The onshore yuan traded near the highest level in eight months, boosted by a stronger central bank fixing and data showing China’s economy held up in the second quarter.
The yuan gained 0.02 per cent to 6.7728 per dollar, close to its highest level since November 4, as of 2:56pm in Shanghai. The currency climbed as much as 0.14 per cent earlier, before paring its advance against a rising greenback. The People’s Bank of China set its daily fixing at the strongest level since November 4. The offshore rate dropped 0.06 per cent to 6.7699.
The nation’s GDP increased 6.9 per cent in the three months through June, beating a Bloomberg survey’s median forecast of 6.8 per cent growth. June industrial output, fixed-asset investment and retail sales all surpassed estimates as well. China will carry on efforts to make the yuan more market-based, and it will push ahead with globalisation of the currency in a steady manner, the president Xi Jinping said at the two-day National Financial Work Conference that ended at the weekend.
The MSCI All Country World Index rose a seventh day as China’s economy maintained momentum last quarter, enhancing the allure of stocks after soft US consumer price data reinforced the need for gradual tightening by the Federal Reserve.
"The sentiment on the yuan is relatively good as the policy makers appear to favour a stable currency that fluctuates in a narrow range," said Tommy Xie, a Singapore-based economist at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. "The yuan will be driven by the dollar throughout the rest of 2017, and there are no major domestic reasons for the currency to depreciate. It will end the year around 6.8 to 6.9 per dollar."
The onshore yuan rose 0.5 pe rcent last week, rising to the strongest closing level in eight months as the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 1.3 per cent, the most since mid-May. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey is for the yuan to round up 2017 at 6.92 against the dollar.
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
MATCH INFO
Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
The bio
Favourite vegetable: Broccoli
Favourite food: Seafood
Favourite thing to cook: Duck l'orange
Favourite book: Give and Take by Adam Grant, one of his professors at University of Pennsylvania
Favourite place to travel: Home in Kuwait.
Favourite place in the UAE: Al Qudra lakes
Brief scores:
Manchester City 2
Gundogan 27', De Bruyne 85'
Crystal Palace 3
Schlupp 33', Townsend 35', Milivojevic 51' (pen)
Man of the Match: Andros Townsend (Crystal Palace)
Scorecard:
England 458 & 119/1 (51.0 ov)
South Africa 361
England lead by 216 runs with 9 wickets remaining
Fanney Khan
Producer: T-Series, Anil Kapoor Productions, ROMP, Prerna Arora
Director: Atul Manjrekar
Cast: Anil Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai, Rajkummar Rao, Pihu Sand
Rating: 2/5
THE DETAILS
Deadpool 2
Dir: David Leitch
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin, Justin Dennison, Zazie Beetz
Four stars
Draw:
Group A: Egypt, DR Congo, Uganda, Zimbabwe
Group B: Nigeria, Guinea, Madagascar, Burundi
Group C: Senegal, Algeria, Kenya, Tanzania
Group D: Morocco, Ivory Coast, South Africa, Namibia
Group E: Tunisia, Mali, Mauritania, Angola
Group F: Cameroon, Ghana, Benin, Guinea-Bissau
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)
Power: 141bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh64,500
On sale: Now
Men from Barca's class of 99
Crystal Palace - Frank de Boer
Everton - Ronald Koeman
Manchester City - Pep Guardiola
Manchester United - Jose Mourinho
Southampton - Mauricio Pellegrino
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
South Africa v India schedule
Tests: 1st Test Jan 5-9, Cape Town; 2nd Test Jan 13-17, Centurion; 3rd Test Jan 24-28, Johannesburg
ODIs: 1st ODI Feb 1, Durban; 2nd ODI Feb 4, Centurion; 3rd ODI Feb 7, Cape Town; 4th ODI Feb 10, Johannesburg; 5th ODI Feb 13, Port Elizabeth; 6th ODI Feb 16, Centurion
T20Is: 1st T20I Feb 18, Johannesburg; 2nd T20I Feb 21, Centurion; 3rd T20I Feb 24, Cape Town
Meydan racecard:
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 (PA) Group 1 | US$75,000 (Dirt) | 2,200 metres
7.05pm: UAE 1000 Guineas (TB) Listed | $250,000 (D) | 1,600m
7.40pm: Meydan Classic Trial (TB) Conditions | $100,000 (Turf) | 1,400m
8.15pm: Al Shindagha Sprint (TB) Group 3 | $200,000 (D) | 1,200m
8.50pm: Handicap (TB) | $175,000 (D) | 1,600m
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) | $175,000 (T) | 2,000m
10pm: Handicap (TB) | $135,000 (T) | 1,600m
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20PlanRadar%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2013%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECo-founders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EIbrahim%20Imam%2C%20Sander%20van%20de%20Rijdt%2C%20Constantin%20K%C3%B6ck%2C%20Clemens%20Hammerl%2C%20Domagoj%20Dolinsek%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EVienna%2C%20Austria%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EConstruction%20and%20real%20estate%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E400%2B%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20B%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Headline%2C%20Berliner%20Volksbank%20Ventures%2C%20aws%20Gr%C3%BCnderfonds%2C%20Cavalry%20Ventures%2C%20Proptech1%2C%20Russmedia%2C%20GR%20Capital%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Babumoshai Bandookbaaz
Director: Kushan Nandy
Starring: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Bidita Bag, Jatin Goswami
Three stars
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
