tyb
click
Xi Jinping set to make first state visit to Japan in April
Mention of specific month comes with Abe security chief in Beijing
BEIJING – Senior Chinese and Japanese officials discussed Friday a visit to Japan by China's President Xi Jinping in April, marking the first mention of a specific month for the high-profile trip. Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan met with Shigeru Kitamura, Japan's new national security chief, in Beijing's Zhongnanhai government district.
"In principle, President Xi Jinping will make a state visit to Japan next spring," said Wang. "If successfully realized, it will have great impact and significance for China-Japan relations."
Kitamura said: "We want to have full bilateral discussions on issues around an April visit to Japan by President Xi". Xi's trip would reciprocate a visit to China planned by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for later this month. On that occasion, Xi will hold talks with Abe, Wang confirmed.
Abe is expected to meet with Xi in Beijing on Dec. 23, according to a diplomatic source. Tentative plans also call for the two leaders to join South Korean President Moon Jae-in for a trilateral summit the following day in the city of Chengdu, the source said. This is the first visit to China by Kitamura since he became national security chief in September. "President Xi went out of his way to come and instruct me to meet with Mr. Kitamura by all means," said Wang.
Wang, considered to be Xi's right-hand man, attended Japanese Emperor Naruhito's enthronement in October. "Through the enthronement ceremony, I felt the great international influence Japan possesses," Wang told Kitamura on Friday. Kitamura later visited the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing to meet with Yang Jiechi, a member of the Politburo and China's top diplomat. "The momentum for friendship between Japan and China is becoming extremely powerful," said Kitamura.
The China visit by Kitamura "has gained attention since he is one of Abe's close aides and there is a potential he will develop deep bilateral connections," said a Chinese diplomatic source. The fact that Kitamura is a former senior official for Japan's National Police Agency also appears to have been noticed in Beijing. Shotaro Yachi, Kitamura's long-serving predecessor as Abe's national security chief, repaired bilateral relations with China following a 2012 flare-up in tensions over the Senkaku Islands, which China claims and calls the Diaoyu.
The two sides reached a breakthrough in 2014 by agreeing to a set of shared understandings, including the gradual resumption of political dialogue.
https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-relations/Xi-Jinping-set-to-make-first-state-visit-to-Japan-in-April
Saudi Aramco raises $25.6bn in world's biggest share sale
State-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco has raised a record $25.6bn (ÂŁ19.4bn) in its initial public offering in Riyadh.
The share sale was the biggest to date, surpassing that of China's Alibaba which raised $25bn in 2014 in New York.
Aramco relied on domestic and regional investors to sell a 1.5% stake after lukewarm interest from abroad. The IPO will value it at $1.7tn when trading begins - short of its $2tn target, but making it the most valuable listed company in the world. The share sale is at the heart of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's plans to modernise the Saudi economy and wean it off its dependence on oil. The country urgently needs tens of billions of dollars to fund megaprojects and develop new industries.
Aramco has found the journey to its public offering testing.
It initially sought to raise $100bn on two exchanges - with a first listing on the kingdom's Tadawul bourse, and then another on an overseas exchange such as the London Stock Exchange.
But it scaled back its plans after foreign investors raised concerns about climate change, political risk and a lack of corporate transparency. International institutions also baulked at the firm's $1.7tn valuation, prompting Aramco to pull marketing roadshows in New York and London. Instead, it focused its marketing efforts on Saudi investors and wealthy Gulf Arab allies. Saudi banks also offered citizens cheap credit to bid for the shares following a nationwide advertising campaign.
Shares were priced at 32 Saudi riyals ($8.53) on Thursday and were heavily oversubscribed, according to reports. But it remains to be seen whether the share price rises or falls when trading begins, most likely later this month.
The IPO's pricing came as Saudi Arabia met with Russia and other members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) in Vienna to discuss oil production. The allies - who together pump 40% of the world's oil - agreed to deepen output cuts as part of ongoing efforts to prop up global prices.
Oil prices collapsed in mid 2014 and have yet to fully recover, leaving oil-dependent economies under pressure.
The market is struggling with slower global growth and a flood of new production from countries such as the US.
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-50681159
J.C. Penney Lender Seeks to Offload $800 Million Piece of Loan
H/2 Capital Partners is seeking to sell almost $800 million of a $1.7 billion loan made to J.C. Penney Co., according to people familiar with the matter. The potential transaction was large enough to spook bondholders and traders in the market for credit-default swaps tied to the retailer.
Deutsche Bank AG is shopping the J.C. Penney’s first-lien term loan due in 2023 on behalf of the hedge fund, the people said, asking not to be named because the deal is private.
The debt, which will be sold at auction, is being marketed at a potential price of around 87 cents on the dollar, a slight discount from current trading levels of around 89 cents. Representatives for Deutsche Bank and J.C. Penney declined to comment. Stamford, Connecticut-based H/2 didn’t return messages seeking comment.
The retailer’s first-lien bonds due 2023 slipped over 4 cents on the dollar Thursday to as low as 81.5 cents before recovering to 84.25 cents Friday, according to Trace bond trading data. The cost of protecting J.C. Penney debt in the credit-default swaps market for one year rose as much as 7 percentage points upfront intraday to 23.5 points Thursday, before falling back to 17.7 points Friday. Plano, Texas-based J.C. Penney has been focusing on managing its debt load as it seeks to turn around its operations. Bloomberg reported in September that the company was preparing for talks with its creditors ahead of the critical holiday season. Chief Financial Officer Bill Wafford said in a November conference call that the retailer was “proactively” managing its obligations and is working to maintain its $1.7 billion of liquidity.
https://www.bloomberg.com//news/articles/2019-12-06/j-c-penney-lender-seeks-to-offload-800-million-piece-of-loan
H/2 Capital Partners
https://privatefunddata.com/fund-companies/h-2-capital-partners/