Tech

China tutors brave class on corporate reinvention

23 Feb 2022

An education crackdown decimated businesses like New Oriental, which laid off 60,000 staff and reversed into a $876 mln half-year net loss. Its new ventures include e-commerce. Yet tales of extreme diversification by startups can end well in nimble corporate China.

India Insight: Digital diplomacy builds bridges

21 Feb 2022

Open architecture underpinning the country’s booming fintech market is being adopted by Nepal and partly by Bhutan. Google also recommended it to the U.S. Fed. It’s a cheaper way to court allies than China’s Belt and Road projects. The soft power returns are valuable too.

Chinese e-commerce IPO hawks an Alibaba antithesis

17 Feb 2022

Huitongda mainly sells electronics and fertiliser to wholesalers in rural areas. It's a low-margin and simple business compared to the expansive shopping empire run by its large backer. Amid the tech rout, the $3 bln company's Hong Kong stock sale ticks some of the right boxes.

India ramps up the cost of Chinese cash

16 Feb 2022

New Delhi is determined to curb Beijing’s influence in its tech sector. For local startups like Paytm and Zomato, unwinding Chinese investment is a pain. Foreigners like Singapore’s Sea may face a starker choice: cash from the People’s Republic or access to India’s growth market.

The Exchange: Margrethe Vestager

8 Feb 2022

Europe’s antitrust tsar is responsible for keeping U.S. digital behemoths in check and making sure that the bloc doesn’t slip too far behind on technology. She joined Liam Proud to talk about a string of recent court losses and the future of competition policy.

Failed deals illuminate red lines for chip buys

8 Feb 2022

The regulatory foiling of UK-based Arm and Germany's Siltronic, foreign takeovers worth $45 bln on announcement, says more about scarce tech than the prospects for industry consolidation. Humdrum mergers remain a useful way for companies to ride out the global chip crisis.

Toshiba rejig goes long pragmatism, short vision

7 Feb 2022

The $18 bln Japanese titan now intends to split into two, not three. Ditching its earlier plan as too costly makes some sense, while buybacks and more asset sales may somewhat placate its most vocal critics. What’s lacking, though, is a longer-term strategy – and leadership.

Korean retail investors prefer their value trap

27 Jan 2022

LG Chem and SK are spinning off prize units, hoping to shrink their conglomerate discounts. They have met heavy resistance from individual shareholders panicked about dilution. Buybacks and dividends would be more persuasive than jargon about unlocking value.

ByteDance’s lukewarm 2021 presages a bleak 2022

21 Jan 2022

TikTok’s owner grew annual sales 70% to $58 bln. That’s slower than the previous year and is mostly from its home market. An advertising slowdown will further bite, while China’s crackdowns in education and video games have foiled nascent bets. Finding new growth will be hard.

Alibaba’s U.S. cloud probe has big silver lining

19 Jan 2022

Washington is examining whether the $350 bln Chinese e-commerce giant’s data-storage business poses a risk to national security. That could hobble the unit’s global ambitions. But shareholders, at least, have little to worry about yet: They already ascribe almost no value to it.

Sony brings a knife to global video-games gunfight

19 Jan 2022

Investors erased 10% of its market value after Microsoft's $69 bln swoop for Activision. The Japanese group may lose access to some content but that looks manageable for now. The bigger worry is that Sony is no match against its far-larger rival as gamers look beyond consoles.

The Exchange: Xpeng boldly goes

18 Jan 2022

The Chinese electric-car maker has navigated everything from shrinking subsidies to Covid-19. Embracing new ways of working is critical, President Brian Gu tells Katrina Hamlin. Future forays into Europe, the metaverse and flying cars will test the Tesla rival’s resilience again.

Covid-19 victory lap leaves Beijing exhausted

14 Jan 2022

China gloated over its pandemic control and took advantage of economic stability to launch risky crackdowns on tech and property. Now mini-outbreaks are prompting fresh lockdowns as an export boom looks set to slow. In 2022, malaise could prove harder to manage than disease.

China’s Great Firewall 2.0 will repel smart money

14 Jan 2022

Once focused on blocking offshore websites, authorities are increasingly hiding government pages, ship movements and even bus schedules from prying foreign eyes. They’re confident overseas funds will keep flowing in even with less access to information. That’s only half-right.

Big transitions are better embraced than resisted

4 Jan 2022

The extraordinary actions required to make epochal shifts, like eradicating hydrocarbons or vanquishing Covid-19, are being taken now. Central banks are removing punch-bowl money. Digital is crushing everything. And without social inclusion, it all falls apart. Welcome to 2022.

Taiwan’s TSMC is wisely cashing in more chips

13 Jan 2022

The $620 bln top chipmaker is hiking prices in response to the global shortage, giving up some of its relative restraint versus competitors. Coupled with voracious demand from the likes of Apple, the increase will pad profits even as it ramps up spending to maintain its huge tech lead.

LG revs up Asia’s green-car capital engine

11 Jan 2022

The South Korean company’s $11 bln battery spinoff is just the start of a regional deal frenzy that also includes CATL’s $7 bln share sale. Unlike in Chinese tech, government policies are lifting growth and valuations. For now at least, investors will go along for the ride.

Southeast Asia still loves New York

10 Jan 2022

While U.S.-listed Chinese companies move home, Indonesian and Vietnamese startups are eyeing a berth in the Big Apple. Unlike their northern peers, these hopefuls are starting with home floats. Ensuring IPOs fill local coffers first is good politics and makes financial sense too.

Samsung tech prowess drained by governance woes

7 Jan 2022

Operating profit at the maker of microchips and Galaxy phones is set to hit a four-year high of $11.5 bln. Despite the dominance, it trades at a discount to Apple and TSMC. A recent management shakeup provides a chance to tidy up the leadership mess and boost shareholder returns.

Invesco walks very fine line on Sony-Zee deal

7 Jan 2022

The U.S. fund won key concessions in the $7 bln entertainment merger, but it’s also mixed up in a lawsuit over the Indian broadcaster blocking its call for a shareholder vote. Court defeat would set an ugly governance precedent. Victory, however, risks blowing up the transaction.