- China Prepares Exemption From Hong Kong Ipos
- Japan Steps Up To Regulate Digital Currency
- Oil’s Worst Week in Five Months
China Prepares Exemption From Hong Kong Ipos
While China has recently taken steps to restrict public offerings abroad, citing cybersecurity, it is preparing an exemption for Hong Kong.
As stated, China plans to exempt companies going public in Hong Kong from first seeking the approval of the country’s cyber-security regulator.
Sources speaking to Bloomberg stated that China’s cybersecurity regulator would carefully examine companies to go public to see if they comply with local legislation. However, this official review process will only be applied to companies that will go public in countries like the USA.
In addition, On Friday, Hong Kong experienced its busiest day for initial public offerings in six months.
Five firms began trading on the city’s stock exchange after generating a total of $630 million in their initial public offerings, marking the busiest day for IPO listings since January 8.
The newcomers include clinical testing firm Kindstar Globalgene Technology, pearlescent pigment maker Global New Material International Holding, property managers Kangqiao Service Group and Ronshine Service Holding, and China General Education Group.
According to the data, Hong Kong has seen new listings worth $32.5 billion this year, nearly entirely from Chinese companies, compared to $19.2 billion in the first seven months of 2020.
Japan Steps Up To Regulate Digital Currency
While Japan accelerates its diplomatic initiatives to regulate digital currencies, regulatory bodies from the G7 and G20 countries have also called for stablecoins – a form of a cryptocurrency typically pegged to a national currency, to have the necessary regulations.
Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) set up a unit to regulate digital currencies last week to improve cooperation with other relevant organizations. At the same time, Japan’s Ministry of Finance plans to hire more staff on the subject.
“Japan can no longer leave things unattended with global developments over digital currencies moving so rapidly,” one official said.
The Bank of Japan, which is working on digital yen issuance, will also play a complementary role in the actions taken by the government.
Many regulators worldwide are concerned about platforms established by tech firms as they are not subject to traditional banking rules. The Bank of England said last month that with the use of stablecoins increasing in payments, these companies should be subject to banks’ payment regulations.
The new FSA unit, which was established on July 8, will also be in charge of overseeing “decentralized finance,” which is a blockchain-based type of money that does not rely on central financial intermediaries, according to officials. To lead the section, the agency created a new position.
Oil’s Worst Week in Five Months
Since March, oil is poised for its worst week with rising delta variant cases and ongoing developments on the OPEC+ deal.
Futures fell 2% in the New York market on Thursday, closing the day at a one-month low. The United Arab Emirates is about to reach an agreement that will give it better production capabilities and allow OPEC to overproduce.
Brent oil for September was down 20 cents at $73.27 a barrel at 5:44 a.m. GMT, putting it on track for a 3% decrease this week following two days of steep drops, the worst weekly decline since May.
August crude slid 19 cents to $71.46 a barrel, putting it on course for a 4 percent drop this week, the worst weekly decline since March.
This week, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates reached an agreement, opening the door for OPEC+ to finalize a deal that would allow greater supply into the market. According to RBC Capital analysts, “all signals point to OPEC+ reaching a viable compromise agreement that will allow the UAE to secure a baseline adjustment.”
In a July report released on Thursday, OPEC said that oil demand would surpass the group’s current production to surpass 2019 levels in the second half of 2022.
According to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) oil market report for June, the strong growth in the global economy, the acceleration of vaccination efforts against the coronavirus epidemic, and the easing of restrictions will be the driving force in the recovery in oil demand.
According to the report, the global oil supply amounted to 95 million 590 thousand barrels per day, increasing 1 million 100 thousand barrels compared to the previous month.
