Corporate Governance

Virus aid one-upmanship spreads across China tech

24 Feb 2020

Meituan Dianping is subsidising takeout while smartphone-maker Xiaomi may diversify into medical equipment to help fight the outbreak. Such moves are laudable, given China’s poor track record in philanthropy. The financial impact on companies, though, looks less certain.

Coronavirus may come for boards and CEOs

20 Feb 2020

Infectious diseases are inevitable, but the financial havoc they wreak is not. Pandemics and efforts to contain them eat away an estimated 1% of GDP each year. Too many companies have failed to prepare, and shareholders ought not shrug off the Wuhan episode as a black swan.

Campari serves up flat dealmaking cocktail

19 Feb 2020

The $11 bln Aperol maker is adopting a Dutch loyalty share plan to give the Garavoglia family more clout. They could pursue bigger targets without losing control. Yet competition for good brands will be fierce, and the risk is that the governance changes deter potential partners.

Activist swing at Japan arena puts buyers on deck

7 Feb 2020

Stodgy Tokyo Dome, the $870 mln owner of the Yomiuri Giants’ home baseball field, has been targeted by pushy investor Oasis. Many modernisation suggestions, such as installing digital ad screens, should be home runs. Recalcitrance could attract pitches from private equity.

WeWork needs more than a new adult in the room

3 Feb 2020

Bringing in real-estate veteran Sandeep Mathrani as CEO is just one step in turning around the cash-guzzling shared-office-space firm. Ending past excesses, focusing on bigger clients and negotiating better deals would help show the firm is more than just an exuberant mistake.

Boeing may have more kitchen sinks to throw

29 Jan 2020

The aviation giant almost doubled the costs of the 737 MAX grounding to nearly $19 bln as new boss David Calhoun unveiled dismal results. Shares rallied. Investors may think some of the worst is past. But until the 737 MAX is airborne, its problems aren’t over.

Hong Kong homecoming bets are only half a whim

24 Jan 2020

Trip and Baidu are mulling secondary listings in the Asian hub, following in the footsteps of Alibaba. Early evidence suggests that could boost valuations. For now, it’s more convincingly a hedge against any politically-driven crackdown on Chinese companies listed in New York.

How Jamie Dimon can grab Larry Fink’s green halo

21 Jan 2020

Now that the BlackRock boss has got serious about climate change, the focus is on his JPMorgan peer. As CEO of the biggest U.S. bank, Dimon’s sway over corporate debt gives him more power than any equity activist. Deploying it would turn his bank from laggard to leader.

Vale dam cleanup hints at miners’ rising ESG bill

21 Jan 2020

The world’s top iron ore producer faces criminal charges for a deadly 2019 dam collapse. It has spent billions on reparations and safety upgrades, and seen its share price stumble. The total financial hit is yet to become clear, but other resources firms will face reckonings too.

HDFC hiring for India’s best, hardest banking job

20 Jan 2020

The $99 bln lender is defying an economic slowdown to deliver 20% loan growth. Aditya Puri, who has led the institution to deliver outsize returns for almost three decades, is set to retire this year on a high note. His successor will inherit a richly valued bank with a lot to lose.

Boeing CEO’s top task is to re-engineer culture

10 Jan 2020

David Calhoun knows the importance of a company ethos, after having a front seat at General Electric’s rise and fall. Disturbing messages released by Boeing show a multi-year overhaul facing him – refocusing the firm from profit to engendering trust and making great planes.

India’s big build hinges on credibility revamp

7 Jan 2020

New Delhi wants the private sector to fund one fifth of a $1.4 trln infrastructure plan over five years. Much of the country’s bad debt, however, has come from previous projects. Investors will want evidence politicians are offering manageable risks before they sign up again.

The Exchange: India’s water crisis

6 Jan 2020

Kicking off Predictions 2020, Amit Chandra of Bain, Reshma Anand of Hindustan Unilever Foundation and Mridula Ramesh of the Sundaram Climate Institute come together in Mumbai to discuss who should pay for the scarce resource, and how the private sector can map out its true cost.

Carlos Ghosn helps the 1% end decade on-brand

2 Jan 2020

Nissan’s ex-boss didn’t like Japan’s justice system, and so arranged an escape to his former home Lebanon. The grotesque use of wealth ties a bow on a lucrative 10-year run for the ultra-rich. Leave it to a man who once partied at Versailles to rally the anti-plutocracy movement.

Tokyo brings home the Olympic gold in 2020

24 Dec 2019

Cities are often saddled with debt from hosting the games, and mismanagement has stretched from Montreal to Rio. Japan is setting new positive standards in sponsorship and sustainability, making medals from used phones. Add on short-term stimulus, and it can top the host podium.

Chinese bottled water IPO offers up a muddy glass

18 Dec 2019

Market-leader Nongfu Spring could raise more than $1 bln in Hong Kong. Mainland households are drinking more of the bottled stuff as incomes rise. That thirst, though, has brought competitors, and may also prompt a much-needed tightening of environmental and consumer rules.

Nasty pieces of WeWork

17 Dec 2019

The shared-office outfit’s absurd $47 bln valuation wasn’t all that got exposed during a shambolic IPO attempt that led to SoftBank’s bailout. With any luck, founder worship, supervoting shares, weak governance, wacky missions and more will be knocked down a peg – or several.

Boeing 737 MAX cuts will speed margins descent

16 Dec 2019

Limited competition has insulated the $185 bln aircraft maker’s shares from the long grounding. The plane may fly again soon, but investors and CEO Dennis Muilenburg expect rising profitability. Newly zealous regulators, overstretched staff and economic winds say otherwise.

Time has come for Aussie CEOs to walk climate talk

12 Dec 2019

Fierce bushfires have left Sydney choking, triggering public anger along with home fire alarms. A government that won by challenging Labor’s green campaign is sitting idle. Companies can fill the leadership gap by pushing for coherent policy that would benefit investors, too.

United flies back to bumpy governance

5 Dec 2019

The $22 bln airline is bumping CEO Oscar Munoz up to executive chairman and giving Scott Kirby the control stick. It undoes three years of having an independent chair in the cockpit. Activists inspired that change. United’s new flight path may put it back on their radar.