Asia-Pacific

Shein IPO is test of UK market discipline

6 Dec 2024

Britain’s financial watchdog may bless the fast-fashion group’s possible $64 bln listing, leaving investors to gauge the risks in its supply chain. Yet passive funds and soft disclosure rules limit shareholders’ ability to price such factors. Better transparency would help.

Global carmakers redefine success in China

6 Dec 2024

GM is shrinking to mediocrity with a rejig and roughly $3 bln writedown on the value of its Chinese joint ventures. International brands once chased chunky sales in the People’s Republic, now they aim for profitability on a smaller scale - and to learn from local peers.

US market juggernaut poses top risk for 2025

6 Dec 2024

After a second year of world-beating returns, stocks listed in the United States account for 67% of global equity markets. Outperformance sucks in more capital and companies. Though it’s a long-term trend, US valuations seem high. A reversal would leave few investors unscathed.

Japan’s virtuous M&A circle starts with 7-Eleven

5 Dec 2024

The battle for control of $45 bln convenience store owner Seven & i is being cheered in Tokyo. It’s evidence of progress in the drive to improve efficiencies in the world’s third-largest economy. It could also be a sign of what’s to come if officials make the right next moves.

China can let new bond binge play out – for now

4 Dec 2024

Last time treasury yields dived, the central bank jumped in. Now they’re even lower, but there is less official fuss. Concern over speculation has eased and the government is about to borrow billions. That resets the bar for intervention.

South Korea curveball adds new 2025 risks

4 Dec 2024

Fallout from Great Power tensions tends to dominate the minds of political and financial leaders. So the abortive coup in the $2 trln economy may seem just a domestic issue. But ructions within the major US ally and chipmaking hub may yet reverberate in Asia and beyond.

Masa Son risks overcompensating for his AI misses

3 Dec 2024

The SoftBank founder sold Nvidia too early and seems late to the party with his recent OpenAI investments. Now, he may be planning to invest $9 bln a year in artificial intelligence. The risk for the billionaire’s shareholders is that he acts recklessly to make up for lost time.

Bain’s Japan chip IPO is a tough sell

3 Dec 2024

The US private equity firm will list Kioxia six years after leading the memory unit's $18 bln carve-out from Toshiba. The roughly $5 bln equity valuation means poor returns for sellers. And convincing new investors to look past Kioxia's crippling debt pile will be a slog.

Why Mexico’s global trade sweet spot may turn sour

2 Dec 2024

The country has hugely benefitted from the 'nearshoring' trend, and last year surpassed China with $475 bln of US goods exports. President-elect Donald Trump’s 25% tariff plan would undermine that progress. And the new Mexican government has little room to soften the blow.

New World paves Hong Kong developers’ way to China

2 Dec 2024

The $2 bln property firm’s second CEO in as many months is an expert in mainland real estate, suggesting an urgent need to deepen ties there. New World’s $20 bln debt pile may be hastening the move, but broader pressures will push healthier peers like CK Hutchison to follow suit.

India’s slowdown flashes an early-warning signal

2 Dec 2024

GDP growth slipped to 5.4% last quarter, the slowest pace in nearly two years, on weak manufacturing and spending. Perhaps it’s a blip. But the Adani fallout, Trump tariff threats and China stimulus could all deal blows to rosy assumptions about the world’s fifth-largest economy.

China offers escape hatch for Hong Kong tycoons

28 Nov 2024

The $200 bln China Mobile is eyeing assets in the financial hub. Beijing's push for deeper integration between Hong Kong and the mainland plus beaten down valuations mean other state giants can bargain hunt too. Family-owned business like Li Ka-shing's ports may all be in play.

Nissan and Honda would drive better together

28 Nov 2024

An emergency overhaul won’t lift profitability much at Renault’s $9 bln alliance partner. And $40 bln Honda’s autos unit is subpar. Merging Japan’s second- and third-largest carmakers would give scope to cut costs, boost earnings and invest more efficiently in EVs and other tech.

European pharma’s growth prescription: pivot to US

28 Nov 2024

Novartis, Novo Nordisk and regional rivals lost $86 bln in value over concerns about tariffs and other possible measures by President-elect Donald Trump. Stateside M&A and manufacturing moves could ease the pain and boost revenue. But hopping across the pond will mean paying up.

Adani charges highlight broader India solar risks

28 Nov 2024

US fraud allegations against the billionaire revolve around him trying to sell expensive power. That may have been the result of high costs, falling tariffs, competition and bureaucracy that hit all players. The industry has stabilised – for now – but returns have been falling.

Gautam Adani is promise and peril of Indian growth

28 Nov 2024

With $31 bln of debt, deep links to the banking system and a star role in India’s energy transition, the tycoon’s empire is a crucial part of the fifth-largest economy. In this week’s Viewsroom, Breakingviews columnists discuss how US bribery charges will test those dependencies.

Indian business may learn wrong lesson from Adani

27 Nov 2024

US corruption charges against tycoon Gautam Adani have cast a shadow over Narendra Modi’s war on graft. The prime minister has made progress. But rather than spurring a cleanup in the $4 trln economy, the saga might just make its capitalists warier of tapping global markets.

A financial historian’s warning about the AI boom

26 Nov 2024

Artificial intelligence hopes have unleashed an investment frenzy, propelling chip giant Nvidia’s value to $3.5 trln. In this episode of The Big View podcast, mathematician Andrew Odlyzko explores parallels with the 1990s dotcom bubble and Britain’s railway mania of the 1840s.

Trump’s tariff gambit doesn’t have to make sense

26 Nov 2024

Economists pencilled in maximum levies of 20% but the president-elect is now promising 25% for Mexico and Canada and a fresh 10% for China. His linking of those to fentanyl flows to the US shows taxes are a cudgel to use at will, not just a tool for rebalancing global trade.

Mining M&A makes a mockery of windfall taxes

26 Nov 2024

Anglo American has just joined BHP and others disposing of coal assets in securing a cut from new owners if the fossil fuel's price soars. It's savvy but also breezily undercuts their objections to governments pulling similar tricks to reduce costs for consumers.