBI governor Rajan said monetary policy would remain “accommodative” [Xinhua]The Central Bank of India on Tuesday cut the key policy repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.50 per cent while announcing measures to ensure more availability of cash in the banking system. That’s the lowest since March 2011.
“The Reserve Bank will continue to watch macroeconomic and financial developments in the months ahead with a view to responding with further policy action as space opens up,” a statement from the Central Bank said.

The Chinese leadership is working to reduce surplus industrial capacity in state enterprises, including planning major cuts to steel production capacity, even as they fight to prop up the slowest growth in a quarter of a century [Xinhua]Profits of China’s major industrial firms rose 4.8 per cent year on year in the first two months of 2016, reversing the downward trend of last year, official data showed Sunday.

GM lost a combined $1.4 billion in Europe and South America last year [Xinhua]General Motors expects to see China’s car market to grow 3-5 per cent every year until 2020, the US automaker said Monday.
GM’s top brand Buick is a sales leader in the Chinese market.
Matt Tsien, General Motors chief in China was addressing a press conference in Beijing on Monday.
GM expects SUV and luxury to the be hot segments in China going forward, with SUV and MPV accounting for 40 per cent of the firm’s overall China growth.

File photo of current chairman of Securities and Exchange Board of India, U.K. Sinha [Image: SEBI]The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is expected to extend the tenure of current chief and prominent financier UK Sinha as chairman even as Indian equities posted their worst week since 2009.
His current term ends on February 17.
The Indian Prime Minister’s office is expected to clear his appointment soon, sources told The BRICS Post.
In 2010, Sinha had also headed an advisory committee on foreign investment.