1 Table of Contents: 1: Business Recorder……………………………………………………………....3 2: Dawn News……………………………………………………………………..77 3: Dunya News…………………………………………………………………….133 4: Express News…………………………………………………………………...148 5: Jang News……………………………………………………………………….173 6: Pakistan Observer……………………………………………………………….190 7: The Express Tribune…………………………………………………………….192 8: The Nation……………………………………………………………………….202 9: The News………………………………………………………………………...264 2 Business Recorder Business Recorder, 01-01-19 ASIA FX Indonesian rupiah leads gains on “progress” in US-China talks SINGAPORE: Most Asian currencies were set to end a bumpy year on a positive note, with the Indonesian rupiah leading gains on Monday as investors took heart from signs of progress in Sino-US trade talks. Market sentiment was buoyed after US President Donald Trump said he had a “very good call with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Saturday and claimed “big progress” was being made on trade discussions. Regional currencies came under pressure from multiple factors in 2018 including the Sino-US trade conflict, the US Federal Reserve’s hawkishness, and worries over global economic slowdown. Mizuho Bank in a note to clients said that despite valuation in emerging market assets becoming increasingly attractive, investors remain cautious as some see potential risks ahead. The Indonesian rupiah strengthened as much as 0.8 percent on Monday but pared some gains by 0400 GMT. However, the rupiah was poised to weaken over 6 percent this year, after it breached the 15,000 per dollar mark in October, a level last seen in the Asian financial crisis two decades ago. The Malaysian gained 0.3 percent against the greenback, while the Singapore dollar was marginally firmer. Meanwhile, the Indian rupee strengthened 0.2 percent on the last trading day of the year, but remained the worst performing currency in the region. The rupee weakened this year on concerns of a widening current account deficit as rising global crude oil prices increased to cost of imported fuel. Though the rupee regained some ground as the strength in oil prices faded, investors remain concerned ahead of a general election due by May, as Prime Minister NarendraModi’s market-friendly party fared poorly in regional polls in earlier this month. The Taiwan dollar, the Korean won, the Thai baht and the Chinese yuan were not trading on account of holidays.—Reuters 3 Business Recorder, 01-01-19 China factory activity shrinks for first time in over 2 years BEIJING: China’s factory activity contracted for the first time in over two years in December, highlighting the challenges facing Beijing as it seeks to end a bruising trade war with Washington and reduce the risk of a sharper economic slowdown in 2019. The increasing strain on factories signals a continued loss of momentum in China, adding to worries about softening global growth, especially if the Sino-US dispute drags on. Trade frictions are already disrupting global supply chains, fuelling concerns of a bigger blow next year to world trade, investment and shaky financial markets. The official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) - the first snapshot of China’s economy each month - fell to 49.4 in December, below the 50-point level that separates growth from contraction, a National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) survey showed on Monday. It was the first contraction since July 2016 and the weakest reading since February 2016. Analysts had forecast it would dip to 49.9 from 50.0 the previous month. China is expected to roll out more economic support measures in coming months on top of a raft of initiatives this year. A prolonged downturn in the factory sector, key for jobs, would likely spark further attempts to juice domestic demand. In November, industrial output rose the least in nearly three years, while earnings growth at industrial firms fell for the first time in nearly three years. A PMI sub-index on overall factory output prices fell to 43.3 in December from 46.4, signaling earnings erosion. A gauge on overall production fell to 50.8, the lowest since February, from 51.9. New orders - an indicator of future activity - continued to soften, reinforcing views that business conditions in China will likely get worse before they get better. A sub-index for total new orders contracted for the first time in at least a year, falling to 49.7 amid persistently weak demand at home and softening global growth. New export orders shrank for a seventh straight month, with the sub-index falling to 46.6 from 47.0. 4 UNCERTAINTIES Many analysts doubt that Beijing and Washington can bridge their many differences and reach a comprehensive trade deal in the latest round of talks. US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed early this month to a 90- day ceasefire that delayed a planned Jan. 1 US increase of tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods while the two sides negotiate. Trump said over the weekend that a possible trade deal was progressing well, but few concrete details have emerged. The trade war has resulted in billions of dollars of losses for both sides this year, hitting industries from autos and technology to US agriculture. “There are many short-term orders from overseas but few long-term orders received by Chinese factories as caution remains amid the trade uncertainties,” said Nie Wen, economist at Hwabao Trust in Shanghai. “The medium to long-term export prospect is not optimistic particularly.” Warehouses across the US are bursting with Chinese goods after retailers stocked up before fresh tariffs, suggesting little chance of a near-term export rebound even if a trade deal is reached.— Reuters Business Recorder, 01-01-19 China’s steel, steelmaking ingredients prices fall MANILA: Prices of steel and steelmaking ingredients in China fell on Friday in lethargic trading, pressured by worries over the outlook for demand amid ongoing concerns about the global economy. Business confidence among entrepreneurs in China worsened in the fourth quarter compared with the previous one, and was at the lowest since the second quarter of 2017, according to a survey by the People’s Bank of China published early this week. The most-active steel rebar contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange ended the session down 0.5 percent at 3,404 yuan ($496.70) a tonne, posting its first weekly loss after three straight weeks of gains. Hot rolled coil was down 0.2 percent at 3,345 yuan. 5 Mirroring the trend in the Shanghai metals market, prices of steelmaking raw materials such as coke and coking coal also dropped, posting their second consecutive weekly losses. “(Investors) are more fixated on recession jitters and continued weak macro numbers coming out of China”, said INTL FC stone commodity consultant Edward Meir. The most traded coke futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange fell 0.5 percent to 1,901 yuan a tonne. Coking coal futures edged down 0.2 percent to 1,179.5 yuan. Dalian iron ore futures climbed 0.6 percent to 494.5 yuan. Spot iron ore for delivery to China rose 0.4 percent to $72.30 a tone on Thursday, according to SteelHome consultancy. China will ratchet up support for the economy in 2019 by cutting taxes and keeping liquidity ample, as growth is expected to slow further next year, the country’s top leaders said in an annual economic meeting this month.—Reuters Business Recorder, 01-01-19 Soyabeans rise on US-China trade hopes but set for annual drop PARIS/KUALA LUMPUR: Chicago Soyabean futures edged up on Monday as investors saw signs of thawing relations between Washington and Beijing in the trade dispute that has disrupted flows of the most valuable US agricultural export to China. Soyabeans were poised to end 2018 with an annual decline after the plunge in exports to China coupled with big harvests in the United States and Brazil weighed on prices. A resumption in Chinese imports of US Soyabeans this month as part of a negotiated truce between the world’s two largest economies has helped Chicago prices rebound from a decade low in September. Wheat, in contrast, is set to notch up its biggest annual rise since 2012 after a sharp fall in production in major exporters Russia, the European Union and Australia, making it one of the biggest gainers in commodity markets this year. Corn has also risen this year as tightening wheat supply fuelled additional demand from livestock feed makers, offsetting concerns about disruption to US shipments to China. In quiet trading ahead of Tuesday’s New Year holiday closure, the most-active Soyabean contract on the Chicago Board Of Trade rose 0.6 percent to $9.00-3/4 a bushel by 1111 GMT. 6 For the year, Soyabeans are set to drop 6.3 percent, marking a second straight annual decline. The price benchmark hit its lowest in almost 10 years in September at $8.12-1/4.—Reuters Business Recorder, 01-01-19 Adding transparency to CPEC deals The Chinese Embassy has taken the unprecedented step to announce the exact terms and conditions of loans/investments under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). This was no doubt partly to offset concerns from the Trump administration echoed by the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that consideration of a bailout package would require details of Pakistan’s debt profile. On 13 December, Director Communications IMF reiterated the Fund’s position: “Clearly debt transparency is essential to conduct proper analysis of the sustainability of a country’s debt. That is what the IMF does when we are going into a programme with our member countries. So that will be the case in Pakistan.”