The Exchange: Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg 21 Dec 2021 With an election looming early next year, the Liberal Party’s deputy leader discusses everything from booster shots to Big Tech, climate change to China, immigration to inflation, and more. He tells Jeffrey Goldfarb how his country can overcome the many economic challenges ahead.
Davos delay will stoke gabfest demand 20 Dec 2021 January’s Swiss conflab is off, for the second year running. In 2021, Zoom calls and rival events like COP26 raised the risk Davos could lose its relevance. In 2022, enough bankers were looking forward to the slopes to imply that a summer event will still get takers.
Xi’s 2022 GDP target will be moment of truth 20 Dec 2021 One of the Chinese president’s signature policy initiatives was to curb property-related risks. That implies slower but higher quality growth: 4% or so in 2022. Outside advisers are pushing for more. The final economic decision will signal the extent of Xi Jinping’s power.
Aussie climate ambition will restart at ballot box 20 Dec 2021 The $1.4 trln economy has all it needs to be an energy-transition leader, except a proactive government. The 2022 election will change that, making independent, global warming-savvy candidates the kingmakers. Stronger policy also will be lucrative for domestic and export markets.
Scarce U.S. workers can be found on Etsy 17 Dec 2021 Millions of Americans ditched their jobs and became self-employed in the pandemic, with about 20% in retail. Outlets like crafts-seller site Etsy benefited. But businesses are strained and competing to pay for workers. Resolutions – like increasing immigration – only help so much.
TSMC can fix Taiwan’s stalled green transition 17 Dec 2021 Referendums on a nuclear power plant and a fossil-gas terminal spotlight the island’s 20% renewables target. Bureaucracy and red tape, though, have held up wind and solar projects. The local chipmaking champion’s voracious appetite for cleaner power offers a much-needed spark.
Shanghai’s tech board gets welcome IPO flop 16 Dec 2021 The biggest listing on the overheated STAR market this year bombed as shares of biotech giant BeiGene fell 16% on their debut. That finally adds risk to a once-safe bet on triple-digit first-day pops. Regulators fretting about the speculative stock mania can relax a bit.
China’s metaverse will be a tiny place 16 Dec 2021 Stocks in local companies associated with digital worlds blew up in 2021. The country’s video-games industry, tech expertise and masses of disaffected youth make it an ideal place to push the bleeding edge of virtual reality. That’s precisely why Beijing is squashing it.
Billionaire Drahi plays the long game at BT 14 Dec 2021 The Franco-Israeli tycoon has upped his stake in the UK telco to 18%. The government would almost certainly nix a full bid, especially with BT’s fibre-optic rollout hitting top speed. But with operators across Europe falling into private hands, Drahi can afford to sit and wait.
U.S. blacklist puts China AI into local mode 14 Dec 2021 Artificial intelligence startup SenseTime is delaying its $800 mln Hong Kong IPO after the mid-deal shock of Washington’s investment ban. Foreign backers can be mostly replaced by mainland money. But the boycott ends the sector’s global ambitions and accelerates tech decoupling.
Rio Tinto Mongolian hardball ends up looking soft 13 Dec 2021 The $105 bln miner has offered to write off a $2.3 bln loan to Ulaanbaatar linked to the Oyu Tolgoi copper project. Boss Jakob Stausholm is giving up billions of dollars in interest. But holding firm risked the company being chucked off a project that could bring in a lot more.
Cancer biotech’s triple listing has singular risk 13 Dec 2021 Beigene is raising $3.3 bln on Shanghai’s STAR market, making it the first company to trade there and in New York and Hong Kong. That suits its ambition to be seen as a global business and gives it enviable funding options. But its listing largesse is at the mercy of geopolitics.
Xi’s new year’s resolutions are hard balancing act 13 Dec 2021 China's president wants to tap the brakes on tech and other crackdowns in 2022. He's also softening his energy-transition stance while pushing for more infrastructure. Yet he plans no U-turns on property or how regions raise funds. Officials will be walking a tightrope to comply.
China’s PBOC showdown will force Xi to pick sides 9 Dec 2021 Officials want to rein in the central bank’s “independence”, according to a media report. It’s the latest sign of a concerted attack on the PBOC’s hard line on deleveraging. If the Chinese president joins in, aggressive easing may be imminent at the cost of economic rebalancing.
Business-wary Team Biden is making unforced errors 8 Dec 2021 The White House has a more distant approach to corporate America compared with Donald Trump’s chumminess. That may please progressive Democrats but has led to missteps, including in fixing supply chain problems. The U.S. president could use a dash of his predecessor’s style.
Prosus runs out of friends at Russia’s Facebook 8 Dec 2021 After a shareholder shimmy, VK is ending up in the arms of the state gas giant and a Putin ally. Delisting it to combine the $4 bln group with the duo’s media empire would unlock savings. It would also be a slap in the face to minorities like the $180 bln Dutch tech investor.
Trump SPAC is masterclass in political workarounds 7 Dec 2021 The ex-president’s new media venture is raising $1 bln as it merges with a listed blank-check firm. If the deal closes, Trump’s backers will have a new way to support his agenda without the usual campaign finance strictures, and with the prospect of a profit to boot.
Germany enlarges green transition’s grey area 2 Dec 2021 Berlin’s new coalition wants to build new plants powered by natural gas, even as it exits coal quicker. That strays from the ideal path to net-zero CO2 emissions. But the real problem is the precedent set by rich countries caving to those promoting gas as a green “bridge fuel”.
Women’s Tennis models real China ESG 2 Dec 2021 The association is halting lucrative tournaments in the country after local star Peng Shuai went missing following sexual assault claims. Western companies generally exempt China from espoused social values. The weak track record makes it hard to see many following the WTA lead.
Fed facelift will provoke frowns on Wall Street 1 Dec 2021 Former CFPB boss Richard Cordray’s mooted candidacy to lead supervision at the U.S. central bank signals a tougher watchdog. A return to qualitative stress tests, which banks used to complain were too onerous, is likely. Lenders lobbying lawmakers have only least-bad choices.