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Asia-Pacific

Singtel can dial up long distance call

18 Mar 2024

The Temasek-controlled firm denies it is selling Australia's Optus to Brookfield for up to $12 billion, twice what some analysts reckon the business is worth. If done right, a deal Down Under could help CEO Yuen Kuan Moon narrow the extreme discount Singtel suffers.

Biden’s subsidies are working a little too well

15 Mar 2024

The US president’s incentives for chips and clean energy have provoked a competitive scramble and raised the cost of building factories – which cuts the handouts’ real value to recipients like Intel. The risk is that investment zeal sets the scene for future gluts.

Cars are moving into the fast lane for Tata

15 Mar 2024

Autos were once group Chair Natarajan Chandrasekaran’s top headache. Now he’s splitting $43 bln Tata Motors into commercial and passenger vehicles. That's doable because luxury unit Jaguar Land Rover no longer burns cash. The rejig paves the way for more dealmaking too.

Joe Biden out-MAGAs Donald Trump

14 Mar 2024

The US president is siding with union workers who oppose a US Steel takeover by Japan’s Nippon. He also said he would sign a bill forcing TikTok’s Chinese owner to sell the popular app or see it banned. The ad hoc approach to national security concerns sets a dangerous precedent.

ByteDance’s TikTok woes are never-ending sideshow

14 Mar 2024

US lawmakers edged closer to banning the short-video app. Co-founder and CEO Liang Rubo has grappled with the epic four-year-long fight while rejigging the business at home to focus on e-commerce. ByteDance remains in IPO limbo but its fortunes have not fallen too far.

Japan’s rate shift will hit zombie firms hardest

14 Mar 2024

The central bank could end an era of negative borrowing costs as early as next week. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists argue that large companies are ready for the tightening, but many struggling small businesses could hit the wall even if policymakers go slow.

China’s Xiaomi embarks on Apple’s road not taken

13 Mar 2024

The $48 bln handset-maker said it will deliver its first electric car just weeks after the iPhone-maker scrapped its decade-long effort. CEO Lei Jun faces overcapacity and slowing growth at home. Still, deep pockets and a software edge will help Xiaomi navigate brutal price wars.

Bill Winters pulls a poor man’s Jamie Dimon

13 Mar 2024

The frontrunner to succeed StanChart's CEO has abruptly left the bank. JPMorgan's boss is adept at ousting executives, Winters included, but Dimon has earnings and investors on his side. Winters wants for the latter. The lack of a clear heir is now another worry for the board.

Capital Calls: Small Fed windows

12 Mar 2024

Concise views on global finance: US consumer prices rose 3.2% year-on-year in February, above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, prompting traders to rein in hopes for rate cuts. The agency’s Chair Jerome Powell could have avoided that by guiding markets towards a higher number.

Escaping Hong Kong’s value trap is far from cheap

12 Mar 2024

L'Occitane, Samsonite and ESR may be buyout targets as stocks languish in the financial hub. These businesses are broadly doing well and could command a higher multiple on another bourse now or later. That means shareholders can demand a generous premium from any buyer.

Korea Inc’s Japan makeover only scratches surface

12 Mar 2024

South Korea is copying its neighbour's corporate reform drive to lift anaemic valuations. But voluntary disclosures and tax breaks are unlikely to spur change among chaebol like Samsung which dominate the $1.9 trln stock market. Seoul's push requires more stick than carrot.

China can afford to holster monetary bazooka

11 Mar 2024

Consumer prices rose 0.7% in February, the most in nearly a year but far below Beijing’s 3% target. Still, the central bank's piecemeal easing is starting to add up. Expected US rate cuts will make it easier for China to stimulate the economy and avoid a deflationary doom loop.

Capital Calls: Packaging M&A

8 Mar 2024

Concise views on global finance: A potential 11 bln pound tie-up of UK-listed packaging companies DS Smith and Mondi will rest on yet-to-be-disclosed synergies.

Nickel rout is energy-transition warning for West

8 Mar 2024

Prices of the battery metal have halved in a year, leaving many mines unprofitable or mothballed. Indonesia’s China-backed industry now dominates. Piecemeal aid and a green premium push are unlikely to alter that. Absent smart planning, copper and lithium are vulnerable, too.

JD gives China bargain hunters glimmer of hope

7 Mar 2024

The $36 bln retailer improved quarterly sales and profitability and is boosting dividends and buybacks. It's nothing spectacular, but JD's beaten-down shares rallied 16%. Amid geopolitics, China's economic woes and rock-bottom valuations, getting back to basics can pay off.

China’s new tastes will spit out more than Apple

6 Mar 2024

The iPhone maker is losing share in the People’s Republic to domestic champion Huawei. American companies in the giant market face both weakening demand and a move to homegrown brands. Chinese consumers’ shifting attitudes suggest the woes will worsen.

Swarming investor gnats circle too widely

6 Mar 2024

New US rules have started helping smaller fund managers make a mark. They’re increasingly needling boards and stinging CEOs. When they flit around bigger targets such as Disney and Crown Castle, however, they’re easily swatted away and become a nuisance for larger activists.

Taylor Swift is Thai economy’s antihero

6 Mar 2024

Singapore's exclusive deal to host the pop star's Southeast Asia concerts has irked its neighbours. Thailand, with the slowest post-pandemic recovery, is upset at missing out on the spoils. Those are debatable and in any event wouldn't shake off the $500 bln economy's malaise.

China Vanke looks too favoured to fail

6 Mar 2024

Investors are dumping the $14 bln developer’s bonds and stock on reports it wants to extend its debt. The firm says it can repay $630 mln due next week. And crucially, it has the effective backing of the Shenzhen government. Letting Vanke go under would send markets into a panic.