Global Business Daily: Ant Group IPO, Digital RMB, Laptop imports
Patrick Atack in London
Europe;

"Macron needs treatment on a mental level."

That was the sentence from Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan which sparked consternation in France and further afield amid a row over the country's tougher stance on radical Islam.

Across several Muslim-majority nations, citizens have started to throw out French produce and begin boycotts.

However, as some have pointed out on social media, the boycott and protests raise a tricky question for Turkish Airlines, which has just taken receipt of its first Airbus A350. The French Airbus A350, that is. There is form here… for completely unrelated reasons, it must be noted. 

Also in today's briefing, we look at the potentially record breaking Ant Group IPO, the move by the People's Bank of China to secure physical currency alongside its digital cousin, and knock-on effect on the Turkish lira following Erdogan's comments. 

And in the graphic today, I've looked at a key metric on working from home during the pandemic – how have laptop imports increased across Europe? Scroll down for more. 

Finally: Why not come explore the Alps with us, and hear from falconer Norman and Asul, a rare Golden Eagle

Happy reading, 

Patrick Atack

Digital business correspondent 

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China's Ant Group has set a price of $10.27 per share, according to an exchange filing for its expected IPO. Ant Group plans to sell 1.67 billion shares in the Shanghai float, which is set to be the biggest IPO in China, and could raise $17.23 billion. Jack Ma, founder of Ant's Alibaba, said on Saturday that the price is likely to be the "world's largest," and it's the first time the pricing of a big tech company has been decided outside of New York. Ant's valuation based on the pricing will be $313.4 billion, according to CNBC.

China's digital currency and physical banknotes will coexist for a long time, according to Mu Changchun, the head of the People's Bank of China's digital currency research institute. "The central bank will not stop the supply of paper banknotes as long as people still have the demand of using banknotes," Mu said. It comes two weeks after a digital trial in Shenzhen. 

The world's largest advertising agency, London-based WPP, has hired former Baidu president Zhang Yaqin as a non-executive board member. WPP Chairman Roberto Quarta said the company will benefit from Zhang's understanding of the fast-growing market of China, as well as his technological expertise from Baidu and Microsoft. 

Facebook is reportedly bringing in specific changes and measures ahead of the U.S. presidential election next Tuesday. The Wall Street Journal reported its changes were aimed at slowing down viral posts. "We've created new products, partnerships and policies — such as pausing post-election ads — to ensure we're more prepared than ever for the unique challenges of an election during a global pandemic," said a Facebook spokesperson.

Lee Kun-hee, chairman of South Korean tech giant Samsung, has died aged 78. He has remained out of the public eye since suffering a heart attack in 2014, but as the company's patriarch he was credited with transforming the firm into a global brand. You can read a full obituary of Lee here.

Japan's new prime minister Yoshihide Suga has vowed the country will become carbon neutral by 2050, despite the nation's struggles to turn to green energy since progress was halted by the disaster at the Fukushima nuclear plant in 2011. 

The Turkish lira has hit a new low against the dollar amid a widening international spat, the latest turn of which involves President Erdogan questioning the mental state of French leader Emmanuel Macron. The lira is trading eight against the US dollar, but with reports of many Turks throwing out French products, it could yet fall further if tensions are not brought to heel. 

Talks on the future relationship between the UK and the EU will continue in London until Wednesday, Downing Street said. The negotiations, which restarted Thursday in London after they stalled last week, were originally expected to wrap up on Sunday. Whatever way the negotiations go, hauliers and freight carriers said they are expecting "carnage" on January 1 when the exit becomes real. 

Coca-Cola Company's European bottler has made a $6.6 billion buyout approach to Australian peer Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd – it's widely seen as a cut-price offer, fueled by COVID-19 uncertainty. 

The UK's consumer confidence index has fallen for the first time in six months, as fears of a second nationwide lockdown mount, according to YouGov and the Centre for Economics and Business Research. At the same time, German business confidence fell – again for the first time in six months, perhaps hinting that Europe is looking towards a dark economic winter propelled by pandemic fears and consumer reluctance to spend. 

 

 

WATCH: The insect holding clues to designing stronger planes and buildings 🐞 

02:26

To discuss the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in Beijing, CGTN Europe spoke to Bert Hofman, the World Bank's former country director for China and now an academic at Singapore's NUS. 

Firstly, why is this meeting important for our global audience?

This is the discussion of the next Five Year Plan. These are key documents for the government to be implemented over the next five years. That's a pretty big deal.  

And what should we look out for? 

Key highlights are: One, we're probably going to get an indication of what China expects growth in the next five years. Two, we expect more news on a new growth strategy.

Clearly, this plan comes at a time when the external environment is not that good. On the one hand is COVID-19, on the other there is the trade war with the United States. So China probably expects less from abroad and is looking more for domestic demand.

And will the policy to cut carbon emissions to zero by 2060 feature? 

It almost has to, because it's a pretty ambitious plan. It also requires a lot of investment. Tsinghua University has calculated a plan like that would cost something in the order of $15 trillion. That is as much as one annual GDP of China. So making a start with that investment in the next five years would be good for that zero emissions target.