1 Asia faces funds flight (Chia Yan Min in Straits
Times) Asian currencies have weakened considerably against the surging
greenback in the wake of the US Federal Reserve's decision last week to raise a
key interest rate for the first time in a year.
This is prompting investors to shift money out of
emerging markets and into US dollar-denominated assets, putting pressure on
Asian currencies and asset markets. The US central bank also signalled that
interest rates will go up in the coming year faster than previously expected -
a policy stance set to result in regional currencies staying soft against the
US dollar.
Regional currencies have been depreciating sharply
against the greenback on expectations that higher interest rates, as well as US
President- elect Donald Trump's policies to ramp up government spending, will
trigger capital outflows from emerging-market economies, said United Overseas
Bank currency strategist Peter Chia.
In addition, Mr Trump's campaign promises to ramp up
government spending - if translated into actual policies - are expected to
increase inflation and boost growth in the US. This would put pressure on the
Fed to hike interest rates more aggressively to keep prices under control.
2 Uber loses $800m in third quarter (Fortune) The
finances of ride-hailing giant Uber improved after the sale of its China
business to rival Didi Chuxing, but it still managed to lose a huge amount of
money.
Uber lost more than $800 million in the third
quarter, according to a report from tech news site The Information, citing
anonymous sources. But Uber’s exit from China in the middle of the quarter
slowed the growth rate of those losses to less than 25% year-over-year, down
from a 34% year-over-year drop in the second quarter, when it lost $750
million, according to a Bloomberg report in August, while still operated in
China.
In August, Uber announced that it would sell its
Chinese business to Didi Chuxing, based in China, after aggressively competing
against it for the last two years. Uber has admitted in the past that it spent
$2 billion in total on its Chinese operations, yet was only able to capture a
small fraction of the market.
But Uber’s net revenue, which excludes driver
payments, actually grew steadily to $1.7 billion in the third quarter, a 240%
bump from a year ago. In the second quarter, it had $1.1 billion in net
revenue, or 190% more than the year-ago quarter.
In the US, Uber is still locked in a price war with
rival Lyft, which costs both companies dearly. In the second quarter, Uber
reportedly lost $100 million excluding certain costs, although that’s likely
grown in subsequent quarters. Uber declined to comment about its finances.
3 Dubai opens world’s largest VIP terminal (Edward
Clowes in Gulf News) The world’s largest VIP terminal has been officially
opened at Al Maktoum International at Dubai South. Inaugurated by Shaikh Ahmad
Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman
and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group, the 5,600-square metre
standalone facility is intended to exclusively cater to private, business and
government VIP travellers.
The first flight from the VIP terminal took place in
April 2016, carrying 13 passengers on an Embraer Legacy aircraft that was
headed to the Maldives. Since then, the terminal has witnessed 1,000 flight
movements with the number anticipated to grow to 4,000 movements in 2017.
It is the largest of its kind in the world, hosting
two Fixed Base Operators (FBOs), JetEx and Falcon Aviation, according to
Khalifa Al Zaffin, Chairman of Dubai Aviation City. The terminal is part of Al
Maktoum International, the planned largest airport in the world, which will
involve the construction of five runways and increase in capacity to handle 160
million passengers a year once complete.
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