Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said on Monday that Sweden will provide another SEK500 million ($46.75 million) in military aid to Ukraine to help it defend itself against a Russian invasion, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
After talks with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba, Andersson told reporters that her government would give Ukraine an additional SEK1 billion aid package – both military and civilian. She did not give details of the military package, but said it would be similar to previous aid, which, according to the newspaper, included anti-tank weapons, personal protective equipment and demining equipment.
“We will continue to support Ukraine while the war is going on,” Andersson said.
The civilian portion of the package will include purchases of Ukrainian wheat, which will be given to food-insecure countries and help boost Ukraine’s economy.
The report noted that during the meeting, Kuleba urged Sweden to provide Ukraine with howitzers and shells. “While the war is going on, we will ask for more weapons… Every euro, every bullet, every shell counts,” he told reporters.
The National Bank of Ukraine by its decision of November 25 canceled insurance licenses of IC Krona due to the absence of insurer licenses and excluded the company and six more insurers from the State Register of Financial Institutions.
As reported on the website of the insurer, PrJSC IC “Arma”, ALC IC “Benefit”, ALC IC “Dobrobut and Zakhist”, PJSC “Europolis”, ALC IC “Kastodi”, JSC “IC “Mega-Garant” are excluded from the State Register of financial institutions due to the cancellation of all existing licenses to provide financial services based on the decisions of the National Bank of Ukraine 2022 as an action.
As reported, on September 30, 2022 the NBU has authorized “IC Krona” to cease insurance activities (without termination of legal entity). According to the latest accounts submitted by the company for the nine months of 2022, as of September 30, 2022 the amount of insurance premiums of the company has amounted to UAH 23 393,0 ths, the value of assets – UAH 59 435,92 ths, insurance reserves – UAH 0,0 ths. The market share of the company by insurance premiums amounted to 0,1%.
PrJSC IC “Arma” had 25 licenses to provide financial services in insurance. During the 9 months of 2022, as of September 30, 2022 the insurance premiums of the company have amounted to UAH 79,140 mln, assets – UAH 177,804 mln, insurance reserves – UAH 4,279 mln. The market share of the company on insurance premiums amounted to 0,3%.
ALC IC Benefit had 31 licenses for the activity on the provision of financial services in insurance. According to the last submitted statements for the 9 months of 2022, the volume of insurance premiums of the company has amounted to UAH 1,817 mln, asset value – UAH 37,750 mln, insurance reserves – UAH 412,8 th. The market share of the company by insurance premiums amounted to 0,0%.
ALC IC “Dobrobut and Zakhist” had 22 licenses for activity on providing financial services in insurance. During the 9 months of 2022, as of September 30, 2022 the volume of insurance premiums of the company has amounted to UAH 202,544 mln, assets – UAH 98,313 mln, insurance reserves – UAH 3043 mln. The market share of the company on insurance premiums amounted to 0,8%.
Private JSC “PT “Europolis” had 11 licenses, during the 9 months of 2022 the volume of insurance premiums of the company has amounted to UAH 8 324,0 ths, the value of assets – UAH 60 042 ths, insurance reserves – UAH 1 994 ths. The Company’s market share in insurance premiums was 0,03%.
ALC IC KASTODI had 10 licenses, during the 9 months of 2022 the Company’s insurance premiums have amounted to UAH 284,046 mln, the value of assets – UAH 137,584 mln, insurance reserves – UAH 10, 698 mln. The company’s market share on insurance premiums amounted to 1,2%.
JSC IC MEGA-GARANT had 23 licenses for providing financial services in insurance. According to the last submitted accounts for 6 months of 2022, as of June 30, 2022 the volume of insurance premiums of the company was UAH 50 558,5 thousand, assets – UAH 199,43 million, insurance reserves – UAH 115,744 million. The market share of the company on insurance premiums amounted to 0,27%.
After exclusion from the State Register of financial institutions, these insurers lose the status of a financial institution, the report noted
Odessa Customs announced a tender for compulsory motor third party liability insurance for owners of hired vehicles on November 28, the electronic state procurement system Prozorro reports.
The expected cost is 48.3 thousand UAH.
Tender documents will be accepted until December 6 inclusive.
Asia-Pacific region (APR) stock indices are steadily rising on Tuesday, with the exception of the Japanese indicator.
The markets of China and Hong Kong are rising following a jump in developer shares after restrictions on the sector were eased the day before.
China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) said on Monday it had lifted a multi-year ban on listed developers to sell shares in the domestic market in order to raise funds to pay debts and M&A deals.
The decision was made to support a “stable and sustainable” development of the sector, the CSRC said.
“These measures are likely to accelerate the consolidation of real estate companies,” said China Index Holdings expert Liu Shui.
Shares of major Chinese real estate developer Country Garden Holdings Co. jumped 8.2 percent in Hong Kong trading.
China Vanke gained 12.2% in Hong Kong and 10% in Shenzhen, Gemdale gained 5.1% and 10% in Hong Kong and Shanghai respectively and Greenland Holdings gained 5.3% and 10%.
The Shanghai Composite stock index rose 2% in trading, the Shenzhen Composite rose 2.2% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 4%.
The Chinese market is also supported by growing expectations of traders that Beijing will ease quarantine restrictions after last weekend’s mass protests in the country.
“Expectations are growing that China’s zero-tolerance COVID-19 policy is over, and that’s improving traders’ sentiment,” notes Kiyong Song, a Societe Generale analyst in Hong Kong, cited by Bloomberg.
The value of securities of Chinese alcohol producer Kweichow Moutai rose by 5.4%. On the eve, the company announced its intention to pay a special dividend of 21.91 yuan ($3.06) for the first time since its shares were listed on the stock exchange in 2001.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock index was losing 0.5 percent in trading amid weak statistical data.
Japan’s retail sales rose in October for the eighth month in a row, but the rate of increase slowed compared to September and was worse than analysts’ expectations.
According to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, retail sales rose 4.3% last month compared with October 2021. They were up 4.8% in September. Experts polled by Trading Economics predicted an average increase of 5 percent.
Retail sales rose 0.2% from the previous month after climbing 1.5% in September.
Unemployment in Japan in October remained at 2.6%, while analysts expected its reduction to 2.5%.
Leaders of the decrease are shares of technological companies: SoftBank Group securities fell by 1.4%, Tokyo Electron – by 1.2%, Keyence Corp. – by 1.6% and Advantest – by 1.7%.
Shares of Toyota Motor (-1.2%), Sony Group (-1%), Mitsubishi Corp. (-0.9%) also fell in price.
The Australian S&P/ASX 200 added 0.3% on Tuesday, while South Korea’s KOSPI gained 0.9%.
BHP Group shares gained 2.1%, Rio Tinto – 3.5% and Pilbara Minerals – 1.6%.
Western European stock indexes are rising in trading on Tuesday, recovering from a fall the day before.
Investors welcomed the news that Chinese authorities plan to actively encourage vaccination against coronavirus among the adult population. Experts believe that such a measure may prove to be key to the removal of anti-Covids restrictions.
At the same time, the market expects that yesterday’s mass protests in Chinese cities may prompt authorities to relax restrictions. “We don’t assume that China will publicly abandon its zero-tolerance coronavirus policy, but we are hoping for some regional easing,” said Jefferies analyst Mohit Kumar.
The Stoxx Europe 600 composite index of the region’s largest companies was up 0.44% to 439.77 points by 11:00 a.m. Ksk.
Germany’s DAX is up 0.24%, Britain’s FTSE 100 is up 0.88%, France’s CAC 40 is up 0.34%, Italy’s FTSE MIB is up 0.28% and Spain’s IBEX 35 is up 0.14%.
Traders are waiting for the publication of important statistical data from European countries. At 12:00 noon the European Commission is scheduled to publish a composite index of confidence in the euro area economy for November. At 15:00 KSC the German Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) will release a preliminary report on consumer price changes in November.
Meanwhile, inflation in Spain slowed in November to its lowest since January thanks to a slower rise in fuel and electricity prices. Consumer prices, calculated in accordance with EU standards, in the country this month rose by 6.6% year on year, compared with 7.3% in October, showed the preliminary data of the Spanish statistics office INE. Experts polled by The Wall Street Journal, on average, expected a rise of 7.4%.
Shares of British airline easyJet PLC fell by 2.4%. Despite the fact that the air carrier cut its pre-tax loss in fiscal 2022, the figure was worse than experts expected.
French energy company Electricite de France (EDF) SA received a new credit line worth 2.2 billion euros, which is expected to increase the company’s financial flexibility in the coming years. EDF stock quotes are stable in trading in France.
The stock of British pharmaceutical AstraZeneca PLC is up 0.6%. The company announced the purchase of biotech Neogene Therapeutics Inc. for $320 million.
Shares of Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASM International N.V. (+6.5%), British insurance company Prudential PLC (+5%) and mining company Rio Tinto PLC (+3.7%) are emerging as growth leaders among Stoxx 600 components.
Oil prices are rising sharply on Tuesday morning, recovering from a decline in the previous session, during which quotations reached lows of almost a year.
The cost of January Brent futures on London’s ICE Futures Exchange stands at $85.16 a barrel by 7:12 a.m. CST, up $1.97 (2.37%) from the previous session’s closing price. At the close of trading on Monday those contracts have fallen by $0.44 (0.5%) to $83.19 per barrel.
The price of WTI futures for January at electronic trades of the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) is $78.87 per barrel by that time, which is $1.53 (1.98%) above the final value of the previous session. The day before contract went down in price by $0.96 (1.3%) to $77.24 per barrel.
In trading on Monday, Brent fell to its lowest level since January and WTI dropped to its lowest point since last December, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The reason for the fall were mass protests against lockdowns, which took place over the weekend throughout China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Xinjiang and Wuhan.
Experts are concerned that unexpectedly mass protests in China, which is the world’s largest oil importer, could provoke a tough reaction from the authorities of China, notes Bloomberg.
However, then American traders returned to the market after a long weekend and oil prices have moved away from the session lows.
“The last few days have been difficult for oil due to a combination of low volumes, sluggish trading and concerns about reduced demand due to lockdowns in China,” Colin Cieszynski, senior analyst at SIA Wealth Management, wrote.
The market’s attention is now focused on the next OPEC+ meeting on December 4 and on negotiations regarding the introduction of a price ceiling on Russian oil in response to Russia’s continuation of a full-scale war against Ukraine. European Union countries again failed to reach a consensus on Monday, as some countries found the proposed price cap of $62 a barrel too high, Bloomberg reported, citing informed sources.
