"Tidbits From TNT" Thursday Morning 5-20-2021

TNT:

Tishwash:  An independent politician warns of a scheme for the collapse of the currency and the national economic system

The independent politician Thaer Munir Al-Zubaidi warned of a plot to collapse the currency and the national economic system.

Al-Zubaidi said in a statement carried by his media office: "The continuous rise in the exchange rate of the dollar, especially during the past two days, confirms the existence of a plan to hit the national economy and its national currency."

He added, "The people have said their word to reject the new rate for the exchange of the dollar, and if the government is not able to return it as it was in the past, then at least adhere to the Central Bank’s decision at the announced rate."

Al-Zubaidi held the economic advisors in the cabinet and the advanced cadre in the bank responsible for this situation with the high exchange rate, which clearly affected the standard of living for all citizens. link

Tishwash:  "Abu Dhabi Islamic" launches a platform for banking services in Iraq

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank announced that it will enhance its services in Iraq by launching the “ADIB Direct” digital corporate banking services platform in the State of Iraq, with the aim of meeting the needs of the local business sector.

Designed to meet the needs of corporate clients, ADIB Direct is an innovative digital banking platform that provides corporate customers with a portfolio of banking solutions through a simplified and unified interface, including cash management, cash flow forecasting and foreign currency exchange services.

On this occasion, Abdullah Al Shehhi, Head of International Business at Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, said: “Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank plays a pivotal role in supporting the local economy in the State of Iraq, by providing the business sector and companies with a portfolio of banking solutions and services that meet their needs and support them in achieving prosperity.

And achieving its financial goals. The ADIB Direct platform enables companies to efficiently manage their affairs and operations, including cash payments, liquidity, trade finance, supply chain and foreign currency exchange services, enabling them to focus on enhancing their business and moving it forward towards broader horizons of growth and development.    link

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Tishwash:  Brent is near its lowest level in three weeks

Brent oil stabilized, Thursday, near its lowest level in three weeks, after a wider recession in the market, as investors bet on the possibility of an increase in Iranian supply at a time when OPEC + returns more oil to the market.

Brent crude rose six cents, or 0.42 percent, to $ 66.94 a barrel by 05:41 GMT, after falling 3 percent on Wednesday. US oil fell seven cents, or 0.55 percent, to $ 63.70 a barrel, after falling 3.3 percent in the previous session.

Oil is still up nearly 30% this year as the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic accelerates in the United States and parts of Europe, while purchases of crude oil shipments from countries like China remain strong.

The second wave in India reduced sales of gasoline and diesel by up to 20% for the largest refiner, the Indian Oil Corp., lowering processing rates.

The price drop this week gave additional momentum on Wednesday after media reports said that the United States and Iran had made progress in talks over Tehran's nuclear program that could lead to the lifting of sanctions and the entry of more supplies into the market   link

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Tishwash:  Moody’s may upgrade VPBank’s ratings (Vietnam)

Moody’s Investors Service has announced that it is considering upgrading a series of important ratings for VPBank.

Moody’s is considering upgrading the bank’s long-term local and foreign currency deposits and issuer ratings (currently at B1 with a stable outlook), baseline credit assessment (BCA), long-term counterparty risk rating and many other important ratings relating to credit and risk control.

In the first quarter of the year, VPBank achieved positive business results, surpassing its targets.

By the end of March, its total integrated assets exceeded VNĐ436 trillion, up 4.1 per cent from the same period last year. Its consolidated credit growth increased by 2.8 per cent from the corresponding period last year to reach VNĐ332 trillion. The strong credit growth was led by strategic segments of individual customer and small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs) with year-on-year increases of 7 per cent and 11 per cent respectively. Its pre-tax profit reached VNĐ4 trillion in January-March. This was the first time the bank achieved this level in the first quarter of a year.

With revenue diversification, reasonable credit growth, minimising capital costs and optimising operating costs, VPBank's total consolidated pre-tax profit in the first quarter of 2021 has grown strongly at 37.6 per cent over the same period last year. With this result, the bank's performance indicators as of March 31 continued to be improved and ranked at the top of the market, with return on asset (ROA) and return on equity (ROE) reaching 3 per cent and 23.5 per cent respectively.

VPBank also signed an agreement to sell a 49 per cent stake in FE Credit to Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Finance Group (SMFG) in a transaction that values the non-bank lender at US$2.8 billion.

The investment would help VPBank enhance its financial capacity and create opportunities to expand new business areas such as investment banking and wealth management.

The bank plans to increase its equity from the current VNĐ56 trillion to VNĐ90 trillion as well as increasing charter capital to VNĐ75 trillion in 2022 thank to the profit from divestment from FE Credit.

If the capital increase plan is successful, VPBank will be among the top Vietnamese banks with the largest equity and chartered capital.

At its general meeting of shareholders held at the end of April, the bank set a total asset target of VNĐ490 trillion, increasing 17.5 per cent, and customer deposits at 19.2 per cent to more than VNĐ350 trillion. Its pre-tax profit is expected to increase by 27.9 per cent to more than VNĐ16.6 trillion. — VNS link

Mot: Teenagers