The Indonesian government hassubmitted a sweeping tax bill to parliament that proposes corporate tax cutsand seeks to make internet giants pay more taxes, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said on Wednesday.

The tax bill is part of President Joko Widodo’s so-called “omnibus laws”, or legislation aimed at replacing dozens of overlapping laws seen as obstacles to investment, as he seeks to make good on last year’s campaign pledges to boost job creation and lift economic growth.

The bill was not made public, but Indrawati has previously said it would back cuts in the corporate tax rate, from the current 25% to 22% in 2021 and then to 20% in 2023.

The proposed changes would also make internet companies pay 10% value added tax (VAT) regardless of where they are based, among other things.

“Though we cut the corporate tax rate, we will widen our tax base and maximise our spending so that there is no economic shock. This must be maintained because there is a global economic slowdown,” Indrawati, a former World Bank managing director, told reporters.

Tax revenue is expected to be reduced by up to 86 trillion rupiah (US$6.27 billion) a year from the corporate tax cut, Indrawati said.

The omnibus bills should help ease financial conditions through portfolio and foreign direct investment flows, and “make Indonesia a more attractive investment destination,” said Trinh Nguyen, senior economist with Natixis.

Parties in Widodo’s ruling coalition control 74% of the seats in parliament, removing any major hurdle to the passage of the bill. Widodo has asked lawmakers to complete their deliberation within 100 days.

Supratman Andi Atgas, an MP who leads a parliamentary body that oversees lawmakers’ agenda, said there was no certainty of meeting Widodo’s timeline.

“It depends on the substance of the bill,” he told Reuters by telephone. “In principle I agree with (the bill’s) framework to improve investment climate and Indonesia’s competitive edge.”

Another omnibus bill aimed to streamline bureaucracy and relax labour rules would be submitted to parliament this week, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto told reporters separately.

Indonesia’s economy grew at the weakest pace in three years in the fourth quarter of 2019, partly due to sluggish investment.

Source: Reuters

Japanese trading house Mitsui & Co Ltd sees China’s outbreak of a new coronavirus may slow manufacturing activities in automobile and other sectors, and possibly reduce steel product demand, the company’s executive said on Tuesday.

“If steel demand slows, it may also affect prices of iron ore which are already under pressure now,” Mitsui Chief Financial Officer Takakazu Uchida told a news conference after the company released its latest earnings report.

The company also said it booked a 22 billion yen ($202 million) impairment loss on the Moatize coal mine and Nacala Corridor rail & port businesses in Mozambique in October-December quarter to reflect a revision of their business plans.

Source: Reuters

German industrial output registeredits biggest drop in more than a decade in December, highlighting the weaknessof the manufacturing sector that is dragging on overall growth in Europe’slargest economy.

Industrial production tumbled by3.5% on the month, undershooting expectations for a 0.2% fall, figures releasedby the Statistics Office showed. The drop was the biggest since January 2009, aStatistics Office official said.

The November output reading wasrevised to an increase of 1.2% after a previously reported 1.1% rise.

Separate trade figures showedseasonally adjusted exports edged up by 0.1% on the month while imports fell by0.7% in December.

Source: Reuters

Singapore’s biggest bank DBS on Friday downgraded its forecast for the city-state’s 2020 growth rate to 0.9% from 1.4% previously, citing an expected economic hit from the new coronavirus epidemic which has spread to the city-state.

Singapore’s government has said it expects its economy to be dented this year, although it has not yet revised its official forecast range of 0.5-2.5%, while its central bank this week said its currency has room to weaken with the economy.

Singapore was one of the worst hit countries outside of China in the 2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) which killed 800 people globally.

“The impact from the virus outbreak could potentially be deeper than the previous SARS episode given the significantly stronger economic links with the China economy,” DBS senior economist Irvin Seah said in note, adding the outbreak would hit consumer and business sentiment, tourism, and the regional supply chain.

Source: Reuters

More than two dozen large trade fairs and industry conferences in Asia have been postponed because of the spread of the China coronavirus, shuttering events where billions of dollars worth of deals have been signed in the past.

The pushed back events, including some scheduled as late as the end of March, show the ripple effect the virus is having on businesses globally, with airlines cancelling flights as governments and companies curb travel, and thousand of factories and shops remain shut.

The venue of China’s oldest and biggest trade fair, the Canton Fair, has suspended exhibitions until further notice. It was due to hold its spring exhibition at the complex from April 15. Last year, $29.7 billion worth of deals were signed at the event.

Organizers of the East China Import and Export Commodity Fair – due to be held in Shanghai over March 1-4 – said they would postpone the event, without giving later dates. The fair that usually attracts traders of garments and household goods, announced $2.3 billion in deals last year.

The Chinese government has also asked local authorities and business associations to hold off hosting events and conferences, as concerns rise about the disease that has killed more than 560 people and infected over 28,000.

“Clients are asking me, is it safe to go to China and that’s a very hard question to answer,” said Malcolm McNeil, a partner at global law firm Arent Fox, whose clients include U.S.-based firms with business interests in China.

A client scheduled to go to Shenzhen in southern China decided to put that off until June, McNeil said. He expects it to take at least six-nine months before people regain full confidence to travel to China again for business.

Other postponed events, due to be held in the last two weeks of March, include the annual trade conference for the global chip industry in China, SEMICON, and the International Building and Construction Trade Fair in Shanghai.

The annual China Development Forum, a high-level gathering of international leaders, whose past attendees included Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook, will be delayed, its organizers said. It is usually held in late March.

The outbreak casts doubt on attendance at high-profile events outside China as well, industry executives said, as companies restrict mainland Chinese visitors from traveling to other countries.

Korea’s LG Electronics has withdrawn from the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona scheduled for Feb 24-27.

HOSPITALITY IMPACT

In Singapore, Food & Hotel Asia’s trade show, which attracted more than 80,000 people in 2018, has postponed the first of two events it had planned in the city-state this year.

Travel fair NATAS Travel 2020 has also been pushed back.

At least four employees of a multinational company that held a meeting of more than 100 international staff in Singapore in January contracted the virus, sparking a World Health Organization investigation of the case.

Some hotels are bracing for the impact to be at least as bad as the 2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, based on booking cancellations so far, industry sources said.

“Multinational companies who are the main customers of luxury hotels have halted trips to China … all big events have been called off across the country,” said Mei Xin, an analyst with Huatai Securities in Beijing, adding that these were key revenue sources for high-end hotels.

Hotel occupancy in China, at 70% on Jan. 14, dropped by three quarters within the next two weeks, a report by hospitality industry consultancy STR published on Tuesday showed.

A report by data consultancy Tourism Economics published last week forecasted that visits to the United States from China could drop by 28% in 2020, equivalent to 4.6 million hotel room nights and $5.8 billion in visitor spending.

Source: Reuters

Japan’s economy likely shrank at the fastest pace since 2014 in the December quarter as a sales tax hike and a typhoon dented consumer spending and sluggish exports hit capital expenditure, a Reuters poll showed on Friday.

Adding to pressure to the outlook is China’s virus outbreak, which has threatened exports and factory output and has already hit tourism in Japan.

Gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to have contracted an annualised 3.7% in the October-December quarter, the poll found, having grown 1.8% in the third quarter.

It would be the first contraction in the five quarters and the biggest fall since a 7.4% decline in April-June 2014, which was the last time Japan raised its sales tax.

The expected annualised contraction would translate to a 0.9% quarter-on-quarter decline after the economy grew 0.4% in the third quarter, the poll showed.

“Manufacturers’ production and earnings were weak due to falls in exports, and employment and wages recovery slowed. We see the trend of consumer spending was weak,” said Kentaro Arita, senior economist at Mizuho Research Institute.

“Exports and capital spending are expected to stagnate and consumer spending will stay weak. We expect economic growth in the first half of 2020 will be limited considering the coronavirus impacts.”

Private consumption, which accounts for over 50% of GDP, likely dropped 2.0% for the quarter, the first fall in five quarters and the fastest decline since it fell 4.8% in April-June 2014.

Capital spending was seen down 1.6% in the fourth quarter, the first fall in three quarters and the biggest since a 3.4% drop in July-September 2018.

External demand — or exports minus imports — likely contributed 0.3 percentage point to GDP growth in the final quarter of 2019, the poll showed, although that positive contribution is mostly due to weakening imports rather than export strength.

It subtracted 0.2 percentage point off GDP in the third quarter last year.

The Bank of Japan’s corporate goods price index (CGPI), which measures the prices companies charge eachother for goods and services, likely rose 1.5% in January from a year earlier, led by price gains in oil related products, the poll found.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has ordered his government to take “all necessary steps” to mitigate the impact of the virus outbreak on the economy, including tapping state budget reserves.

Source: Reuters

Industry leaders privately warned the Trump administration that the US will struggle to produce the oil, gas and other energy products that China has committed to buy in a new trade deal, raising additional questions about one of the president’s signature economic achievements.

The “phase one” deal signed by President Donald Trump on Jan 15 calls for China to purchase an additional US$52.4 billion (RM217 billion) in liquefied natural gas, crude oil, refined products and coal over the next two years. To do that, China would have to import an additional one million barrels per day of crude oil, 500,000 barrels per day of refined products and 100 tankers full of liquefied natural gas, the American Petroleum Institute cautioned last month in a closed-door meeting with the Energy Department.

Those amounts would strain shipping infrastructure and production capacity and would require China to purchase more crude oil than the federal government has predicted the US would add in new production by 2021, the oil industry lobbying group said.

“The US’ ability to expand its exports of crude oil and other liquids would likely become a binding constraint,” API said in its briefing for the Energy Department. And “even if production is available, logistical challenges remain with marine shipping and the Panama Canal”.

The warnings were detailed in briefing materials seen by Bloomberg News and confirmed by two people familiar with the late January meeting who asked not to be identified describing a private discussion. The meeting was requested by the Energy Department as the agency sought to understand how the Chinese purchase commitments would affect the U.S. oil and gas industry after the trade pact was inked, the people said.

The presentation by an industry viewed as one of the biggest beneficiaries of Trump’s trade deal with China underscores questions about China’s commitment to buy at least US$200 billion more in US goods and services over the next two years — more than double the US$187 billion the US exported to the Asian nation in 2017. Doubts have already been raised about the ability of US to rapidly ramp up production of soybeans and other agricultural goods to fulfill the Chinese purchase pledges.

“We appreciated the opportunity last month to brief the DOE about the challenges and opportunities that the phase one agreement presents,” API’s senior vice president of policy, economics and regulatory affairs, Frank Macchiarola, said in an emailed statement. “While market conditions suggest more clarity around particular issues is needed, we commend the administration for gathering information from stakeholders to ensure this agreement is implemented successfully.”

Spokespeople for the US Trade Representative and the White House did not respond to a request for comments.

Oil and gas industry representatives have broadly hailed the trade package, with the API in January proclaiming it “a step in the right direction for US energy.” Other oil and gas leaders also have celebrated the Chinese purchase commitments, with Anne Bradbury, chief executive of the American Exploration and Production Council, saying the phase one deal “helps us plan and invest in critical infrastructure to expand access to global markets while supporting US jobs and economic growth.”

Nevertheless, analysts have already warned that logistical and contractual constraints could make it hard for China to make good on its purchase commitments. For instance in gas, the nation is set to see a major increase of competing pipeline imports from Russia in the coming years that will squeeze LNG trade. API offered a similarly sober assessment to the Energy Department, counseling that any ramp-up in Chinese purchases of US crude oil could displace nearly one third of current exports, bid up prices and strain existing shipping capacity, especially over the next two years.

Coronavirus outbreak

The briefing occurred before an industrial shutdown in China caused by the novel coronavirus outbreak that sent oil prices tumbling and led analysts to sharply cut forecasts for global demand this year.

The meeting was one of several the Energy Department had with industry representatives ahead of a planned trip to China with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. An Energy Department official said similar discussions were held with a broad range of leaders in coal, LNG and trading in preparation for the trip.

A decline in expected oil demand globally and the coronavirus outbreak may mitigate energy industry concerns while also complicating China’s ability to comply with its purchase plans.

A number of senior Trump administration officials have over the past week said that the virus outbreak will at the very least delay China’s ability to live up to the terms of the buying spree promised in the trade deal. Even then, China hasn’t notified the U.S. that it’s unable to meet its commitments, according to a U.S. agriculture department official Wednesday.

Analysts and markets were already skeptical over the deal and the US$200 billion in additional purchases of everything from airplanes to crude oil and soybeans that is its centerpiece. Trump has himself said that his own advisers have counseled him that some of the commitments he sought from the Chinese were unrealistic and boasted of his own role in setting higher targets.

At the signing ceremony for the deal last month he recounted how he had overruled his own advisers after they agreed to an additional US$20 billion in purchases of farm products.

“So our people agreed to US$20 [billion], and I said, ‘No, make it US$50 billion. What difference does it make? Make it US$50 billion,” Trump said. “They say, ‘Sir, our farmers can’t produce that much.’ I said, ‘I love our farmers. Let them tell me they can’t do it.’ And I said, ‘Tell them to go out and buy a larger tractor. Buy a little more land.”’

Source: Bloomberg

Employees in India, Indonesia and China are more hopeful about their career prospects than workers in any other major economy, according to a new study from LinkedIn.

Optimism levels emerged far higher in the three expansive Asian nations than in some of the world’s leading jobs markets, including the United States, Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom

The professional networking site surveyed more than 30,000 18- to 65-year-olds across 22 markets for its annual LinkedIn Opportunity Index, which seeks to gauge the challenges and opportunities affecting today’s workforce.

It measured seven metrics of optimism including respondents’ perception of the economy over the next 12 months, their financial situations and their quality of life as compared with their parents’ generation.

India topped the list with a score of 121, well above the global average of 100, followed by Indonesia, with 117, and China, with 116, due to citizens’ faith in their countries’ economic prospects and growing jobs markets. Indeed, 50% of Gen Z respondents and 48% of millennials in the three Asian countries said they expected their country’s economy to improve in the next 12 months, boosting their work prospects in the process.

That optimism reflects a broadly positive economic outlook for Asia Pacific. The region is set to surpass the rest of the world in terms of gross domestic product, according to the World Economic Forum, even as India and China face slowing growth.

Olivier Legrand, managing director of LinkedIn in Asia Pacific, said the findings indicate an underlying confidence that developing
nations are on an upward trajectory.

“Despite slowing economic growth in these developing markets, their people are confident in their markets’ economic growth potential, as well as improvements in their personal finances for the year,” Legrand told CNBC Make It.

“Likewise, the contrasting levels of optimism between developed and developing markets suggest that people in developed economies may believe that their market has reached a saturation point in terms of actual economic growth,” he added.

This year’s three front-runners were little changed from the company’s last report, though the United Arab Emirates, with a score of 115, pushed up to take fourth position.

The U.S. topped the optimism rankings among Western nations, buoyed by a prolonged period of economic expansion and a strong jobs market.

Other major economies that recorded average or below average optimism levels include Canada, with a score of 98, Singapore, with 95, and the U.K., with 91. Japan, a country renowned for its unforgiving working hours, ranked at the bottom, with a score of 80.

“Respondents in Japan feel that their quality of life has dropped in comparison to their parents. This sentiment may be one of the factors that has contributed to their less optimistic outlook on future economy and opportunities,” Legrand noted.

Even in the most hopeful nations, however, a number of hurdles united respondents across the board.

Financial resources, age and difficult job markets emerged as the top barriers to career progression, according to employees.

But Legrand said staff should be encouraged that they can overcome those challenges, particularly in relation to age.

Indeed, in LinkedIn’s global Talent Trends 2020 report, 89% of hiring professionals said they believed multigenerational workforces are more successful.

Legrand recommended employees develop a “growth mindset” and attempt to learn from, and share lessons with, colleagues across different age brackets in order to progress.

Employers, meanwhile, could do more to support their staff through multigenerational training and courses to improve employees’ skills, he said.

“For the first time, four generations are working together,” noted Legrand.

“We encourage companies to bring in diverse hiring practices to hire for complementary skills and to promote collaboration and bi-directional mentorship among their workforce.”

Source: CNBC

Food giant Nestle expects growth to accelerate over the next two years towards its mid-single digit organic growth target, initially set for 2020, after it hit a four-year high at 3.5% and profitability improved in 2019.

Like other large food companies such as Unilever, Nestle has been working hard to streamline its diverse portfolio in keeping with changing consumer tastes and growing demand for healthier and more environmentally friendly produce.

“(We see a) continued increase in organic sales growth (in 2020), expecting further acceleration in 2021/2022 towards sustainable mid single-digit growth,” Nestle said in a statement on Thursday, adding it was too early to quantify the financial impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

The maker of KitKat chocolate bars and Nescafe instant coffee reported full-year net profit up 24% to 12.6 billion Swiss francs (US$12.89 billion), against a consensus forecast of 12.36 billion francs in a company-supplied analysts’ poll.

It proposed to increase its dividend to 2.70 Swiss francs per share.

Organic sales growth accelerated to 3.5% from 3% in 2018, and just below a 3.6% estimate in the company poll. It slowed to 3.0% in the final quarter of 2019, from 3.7% in the third quarter.

Rival Unilever reported underlying sales growth of 1.5% in the final quarter of 2019, the slowest in a decade. Danone reports results on Feb 26.

Under the leadership of Mark Schneider, who became CEO in 2017, Nestle has sought to focus on premium products in fast-growing market segments such as coffee while retreating from slower-growth areas such as chocolate and processed meat.

Schneider has already conducted more than 50 transactions and reviews while also improving profitability towards its 17.5-18.5% target. The margin reached 17.6% in 2019.

(US$1 = 0.9773 Swiss francs)

Source: Reuters

South Korean car giant Hyundai Motor has increasingly relied on China to supply auto parts to its manufacturing hub at home in recent years. As the coronavirus spreads, its strategy could be backfiring.

One of its main suppliers, Kyungshin, which has rapidly boosted capacity in China over the past two decades to capitalize on the country’s lower labor costs and proximity to South Korea, has seen its operations hit hard by the epidemic.

Hundreds of workers failed to turn up for work last week at two of its four plants, in Jiangsu and Qingdao, following a Chinese New Year holiday that was extended due to the outbreak, according to a source familiar with the matter. In Jiangsu, only about 300 of the 600 employees who were due to return showed up, the source said.

Now Kyungshin, which supplies almost half of the wiring harnesses for Hyundai’s auto electrical systems in the carmaker’s South Korean manufacturing hub, is scrambling to make up for production shortfalls.

It has increased output at its factories in the United States, India, Cambodia and South Korea, according to three people with knowledge of the measures, who told Reuters the company was running its Korean plants around the clock.

As it falls behind schedule, the company plans to use planes as well as ships to speed up the transport of its parts to South Korea, added the sources who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.

Kyungshin said it was doing all it could to normalize parts supply.

Hyundai told Reuters it was reviewing various measures to minimize the disruption to its operations and “ensure a stable and optimal production system.”

The carmaker’s South Korean hub accounts for about 40% of its global production, with vehicles exported to the United States, Europe and Middle East as well as other countries.

The return to work by millions of people in China, where the coronavirus has killed more than 1,100 and infected over 44,000, has been marked by public fears over safety and mistrust of authorities.

Kyungshin’s travails in part reflect those of several global automakers, including Volkswagen , Ford , Fiat Chrysler and Daimler , and their suppliers who have seen operations disrupted by the coronavirus outbreak, highlighting their China exposure.

However, Hyundai and South Korean automakers have been hardest hit in their home market. Kyungshin, founded by a friend of Hyundai’s former chairman 45 years ago, and a host of the carmaker’s other South Korean suppliers have rapidly increased their capacity in China over the past two decades.

They have been able to swiftly supply not only Hyundai’s Chinese factories, but increasingly its assembly lines back home.

“South Korean automakers are heavy on just-in-time delivery due to close geographic proximity to China. Other automakers have to carry more safety stock,” said Paul Stepanek, president at Complete Manufacturing and Distribution, which advises companies on sourcing supplies in Asia.

“Therefore, when there is a crunch on supply chains, the South Korean automakers feel it faster.”

‘NO CHOICE BUT CHINA’

In an illustration of South Korea’s increase in outsourcing, the country’s exports of auto parts to China have slumped by two-thirds over the past five years to $2.18 billion last year, while imports of parts made in China have risen by almost a fifth to $1.56 billion, according to South Korean trade data.

About 170 South Korean first and second-tier parts suppliers run a total of around 300 factories in China, according to South Korean auto industry association data.

South Korea sources more than 80% of wiring harnesses from China, according to the government, as the parts require labor-intensive assembly and lower labor costs are crucial.

“Suppliers have no choice but to go to China because of cost pressure,” said one of the sources of the supply disruption.

Another of the sources, a senior industry figure, told Reuters the latest disruption caused by the coronavirus outbreak had underscored how exposed Hyundai’s South Korean operations were to problems in China.

“This is an opportunity to address that,” the source told Reuters.

Analysts said that, while the disruption would put pressure on Hyundai to rethink its China strategy, diversifying supplies would take time, money and diplomacy.

“Hyundai had close relationships with local suppliers. It was not easy to go beyond the relationships,” said Jo Hyung-je, an adviser to Hyundai and its union, referring to how many suppliers like Kyungshin have grown up with the automaker.

“They share a common destiny.”

(Reporting by Joyce Lee and Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Pravin Char)

Source: Reuters

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will reshape his government on Thursday, appointing a team he hopes will deliver his vision for Britain beyond Brexit and heal the divisions both in his Conservative Party and the country.

The reshuffle is not expected to be as explosive as some commentators had suggested, based on his senior adviser Dominic Cummings’ well-publicised desire to see a radical reorganisation of government to fit Johnson’s agenda.

Instead, a source in his office said Johnson was keen to foster new talent, particularly among women, in the junior ranks of government while also rewarding loyal supporters who helped him win a large majority in last year’s election.

For now, Johnson is not expected to rock the boat too much, but he started his reshuffle with the sacking of Northern Ireland minister Julian Smith. Only a month ago Smith helped broker the restoration of a Northern Irish government, three years after a power-sharing agreement broke down.

“The prime minister wants this reshuffle to set the foundations for government now and in the future,” a source in his Downing Street office said.

“He wants to promote a generation of talent that will be promoted further in the coming years. He will reward those MPs (members of parliament) who have worked hard to deliver on this government’s priorities to level up the whole country and deliver the change people voted for last year.”

NO RADICAL OVERHAUL EXPECTED

Several Conservative officials said now was not the time for the radical transformation of government many had anticipated. Cummings, who worked with Johnson on Britain’s Brexit campaign, had long argued for a shake up.

That would be costly, they said, as well as disruptive at a time when Johnson must stay on good terms with those voters who gave him such a hefty majority, many of them traditional supporters of Britain’s opposition Labour Party.

He also wants to wage parallel trade negotiations with the EU and the United States, which observers in Brussels and Washington say will not be easy, and host a meeting of world leaders in November at the COP26 climate change summit.

“The question he will be asking of them is ‘are you tame?'” one veteran Conservative said, adding Johnson’s team wanted a new government that pulls together to meet his goals.

So instead of merging departments, Johnson is expected to promote lawmakers and ministers who backed him before last year’s election and who are on board with his agenda.

The source said Johnson was expected to promote several women such as Anne-Marie Trevelyan, minister for the armed forces, Suella Braverman, a former Brexit junior minister, and Gillian Keegan.

Oliver Dowden, a minister in the Cabinet Office, and Alok Sharma, the international development minister, are also expected to be promoted.

Source: Reuters

The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank on Monday said they stood ready to help member countries address the human and economic challenges of the fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak, including through emergency funding.

In a joint statement, the two institutions said they were focused especially on poor countries where health systems are weakest, and urged member countries to strengthen their health surveillance and response systems to contain the virus.

“International cooperation is essential to deal with the health and economic impact of the Covid-19 virus,” the statement said, referring to the acronym for the virus. It said both the IMF and World Bank were fully committed to supporting these efforts.

The outbreak is plunging the world economy into its worst downturn since the global financial crisis more than a decade ago, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development warned on Monday, urging governments and central banks to fight back to avoid an even steeper slump.

Finance ministers from the world’s seven largest economies (G7) are expected to hold a conference call on Tuesday to discuss measures to deal with the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak, four sources told Reuters.

The IMF said it had an array of facilities and instruments in its tool kit to help countries respond to the economic impact of the coronavirus.

The Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) and Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI), which can provide emergency financial assistance to member countries that can be quickly disbursed, was used in 2016 to help Ecuador after a major earthquake.

The IMF can also augment existing lending programs to accommodate urgent needs related to the outbreak. For instance, it provided extra funds to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone in 2014 to fight the Ebola outbreak.

It also has grants for debt relief that can help the poorest countries address disasters and can provide support through new stand-by financing arrangements. In addition, it can help countries expand their capacity to deal with the outbreak.

On Thursday, IMF spokesman Gerry Rice told reporters that the Fund had not received any requests for assistance.

Somali Finance Minister Abdirahman Duale Beileh told Reuters last week in an interview that many African countries were anxiously monitoring the spread of the flu-like virus, which has infected more than 89,000 people worldwide and killed over 3,000, mostly in China.

“Everybody is concerned. We are just hoping that it doesn’t come to us. If that thing comes to Africa, we’re all dead because we don’t have the facilities,” Beileh said on Friday.

Source: Reuters

China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group said on Tuesday it was investing 2.27 billion yuan (US$326 million) in a new satellite manufacturing plant, where it plans to build low-orbit satellites to provide more accurate data for self-driving cars.

Geely, one of China’s most internationally-known companies due to its investments in Daimler, Volvo and Proton, is building the facilities in Taizhou, where it has car plants. It aims to produce 500 satellites a year by around 2025, with around 300 highly-skilled staff, it said in a statement.

Geely’s technology development arm, Geely Technology Group, launched Geespace to research, launch, and operate low-orbit satellites in 2018.

Geespace will begin the launch of its commercial low-orbit satellite network by the end of this year, Geely said.

Geely said low-orbit satellites would offer high speed internet connectivity, precise navigation, and cloud computing capabilities to cars with autonomous driving technology.

Geely, which sold 2.18 million cars last year, is among global automakers from Tesla to Toyota to pursue autonomous driving technologies.

It is building low-orbit satellites to meet demand for high-speed connectivity capabilities that can deliver fast software updates. From around 2025, Geely’s cars will have more functions to connect to the satellites.

Source: Reuters

Indonesia is working on a second stimulus package to shore up South-East Asia’s biggest economy, adding to the central bank’s aggressive moves to counter the impact of the coronavirus on financial markets.

A new tranche of fiscal measures would be “sizeable” and “bigger” than the first one of 10.3 trillion rupiah (US$725mil) announced last week, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto said in an interview Monday.

“We still need to inject more stimulus, ” he said.

Indonesia confirmed its first two cases of the virus Monday, roiling financial markets and spurring the central bank to action.

It pledged to buy more bonds – adding to the US$6bil spent last month to stem the market rout – and announced a cut to banks’ reserve requirements to pump more liquidity into the financial system.

The Jakarta Composite Index rose as much as 3% yesterday, the most since May 2017, on news of plans for a second stimulus package.

The yield on Indonesia’s 10-year government bonds pared losses to 6.859%. The rupiah held gains to trade at 14,223 per dollar.

Central bankers around the world are pledging more action to calm market jitters and bolster their economies.

The Bank of England and Bank of Japan said Monday they’ll act as necessary to ensure stable financial markets, while the leaders of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank said they stand ready to help member nations.

The Federal Reserve on Friday signalled a possible interest rate cut.The rupiah tumbled 4.6% against the dollar last month, making it Asia’s worst-performing currency. The benchmark 10-year yield surged 27 basis points over the same period as foreign investors sold in the rout.

Global funds sold US$1.9bil of Indonesian debt in February, the most since June 2013.

Jakarta’s stock market came close to entering bear territory on Monday, with losses nearing 20% from a record high in February 2018.

Foreigners already have pulled almost US$360mil from Indonesia’s equity funds this year.

Euben Paracuelles, an economist at Nomura Holdings Inc in Singapore, said the stimulus package unveiled last week probably wasn’t “enough to move the needle” as downside risks to growth continue to rise.

“The budget will have to be revised materially higher to accommodate a more growth-friendly fiscal stance, ” Paracuelles said, noting that Indonesia’s government has “plenty of fiscal space” to inject more stimulus.

“Hints of a second stimulus package are therefore very much welcome, ” he said.

The new fiscal package would include spending not included in the budget, Hartarto said, implying the deficit may widen from an original target of 1.76% of gross domestic product.

The government would aim to help middle-income earners this time around, after allocating 4.6 trillion rupiah for low-income households in last week’s measures, he said.

Like elsewhere in the region, Indonesia’s exports, tourism and investment are taking a knock from the spread of the virus.

Hartarto said the government now estimated economic growth would slow to 4.7% in the first quarter, which would be the weakest pace since 2009 amid the global financial crisis.

Growth has been hovering around the 5% level for several years now, reaching 5.02% in 2019.

The central bank has trimmed its forecast for this year to 5%-5.4%, from 5.1%-5.5% earlier.

Source: Bloomberg

Operating conditions in the Asean manufacturing sector improved for the first time since May last year in February, albeit fractionally, according to latest IHS Markit purchasing managers’ index (PMI) data.

The headline PMI rose to 50.2 in February from 49.8 in January, signalling the first improvement in the health of the Asean manufacturing sector in nine months. A PMI reading of above 50 represents an expansion.

In a report today, IHS Markit said February saw new orders increasing in nine months, but only mildly.

“Falls in output and employment weighed on the headline figure, however, as production declined for the first time since last November and workforce numbers fell at the quickest rate for three months,” it added.

The Philippines recorded the best
performance of the seven monitored countries in February, with the headline PMI (52.3) signalling the joint-fastest improvement in operating conditions since December 2018. Indonesia also reported an expansion, the first for eight months, with the headline figure (51.9) indicative of a modest uptick.

Malaysian goods producers also recorded a deterioration in operating conditions during February, as has been the case through the majority of the past five years. The headline index (48.5) signalled only a mild rate of decline, however.

Singapore’s downturn continued during February. The headline figure (45.8) was the lowest for four months and indicative of a solid deterioration in the health of the manufacturing sector.

Meanwhile, Thailand reported a second consecutive deterioration in manufacturing conditions, with the headline index (49.5) among the lowest since October 2018. At the same time, Vietnam’s headline figure (49.0) signalled the first deterioration in the health of the sector since late-2015 amid reports of coronavirus (Covid-19) disruption. That said, the decline was only mild overall.

IHS Markit said February data also highlighted the quickest fall in preproduction inventories for four months, whilst stocks of finished items declined for the first time since August last year.

“On the price front, cost burdens continued to rise, with the rate of inflation the quickest since May last year and moderate overall. Higher costs were not passed through to clients, however, as selling prices were broadly stagnant.

“Firms remained, on average, positive that output would increase over the coming year, but overall optimism slipped to a four-month low,” it noted.

“The lack of output growth so far this year, coupled with renewed supply chain pressures, adds to concerns over whether the health of the sector can improve further. Next months data will provide a further indication of the effect of the coronavirus outbreak on Asean goods producers,” IHS Markit economist Lewis Cooper said.

Source: The Edge Markets

The Infocomm Media Development Authority intends to award 5G spectrum by mid-2020 after earlier receiving three submissions from Singtel, TPG as well as a joint submission from StarHub and M1, Minister for Communications and Information S. Iswaran said in parliament yesterday.

SINGAPORE: Singapore is on track to start 5G deployment this year and achieve standalone coverage across the country by 2025, as the city-state seeks to further develop digital infrastructure.

The Infocomm Media Development Authority intends to award 5G spectrum by mid-2020 after earlier receiving three submissions from Singtel, TPG as well as a joint submission from StarHub and M1, Minister for Communications and Information S. Iswaran said in parliament yesterday.

Other measures to further digitalisation efforts include:

> Nationwide roll-out of a parcel locker network to improve last-mile delivery infrastructure as e-commerce is projected to grow at 12% to 20% annually until 2025.

> Government intends to deploy 1,000 locker stations across Singapore by end-2022; goal to place a locker station around five-minute walk from every public housing bloc. Programme to help small and medium enterprises scale and access global markets without needing a physical in-market footprint.

> Government support for companies to hire and train mid-career professionals aged 40 and above for tech-related jobs.

Source: Bloomberg

Singapore sees opportunities to win investments from companies whose supply chains have been disrupted by the coronavirus outbreak, according to Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing.

Speaking after an interview on Wednesday with Bloomberg TV, Chan said the city-state is pursuing a strategy to be “the first one off the blocks” once global economies begin to rebound from the effects of the virus. The Southeast Asian nation will also need to assess how the outbreak might impact the timing of elections due by April next year.

Singapore is aiming to appeal to companies and investors by demonstrating an ability to take comprehensive measures that contain the virus, and by helping companies on the ground through lean times, Chan said. For example, with the tourism sector in Singapore set to take a hit this year of about 30% due to the disease, the government is working to help to refurbish hotels, upgrade their operating processes and train workers.

“There are natural advantages that favor us, because when people want to diversify they look at trusted hubs — they don’t just look at cost itself,” Chan said, touting the country’s ability to provide stability, rule of law and connectivity. “All of that plays to our advantage.”

“We must constantly plan on this basis that we want to be the first one off the blocks beyond just handling the crisis well,” he said.

As the novel coronavirus starts to gather speed in Europe, the Middle East and the U.S., Singapore has received praise from health experts for implementing measures that have likely helped to contain the virus. In recent weeks, the number of cases in Singapore has slowed while recoveries are on the rise. Of the 112 cases confirmed since January, just 33 were active as of Wednesday evening.

In a world first, researchers in Singapore have developed a new serological test that can establish links between infected cases, which allows authorities to map out the chain of transmission and therefore try to break it. How governments have handled the outbreak, the minister said, will in the end matter when it comes time for companies to decide where to invest.

“When people look at our numbers they are confident that we know what we are doing and that’s important, and that inspires confidence,” he said. That is “compared to some other places where there are no headline numbers. Then you really don’t know because there are no” known cases or tests.

Some Southeast Asian countries like Myanmar, which borders China where confirmed cases total more than 80,000, has yet to record a single case. Cambodia, as a hotbed of Chinese investment, has confirmed just one while Indonesia, a country of 265 million people confirmed its first two cases on Monday.

“Some countries have been exposed whereby they make decisions based more on politics rather than medical evidence and all this does not bode well for long-term confidence,” he said, without mentioning any country in particular. “Singapore wants to be one of these countries that distinguishes ourselves in the way we handle this and also in the way we have an eye for the future.”

Election Impact

While the country’s next general elections are required to be held by April 2021, it is expected they will be called before the deadline. Chan said the outbreak “would certainly be one of the considerations when we decide to go” and that choosing an election date would hinge on how the virus was impacting the economy and how severe it may become.

If it is endemic then “we learn to live with it with heightened measures, but if it becomes pandemic, where for whatever reasons, the virus starts to mutate and the fatality rate shoots up, then we are in a very different situation,” he said. “Then it’s almost like a 9/11 all over again and then we would need a fresh mandate to chart a very different path altogether.”

Hong Kong

In Hong Kong, leader Carrie Lam’s inconsistent approach to wearing masks at press briefings stirred mistrust among its population. It also raised questions about Singapore’s own policy on masks, the minister allegedly told business leaders, according to reports last month. When asked about a leaked audio cited in those reports, he said that decisions should be made in a sustainable manner.

“You can’t do things which for a lack of a better word are just for show, and is either not sustainable or not medically proven to be effective,” he said without specifically mentioning Hong Kong. “Then you get yourself into a rut and you set off expectations which cannot be met, and that is very dangerous in managing a crisis.”

Source: Bloomberg

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said on Friday the coronavirus outbreak is set to trim economic growth in developing Asia and around the world this year.

More than 3,200 people worldwide have died from the respiratory illness that can lead to pneumonia, hurting financial markets and damaging economies.

The outbreak could slash global gross domestic product by 0.1 to 0.4%, with financial losses forecast to reach between $77 billion and $347 billion, the Manila-based lender said.

Economic growth in China and developing Asia, excluding China, could be trimmed by 0.3 to 1.7% and 0.2 to 0.5%, respectively, the ADB said in an analysis that outlined best- and worst-case scenarios.

The ADB said the coronavirus outbreak could lead to sharp declines in domestic demand, tourism and business travel, trade and production linkages, supply disruptions, hurting growth in developing Asia.

The global spread of the novel coronavirus has crushed hopes for stronger growth this year and will hold 2020 global output gains to their slowest pace since the 2008-2009 financial crisis, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Wednesday.

The World Bank has said it was providing $12 billion in immediate funds to help developing countries improve their health services, disease surveillance, access to medical supplies and working capital for businesses.

Source: Reuters

Key industries in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak that has claimed more than 4,000 lives to date, will resume work, the provincial government of Hubei province said in a notice on Wednesday.

The notice said key sectors such as public transport, medical supply and producers of daily necessities in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, will be allowed to return to work. Other industries that impact national or global supply chains can also return to work with permission from relevant authorities, the notice said.

Source: Reuters

Accustomed to running at full speed this time of year, George Powers has watched as a shipping slowdown tied to the coronavirus sidelines more than half his warehouse workers at the usually bustling Port of Savannah on the U.S. East Coast.

“Savannah continues to boom as a port of entry and export, but this situation with China with most factories being shut down has curtailed cargo coming in,” said Powers, chief executive of TradePort Logistics LLC, which operates two warehouses at the Georgia seaport.

Such is the situation at some of the biggest ports in the U.S. and across the world as the virus outbreak cancels dozens of cargo sailings, and some dock and warehouse workers are being sent home. U.S. seaports could see a slowdown of as much as 20% in February, March and much of April, according to the American Association of Port Authorities. The biggest port in Europe, in Rotterdam, has already seen that level of decline in sailings from Asia recently.

While the global economy is reeling from the spreading virus, seaports are a bellwether for trade because they handle a hefty 90% of all world shipping. The squeeze on ports like Los Angeles, the biggest in the U.S. for container traffic, illustrates the vast potential for economic harm from a virus-induced slowdown. Clothing, cars and an array of consumer goods from Asia are offloaded in Los Angeles and nearby Long Beach — a crucial web that stitches together trucks, railroads, distribution centers and showrooms.

It all follows a bumpy couple of years for global commerce, which was dominated by supply-chain disruptions from the U.S-China trade war that eased this year with an initial deal.

“Alarm is the word,” said Jock O’Connell, a foreign trade consultant in California. “The demand for longshore labor has been down, but the real victims are the truck drivers who get paid by the load and the warehouse workers, who process goods.”

Some of the most severe effects can be found at Port of Los Angeles, the U.S.’s busiest by volume.

Farm Goods

Work opportunities for members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union in Los Angeles were cut by half recently. Meantime, shifts have completely dried up for so-called “casuals,” certain port workers who are not union members, according to ILWU.

All told, cargo vessel operators have canceled 40 sailings into the Port of Los Angeles for the period from mid-February through April 1, executive director Gene Seroka told Los Angeles City Council last week. Cargo volume fell 23% in February because of the coronavirus fallout, as well as the Lunar New Year holiday in China, the port announced Tuesday, while it sees volumes dropping 17% for the first quarter. About 10% fewer containers were handled at Long Beach last month.

“Perishable commodities and agricultural products are stacking up at our ports because of those vessel sailing cancellations,” Seroka said.

Likewise, officials at the Rotterdam port estimate that coronavirus is reducing volume by about 2 million tons a month.

Passing Assumption

“We assume that this is going to pass and when it does we expect that production will kick back in,” said Leon Willems, a spokesman for the Port of Rotterdam. “Whether that neutralizes the decline that we’re seeing now, I’m not sure.”

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey expects at least 10 cancellations this month out of 180 arrivals scheduled, the Journal of Commerce reported. And, Port Houston, which handles around 70% of the containers moving through the Gulf of Mexico, has seen six vessel sailings canceled this month, spokeswoman Lisa Ashley said.

Elsewhere in Texas, the Port of Corpus Christi recently surpassed Houston to become the country’s largest source of U.S. crude exports, but now expects customers to cut back after a steep drop in global oil prices.

As they deal with cancellations, port and shipping executives are coping with some vexing labor and logistical challenges stemming from the outbreak. The executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Rick Cotton, caught the coronavirus and is on home quarantine.

In Singapore, home to the world’s second-busiest container port after Shanghai, the virus outbreak has added to trade-war constraints from last year. Port workers in the city state, which has more than 160 confirmed virus cases, have their temperature screened and don personal protective equipment. They work in split-team arrangements as part of “stringent precautionary measures,” according to a spokesperson from PSA Singapore, a unit of PSA International Pte, the world’s biggest container port operator.

Los Angeles, especially, is coping with an overload of shipping containers lately and running out of places to store them. The outbreak has disrupted the usual balance of trips between the U.S. and Asia, with too few vessels arriving in L.A. to take the containers back to Asia.

Shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S has pledged to help the port move the empty containers later this month, Seroka said.

“It’s a very serious logistical problem, trying to work through that and not winding up with an enormous amount of congestion,” O’Connell, the consultant, said.

Source: Bloomberg

Manufacturing companies in Indonesia will not have to pay out income tax for their workers for six months, under measures to support Southeast Asia’s biggest economy during the coronavirus outbreak, ministers said on Wednesday.

The ministers declined to say how much revenue the government stands to lose from the new measures. It was also not immediately clear whether the tax break on payroll would benefit companies or workers directly.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has warned economic growth could weaken to 4.7% this year, from 5.02% in 2019, amid increasing business disruptions caused by the virus outbreak.

The central bank has also said it was likely to trim its 2020 growth outlook, currently at around 5.1%, during its policy meeting on March 18-19. Bank Indonesia had already cut rates and lowered its growth outlook last month in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

Indrawati said starting April 1 the government would relax several tax rules, including exempting manufacturing companies from having to pay out income tax, allowing delays in payments of import taxes and accelerating refunds on value-added tax in manufacturing.

Airlangga Hartarto, coordinating minister for economic affairs, said the new tax measures, which may be extended, are meant to support people’s purchasing power and help both the supply and demand side of the economy.

“All of these are aimed at providing some space for industries which are now in a very tight situation. Their burden is going to be minimised by the government,” Indrawati told reporters.

Indonesia has already announced a 10.3 trillion rupiah (US$718.27 million) stimulus package to support consumer spending and tourism.

The new tax relief would be part of a second policy package that would also include simplification of export and import rules, Hartarto said.

Officials have been looking at ways to cut logistics-related costs by easing export and import rules and reducing customs inspections for reputable importers.

Source: Reuters

Europe’s major car and parts makers rushed on Wednesday to close factories and cut output in Italy and considered sending workers home elsewhere, in the first signs that the 2019 novel coronavirus (Covid-19) is disrupting the region’s struggling automotive industry.

Fiat Chrysler said it was temporarily halting operations at some of its Italian factories and would reduce production in response to Europe’s largest coronavirus outbreak.

The Italian-American carmaker has stepped up measures across its facilities, including intensive cleaning of all work and rest areas, to support the government’s directives to curb the spread of the infectious disease.

Italian tyremaker Pirelli had said on Tuesday that it is cutting production at its Settimo Torinese plant in northern Italy, after a worker tested positive for the virus.

Italy is the worst-affected country in the world after China and the unprecedented lockdown of the country has heaped fresh pressure on the region’s ailing car sector.

Other companies including Britain’s biggest carmaker Jaguar Land Rover and Peugeot owner PSA were also scrambling to deal with infections among staff, highlighting the risks to business beyond supply chains and Italy’s borders.

The French carmaker was beefing up safety rules on Wednesday at its Mulhouse plant with a 5,000-strong workforce in eastern France, after one employee tested positive, a spokeswoman said. The man has been on sick leave since Feb 29.

Volkswagen, meanwhile, cancelled a shift at a plant near Barcelona in Spain, operated by its Spanish unit Seat, because the coronavirus outbreak has hit its supply chain.

The German carmaker may also send staff home temporarily from that facility and another one in the Navarra region of Spain if supply issues worsen.

“The Martorell plant (near Barcelona) is currently working normally. However, there are several risks derived from Covid-19, which has affected the supply chain,” a Seat spokesman said.

Volkswagen’s Czech unit Skoda also said there was the risk of a shortage of parts from China that might affect several of its plants.

Brakes on

The disruptions are the latest blow to Europe’s carmakers, which are struggling with weak global demand and high costs of meeting the region’s tough emissions targets.

The virus has already taken its toll on business in China, the world’s top car market, where vehicle sales tumbled last month as customers stayed home due to the epidemic.

An industry association warned last week that car sales in Italy, Europe’s third-largest economy, could shrink by more than 15%.

Seat would make temporary layoffs if it had to cut production due to supply issues, the spokesman said.

Seat union representative Matias Carnero said the company’s supply chain was being affected by the worsening virus outbreak.

“It all looks like it is going to be requested,” said Carnero, a representative for UGT, the main labour union at Seat, referring to the potential temporary layoffs. Under temporary layoffs, Spanish workers are normally paid part of their salary.

The company spokesman said the duration of any layoffs had not been discussed, but Carnero said they could last between two and five weeks, adding this could potentially affect about 7,000 people at the plant.

Italian brake maker Brembo warned on Tuesday that its northern Italian production could struggle, if the government introduced even more stringent measures to tackle the spread of Covid-19.

Source: Reuters

Australia unveiled a A$17.6 billion ($11.4 billion) fiscal stimulus plan to buttress the economy from the coronavirus outbreak that threatens to tip the nation into its first recession since 1991.

The plan announced by Prime Minister Scott Morrison Thursday includes A$1.3 billion in support over two years to safeguard the jobs of 120,000 apprentices. The government will also spend A$6.7 billion over four years to support the cash flow of small and medium businesses so they can pay wages during the expected downturn.

In addition, the government will expand a tax write-off program with A $700 million in funding over four years to help businesses buy new equipment.

“This plan is about keeping Australians in jobs,” Morrison told reporters. “This plan is about ensuring the Australian economy bounces back stronger on the other side and the budget bounces back with it.”

Australia is joining governments around the world in opening up the fiscal spigots to fight economic fallout from the coronavirus outbreak. More than $84 billion in budget support has already been pledged or is under consideration, with governments adopting a mix of cash handouts, tax breaks and transfers. Bloomberg Australia @BloombergAU

Announced stimulus measures include:

Deliver tax-free payments of as much as A$25,000 for businesses with revenues under A$50 million to help pay wages and improve cash flow Pay A$7,000 in wage assistance to small businesses each quarter for each apprentice they employ to help retain trainees and re-hire those who lose their jobs Expand an instant tax write-off program to help around 3.5 million businesses with revenue up to A$500 million (from A$50 million previously) buy assets worth up to A$150,000 (from A$30,000 previously) Make a one-off A$750 payment to welfare recipients

Morrison’s package comes after the Reserve Bank of Australia cut interest rates to a record low 0.5% and as money markets wager it will ease again in April, setting up a fiscal-monetary injection for the economy.

The coronavirus has slammed the Australian tourism and education sectors — expected to cut 0.5 percentage point from GDP in the first quarter — that rely heavily on Chinese cash. Government revenue is set to slide as firms’ profits plummet and commodity prices decline.

The economic hit comes on top of a summer of devastating wildfires that were already expected to crimp growth.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Australia surged 40% to 112 in the 24 hours to Wednesday morning local time. Morrison announced the same day that his government will open as many as 100 pop-up clinics to test for the virus as part of a $1.6 billion health package. Worldwide, more than 117,000 people are infected and fatalities from the epidemic stand at more then 4,200.

The stimulus package suggests the government is all but certain to fail to return the budget to its promised surplus this year. S&P Global Ratings said the nation’s AAA rating will remain intact despite the fiscal slippage, while joining Bloomberg Economics in forecasting the economy would nonetheless fall into a recession.

Morrison’s reputation was tarnished during summer wildfires that engulfed the nation’s east coast amid heavy criticism of his performance. An opinion poll released last month showed his Liberal-National coalition government’s 4 percentage point lead over the main opposition Labor party two months prior had been reversed.

The prime minister tempered expectations ahead of the fiscal package’s release, saying it would be measured and targeted and not in the league of the huge stimulus deployed by a Labor government in 2008-09 in the wake of the global financial crisis. He said the shock would be temporary and Australia was set to benefit on the other side.

Still, he may see the coronavirus stimulus plan as a vehicle to win back some trust from the electorate that was forfeited during the bushfires.

Source: Bloomberg