China Evergrande to sell $1.5 bln stake in Shengjing Bank to state firm - Reuters

• Shengjing demands repayment of debts due to it
• Evergrande says sale will help stabilise Shengjing
• Evergrande faces bond interest payment deadline

HONG KONG, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Scrambling to avoid defaulting on its debts, cash-strapped China Evergrande Group (3333.HK) said on Wednesday it plans to sell a 9.99 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) stake in Shengjing Bank Co Ltd (2066.HK) to a state-owned asset management company.

Shengjing Bank, one of the main lenders to Evergrande, had demanded that all net proceeds from the disposal be used to settle the financial liabilities of the property developer due to the lender, Evergrande said in an exchange filing.

That requirement suggests that Evergrande, which missed a bond interest payment last week, will be unable to use the funds for other purposes such as another interest payment to offshore bondholders of $47.5 million due on Wednesday.

The payment deadline is being closely watched by investors as the developer's next big test in public markets. Shares of Evergrande rose as much as 15% on Wednesday. read more

Evergrande has rapidly become China's biggest corporate headache as it teeters between a messy meltdown with far-reaching impacts, a managed collapse or the less likely prospect of a bailout by Beijing. read more

The 1.75 billion shares, representing 19.93% of the issued share capital of the bank, will be sold for 5.70 yuan apiece to Shenyang Shengjing Finance Investment Group Co Ltd, a state-owned enterprise involved in capital and asset management, Evergrande said in its filing.

Shenyang Shengjing's stake in the bank will be increased to 20.79% after the deal to become the bank's largest shareholder. Evergrande's stake in the bank would be reduced to 14.75% from 34.5%.

"The company's liquidity issue has adversely affected Shengjing Bank in a material way," Evergrande Chairman Hui Ka Yan said in the statement.

"The introduction of the purchaser, being a state-owned enterprise, will help stabilise the operations of Shengjing Bank and at the same time, help increase and maintain the value of the 14.75% interest in Shengjing Bank retained by the company."

As of the first half last year, the bank had 7 billion yuan in loans to Evergrande, making it the third-largest onshore lender to the cash-strapped company, according to a report by brokerage CCB International last week, citing news reports.

The financial health of Shengjing Bank has come under the spotlight since May, after financial news outlet Caixin reported that China's top banking watchdog was investigating connected transactions worth more than 100 billion yuan ($15.45 billion) between Evergrande and the bank.

On July 5, Evergrande said in a statement its financial business with Shengjing complied with legal requirements.

Days after that announcement, China's northern city of Shenyang, where Shengjing is based, encouraged local state-owned companies to increase stakes in the bank.

The Shenyang government said it valued reforms at Shengjing Bank and would strengthen the Communist Party leadership in the bank to help it develop into "a good bank," according to a statement in July. read more

Beijing is prodding government-owned firms and state-backed property developers to purchase some of embattled China Evergrande Group's assets, people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Tuesday. read more

Shengjing reported a net profit of 1.03 billion yuan in the first half of 2021, down 63.6% from a year earlier, citing the impact of COVID-19, a decline in net interest income and increased provisions for impairment losses of assets due to "increased uncertainty of business operations".

The bank's non-performing loan ratio stood at 3.04% by the end-June, higher than the industry-wide average of nearly 2%.

Reporting by Donny Kwok and Anne Marie Roantree; additional reporting by Cheng Leng in Beijing; Editing by Stephen Coates & Simon Cameron-Moore

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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2021-09-29 03:25:00Z
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Health minister expects Pfizer submission for kids' COVID-19 vaccine in October - CTV News

TORONTO -- Health Minister Patty Hajdu said she expects a submission from Pfizer in the coming weeks for the use of the company's COVID-19 vaccine in children ages five to 11.

Speaking Tuesday on CTV's Power Play, Hajdu said government health officials have been in constant contact with Pfizer regarding vaccine data.

"We anticipate that we'll get a submission, hopefully in the early stages of October," she said. "As soon as we receive the data from the company, the regulators are well-situated to rapidly review that data."

The pharmaceutical company stated last week that its vaccine, created in partnership with BioNTech, is effective in children aged five to 11.

Pfizer tested a much lower dose -- a third of the amount that's in each shot given now -- in a study involving 2,268 kindergarten and elementary school-aged children. After their second dose, the company said these children developed antibody levels just as high as teenagers and young adults getting the regular-strength shots, Dr. Bill Gruber, a Pfizer senior vice-president, told The Associated Press.

The kid dosage also proved safe, with similar or fewer temporary side effects that teens experience, such as sore arms, fever or achiness, he said.

There are currently no COVID-19 vaccines approved for use in children under 12 years old in Canada.

News of Pfizer's incoming data may be welcomed by parents of young children who have recently begun the school year with the highly contagious Delta variant spreading in the country.

As of Monday, children five to 11 years old made up approximately 13.5 per cent of the COVID-19 cases reported in Ontario in the last 14 days. In Alberta, children aged five to nine made up about 10 per cent of reported cases in the last week.

Pfizer said Tuesday it has submitted study data to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and expects to apply for the emergency authorization of its use for children south of the border in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, Moderna is currently studying the efficacy of its COVID-19 vaccine in elementary school-aged children. Both Pfizer and Moderna are studying even younger children as well, including those who are six months old. Results are expected later in the year.

With files from The Associated Press 

Correction:

This story has been updated to say health officials are expecting a submission from Pfizer in October, rather than authorization.

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2021-09-28 22:13:00Z
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Nova Scotia reports 97th COVID-19 related death, 32 new cases on Tuesday - CTV News Atlantic

HALIFAX -- Health officials in Nova Scotia are reporting the province’s 97th death related to COVID-19 on Tuesday.

In a news release, N.S. Health says a man in his 70s died in the Northern zone.

"Another family is suffering the loss of a loved one, and on behalf of all Nova Scotians, I offer our condolences to those grieving," said Premier Tim Houston. "This virus is serious and can have devastating impacts. Do your part and get vaccinated if you haven't done so already. Together we can slow the spread of the virus."

"My thoughts and prayers are with those who are grieving the loss of their loved one," said Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia's chief medical officer of health. "The vaccine can help prevent serious illness, hospitalization and death. I urge Nova Scotians to get both doses and continue to protect themselves and the people around them."

The province also reported 32 new cases of COVID-19 and 28 recoveries on Tuesday, as the number of active cases in the province rises to 205  

• Twenty-seven new cases were identified in the province's Central zone.
• Three new cases were identified in the province's Northern zone.
• Two new cases were identified in the province's Eastern zone.

Public Health says it is closely monitoring all four health zones for community spread.

COVID-19 CASE DATA

Nova Scotia Health Authority's labs completed 4,947 tests on Monday. A total of 1,208,254 COVID-19 tests have been processed since the start of the pandemic.

According to the province's online COVID-19 dashboard, there have been 6,598 cumulative COVID-19 cases in Nova Scotia. Of those, 6,296 people have recovered and 96 have died due to COVID-19.

There are currently 13 people in hospital in Nova Scotia due to COVID-19, with one in an intensive care unit.

Since August 1, there have been 705 positive COVID-19 cases and three deaths. Of the new cases since August 1, 494 are now considered resolved.

There are cases confirmed across the province, but most have been identified in the Central zone, which contains the Halifax Regional Municipality.

The provincial government says cumulative cases by zone may change as data is updated in Panorama, the province’s electronic information system.

The numbers reflect where a person lives and not where their sample was collected.

• Western zone: 340 cases (13 active case)
• Central zone: 5,085 cases (166 active cases)
• Northern zone: 510 cases (17 active cases)
• Eastern zone: 663 cases (9 active cases)

The provincial state of emergency, which was first declared on March 22, 2020, has been extended to Oct. 3, 2021.

VACCINE UPDATE

The province's COVID-19 online dashboard provides an update on the number of vaccines that have been administered to date.

As of Tuesday, 1,503,065 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered.

In total, 80.3 per cent of the province's overall population has received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, while 74.4 per cent of Nova Scotians have received their second dose.

The province says it has received a total of 1,661,340 doses of COVID-19 vaccine since Dec. 15.

All Nova Scotians are encouraged to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as soon as they are eligible. COVID-19 vaccination appointments can be made online or by phone at 1-833-797-7772.

COVID ALERT APP

Canada’s COVID-19 Alert app is available in Nova Scotia.

The app, which can be downloaded through the Apple App Store or Google Play, notifies users if they may have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.

LIST OF SYMPTOMS

Anyone who experiences a fever or new or worsening cough, or two or more of the following new or worsening symptoms, is encouraged to take an online test or call 811 to determine if they need to be tested for COVID-19:

• Sore throat
• Headache
• Shortness of breath
• Runny nose/nasal congestion  

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2021-09-28 19:01:00Z
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Caisse to sell off remaining oil assets by next year - CBC.ca

Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec says it will divest all of its oil investments by next year as part of the pension plan's plan to help combat climate change by cutting its carbon footprint in half by 2030.

The province's public pension fund unveiled its climate change strategy on Tuesday.

A core plank of the policy is to divest all assets that produce crude oil products by the end of 2022. 

"The climate situation affects everyone, and we can no longer address it with the same methods used a few years ago," CEO Charles Emond said. "We have to make important decisions on issues such as oil production and decarbonizing sectors that are essential to our economies."

LISTEN | Can your pension investments be greener? 

What On Earth35:52Why climate change may put your investments at risk

From net-zero pledges to sustainable portfolios, it appears the finance industry is acting on climate change. But Canadian pensions and other funds are still heavily invested in fossil fuels. We look at how our money can be part of the solution. 35:52

The pension plan has been selling off assets in the oil sector, but the declaration means it will move ahead with selling off what it has left.

According to regulatory filings, as of the end of June 2021, the fund owned sizeable stakes in a number of oil companies including:

• $661 million in French oil giant Total
• $397 million worth of oilsands company Canadian Natural Resources
• $359 million in Calgary-based Suncor
• $110 million in Russia's Lukoil
• $65 million in BP
• $61 million in Shell.

The company owns smaller stakes in other public oil companies, along with potentially several more private investments, and large stakes in oil-related companies such as pipelines and natural gas.

Overall, the Caisse has about $390 billion worth of assets, and about one per cent of them — just under $4 billion — are tied up in oil-related investments.

Public pension funds such as the Caisse have come under increasing pressure in recent years to use their sizeable financial might to try to influence climate policy by investing in companies committed to sustainability.

CBC News reported on one activist group's campaign to raise awareness about the fossil fuel investments of major Canadian pension plans earlier this summer.

Warren Mabee, director of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Policy at Queens University in Kingston, Ont., says the move shows how the mindset of the investment community has changed.

"It tells you that the managers of this fund are confident that there are better investment opportunities out there," he said in an interview with CBC News. "I think what's held some of these funds back in the past is that it would be hard to get away [from fossil fuels] and still generate the same kind of profit. Now I think we're starting to see companies saying, yes, we can actually perform as well or better."

He said the investment community is also starting to see the financial cost of ignoring environmental impacts.

"The market used to have a lot of tolerance for that kind of environmental pollution [but] investors are starting to move away from that, and that is again another wake-up call for the industry," he said.

"For Canada's energy industry, this is a signal that some of the moves that they've made in recent years to try to reduce their carbon footprints or to diversify their operations or make their operations more efficient are not necessarily being seen by the investment community as enough."

Not just oil divestment

The fund also says it will move its oil money to other investments, with a view to buying up $54 billion in "green assets" by 2025.

And it has set aside a $10 billion "transition envelope" to invest in carbon-intensive companies outside the energy sector that are trying to go more sustainable. Those industries include makers of raw materials such as metal and plastics, transportation companies upgrading their fleets to use green vehicles and alternative fuels, and agriculture companies such as fertilizer manufacturers.

"With this new strategy, we are demonstrating our leadership as an investor and entering the next stage of climate investing. We believe this is in the interests of our depositors, our portfolio companies and the communities we invest in," Emond said.

Overall, the pension fund says it plans to reduce its total carbon footprint by 60 per cent by 2030.

The pension fund first announced climate targets in 2017, and Tuesday's report shows that it is ahead of that schedule, and advancing its targets even further. The green investment target is three times what the fund owned in 2017, for example.

"In practical terms, we want to increase the supply of renewable energy as well as sustainable mobility and real estate, to contribute directly to the decarbonization of our economy," Emond said.

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2021-09-28 17:57:15Z
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Caisse to sell off remaining oil assets by next year - CBC.ca

Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec says it will divest all of its oil investments by next year as part of the pension plan's plan to help combat climate change by cutting its carbon footprint in half by 2030.

The province's public pension fund unveiled its climate change strategy on Tuesday.

A core plank of the policy is to divest all assets that produce crude oil products by the end of 2022. 

"The climate situation affects everyone, and we can no longer address it with the same methods used a few years ago," CEO Charles Emond said. "We have to make important decisions on issues such as oil production and decarbonizing sectors that are essential to our economies."

LISTEN | Can your pension investments be greener? 

What On Earth35:52Why climate change may put your investments at risk

From net-zero pledges to sustainable portfolios, it appears the finance industry is acting on climate change. But Canadian pensions and other funds are still heavily invested in fossil fuels. We look at how our money can be part of the solution. 35:52

The pension plan has been selling off assets in the oil sector, but the declaration means it will move ahead with selling off what it has left.

According to regulatory filings, as of the end of June 2021, the fund owned sizeable stakes in a number of oil companies including:

• $661 million in French oil giant Total
• $397 million worth of oilsands company Canadian Natural Resources
• $359 million in Calgary-based Suncor
• $110 million in Russia's Lukoil
• $65 million in BP
• $61 million in Shell.

The company owns smaller stakes in other public oil companies, along with potentially several more private investments, and large stakes in oil-related companies such as pipelines and natural gas.

Overall, the Caisse has about $390 billion worth of assets, and about one per cent of them — just under $4 billion — are tied up in oil investments.

Public pension funds such as the Caisse have come under increasing pressure in recent years to use their sizeable financial might to try to influence climate policy by investing in companies committed to sustainability.

CBC News reported on one activist group's campaign to raise awareness about the fossil fuel investments of major Canadian pension plans earlier this summer.

Canadian credit rating agency DBRS Morningstar said pension funds are poised "to play a key role in fostering the advance of [sustainability] matters for the broader interests of society; however, their role will be guided by their fiduciary duty to their members and clients."

Not just oil divestment

The fund also says it will move its oil money to other investments, with a view to buying up $54 billion in "green assets" by 2025.

And it has set aside a $10 billion "transition envelope" to invest in carbon-intensive companies outside the energy sector that are trying to go more sustainable. Those industries include makers of raw materials such as metal and plastics, transportation companies upgrading their fleets to use green vehicles and alternative fuels, and agriculture companies such as fertilizer manufacturers.

"With this new strategy, we are demonstrating our leadership as an investor and entering the next stage of climate investing. We believe this is in the interests of our depositors, our portfolio companies and the communities we invest in," Emond said.

Overall, the pension fund says it plans to reduce its total carbon footprint by 60 per cent by 2030.

The pension fund first announced climate targets in 2017, and Tuesday's report shows that it is ahead of that schedule, and advancing its targets even further. The green investment target is three times what the fund owned in 2017, for example.

"In practical terms, we want to increase the supply of renewable energy as well as sustainable mobility and real estate, to contribute directly to the decarbonization of our economy," Emond said.

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2021-09-28 16:35:21Z
52781908816189

Caisse to sell off remaining oil assets by next year - CBC.ca

Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec says it will divest all of its oil investments by next year as part of the pension plan's plan to help combat climate change by cutting its carbon footprint in half by 2030.

The province's public pension fund unveiled its climate change strategy on Tuesday.

A core plank of the policy is to divest all assets that produce crude oil products by the end of 2022. 

"The climate situation affects everyone, and we can no longer address it with the same methods used a few years ago," CEO Charles Emond said. "We have to make important decisions on issues such as oil production and decarbonizing sectors that are essential to our economies."

The pension plan has been selling off assets in the oil sector, but the declaration means it will move ahead with selling off what it has left — currently about one per cent of its total portfolio of $390 billion.

The fund also says it will move its oil money to other investments, with a view to buying up $54 billion in "green assets" by 2025.

Overall, the pension fund says it plans to reduce its total carbon footprint by 60 per cent by 2030.

"With this new strategy, we are demonstrating our leadership as an investor and enter the next stage of climate investing. We believe this is in the interests of our depositors, our portfolio companies and the communities we invest in," Emond said.

More to come

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2021-09-28 14:45:42Z
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Pfizer-BioNTech submit data to U.S. FDA for COVID-19 vaccine in younger children - CBC.ca

Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE submitted initial trial data for their COVID-19 vaccine in children aged 5 to 11 to U.S. regulators on Tuesday and said they would make a formal request for emergency use authorization in the coming weeks.

Coronavirus infections have soared in children and hit their highest point in early September, according to data from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The vaccine, which is already authorized in teens aged 12 to 15 and fully approved for ages 16 and up in the U.S., has been shown to induce a strong immune response in the target age group in a 2,268-participant clinical trial, the companies said on Sept. 20.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was authorized in kids aged 12-15 roughly a month after the companies filed for authorization. If the same timeline is followed for this application, kids could start receiving their shots as soon as late October.

A rapid authorization could help mitigate a potential surge of cases this fall, with schools already open nationwide.

While kids are less susceptible to severe COVID-19, they can spread the virus to others, including vulnerable populations that are more at risk of severe illness.

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2021-09-28 11:32:46Z
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