Xiaomi fight puts China Inc on India red alert 13 May 2022 The country’s tax and financial agencies have tried to block some $1.2 bln of the smartphone maker’s funds. New Delhi engaged Vodafone, Cairn and others in similar battles but its testy relations with Beijing up the ante. Xiaomi and Chinese peers in India face a slow decline.
Capital Calls: Turkey, Nintendo/Sony, India IPO 10 May 2022 Concise views on global finance: President Erdogan makes another ham-fisted monetary intervention; the Switch maker weathers supply chain ructions better than its larger rival; New Delhi needs to be even more generous in its landmark listing of Life Insurance Corp of India.
Apple collects Big Tech quarterly earnings Oscar 28 Apr 2022 The $2.6 trln iPhone maker’s financial report for January to March showed it had a winning season compared to its Big Tech fellows. CEO Tim Cook’s business got less of a Covid boost than, say, Amazon, and had early supply-chain jams. Now it’s more than catching up.
Apple Pay push is scarier for fintechs than banks 31 Mar 2022 The $2.9 trln iPhone maker is beefing up its in-house financial tools and muscling into consumer credit, Bloomberg reported. That’s bad news for technology partners and pay-later rivals. Lenders have less to fear: underwriting big loans isn’t lucrative enough to appeal to Apple.
U.S. services have better China lockdown defenses 15 Mar 2022 Chinese lockdowns spell new supply disruptions for firms like Apple and higher prices. Surging inflation is already hurting consumers. But services, like restaurants and travel, will be more resilient than during the pandemic, thanks to $2.6 trln of excess household savings.
Russia is dry run for bigger China sanctions test 25 Feb 2022 The threat of penalties didn’t stop Vladimir Putin from invading Ukraine. Sanctions would have even less chance of preventing China from taking control of Taiwan. The deeper the trade ties, the greater the chance of self-harm. And China has a head start in creating workarounds.
Intel’s Tower deal comes up strategically short 15 Feb 2022 The $200 bln chipmaker has many problems to solve. A $5.4 bln acquisition of an Israeli rival shows there are no easy answers. Tower brings key skills and industrial applications, but Intel’s tech still lags. And even tiny chip deals risk taking heaps of time and effort to close.
Apple supply shortages are a good problem to have 27 Jan 2022 Tech investors fear the pandemic pulled forward demand, especially for cloud-based companies. The $2.6 trln Apple has the opposite issue. Covid-fueled supply-chain woes have prevented it from satiating iPhone demand. Customer loyalty probably means these sales will come later.
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.
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.
Razer’s $4.5 bln buyout plan has a serrated edge 19 Nov 2021 The purveyor of pricey keyboards may swap a Hong Kong listing for one in New York as part of a management-led deal. A video-gaming fanbase gives it meme-stock potential while its Southeast Asian fintech unit might look hotter stateside. But any valuation gains may be subtle.
Lenovo’s weaknesses pop up in Shanghai overreach 12 Oct 2021 The PC maker abruptly nixed a $1.6 bln share offering. The attempt to tap cash on a tech bourse brought unwanted attention to its feeble R&D spend and boss Yang Yuanqing's generous pay. As Beijing pushes for more innovation and less inequality, Lenovo ticks all the wrong boxes.
Samsung etches fresh way to take on TSMC 8 Oct 2021 Memory chips are set to help lift the South Korean company’s quarterly operating profit 28% to $13 bln. Growth at its small semiconductor design and manufacturing arms also warrant greater attention. Customers like Tesla could make the units secret weapons against Taiwan's titan.
Taiwan’s top diplomat is a $567 bln chipmaker 15 Jul 2021 Tensions between Beijing and the self-ruled island are spiking amid vaccine squabbles and fighter jet sorties. Enter TSMC, whose economic and geopolitical clout has risen amid the semiconductor shortage. It could be Taipei’s best political advantage against a hostile neighbour.
Chip crisis short-circuits Kickstarter economy 2 Jul 2021 Cheap Chinese components enabled quirky upstarts making plant synthesisers and the like to thrive on crowdfunding sites. But the semiconductor shortage has pushed them to the back of the line as heavyweights like Apple muscle in. Many won’t survive, to gadget geeks’ grief.
Tech IPO gives bad SPAC deals run for their money 15 Jun 2021 Macquarie-sponsored Nuix’s CEO and CFO resigned after poor earnings and forecast revisions within six months of taking the Australian software maker public. Blank-cheque deals like Lordstown are known for hype and under-delivery, and now this ordinary listing has managed it too.
Electronic waste unearths green China unicorn 8 Jun 2021 Used-phone retailer Aihuishou wants to go public at a $5 bln valuation. Thanks to frugal and environmentally conscious shoppers, demand for second-hand goods is booming. The company has yet to turn a profit, but backer JD's deep pockets and rare ESG credentials should appeal.
Capital Calls: Klarna, Dan Loeb, Fashion IPO 28 May 2021 Concise views on global finance: The Swedish “buy now, pay later” group’s possible $50 bln price tag may leapfrog rivals Afterpay and Affirm; the corporate agitator deserves a taste of his own medicine; About You’s mooted 3 bln euro valuation implies a discount to rivals.
Huawei gets pushed toward collision with Alibaba 26 May 2021 Founder Ren Zhengfei wants his embattled hardware company to shift focus to cloud computing and software. That will pit him against the $570 bln e-commerce giant, which is also moving into IT services. Huawei's scale and resources make it a formidable threat.
Apple App Store success has a dark side 28 Apr 2021 A 26% rise in services revenue in the first quarter helped the $2.3 trln firm’s top line grow 54%. But Match, Epic Games and others are testing its lording power. U.S. regulators forced Microsoft to give consumers more choice with products. Apple could face a similar reckoning.