Asia-Pacific

South32 finds acceptable way to splash the cash

18 June 2018

The BHP spinoff is paying $1.3 bln for the rest of Canadian miner Arizona Mining. The 50 percent premium sounds reminiscent of past mining M&A excess. Yet the deal makes strategic sense, and isn’t too pricey. Besides, South32 needs to deploy its mountain of net cash.

Trump’s trade animus undermines valid China beef

15 June 2018

The White House on Friday imposed tariffs on Chinese goods in response to intellectual-property theft. It’s a legitimate issue that also plagued Obama. But Trump’s other anti-trade moves hurt his case – and U.S. importers. He also isn’t tackling China’s long-term economic threat.

Chinese P2P giant Lufax dodges valuation bullet

15 June 2018

A mooted private fundraising of more than $1 bln makes sense. With regulatory change coming to peer-to-peer lenders, floating now could upset Beijing, and might only be doable at a bargain price. Abundant venture capital offers a way to keep growing without a distracting IPO.

India’s taxi-app war enters China territory

15 June 2018

Local operator Ola lost over $700 mln in the year to March 2017 despite growing revenue 70 pct. That’s nearly as much as Uber was burning when it was battling China’s Didi. The U.S. company’s commitment to India suggests losses will keep piling up for both SoftBank-backed firms.

The Exchange: Italy’s almost premier

15 June 2018

Carlo Cottarelli talks about how he nearly led a caretaker government after President Sergio Mattarella last month rejected a euroskeptic finance minister put forward by the parties that won March elections. The former IMF economist has some advice for Italy’s new bosses.

Xiaomi IPO escalates China’s battle of the bourses

15 June 2018

The handset-maker will now sell at least half of its mooted $10 bln offering in Shanghai. That is a blow to the other listing venue, Hong Kong, which changed its rules to woo more tech IPOs. The city will have to share a lot of this business with its two mainland rivals.

Chinese tutor’s short answer will be instructive

15 June 2018

Muddy Waters invoked Enron in its fraud accusations against $24 bln Tal Education. Complicated attacks can be hard for outsiders to parse, but corporate responses to bearish investors are often telling. China Internet Financial Services and AMD provide useful case studies.

Judges supplement U.S. defences on China trade

15 June 2018

The Supreme Court said courts shouldn’t take foreign governments’ claims about their own laws at face value. The underlying case, over vitamin price-fixing, rumbles on. This decision attacks an inconsistency Beijing has exploited in arguing firms are just following orders.

Gary Cohn only delayed inevitable trade war

14 June 2018

The Goldman Sachs banker who went to the White House says U.S. trade spats could wipe out the benefits of tax cuts he championed. President Trump may yet escalate his campaign against China. Cohn was a helpful buffer, but Trump’s anti-globalist instincts are now in full control.

Viewsroom: AT&T win is unlikely to muzzle watchdogs

14 June 2018

The telco firm prevailed against the DOJ and can now legally buy Time Warner for $85 bln. The green light doesn’t mean that regulators will roll over for other deals however. T-Mobile US and Sprint may still be in the crosshairs. Plus: An Australian bank cartel runs into trouble.

China’s DRAM dreams may trigger glut memories

14 June 2018

Consolidation, rising costs, and technological limits have turned memory-chip production from a cash-burning exercise into a profitable triopoly. Chinese firms’ efforts to break in – along with Beijing’s pricing investigation – risk eroding the industry’s good times.

SoftBank and WeWork co-create rocketing valuation

14 June 2018

The giant Vision Fund may inject more cash into the loss-making shared-office provider at nearly double its previous $20 bln worth. WeWork is growing fast, but that was already priced in. One test is whether SoftBank puts a lot of money where its mouth is, or only a little.

FIFA’s $25 bln backers could end up on losing team

14 June 2018

Soccer’s governing body may tap investors like SoftBank to fund two new tournaments. They’d have to be almost as lucrative as the World Cup before the backers see a return. Like SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son’s other bets, it hinges on creative thinking and generous assumptions.

ThyssenKrupp can forge better steel deal with Tata

14 June 2018

The German group has outperformed its Indian rival since they agreed a European steel joint venture last year, and now produces more than twice as much EBITDA. Tata could pay cash or give up dividends to close the gap. Walking away from the hefty synergies would be too painful.

China starts trading debt for growth

14 June 2018

Shadow bank lending slowed sharply in May, and investment growth slipped to just 6.1 pct. For now, Beijing’s target of increasing GDP by 6.5 pct annually is safe. But officials will be thinking about creative ways to keep credit flowing, even as they discourage riskier behaviour.

Hong Kong could teach China tech some manners

14 June 2018

Sina plans a secondary listing in the city, under new rules welcoming Chinese tech outfits traded overseas. In New York, the $7 bln web portal and its peers can issue super-voting stock on a whim and skip annual general meetings. The Fragrant Harbour will be less soft.

Emerging markets can mostly dodge Fed bullet

13 June 2018

U.S. central-bank tightening has a history of causing global turmoil, as in the 1980s Latin debt crisis. But developing countries can largely handle a rate hike, with flush reserves and reduced dollar-based debt. Troubles in Argentina and Turkey are essentially home-brewed.

Hadas: This should be an anti-dollar moment

13 June 2018

Discontent with the world’s dominant currency is not new, but the Trump effect is something new. A trade circuit free from the U.S. president’s idiosyncratic America-first policies is urgently needed. The euro and renminbi can provide a base, but the politics are unpromising.

Toyota plots yet another jittery ride-hail route

13 June 2018

The Japanese carmaker is investing $1 bln into Asian startup Grab. It’s the latest in a slew of deals that mostly reflect manufacturer fears about where things are headed in autonomous driving and beyond. As GM’s fading Lyft alliance shows, though, the path is far from clear.

Toshiba’s $6 bln buyback signals welcome change

13 June 2018

The electronics group will retire more than it raised from hedge funds last year. While it was flush with cash after selling a memory chip unit, the new CEO had plenty of reasons to hoard. That he didn’t aligns Toshiba with Japan’s broader push to be more investor-friendly.