Asia This Day:Last Chance to Ditch Gillard;Infosys Reboots

Indonesia raised interest rates last week,flying in the face of the long-standing global trend of cutting them.
BNP Paribas is recommending purchasing Chinese oil major CNOOC shares on rising production and a projected return on equity of 17% next year.
The Federal Reserve has to communicate a complex message that seems to be getting lost in translation,said John Woods,chief Asia Pacific strategist at Citi Private Bank.The market has to understand that the tapering of bond purchases the Fed is suggesting is not the same as tightening monetary policy.
Stock market losses in recent days are more a correction than a reversal.Once summer is past,we expect the underlying fundamentals to reassert themselves,with a slightly positive outlook into the end of the year.
The Australian parliament is convening today for a final two week session before the September 14 election.A poll shows the opposition coalition leading the Labour government of Prime Minister Julia Gillard by 57 to 43%,which translates to a 30 seat advantage.It is the last opportunity for Labour to replace her,yet former Labour leader Kevin Rudd is unpopular within the party and said he isn't interested in returning to the post.
Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy has been recalled to the executive chairmanship of the software services firm,having left the CEO post 11 years ago.He said recovery at the company will take 36 months,but they will do whatever it takes to stabilise earnings.Sales have reached a four-year low recently.
It will be painful in the short term,but Infosys will revitalise the sales force with incentives and offer flexible pricing on large contracts.
The MSCI Asia Pacific index was up 0.85% as of mid-day Monday.
Infosys Ltd(INFY),CNOOC Ltd(CEO)

Canada Approves Foreign Energy Takeovers

The Canadian government has approved the controversial 15.1 billion dollar takeover of oil and gas firm Nexen by China's state-owned offshore oil company CNOOC.Restrictions were placed on any future foreign deals,however.
To be blunt,said Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper,Canadians have not spent years reducing the ownership of sectors of the economy by our own governments,only to see them bought and controlled by foreign governments instead.Foreign state control of oil sands assets has reached the point at which further foreign state control would not be of net benefit to Canada.
From now on,state-owned enterprises may only own minority stakes in Canadian enterprises,except in exceptional circumstances.
What we are doing here is preventing a situation which I see developing and have been worried about for a while now,where in the name of an open,globally competitive economy,we could see the transformation of our economy into a state-run economy-just a state-run economy not run by our own government.
Besides the CNOOC deal,Canada also approved the takeover of gas company Progress Energy Resources by Malaysia's state-owned firm Petronas for 5.3 billion dollars.
The CNOOC deal is the Chinese firm's largest offshore acquisition ever.CNOOC is also asking the US government to review its bid for Nexen's Gulf of Mexico assets.
Canada needs about 657 billion dollars of investment in the natural resources sector in the next decade.There were no Canadian bidders for Nexen.
CNOOC made significant commitments on transparency,employment and capital investments in exchange for government approval of the deal.
Nexen,Inc.(NXY),CNOOC Ltd(CEO),Petronas Gas Bhd(KUL:PETGAS)

Big Oil and Gas Deal:CNOOC Accedes To Government Requests

It looks as though a major Canadian natural resources firm will soon be in Chinese hands.State-controlled CNOOC,China's largest offshore oil and gas company,has agreed to key conditions for government approval of its planned 15.1 billion dollar takeover of Canadian energy firm Nexen.The requests were submitted by Alberta Premier Alison Redford in October,according to sources familiar with the matter.Positive sentiment about the deal has also been coming out of the Canadian capital,Ottawa.
CNOOC will reportedly tow the line and accept  management and employment conditions.At least 50% of Nexen's board and management slots must be filled by Canadians once the acquisition is completed.Matters related to capital spending requirements and CNOOC's state enterprise status remain under negotiation.
Nexen is an upstream energy company that explores and develops major oil and gas basins globally.It has projects in the UK North Sea;offshore West Africa;the Gulf of Mexico;and Western Canada.The company is active in both conventional and unconventional resources,including shale and oil sands.
Nexen,Inc.(NXY),CNOOC,Ltd.(CEO)

Asia This Day:Chinese Oil Majors Strong;Julia Gillard's GDP Vision

Sinopec Corporation beat earnings estimates on its refining business.The company,an integrated oil and petrochemical firm,is China's largest refiner and had Q3 net income of 2.93 billion dollars,versus an estimate of 2.27 billion.
Petrochemical prices rebounded,and demand for petrochemicals will continue to rise.
Sinopec's profit growth was up 12.4%.It was upgraded to outperform at Sanford C Bernstein.
CNOOC Ltd.,China's largest oil and gas producer,had much stronger product growth in Q3 and this will continue into 2013.The Canadian government must make a decision on the CNOOC-Nexen merger by mid-November.We think it's gonna go through,said  Bernstein's Neil Beveridge.It's in Canada's interest to have good business ties with China.We like both CNOOC and Sinopec.
Nexen,Inc. is an oil and gas exploration and  production firm with operations in the UK North Sea;offshore West Africa;the Gulf of Mexico;and Western Canada.
Australia is aiming to raise its GDP per capita to 73,000 dollars per person and reach the global top ten of that measure.It is currently number 13 on the GDP per capita list.
Austarlia wants to boost the Asian component of its GDP to one-third.It would like to give every student the chance to learn an Asian language.It's a vision,the increasingly popular Prime Minister Julia Gillard said;it's gonna take some time to deliver.
Sinopec Corporation(SNP),CNOOC Ltd.(CEO),iShares MSCI Australia Index Fund(EWA)

Asian Markets Open For Business-issue 3

Asian markets opened lower this morning,Monday.China has set 7.5% for its growth target as the European debt crisis continues.It's the lowest target in eight years.The MSCI Asia Pacific Index declined 0.88 % on the news.
The CNOOC Chairman sees the Chinese energy titan's 2012 oil and gas output being the same as in 2011.
Rising oil prices are being considered the principal threat to the global pocketbook today.It would be hard to have any further increses without damage to the world economy.For example,Airline profits are expected to drop 50% because of them.Singapore Air is already seeing weakness in forward bookings.
Oil futures rose on news of an Enbridge Inc. oil pipeline fire in Illinois.Enbridge says it will try to work around the mishap.The pipeline carries oil from Canada to the U.S. Meantime,China intends to increase retail sales by 14% in 2012.It will also keep pursuing its low birth rate policy,President Wen Jiabao said.
India's Nifty Fifty Index fell 0.80% this morning.The local election results in Utar Pradesh come out tomorrow,and there is fear of a possible change in government.
Enbridge Inc.(ENB)

China Continues Energy Shopping Spree

The Shanghai market reopened this morning,Monday,after the Golden Week holiday.Taiwan's market was closed for National Day,however,and Japan's markets were shuttered for Sports Day.
Sinopec,China's largest oil refiner,is purchasing Canadian firm Daylight Energy for 2.2 billion dollars Canadian.Daylight owns extensive shale gas properties,as well as oil sands and conventional oil prospects.
It is the latest in a series of Chinese acquisitions of Canadian energy assets.Sinopec also bought a 45% stake in Syncrude for 4.5 billion,while another Chinese energy firm,Cnooc,is purchasing OPTI Canada for 2.1 billion.China is aggressively seeking energy assets globally with its huge foreign currency reserves.
Canada is America's biggest oil and refined oil supplier-a fact many Americans may be ignorant of.
Over the Golden Week holiday,air travel in China fell to 8.2%,but retail sales rose 18%.China has cut fuel prices for the first time this year to rein in inflation.
In Beijing on Monday,it was 64F under clear skies.The wind was NE at 4 mph,and the humidity was 45%.
Taiwan's Yani Tseng,the world number one in the Rolex rankings,won the LPGA HanaBank Championship at the Ocean Course of the Sky 72 Golf Club in Incheon,South Korea on Sunday.Korean Na Yeon Choi,the HanaBank winner from 2009-10,came in second.
Sinopec(SHI),Daylight Energy(TSX:DAY)

Asia This Day

Today,Monday,marks the one month anniversary of the Japan earthquake.Toyota Motor plants there have been closed since then,plagued by parts shortages.The company hopes to reopen all 18 plants by next Monday.
Japanese automaker stocks were down about 2% in early Monday trading,pressured by a Citigroup downgrade of them on lost earnings due to the quake.The broadly based Topix index was down 0.14 on this concern,and the Nikkei 225 was off 0.48.Chinese and Australia/New Zealand markets opened higher.
BHP Billiton is reportedly interested in acquiring Woodside Petroleum for around 50 billion dollars,with an initial purchase of 24 billion.Woodside has liquified natural gas assets on Australia's North West Shelf.
In Chinese energy news,Fu Chengyu is moving from energy majors CNOOC to Sinopec.At CNOOC,Mr.Fu oversaw considerable growth.He has much experience in oil and gas exploration,which is a deficiency at Sinopec,as well as in mergers and acquisitions.
Hong Kong awoke to clear conditions and temperatures in the upper 70s F.
CNOOC Ltd.(CEO),Sinopec(SHI),BHP Billiton Ltd.(BHP)

Asia This Day

Asian stocks were mixed Monday morning,with the Japanese Nikkei down 31.07 and the Australian ASX dropping 5.40,while China showed some strength as both the Hong Kong and Shanghai indexes were up modestly.
In Japan,repair work on the Fukushima reactors is still delayed because of a radioactive water leak;it can't resume until the leak is fixed,an official said.Two workers have substantial skin contamination from standing in the water.
Power shortages continue in Japan,and automakers there may cooperate,staggering production schedules to deal with the shortfall.
Sinopec,the Chinese oil and petrochemical major,reported its 2010 earnings.It posted record earnings,with net income up 14% for 2010 and 31% for Q4.Sinopec will now cut costs and expand overseas activity and investments.
Other Chinese energy firms exceeded Sinopec's results,with Cnooc reporting profits up 85% and Petrochina's 35% higher.They are less exposed to crude oil price hikes than Sinopec,which is more heavily into refining and hence restricted by government price controls on fuel.
Sinopec(SNP),Cnooc(CEO),Petrochina(PTR)
Update:Hong Kong shares later took a tumble,falling 0.72%.Only Shanghai remained in the green.