Business

PARIS — Pan-European stock market operator Euronext and Germany’s Deutsche Boerse on Friday announced rival offers to try to buy Milan’s Borsa Italiana, setting the stage for a bidding war.

Switzerland’s SIX is also reportedly considering joining the race for the Milan stock exchange.

Euronext was the first to show its hand, saying it was teaming up with Italian lender CDP to submit a joint bid for Milan’s Borsa Italiana.

Euronext — which operates the exchanges of Amsterdam, Brussels, Dublin, Lisbon, Oslo and Paris — said in a statement that it was “currently in discussions with Cassa Depositi e Prestiti to submit an offer to London Stock Exchange Group plc. for the acquisition of the business and key operational assets of Borsa Italiana”.

“A further announcement will be made as and when appropriate,” the Paris-based company said.

According to Bloomberg, the joint bid values Borsa Italiana at 3.5-4 billion euros ($4.2-4.7 billion).

CDP would get around 8 per cent of Euronext, under the terms of the deal, Bloomberg said.

German stock exchange operator Deutsche Boerse released a statement on Friday after markets closed stating that “Deutsche Boerse has submitted a bid for Borsa Italiana Group”.

The statement did not provide any financial details.

“As a global player, we are offering a high value for the future growth and development of an autonomous Borsa Italiana Group, thereby strengthening its crucial role for the Italian economy and the European capital markets,” the DAX 30 owner added.

The London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) said in July that it was prepared to sell its Borsa Italiana subsidiary in order to win approval by the EU Commission of its planned purchase of US financial data provider Refinitiv.

Shopping spree 

Euronext chief Stephane Boujnah had said at the start of the year that his company could be interested if LSEG were willing to sell. 

Euronext has been on a shopping spree recently, buying the Danish central securities depository, VP Securities, last month to expand its Nordic footprint. 

It also acquired the Scandinavian electricity exchange Nord Pool in January and the Oslo Stock Exchange in June 2019. 

By contrast, it decided not to buy the Madrid stock exchange, which was eventually snapped up Swiss operator SIX.

In Italy, state-owned CDF confirmed it was “proceeding jointly with Euronext to submit a non-binding bid for Borsa Italiana”. 

Italian news agency Radiocor, quoting sources familiar with the matter, said the deadline for bids had been set back until September 14. 

Rome has said all offers will be examined closely by the government and the regulatory authorities. 

Economy and finance minister Roberto Gualtieri said he hoped Borsa Italiana would “find its strategic place within the single market and the eurozone, with industrial and financial partners able to support and strengthen in the project for a single capital market at a European level”. 

BERLIN — Finance ministers from the EU's top economies on Friday pushed for strict curbs on cryptocurrencies, including the Libra project launched by Facebook.

A joint statement by the finance ministers of Germany, France, Spain, Italy and The Netherlands insisted such projects should be carefully controlled and regulated.

"No global asset-backed crypto-asset arrangement should begin operation in the European Union until the legal, regulatory and oversight challenges and risks have been adequately identified and addressed," they said.

Facebook's announcement last year of plans to design the Libra cryptocurrency and payments system raised big red flags for global regulators who expressed criticism of privately-run currency.

Facebook has touted its initiative as a way to lower costs for consumers around the world, eliminating the high fees of cross-border transfers.

The European Central Bank "is the only one to be allowed to issue a currency", French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said in Berlin, at a meeting of EU finance ministers.

"This point is something that cannot be jeopardised or weakened by any kind of project, including the so-called Libra project," he said.

If created, all such currencies should be tied to the euro or another EU currency, the ministers said, and should be registered and deposited in an EU-approved bank.

"We are waiting for the commission to issue very strong and very clear rules to avoid the misuse of cryptocurrencies for terrorist activities or for money laundering," Le Maire said.

The commission, the EU's executive arm, is set to deliver its proposals later this month.

KUWAIT CITY — After more than 45 years washing cars in Kuwait to make ends meet, Egyptian Marzouq Mohammed will soon be kicked out of the country as economic woes and coronavirus stoke anti-foreigner sentiment.

The 65-year-old is among tens of thousands who will be forced to leave the oil-rich country, hard hit by collapsing crude prices. 

Last month, the cash-strapped government said that from January it will no longer renew work permits for expatriates over the age of 60 without university degrees. 

"Now they tell us this? Now they say 'he's 65, he must leave'. Leave where and to do what? We spent a lifetime here," Mohammed said. 

Like its Gulf neighbours, Kuwait depends heavily on cheap foreign labour, mainly Middle Eastern and Asian workers.

Many arrive as young adults to work in blue-collar jobs, occupations most Kuwaitis shun in favour of high-paying government positions.

But collapsing oil revenues, a vital source of state funds, are forcing a rethink.

Prime Minister Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah has said the number of non-Kuwaitis should be capped at 30 per cent of the 4.8 million population, down from 70 per cent currently, to "resolve the demographic imbalance".

The country must rely more on Kuwaitis "to work in all professions" as it seeks to diversify its economy, he said. 

But for Iranian Hasan Ali, also among the more than 68,000 people whose visas will not be renewed, leaving a country where he has spent more than half his 67 years will be heartbreaking.

"I got married here, I had my children here, I lived my life here," Ali, a greengrocer at the Al-Mubarakiya souq in Kuwait City, said. 

"It's difficult that I have to leave 'just like that' after all these years."

 Business sense? 

The coronavirus pandemic, which disproportionately hit migrant workers living in crowded lodgings, spotlighted the presence of a community increasingly seen as a burden -- particularly as the downturn snuffed out their jobs.

One famous Kuwaiti actress made headlines at the height of the panic in April by saying foreigners should be expelled to free up hospital beds for locals.

"We should send them out... put them in the desert. I'm not against humanity, but we have reached a stage where we're fed up," Hayat Al-Fahad told a local television channel.

Her comments sparked outrage on social media. 

TV presenter Nadia Al-Maraghi faced legal action for "inappropriate rhetoric" after visiting a holding centre for foreign workers being ejected for visa violations, where she and a friend joked that they had to wear masks because of the stink.

While the latest move to slash the migrant population has been welcomed by some, experts say the decision will hurt the private sector and stifle consumption. 

The restaurants union has warned it could hit businesses already struggling after months of lockdown.

M.R. Raghu, head of research at Kuwait Financial Centre (Markaz), said the strategy was to create jobs for Kuwaitis while retaining more skilled foreign workers.

"By reducing the expats who do not add much value to the economy, jobs can be freed up to provide employment opportunities for nationals," he said.

However, despite a drive to encourage locals to enter the private job market, only about 72,000 locals work in the private sector -- just over five percent of the country's 1.4 million citizens. 

"The government would also need to take steps to make the private sector much more attractive for nationals, who currently prefer to work in the public sector," Raghu said.

 'Leave everything behind' 

Populations across the Gulf are dipping as the coronavirus and the ensuing oil crunch ravage economies.

Kuwait's crunch has been particularly acute. Last month, Finance minister Barak Al-Sheetan warned that there would not be enough cash to pay state salaries beyond October unless the government can secure fresh funds.

The country has one of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds, known as the Future Generations Fund, with assets estimated at $550 billion -- set aside for a post-oil era. 

Withdrawals require approval from parliament. 

But the legislature accuses the government of mismanaging public finances, and has rejected a bill to borrow 20 billion dinars ($65 billion) over the next 30 years.

It is a rude reckoning for a country once seen as the most dynamic in the Gulf, but where generous subsidies and public sector salaries now make up three-quarters of oil-fuelled state budgets.

But Syrian Khalil Abdullah, a 63-year-old mechanic, said he still hoped for a reprieve to let him stay in Kuwait into his old age.

"Those who have shops and companies, is it possible for them to just leave everything behind and go?" he asked.

SINGAPORE — Singapore Airlines (SIA) said on Thursday it was cutting about 4,300 jobs -- around 20 per cent of its workforce -- due to the coronavirus, and warned any recovery would be "long and fraught with uncertainty".

SIA is the latest airline to announce massive layoffs as the global aviation industry faces its greatest-ever crisis due to travel restrictions to fight the spread of the pandemic.

The city-state's flag carrier said about 1,900 positions had already been eliminated in recent months due to a recruitment freeze, natural attrition and voluntary departures, reducing further expected job cuts to around 2,400.

Positions are being cut across full-service Singapore Airlines, regional carrier SilkAir and budget airline Scoot in Singapore and overseas.

“The future remains extremely challenging," said Singapore Airlines chief executive Goh Choon Phong.

"Given the expectation that the road to recovery will be long and fraught with uncertainty, it has come to the point where we have to make the painfully difficult decision to implement involuntary staff reduction measures."

He said Singapore Airlines was more vulnerable than other major carriers around the world, as it did not have a domestic market and is wholly dependent on international routes.

The carrier, which reported a net loss of more than US$800 million in the first quarter, is only operating at eight per cent of pre-pandemic capacity.

While this is expected to increase, the airline said it is still likely to be operating at less than 50 per cent of its pre-virus capacity by the end of the current financial year in March next year.

The cuts come despite the airline group raising a total Sg$11 billion in fresh funds to help it weather the crisis -- including Sg$8.8 billion from a rights issue backed by its majority shareholder, state investment fund Temasek.

Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung said the airline had "delayed this workforce reduction as long as they can but with air travel decimated by Covid-19, this has unfortunately become inevitable."

He added the government would strive to help impacted workers.

Industry body the International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimates that airlines operating in the Asia-Pacific region stand to lose a combined $27.8 billion this year.

In July, IATA forecast that global air traffic is unlikely to return to pre-coronavirus levels until at least 2024 -- a year later than previously projected.

LONDON — US and European markets rose on Wednesday, brushing aside falls in Asia and an overnight rout on Wall Street — but US jeweller Tiffany slumped on news its buyout by France's LVMH was off.

Wall Street bounced back from a three-day rout in early trading as the Dow added almost one per cent while the Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 1.8 per cent after recent sessions had trashed tech.

Tiffany shares sank 10.5 per cent after French luxury group LVMH said it was withdrawing from a $16.2 billion acquisition which would have been the biggest ever in the luxury industry, blaming arguments over deal-closing deadlines and threatened US taxes on French goods.

Two hours from the close in Europe, London's benchmark FTSE 100 gained 1.3 per cent, helped by the struggling pound which boosts earnings for multinationals trading on the index.

Shares in British drugs group AstraZeneca dropped 1.5 per cent before edging back after the company "voluntarily paused" a randomised clinical trial of its coronavirus vaccine, in what it called a routine action after a volunteer developed an unexplained illness.

The company, which is developing the drug alongside the University of Oxford, is a frontrunner in the global race for a Covid-19 vaccine. 

Sterling continued its retreat on fears that Britain will fail to strike a post-Brexit trade deal with the European Union as the euro barrelled still higher against the pound to 91.09 pence. The pound also struck a six-week low against the dollar at $1.2919.

Oil prices rebounded slightly, meanwhile, from recent sharp losses.

"European stocks and US index futures have recovered... following a big drop on Wall Street the day before, where technology shares were hammered on valuation concerns," noted Fawad Razaqzada, analyst at ThinkMarkets. 

"There has been no obvious trigger behind the rebound and it remains to be seen whether the recovery will hold once the US session gets underway."

Razaqzada said that hopes of further stimulus from the European Central Bank could be helping eurozone indices. 

Tech sell-off 

Tech giants including Apple, Microsoft and Tesla had led Tuesday losses to bring the Nasdaq's succession of record highs to a juddering halt — but analysts said on Wednesday the latest selling was broadening out.

Tesla, which on Tuesday collapsed 21 per cent — its worst day on record — was up almost nine per cent in early trading.

Asian stocks lost ground, with Tokyo, Shanghai, Seoul, Mumbai, Manila and Wellington all losing more than one per cent. 

While technology firms in the region were taking a hiding, energy firms were also in the cross-hairs after oil prices on Tuesday suffered their heaviest losses since the early days of the pandemic before pulling off week lows on Wednesday.

The commodity had retreated on concerns about demand as the global recovery stutters and after the US summer holiday season — when people traditionally take to the road — came to an end.

There are fears that the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will begin picking up production soon, after an output cut put in place to support the market earlier in the year.

LONDON — Sterling slumped close to a one-month low against the dollar on Tuesday as investors fretted over heightened Brexit tensions ahead of crunch trade talks between London and Brussels.

In midday deals, the pound dropped more than 1 per cent versus the greenback to $1.3022 — a level last seen on August 12 — before edging back slightly. It also lost ground against the euro to extend a four-day losing streak.

The pound began its fall on Monday after Prime Minister Boris Johnson revived the prospect of a no-deal Brexit, saying if an EU trade deal is not struck by October 15 then there would not be one.

On Wall Street, coming off a long Labour Day holiday weekend, US tech stocks took a battering, with Tesla slumping more than 15 per cent while oil prices plunged more than 6 per cent as the coronavirus pandemic weighed on the outlook for demand.

About 10 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.6 per cent while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index lost 3 per cent for a third straight decline.

Sterling fell on confirmation that the head of the UK government's legal department has resigned over Johnson's last-minute changes to Britain's EU Withdrawal Agreement.

Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis admitted that the changes break international law in "tightly defined circumstances".

The eighth round of negotiations resume this week, with both sides talking tough as the end of a transition period approaches.

'Brexit wheels fall off?' 

"It looks like the wheels of the Brexit bus are finally falling off, as news of the head of UK government legal [department]resigns," said analyst Sebastien Clements at international payments company OFX.

"Whilst we should caution that this indicates disharmony, it is also possibly an overreaction by the market to a negative headline, and does not necessarily make a deal with the EU less likely than it was before," Markets.com analyst Neil Wilson added.

Asia ticks higher 

Asian stocks had ticked higher following steep drops last week, as investors brushed off US President Donald Trump's latest anti-China salvo.

Despite continued uncertainty about the timetable for economic recovery — and with no Covid-19 vaccine yet available — investors remain convinced central banks around the world are willing to play backstop and keep monetary policy supportive for years to come.

Meanwhile, Fitch Ratings indicated it expected global gross domestic product (GDP) to fall by 4.4 per cent in 2020, a small upward revision from the 4.6 decline forecast in June with China regaining its pre-virus level of GDP and US, French and British retail sales bouncing back.

"But we doubt this will become the much-lauded 'V'-shaped recovery," Fitch warned in its latest Global Economic Outlook.

PARIS — Agence France-Presse (AFP) said on Tuesday that it had lodged a complaint with French regulators over a standoff with Google, saying the US giant is refusing to move forward on paying to display the agency's content in web searches.

Last April, France's competition authority ordered Google to negotiate "in good faith" with media groups, after it refused to comply with a new EU law governing digital copyrights.

The so-called "neighbouring rights" aim to ensure that news publishers are compensated when their work is shown on websites, search engines and social media platforms.

Although talks were carried out over several months, news publishers said Google was refusing to budge, prompting complaints by the newspapers' alliance APIG as well as French magazine publishers.

"We have also filed a complaint with the competition authority because we consider that Google has not negotiated in good faith," AFP's Chief Executive Fabrice Fries said.

"Google offered to extend the talks, but we refused because they were going nowhere — we determined they would not advance unless there was a change in method," he said.

Isabelle de Silva, president of the competition authority, said one option could be to name a mediator for the talks, as suggested by some participants in recent weeks.

For now, however, the regulator is waiting for a ruling from a Paris appeals court after Google challenged the validity of the negotiations imposed last April. 

De Silva said a court hearing was set for Thursday, and a ruling could come as soon as this month.

Google has maintained that it should not have to pay to display pictures, videos or text snippets alongside search results, saying the practice drives hundreds of millions of visits to publishers' websites each month.