Taiwan Imposes Entry Fee for Foreign Traveler's

February 16, 2023

Good Morning,

Cyclone Gabrielle - Four people, including a young child, confirmed dead. Police say they have “grave fears” for at least several others, Lower North Island rocked by magnitude 6.1 earthquake, SkyCity seeks hundreds of staff in post-lockdown turnaround, Thailand to Impose 300 Baht Entry Fee for Foreign Travelers From June as Tourism Booms, and the UK inflation rate falls more than expected to 10.1%.

Let's jump in.

Before The Bell

Markets

  • Markets were mostly positive on the day. The NZX 50 moved +0.1% higher to 12,083.12, the ASX 200 lost -1.1% to 7352.20, the S&P 500 remained the same and the Nasdaq grew +0.6%. All treasury bond yields increased.

  • UK inflation rate falls more than expected to 10.1% (RT)

  • Oil prices drop as U.S. inventories jump fuels demand worries (RT)

  • Asia stocks fall, dollar stands firm after sticky U.S. CPI (RT)

Earnings and Data

  • Barclays Profit Drops 8% to £1.3 Billion as Fixed Income Traders Fall Short (BBG)

  • Fletcher Building Ltd, one of the largest listed companies in New Zealand, half-year profit drops by almost $80m (RNZ)

  • Steel & Tube Holdings Ltd half-year revenue increased 11.7 per cent to a record $315.32m and its net profit was down 17.5 per cent to $11.83m (Herald)

  • SkyCity Entertainment Group pushed its previous $33.7m million interim loss into a $22.8m profit when its operations traded fully after pandemic lockdowns were relaxed (Herald)

  • American multinational beverage corporation, Coca-Cola, revenue rises in fourth quarter, fueled by higher prices (CNBC)

  • Airbnb Inc. gave an outlook for revenue in the first quarter that beat analysts’ estimates, signalling that travel demand remains robust even after a record year for growth in 2022. The shares jumped as much as 12% in extended trading (BBG)

  • ASB’s 10% increase in net profit to $840 million for the half year to December comes as Kiwis face a cost of living crunch, chief executive Vittoria Shortt acknowledges (NBR)

  • Glencore Plc will return more than $7 billion to shareholders in dividends and buybacks after the commodities giant reported another blockbuster profit driven by its coal and trading divisions (BBG)

News Summary

  • SkyCity seeks hundreds of staff in post-lockdown turnaround (Herald)

  • Air New Zealand has restored normal services today, including flights to New Plymouth, Napier and Gisborne which were not operational yesterday due to Cyclone Gabrielle (NBR)

  • Cyclone Gabrielle moves away from New Zealand, recovery efforts begin (BBG)

  • Lower North Island rocked by magnitude 6.1 earthquake.The magnitude-6.1 quake struck at 7.38pm on Wednesday and was centred 50km northwest of Paraparaumu, at a depth of 48km (Stuff)

  • Body recovered from landslide is missing Muriwai firefighter. Fire and Emergency has confirmed the body recovered from a landslide in Muriwai is that of a firefighter missing after Cyclone Gabrielle. (Stuff)

  • A 14-year-old boy has died after being hit by a bus outside a school in Sydney's south-west.9News understands the boy was walking on the footpath when the bus appeared to leave the road while navigating a roundabout and struck him (9 News)

  • The captain of the Thai boys' football team that was trapped in a cave for two weeks in 2018 has reportedly died (9 News)

  • South Sydney Rabbitohs great Samuel Burgess will plead not guilty to driving unlicensed, a Sydney court has been told (9 News)

  • The largest LGBTIQ+ human rights conference ever to be held in Southern Hemisphere is about to come to Sydney (9 News)

  • Elon Musk said Wednesday that he might be able to appoint his successor as Twitter CEO by the end of 2023 but first needs to “stabilize” his social media company (CNBC)

  • Russia’s budget deficit has surged. But economists say Moscow won’t drain its war chest any time soon (CNBC)

  • Thailand will impose an entry fee on foreign holidaymakers from June as the tourism-reliant nation presses ahead with the long-delayed levy following a better-than-expected recovery in tourist arrivals (BBG)

Deal Flow

Investments / M&A

  • Warren Buffett slashed his holding of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. just months after disclosing a major stake, an unusually quick reversal by the legendary stock picker that’s chilling investor sentiment toward the chip giant (BBG)

  • Tyler Johnson, a Grammy Award-winning record producer and frequent collaborator with pop singer Harry Styles, has agreed to sell his music rights to Influence Media Partners (BBG)

  • Subway Sandwich Chain Is Exploring a Sale After Record-Setting Year (BBG)

  • French multinational holding and conglomerate specializing in luxury goods, Moët Hennessy, Buys Château Minuty In Big Bet on Luxury Rosé (BBG)

  • Iranian-American billionaire Jahm Najafi, chair of MSP Sports Capital, is set to launch a $3.75 billion takeover bid for English soccer club Tottenham Hotspur, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing two people with direct knowledge of the plans (RT)

  • Logistics bigwig Qube Holdings Ltd is seeking to increase its footprint at the Port of Newcastle via the acquisition of family-owned Newcastle Stevedores (AFR)

Equity Raises

  • REPT Battero Energy Co. has added Credit Suisse Group AG to arrange its planned Hong Kong initial public offering, which could raise as much as $1 billion, according to people familiar with the matter (BBG)

  • NZX-listed retirement village operator Ryman Healthcare has gone into a trading halt this morning as it announced a $902 million capital raise to “strengthen its balance sheet” (NBR)

  • Perth-based industrial services group SRG Global is expected to be in the market with an equity raising as early as Thursday, with funds raised to be used for an acquisition (AFR)

Debt

  • Vedanta Resources said on Wednesday it had brought down debt significantly, seeking to allay market concerns after S&P Global Ratings last week raised doubts about its ability to meet financial obligations beyond September (BBG)

Daily Pick

  • About one-fifth of Vodafone Group Plc is now owned by its rivals — with Liberty Global Plc taking a surprise 4.9% stake. The company’s growing roster of strategic shareholders is ratcheting up pressure to find ways to boost the value of the stock (BBG)

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