Thu, Jun 06, 2019 page10

• World Business Quick Take

  • Agencies
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  AUTOMAKERS

  Minister cautious on merger

  French Minister of Finance Bruno Le Maire yesterday said there was no need to rush the US$35 billion merger talks between automakers Renault SA and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, but reiterated that he wanted the deal to go ahead. “We should take our time to make sure that things are done well,” Le Maire told BFM TV. The government wanted guarantees over the new entity’s jobs, having a headquarter in Paris and corporate governance, he added.

  INDIA

  Services expansion slow

  The services sector expanded at its slowest pace in a year last month, adding to doubts about the economy’s ability to quickly reverse a slowdown. The seasonally adjusted Nikkei India Services Index fell to 50.2, its weakest level in 12 months. The reading is within earshot of the 50 threshold, which is the dividing line between expansion and contraction. The reading signals slowing activity in the nation’s dominant services sector and is likely to add to pressure on the central bank to lower interest rates to support the economy.

  AUTOMOBILES

  UK registrations drop

  UK new registrations dropped 4.6 percent last month to 183,274 vehicles due to uncertainty over diesel policy and the government’s decision to cut incentives for plug-in hybrid vehicles, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said yesterday. “Confusing policy messages and changes to incentives continue to affect consumer and business confidence, causing drivers to keep hold of their older, more polluting vehicles for longer,” group CEO Mike Hawes said.

  ENERGY

  CTG eyeing EDP Brazil

  China Three Gorges Corp (CTG, 中國三峽集團) is weighing a deal to gain control of EDP-Energias de Portugal SA’s Brazilian business, people with knowledge of the matter said. State-owned CTG is considering merging its own Brazilian assets with EDP’s operations in the South American country, which are run through publicly traded EDP-Energias do Brasil SA, the people said. CTG might seek a majority stake in the combined entity, the people said.

  AUTOMAKERS

  Ford China fined

  China has fined Ford Motor Co’s main joint venture in the country for antitrust breaches. Changan Ford Automobile Co (長安福特汽車) was fined 162.8 million yuan (US$23.6 million) for restricting retailers’ sale prices in Chongqing since 2013, the State Administration for Market Regulation said in a statement on its Web site. The amount of the fine is equivalent to 4 percent of Changan Ford’s annual sales in Chongqing. Ford said in a statement that it respects China’s decision.

  SOUTH AFRICA

  Stabilizing prices a priority

  The primary mandate of the central bank is price stability, South African Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago said yesterday after the South African Communist Party said the bank’s mandate should be expanded to explicitly include job creation. The divergent statements echoed a heated argument among senior officials over whether its mandate should be expanded. “The constitution outlines the primary mandate of the Reserve Bank, being to protect the value of the currency in the interests of balanced and sustainable growth,” Kganyago said. “The independence and competence of the Reserve Bank all come from the constitution.”
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