PBOC wants to create digital money
BEIJING • People's Bank of China (PBOC) vice-governor Fan Yifei said the monetary authority is pushing to supervise private digital currencies and develop its own digital money.
The PBOC should also consider how to maintain financial stability, innovation and proper supervision on the issuance and circulation of its legal digital tender, Mr Fan, who leads the central bank's cryptocurrency research, wrote in a Bloomberg View guest column yesterday. His commentary on the fast-changing world of digital currency suggests policymakers in Beijing want to take the lead in researching and developing digital currencies.
BLOOMBERG
S. Korea's economy up 0.8% in Q2
SEOUL • South Korea's economy grew 0.8 per cent in the second quarter, revised data from the Bank of Korea showed yesterday, but third-quarter growth faces downside risks, including from delays in ratifying a much-anticipated supplementary budget.
The figures come as production and inflation data from July onwards shows the economy may fail to rebound and even decline, hit by sluggish exports and weak consumption. July factory output declined 0.6 per cent from June, while inflation slowed to a one-year low last month.
A finance ministry official said growth was likely to slow in the third quarter from the second as temporary tax cuts on cars expired. Still, he expected the economy to post about 2.8 per cent growth this year, in line with the government forecast.
REUTERS
Petrobras sheds 11,704 employees
RIO DE JANEIRO • Brazil's state-controlled oil company Petrobras plans to save billions of dollars after completing a voluntary dismissal programme to help reduce debt and adjust to lower oil prices.
The dismissal plan ended on Aug 31 with 11,704 employees signing up, Petrobras said yesterday, adding that the numbers may change. It is in line with its original plan to save 33 billion real (S$13.8 billion) through 2020 by shedding 12,000 jobs.
Petrobras' stock price has surged 94 per cent this year after sinking to the lowest since 1999 in January. It slashed investments and kept domestic fuel prices stable amid the oil rout to improve cash flow and reduce the largest debt load in the industry.
BLOOMBERG
