Wanda’s mall deal bags petrodollar safety net 2 Apr 2024 Wang Jianlin has found the hottest new shoppers in town. ADIA and Mubadala are taking control of his mall unit for $8.3 bln, alongside existing owners led by buyout firm PAG. Gulf money is emerging as an important lifeline for buyers and sellers in China.
Xiaomi enters China’s EV race in fine form 2 Apr 2024 The smartphone maker run by Lei Jun logged 90,000 orders in 24 hours for its debut vehicle and buyers face a seven-month wait. Investors cheered, adding 16% to the group's $48 bln market value. Competition is cutthroat but there's always room for strong upstarts.
Capital Calls: Motorcycle M&A 1 Apr 2024 Concise views on global finance: John Malone’s Liberty Media is buying Dorna, the parent of motorcycling racing championship MotoGP, for 4.3 billion euros. It’s hard to see how the media mogul can make the deal work.
Central banks’ noise helps dollar – and Joe Biden 28 Mar 2024 In February, traders’ hopes of rate cuts by the Federal Reserve sent the currency lower. But it has risen 1.8% in March, partly due to policymakers’ mixed messages. Until the fog clears, the greenback will rule forex markets. That curbs US inflation and may benefit the president.
Tata’s forced IPO will only bring problems 28 Mar 2024 A central bank decision requires the $194 bln holding company of the Indian cars-to-tech conglomerate to list. It could lump Tata Sons with a huge discount and also spotlight the special tax treatment the group’s ultimate owners enjoy. That could force an even bigger upheaval.
LNG angst seeps from consumers to producers 27 Mar 2024 A few years ago, supplies of liquefied natural gas were scarce and prices sky-high. Extra capacity arriving this decade means there could soon be a price-sapping glut. Big suppliers like Qatar and Shell have long-term contracts that can ease the pain, but only up to a point.
BYD is unscathed in China’s electric-car wars 27 Mar 2024 The world’s largest EV maker founded and led by Wang Chuanfu is winning market share and accelerating its profit margins. That suggests the $86 bln company can keep cutting prices and investing overseas despite reporting its slowest quarterly profit growth in two years.
Alibaba sends out SOS on Hong Kong’s market 27 Mar 2024 The Chinese e-commerce giant ditched plans to list its logistics unit in the city and offered to buy out minority shareholders including Singapore's Temasek at a $10 bln valuation, half the mooted worth six months ago. It points to more pain for owners of unlisted Chinese assets.
Capital Calls: Shell and Russia 26 Mar 2024 Concise views on global finance: Russian state giant Gazprom will buy the British energy major’s 27.5% stake in a major Siberian liquefied gas field for the equivalent of $1 bln. Shell is however unlikely to be able to get hold of the cash any time soon.
Ping An and Vanke look made for each other 26 Mar 2024 Pressure is mounting on China's financial giants, including the $90 bln insurer, to support the beleaguered property developer. That is a big ask for Ping An, whose own earnings just slumped 23%. Still, helping Vanke could limit the pain for its own hefty property exposure.
Commodity trading giants get in cotton M&A spin 26 Mar 2024 Singapore's Olam has bested Louis Dreyfus' offer for one of Australia's largest processors of the fibre. The two suitors have battled Down Under in the past, and Olam looks to have the edge for a second win. But the volatility of earnings in this small deal warrants caution.
China and foreign CEOs dance ever trickier tango 25 Mar 2024 Premier Li Qiang welcomed 100 bosses from giants like Apple to a Beijing business confab. Yet Tim Cook is shifting iPhone supply chains elsewhere, while China is pressing ahead with phasing out overseas tech like chips. The increasingly uneasy relationship is primed for missteps.
Glencore can leave Aussie listing plea in the pit 25 Mar 2024 Hedge fund Tribeca reckons the Swiss group would command a higher multiple if it moved its shares to Sydney from London. Down Under’s mining culture, powerful pension funds, and dividend tax breaks sound enticing, but are a valuation chimera for the coal- and trading-heavy firm.
Capital Calls: Wegovy gets a booster 22 Mar 2024 Concise views on global finance: The US government’s decision to pay for weight-loss drugs for some older patients is a big step for makers Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk. Not because it will boost their share prices, but because it makes current valuations less far-fetched.
Hong Kong property tycoons send warning by waiting 22 Mar 2024 A home price slump has left blue-chip real estate firms like New World trading at their lowest valuation since 2003. Back then, it sparked a rash of shareholder buyouts. This time round, property magnates remain on the sidelines, suggesting the market has further to fall.
Samsonite books a test flight out of Hong Kong 22 Mar 2024 The $6 bln luggage maker is planning another listing in addition to the Asian financial hub where its shares have long suffered from low liquidity. A resulting valuation uplift might be enough to convince potential suitors including KKR and Carlyle that a buyout could make sense.
Tencent is running out of excuses for gaming woes 21 Mar 2024 Revenue at the $350 bln giant is shrinking in its core business in China and abroad. That implies Beijing's crackdowns are not to blame this time. It pledged to double share buybacks but Tencent admits it needs to get its "own house in order". That looks increasingly urgent.
Japanese investors becoming the life of the party 21 Mar 2024 ValueAct, Elliott and Berkshire Hathaway have deployed some $16 bln to uncover value in Tokyo-listed stocks. They’re receiving warmer welcomes than raider T. Boone Pickens did in 1989. Even better, the US trio’s success is helping inspire local funds to sustain the momentum.
China’s automakers try turning Japanese 20 Mar 2024 Efforts to block Chinese auto exports are inspiring BYD and rivals to set up factories overseas. Their journey is reminiscent of Toyota and Nissan’s drive into the US and Europe. But Washington and Beijing’s fraught ties and new tech portend a different ending to this road trip.
US Steel tug-of-war threatens to pull it apart 19 Mar 2024 Cleveland-Cliffs has put its rival in a bind, rallying political and labor opposition to a $14 bln agreed sale to Japan’s Nippon while pushing its own questionable takeover bid. No deal at all would be bad news for the target’s union workers. A carve-up might be inevitable.