Quoteworthy: "It’s a joke on the Chinese stock exchange" –— a 37-year-old secretary who wanted to be known only as Olivia, told Reuters. She was referring to China’s shocking move to halt Ant Group’s stock-market debut. The IPO has attracted massive interest, including US$3 trillion ($4.07 trillion) in bids from retail investors.
US formally exits global climate pact amid election uncertainty
The US formally exited the Paris Agreement on Nov 4, fulfilling an old promise by President Donald Trump to withdraw the world’s second-largest greenhouse gas emitter from the global pact to fight climate change.
But the fate of the global climate now rests on who ends up in the White House. Trump’s Democratic rival Joe Biden has promised to rejoin the agreement if elected.
“The US withdrawal will leave a gap in our regime, and the global efforts to achieve the goals and ambitions of the Paris Agreement,” Patricia Espinosa, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), told Reuters.
The United States still remains a party to the UNFCCC and Espinosa said the body will be “ready to assist the US in any effort in order to rejoin the Paris Agreement”.
Trump first announced his intention to withdraw from the pact in June 2017, arguing it would undermine the country’s economy. The administration formally served notice to the United Nations one year ago on Nov 4, 2019.
The departure makes the US the only country of 197 signatories to have withdrawn from the agreement struck in 2015. — Reuters
Chan Chun Sing warns of economic risks from divided US
The US presidential election result may still be in doubt, but whoever emerges victorious will need to unite the country to adapt to challenges of globalisation and digitisation or risk a pushback so severe it could damage the global economic system, Singapore’s Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing warned on Nov 5.
Failing that, “there will be a push back against globalisation and the world economic system may fracture or fragment because of that,” Chan said in an interview with Bloomberg.
“One of the biggest challenges for the US going forward is how can it maintain his leadership in the world by mobilising like-minded partners to work together to uphold and update the global economic and security order.”
Chan’s comments come with Democratic candidate Joe Biden closing in on the 270 Electoral College votes needed for the presidency while incumbent Donald Trump is piling legal challenges to stop ongoing vote-counting in several states.
In the interview, Chan also warned that renewed lockdowns in Europe are having an impact on Singapore’s trade-reliant economy, which will see a “gradual and uneven” recovery from the pandemic recession.
Within Singapore, some sectors such as communications technology are well-positioned for the post-Covid-19 economic order. Others — like convention-oriented tourism and entertainment — will need to change their business models to succeed.
Chan also sees a risk of “fragmentation or bifurcation” in the global economic system Singapore’s first priority is to reopen its economy “safely and sustainably,” then to re-establish connectivity with other countries. — Bloomberg
MAS steps up enforcement actions against market abuse and financial misconduct
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has secured nine criminal convictions and $11.7 million in civil penalties from January 2019 to June this year.
This was revealed in its 2019-2020 Enforcement Report released on Nov 4. The report also added that MAS imposed $3.3 million in composition penalties for money laundering-related control breaches, and issued 25 prohibition orders against unfit representatives.
This is compared to the previous reporting period in July 2017 to December 2018, which reported $698,000 in civil penalties and one criminal conviction, in addition to $16.8 million worth of composition penalties and 19 prohibition orders.
In response to queries from The Edge Singapore, a MAS spokesperson said: “The increase in strong enforcement actions such as criminal convictions and prohibition orders reflects MAS’s commitment to taking robust actions where our investigations reveal serious misconduct.”
However, the spokesperson added that it is also important to bear in mind that the total number and the types of enforcement outcomes — as well as the quantum of penalties — can vary across reporting periods depending on various other factors. This includes the number, type and nature of breaches that are uncovered and investigated by the Enforcement Department.
In a press release, MAS said the average time taken for completing its reviews and investigations has decreased from 33 months to 24 months in criminal cases, and from 30 months to 26 months in civil penalty cases, compared against the previous reporting period.
MAS has also stepped up its focus on early detection of market misconduct, and has established a joint forum with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) to facilitate the review and enforcement of accounting-related and disclosure issues.
This is in addition to a trade surveillance practice guide published with the Singapore Exchange to help brokers implement good practices in their trade surveillance operations.
MAS said it will continue to strengthen its enforcement regime, as the nature of financial misconduct grows in sophistication and complexity. It is constantly refining its processes and increasingly leverages technology to heighten effectiveness and efficiency in investigation.
Moving forward, the central bank said its enforcement priorities will include pursuing serious and complex cases of disclosure breaches, focusing on financial institutions (FIs) which lack rigorous systems and processes to fight money laundering and terrorism financing, as well as enhancing their focus on senior management accountability for breaches by their FIs or subordinates. — Lim Hui Jie
Xi pledges to import more as pandemic shakes global economy
China will import over US$22 trillion worth of goods over the next decade, and the country is accelerating its opening up in spite of the global Covid-19 pandemic, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Nov 4.
Speaking via video message at the opening of the China International Import Expo (CIIE), an annual import show in Shanghai held from Nov 5 to Nov 10, he said the world should not let unilateralism and protectionism undermine the international order.
“We should take a constructive stance to reform the global economic governance system and promote an open world economy,” he said.
“With a population of 1.4 billion and a middle-income group exceeding 400 million, China is the world’s largest market with the greatest potential. China is expected to import an accumulated over $22 trillion worth of goods in the next 10 years.”
China is set to be the only major economy to grow this year after largely bringing the epidemic under control, following its emergence in the central city of Wuhan last year.
It opted to push ahead with its annual import fair this year, a rare in-person trade event held during the pandemic, albeit with stringent capacity limits and health restrictions. CIIE was first held in 2018 when a trade war between China and the US was heating up.
Analysts said the fair was a signal that the country is open for business, though few, if any, foreign business and political leaders are expected to attend in person, due in part to Covid-19.
His US$22 trillion pledge compares with a target he announced in 2018, when he said he expects China to import US$30 trillion worth of goods and US$10 trillion worth of services in the next 15 years.
He did not give a goal at last year’s fair, which took place before the emergence of the coronavirus, but assistant commerce minister Ren Hongbin said that year that China was confident of fulfilling its 2018 CIIE pledges.
China’s 2019 imports of goods fell 2.8% to US$2.08 trillion as economic growth slowed to near 30-year lows. That compares with a 15.8% surge in imports in 2018, to US$2.14 trillion. — Reuters
