Asia-Pacific

Gold’s golden moment dazzles better-value rivals

2 May 2025

The price of the yellow metal has soared 25% this year as investors fret about inflation and the future of the dollar. It has left metals like silver and platinum far behind. Though they lack gold’s strong brand, other commodities offer better long-term prospects for investors.

CK Hutchison deal is test of Chinese hospitality

1 May 2025

The Li clan is facing political hurdles as it tries to offload the docks business to BlackRock for $23 billion. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists explain why China objects, and why it might create bigger problems for inward investment.

Oz vote raises $2.7 trln issue for buyout barons

1 May 2025

Apollo, Blackstone and others love Australia’s retirement savings scheme, known as superannuation, whose managers invest heavily in illiquid private equity and infrastructure funds. A policy idea, of letting new homebuyers tap their pensions, puts that lucrative model at risk.

India bank mess crystallises perils of competition

30 Apr 2025

The CEO of $8 bln IndusInd is out after accounting and lending woes nixed almost half its market value. The shambles is the most high-profile fallout of the banking industry's intense fight for deposits in the country that has wrong-footed executives, shareholders and watchdogs.

China’s automakers will lead a race to the bottom

30 Apr 2025

BYD, Geely and SAIC were already locked out of the US, but they will nonetheless feel the squeeze of Donald Trump’s auto tariffs because rivals will join the race to grab market share elsewhere. It’s a side effect that will hurt both Detroit and the People’s Republic.

HSBC’s trade-war stress test flags valuation risk

29 Apr 2025

CEO Georges Elhedery said the bank would meet a roughly 15% return on tangible equity target even if tariffs stay high. His scenario mapping, though, excludes painful rate cuts that may happen if the global economy tanks. HSBC’s relatively high multiple doesn’t reflect the pain.

Ant’s Hong Kong deal heralds start of a comeback

29 Apr 2025

Five years after regulators derailed its IPO, Jack Ma's $80 bln fintech group is buying a retail brokerage in the city. The deal under new CEO Cyril Han may be a first step to tapping China's vast securities market. For now, it signals a return to expansion for the company.

Toyota Industries $42 bln buyout is scrap value

28 Apr 2025

That’s what Toyota Motor Chair Akio Toyoda and family may offer to take the group’s sprawling founding company private. It’s less than the implied value of its 9% stake in the carmaker and its own business units. Handing over control should warrant a proper premium.

CK Hutch ports sale can be good for Beijing too

28 Apr 2025

Beijing has warned the Hong Kong firm against bypassing its antitrust probe on the $23 bln disposal to a BlackRock-led group. Officials may want to use the assets as leverage in US trade talks. Poor timing aside, China has multiple reasons to like this deal and the buyers.

The China-US trade war is set to keep spiraling

24 Apr 2025

Across multiple administrations and both political parties, the United States has steadily sought to contain the rise of the People’s Republic. In this week’s Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists discuss the measurable extent of the break between the global titans.

Japan highlights Trump’s limited tariffs leverage

24 Apr 2025

A quick deal with Tokyo was key to the US president’s unrealistic drive for trade pacts with 75 countries by July. But Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has put broader national interest over lower levies. That and market reactions to Trump’s agenda can embolden others to push back.

Carmakers go on the defensive in Shanghai

24 Apr 2025

China’s annual auto show is host to everything from flying vehicles to dancing robots. But they have all been sidelined by the government forcing manufacturers to put self-driving safety first after a fatal Xiaomi crash. It’ll open a new front in a vicious price war.

US-China trade deal would be tricky and tenuous

24 Apr 2025

Investors hope that Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping can cut their triple-digit levies. But a 2020 agreement between the two failed, complicating a repeat. The sheer size of the $295 bln US deficit, and fear of China’s tech ambitions, mean tariffs and sanctions may persist.

Surging gold gives Richemont pricing dilemma

23 Apr 2025

The $95 bln Cartier watch maker may pass on the extra costs of the yellow metal and tariffs to customers. But its quirky pricing model, created to deter shoppers from international bargain hunting, will dent demand in the US and China and make the pain worse.

Russia’s tariff dodge is still a loss for Putin

23 Apr 2025

US President Donald Trump spared his counterpart in Moscow, Vladimir Putin, from duties. But the trade tensions crashed oil prices and weakened the dollar, both of which complicate Russia’s funding of the Ukraine war. Chinese goods dumping could also hit struggling businesses.

China property tycoons become creditors’ labourers

23 Apr 2025

Sunac is in talks over a second restructuring of its $9 bln offshore debt. A debt-to-equity swap could hand bondholders a path to control and may be more aggressive than a similar deal agreed by Kaisa. Developers are at last serious about drawing a line under the problem.

Macquarie gives masterclass in following the money

22 Apr 2025

Boss Shemara Wikramanayake’s $1.8 bln disposal of a margin-challenged asset management operation she helped build is refreshingly dispassionate. Nomura’s purchase of the US and European public market units makes sense, so long as the “Sell America” Trump trade doesn’t accelerate.

Shein is next litmus test for India-China ties

22 Apr 2025

Beijing’s desire to keep supply chains in the People’s Republic puts the fast fashion retailer’s partnership with Reliance in focus. The fate of the alliance will test how far President Xi Jinping is willing to take the "dragon-elephant tango” as Sino-American ties worsen.

China’s US bond holdings are going nowhere fast

17 Apr 2025

The threat of Beijing dumping its $1.1 trln in Treasuries to gain leverage in trade talks or punish Trump has investors fretting. But the need for dollar reserves to manage the yuan means Chinese exposure to American debt will inhibit this part of the duo's financial decoupling.

BlackRock debt deal is half a coup for Adani

17 Apr 2025

The world's largest money manager bought one-third of a $750 mln bond issued by the Indian group, its first since tycoon Gautam Adani was hit by US charges. Other backers are yield-hungry types. The conglomerate is paying a price for its problems, albeit not a large one.