Corporate Governance

Alibaba climate tide can lift valuation boat

20 Dec 2021

The e-commerce titan, whose market worth has halved this year, has unveiled bold 2030 carbon neutrality goals. Notably, it wants to widen the scope of consumer and merchant emissions it includes. Details will be key but longer term, the efforts could bolster shareholder returns.

Review: There is no successor to “Succession”

10 Dec 2021

The HBO series about a fictional mogul and his adult children scheming to replace him is so good because it draws on real-life dynasties like the Murdochs. But those sprawling media empires are being dismantled. It’s hard to imagine Mark Zuckerberg inspiring similar drama.

Fortescue unearths transition leadership challenge

10 Dec 2021

The Aussie miner’s CEO will step down, a year after Chairman Andrew Forrest unveiled his bold green-hydrogen plans. Straddling iron ore and new energy is no easy feat. Others trying to remake themselves for a new era also will wrestle with finding the right person for the job.

Glove maker’s governance spoils pandemic bounce

9 Dec 2021

Top Glove, the world’s largest maker of protective handwear, has won investor support for a third listing in Hong Kong. Labour concerns derailed the Malaysian firm’s earlier attempt when markets were hot. With shares back near pre-pandemic levels, the delay has cost it dearly.

China’s PBOC showdown will force Xi to pick sides

9 Dec 2021

Officials want to rein in the central bank’s “independence”, according to a media report. It’s the latest sign of a concerted attack on the PBOC’s hard line on deleveraging. If the Chinese president joins in, aggressive easing may be imminent at the cost of economic rebalancing.

Apple’s ugly China deal mostly bought time

8 Dec 2021

The iPhone maker in 2016 secretly promised Beijing $275 bln of investment in exchange for relaxing pressure on its business, per a new report. The sum exceeds its sales in the country since then. Boss Tim Cook may have had little choice, but it muddles the return calculus.

Intel Mobileye float is step back to self-driving

7 Dec 2021

The $220 bln chipmaker plans to list a minority stake in the autonomous-driving business it bought in 2017. Initially it's for Wall Street's benefit, as overheated valuations mean Mobileye might be worth $50 bln. But it may also be the start of the unit's return to independence.

Take China’s easing signals with a grain of salt

7 Dec 2021

Beijing is flagging a fresh focus on economic stability as growth slows, dropping tough talk about tech monopolies while pumping $188 bln into banks. Some battered sectors will get political breathing room, but this probably isn’t the sort of stimulus investors are looking for.

China property market faces more nationalisation

6 Dec 2021

Evergrande, the country’s most indebted developer, has admitted it might formally default. With $10 bln in property bonds maturing in January alone, officials are under pressure to keep the sector from collapsing. The most expedient solution is to put more housing in state hands.

Didi faces long and perilous journey to Hong Kong

3 Dec 2021

The $38 bln ride-hailing group is eschewing its New York listing for one in the Asian hub amid pressure from Beijing. A take-private would be costly; migrating American depositary receipts could be tricky. Didi will have to navigate Hong Kong's tougher IPO requirements too.

Legal challenge affirms logic of Nvidia mega-deal

3 Dec 2021

U.S. trustbusters are suing to block the chipmaker’s controversial Arm acquisition. A growing price tag, from $40 bln to about $75 bln, undermines the financial value. At least the FTC is, in a way, buttressing the strategic rationale of buying the Switzerland of semiconductors.

Capital Calls: Volkswagen, Turkey

1 Dec 2021

Concise views on global finance: The German carmaker may take mining stakes to secure electric-vehicle raw materials, echoing Henry Ford, the U.S. production-line pioneer; the Turkish central bank is resorting to old tricks to prop up the lira but it’s an unsustainable strategy.

Cox: French finance will take an electoral pause

30 Nov 2021

Parisian executives who want President Emmanuel Macron to win another term will avoid deals that could become political hot potatoes for the former M&A banker. Shopping abroad is chic but domestic takeovers and synergy-squeezers are out for now. After the election, le déluge.

China property bond rejig is destined to fail

30 Nov 2021

Developer Kaisa wants holders of $400 mln in notes to extend for 18 months. They’d get no real sweetener and would be pushed behind $3.6 bln of other maturing debt. Boss Kwok Ying-shing went through a $2 bln restructuring in 2015. Now he seems on course for a $12 bln repeat.

Viewsroom: Barbarians invade Rome; Biden’s Fed

25 Nov 2021

The board of Italy’s phone monopoly has a golden opportunity to end years of creeping control, poor governance and dismal performance by considering a sale following the unsolicited $12 bln bid from KKR. And Gina Chon explains why Jay Powell has the hardest job in finance.

Japan Inc swallows Shinsei’s bitter poison pill

25 Nov 2021

Despite backing from proxy advisory firms, the $4 bln bank is dropping its defence plan. Without support from Tokyo as a big owner to block it, SBI can now lift its stake to 48% and effective control. It’s a stark reminder of how exposed the country’s minority shareholders are.

Jamie Dimon sets his bank up to be China punchline

24 Nov 2021

JPMorgan’s boss was looking for chuckles when he said he’d wager that his employer would outlast the country’s Communist Party. Beijing is unlikely to appreciate the humour. As UBS and others can attest, the business blowback from perceived slights is often no laughing matter.

Fed will have to put inclusive jobs on back burner

23 Nov 2021

Chair Jerome Powell wanted a labor market recovery to filter through to women and minorities before hiking interest rates. But tighter monetary policy is the surest way to contain inflation, which is at a 31-year high. Price stability will trump the job prospects of these groups.

Plastic-surgery app MBO aggravates governance scar

23 Nov 2021

Boss Xing Jin wants to buy the 85% he doesn’t own of New York-listed So-Young, which matches users with beauty services. Shares have slumped since its IPO and China may regulate ads. But Xing’s supervoting stock means investors have themselves to blame for any forced face-lift.

Prada’s new look merits fashion league promotion

18 Nov 2021

After years of drift, the $18 bln Italian brand has got a grip on its retail chain, axed discounts and rejuvenated its image. That should help it hit a 4.5 bln euro sales target and double its margins. For investors, the catch-up with snazzier rivals is something worth having.