Asia-Pacific

Going local would take KKR Indian loans up a notch

14 August 2018

A listing of the U.S. firm's lending unit would help fund long-term growth in a market where companies have been starved of credit. Healthy valuations for non-bank financial services firms, plus signs a new bankruptcy code is working, make it a good time to bed down.

China Literature splurges on confusing plot twist

14 August 2018

Shares in the $7 bln online publisher sank on lacklustre earnings and a big cash and stock acquisition. Diversifying to buy a video producer one third its size is bad enough. That Tencent, which already owns a movie-studio, is on both sides of the deal makes it more muddled.

China’s Tesla bets on hot-wired dream for IPO

14 August 2018

Electric-car maker Nio wants to raise up to $1.8 bln in a New York listing. Chinese drivers are getting greener and richer. But with less than 500 cars delivered and 2017 net losses near 14 times those of Elon Musk’s outfit before a more modest 2010 listing, this is a hard sell.

China’s stealth housing support is looking wobbly

14 August 2018

Officials are tweaking a $470 bln liquidity scheme by which the central bank effectively helps upgrade housing in smaller cities. Even a modest change could cause real estate markets to shudder. Little wonder that Chinese property developers tremble with every update.

Foxconn earnings slip is a governance wake-up call

14 August 2018

Quarterly net profit at the $50 bln iPhone-assembler badly missed expectations. Steeper costs at subsidiaries and other bets are probably to blame. Boss Terry Gou, though, gives few details on new ventures: without better disclosure, shareholders will be caught off-guard again.

Political risk creeps into China’s very bad bank

13 August 2018

Huarong Asset Management says earnings will drop sharply, after its chairman’s fall from grace triggered a liquidity crisis. The government, its top stakeholder, seems content to watch the shares collapse. Investors will take note: state backing now comes with more caveats.

South Korea offers cautionary Trump trade tale

13 August 2018

Seoul dodged U.S. steel tariffs by agreeing to a quota. The limit, however, was then applied retroactively and prevented exemptions. American manufacturers are now cut off from materials. EU President Jean-Claude Juncker and others will have to keep a close eye on the fine print.

China’s solar stress could burn more dealmakers

13 August 2018

Slashing official support for solar energy helped scupper Shanghai Electric’s plan to snap up a $2 bln stake in giant GCL-Poly’s core unit. A downturn should drive consolidation in the heavily indebted sector. But the doomed deal shows how hard it is for two sides to agree.

Jet’s poor piloting exacerbates Indian turbulence

10 August 2018

Naresh Goyal’s airline says it is not short of cash or in talks to sell a stake. Yet the failure to get its earnings signed off on time suggests profound problems. The industry is suffering from high costs and low fares, but the carrier's mixed messages test investor patience.

Review: Fear and loathing in the Philippines

10 August 2018

Rodrigo Duterte's two years as president have been dominated by a vicious war on drugs. A biography of the mercurial man-of-the-people known as "Duterte Harry", after the fictional cop, is blistering. It doesn't do enough, though, to address the economic cost of wanton brutality.

China’s #MeToo momentum has broader benefits

10 August 2018

Allegations of sexual misconduct levelled at tech and media executives will inspire others to speak out. If more women confront bullies and bosses, a wider push for equal treatment could creep up the agenda too. That would be a welcome shift in China’s male-dominated boardrooms.

Macau moguls’ rivalry threatens cost discipline

10 August 2018

High rollers pumped up revenue at Galaxy and Sands last quarter, while Wynn Macau fell behind. As casinos fight for their share of China’s $38 bln gambling hub, earnings are becoming more volatile. Investors will suffer if aggressive marketing and new attractions squeeze margins.

Viewsroom: Tesla’s wild and crazy ride

9 August 2018

CEO Elon Musk’s tweet about wanting to take the company private is causing a stir. Unorthodoxy aside, its volatile boss and weak corporate governance means Tesla is better off the public roads. Plus, Pakistan’s likely new leader Imran Khan will have to go hat in hand to the IMF.

Easing could re-inflate China’s housing bubble

9 August 2018

Beijing wants more active fiscal policy to buttress growth. A crackdown on shadow banking, plus mortgage curbs, have bit into frothy real estate. Unfortunately new money tends to pour into property. Recent rules might slow speculation, but a price rise looks hard to avoid.

China’s U.S. energy blow is effective but risky

8 August 2018

Beijing is slapping a levy on liquified natural gas, a booming American export. Iran’s LNG could fill the void. But that would flout U.S. sanctions, may spark criminal investigations and could bar Chinese firms from accessing dollars. The gamble relies on Trump blinking first.

HNA aircraft arm flies higher with $2.2 bln deal

8 August 2018

Selling a 30 percent stake in its Avolon leasing unit to Japan’s Orix lets the cash-strapped Chinese group repay debt. The deal could also help reassure creditors the division is insulated from the parent’s woes. If elevated borrowing costs fall, all shareholders will benefit.

Cathay’s improved flight path is still bumpy

8 August 2018

Halfway through a turnaround, the Hong Kong carrier reported a narrower half-year loss and higher fares. That's reassuring after price pressures at rival Singapore Airlines. But a more tangible trade war, rising costs and a weak yuan may yet test the recovery its shares expect.

Alibaba deal seats SoftBank on both sides of table

8 August 2018

Masayoshi Son's $100 bln Vision Fund is mulling an investment in the Chinese e-commerce group's food delivery units. The billionaire is a board member of Alibaba, in which his SoftBank Group holds a 29 pct stake. Potential conflicts of interest in this cosy deal raise red flags.

China Tower debut reveals costs of tech leadership

8 August 2018

The newly listed towers firm trades at a low valuation like its telecom peers. Investors know that politics will come before profit as a costly build-out of 5G looms on the horizon. It’s a keen reminder of the price Beijing must pay to achieve cutting-edge tech dominance.

Australia’s bruised CBA shows signs of resilience

8 August 2018

The country's largest bank has endured public scrutiny, fines and executive departures. But a near-5 pct drop in full-year earnings, the first decline in almost a decade, belies a more encouraging picture for businesses like home loans. New boss Matt Comyn has tools to rebuild.