Chinese property giant Evergrande files for bankruptcy in US amid debt overhaul August 18, 2023 Embattled developer China Evergrande Group has filed for bankruptcy protection in a U.S. court as part of one of the world’s biggest debt restructuring exercises, as anxiety grows over China’s worsening property crisis and a weakening economy. Once China’s top-selling developer, Evergrande has become the poster child of the country’s unprecedented debt crisis in the property sector, which accounts for [...]
Intel: £4.2bn deal to buy Israeli chipmaker Tower Semiconductor lapses on China stall August 16, 2023 Intel and Israeli chipmaker Tower Semiconductor have “mutually agreed” to call off their $5.4bn (£4.2bn) deal due to regulatory hurdles from China. In a statement on Wednesday, leading semiconductor manufacturer Intel said it will pay a termination fee of $353m to Tower after the merger failed to get approval from regulators by its 15 August deadline. [...]
Harvey Nichols boss Manju Malhotra exits after three years August 15, 2023 The boss of Harvey Nichols, Manju Malhotra, will step down from her role as head of the luxury retailer. Malhotra, who led the business for three years, will temporarily be replaced by Pearson Poon the son of Dickson Poon who has owned Harvey Nicholls since the 1990’s. Poon, who currently serves as executive director has [...]
Red China: Economy indicators turn south as China stops reporting young unemployment August 15, 2023 A broad array of Chinese data on Tuesday highlighted intensifying pressure on the economy from multiple fronts, prompting Beijing to cut key policy rates to shore up activity but analysts say more support is needed to revitalise growth. Less than an hour before the release of a batch of July data, China’s central bank unexpectedly cut key [...]
Biden declares ‘national emergency’ as he bans US investment in Chinese tech August 10, 2023 President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed an executive order that will prohibit some new U.S. investment in China in sensitive technologies like computer chips and require government notification in other tech sectors. The long-awaited order authorizes the U.S. Treasury secretary to prohibit or restrict U.S. investments in Chinese entities in three sectors: semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies [...]
China’s economy slips into deflation as recovery from pandemic continues to falter August 9, 2023 China’s already “tortuous” recovery from the Covid pandemic continued to stall today as fresh data indicated that domestic demand remained depressed. Figures out this morning showed that the world’s second largest economy slid into deflation in July for the first time since February 2021, with the consumer price index (CPI) falling 0.3 per cent year-on-year. [...]
Fifth of UK importers altered supply chains due to global tensions, with China in focus August 8, 2023 More than a fifth of UK importers have been forced to alter supply chains as a result of geopolitical tensions, with China in sharp focus, a new survey has found. Some 20.5 per cent of companies, which are importers, have altered supply chains as a result of global tensions, according to a survey of more [...]
AllSaints: British fashion brand rakes in record revenue thanks to entry into China August 7, 2023 AllSaints raked in record revenues of £457m, up 36 per cent on last year, as the rock inspired fashion brand was bolstered by entry into China. The British fashion brand, which is owned by private equity group Lion Capital also said operating profit rose £18.4m to £28.5m and pre-operating exceptional EBITDA grew 50 per cent [...]
China targets UK ‘prolifically and aggressively’, Westminster’s spy agency watchdog warns July 13, 2023 China targets the UK “prolifically and aggressively” in a way that poses a “challenge” for British intelligence agencies, Parliament’s spy agency watchdog has said. A new and wide-ranging report by the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) is critical of the UK Government’s response to the threat posed by China, questioning the trade-off between economic interest [...]
Hong Kong a reminder that firms must match words with actions July 12, 2023 Last week in this space we suggested that Hong Kong’s decision to place a bounty on the head of eight effectively-exiled pro-democracy protestors, including the young campaigner Nathan Law, showed the true autocratic colours of the territory’s government and its Beijing masters. That Hong Kong police yesterday raided the home of Law’s family, and questioned [...]