Tag Archives: China
India promises Tesla ‘lowest production costs’ but will that persuade Elon Musk to leave China?
India is ready to offer incentives to ensure Tesla’s cost of production would be less than in China if the carmaker commits to making its electric vehicles in the south Asian country, transport minister Nitin Gadkari said.Gadkari’s pitch came weeks after billionaire Elon Musk’s Tesla registered a company in India in a step towards entering […]
Naga closes Cambodia casino as staff slam COVID response
PHNOM PENH — Hong Kong-listed NagaCorp has temporarily closed its Cambodian casino complex NagaWorld after 11 workers tested positive for COVID-19. The closure comes as Cambodia is experiencing its worst coronavirus outbreak since the pandemic began, with thousands of residents in the capital Phnom Penh under a lockdown, but workers at the casino say action […]
Ant Group tells staff it hopes to resume IPO, as Beijing finalises new rules for digital lenders
Ant Group has told employees that it was hopeful of eventually resuming its initial public offering (IPO), and that before this materialises it was working on a plan to provide a solution for staff looking to monetise their stock holdings.According to people familiar with the matter, Eric Jing, Ant’s chairman, told employees via the company’s […]
China extends lead over US for international patent applications, UN agency says
China, which last year overtook the United States as the world’s top filer of international patents – a key measure of technical innovation – increased its lead significantly in 2020, the United Nations said on Tuesday.Even as Covid-19 took a vast human and economic toll, international patent applications continued to grow strongly, with China leading […]
Investors cheer second Japanese takeover by China's Hisense
HONG KONG — A unit of Hisense Group, a major home-electronics maker in China, has reached a deal to purchase a controlling stake in a Japanese auto parts company, pushing the subsidiary’s shares up 10% in mainland trading on Tuesday. Hisense Home Appliances Group, a subsidiary of Hisense Group, announced after the market closed on […]
China steel imports surge 150% in 2020 on economic stimulus boost
TOKYO/HANOI — China’s imports of steel increased by 150% to 38.56 million tons in 2020, according to the country’s customs agency, as its producers struggled to keep up with surging demand fueled by government efforts to pull the economy out of a coronavirus-induced downturn. As one of the world’s biggest producers of steel, the country has been working […]
Singapore issues FSI guidelines on managing remote work risks
Singapore has released guidelines on heightened risks businesses in the financial services industry (FSI) now face as remote work practices take hold and how they can mitigate such risks. These include implementing safeguards in their outsourcing arrangements as well as security controls to combat data leaks and fraud. The document aimed to outlined key risks […]
Who will be the battery powerhouse? China, Japan and the West compete
TOKYO — The shimmering salt crystals on the shores of Qarhan Salt Lake in western China’s Qinghai Province formed at the bottom of an ancient sea millions of years ago. Today, they are a strategic resource in a global competition over the next generation of energy. The site, its name derived from Mongolian for “world of salt,” is rich in valuable […]
Ant's employees expected a windfall. They got unsellable shares
They were just days away from a multi-billion-dollar windfall. But now employees of Jack Ma’s Ant Group Co. are stuck holding shares so difficult to value that even the company itself is struggling to determine a fair price. It has shelved a share buyback program for current and departing staff, in part because of uncertainty […]
Microsoft names Qualcomm executive Hou Yang as new Greater China chief
Microsoft has named a young Chinese executive as its new chairman and chief executive for the Greater China region amid increasingly complicated tech relations between the US and China.Hou Yang, a former executive at Qualcomm, will take the helm from Alain Crozier starting in July, according to the company’s announcement on Monday. Hou is the […]
Inner Mongolia may ban crypto mining: Blockheads
Global crypto mining hotspot Inner Mongolia is considering shutting down mining within its borders as it pushes for zero carbon emissions. China’s central bank is joining hands with three other economies to test cross-border transactions using digital currencies. Domestic media research said that Chinese government procurement of blockchain technology has more than doubled in the […]
Alibaba halves startup investment as Beijing steps up scrutiny
SHANGHAI — Alibaba Group Holding’s investments in startups have halved in the four months since its fintech affiliate Ant Group was forced to postpone its stock market listing in November, compared with the same period of a year ago. The rapid slowdown is a reaction to stricter scrutiny by Chinese President Xi Jinping’s government, which […]
Chinese insurance lesson startup reels in Tencent and Sequoia
BEIJING — A startup that provides online financial consulting for households has raised hundreds of millions of yuan in a series B+ round led by partners of DST Global and Lingfeng Capital. Other investors include existing shareholders Tencent Holdings, Sequoia Capital China and BlueRun Ventures. Xu Bin, founder and CEO of Xiaobangguihua, says the funds […]
China steel imports surge 150% on boost from economic stimulus
TOKYO/HANOI — China’s imports of steel increased by 150% to 38.56 million tons in 2020, according to the country’s customs agency, as its producers struggled to keep up with surging demand fueled by government efforts to pull the economy out of a coronavirus-induced downturn. As one of the world’s biggest producers of steel, the country has been working […]
ETtech Morning Dispatch on March 2, 2021: How's it Co-WIN?
Good morning, In January we reported that India’s vaccination drive got off to a poor start, thanks to glitches in the government’s Co-WIN portal. Yesterday, more than a month later, the drive was extended to some members of the general public for the first time, but the same problems persisted. It seems this issue could […]
Hong Kong could see more instances of ‘tokenisation’ in real estate, as market embraces fintech, says law firm DLA Piper
Hong Kong could see more instances of “tokenisation” in real estate transactions as the market embraces financial technology to make illiquid and expensive assets more accessible to a wider pool of investors.Clients in the property development sector are looking at tokenising illiquid assets such as real estate as a form of fundraising, according to Susheela […]
From WeChat to Clubhouse: Xiaomi turns messaging app into social audio platform after shutting it down
Smartphone giant Xiaomi has revived its defunct instant messaging app MiTalk as a social audio chat platform for professionals, a move that comes weeks after Clubhouse was banned in China.The app was relaunched just eight days after the company shut down the original MiTalk on February 19 “due to changes in the business”, according to […]
China urges global cooperation on rare earths in jab at US
BEIJING — Countries should work together to address the demand for rare-earth minerals and products, the Chinese industry and information technology minister said Monday, in an apparent swipe at U.S. President Joe Biden’s effort to create supply chains less reliant on China. Xiao Yaqing defended Beijing’s draft regulations to strengthen oversight of rare earths, released earlier […]
Inter Milan owner Suning sells 23% stake to state-owned investors
SHANGHAI — Chinese retailer Suning.com, the owner of Italian Serie A leader Inter Milan, will sell 23% of its shares to several state-owned investors including Shenzhen International Holdings, hoping to tap the logistic company’s expertise to escape a downturn exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. Suning will unload part of the 40% stake held by founder Zhang Jindong and group companies […]