China tightens scrutiny over accounting firms in fight against forgery August 23, 2021 China’s leadership has set new rules to strengthen supervision of accounting firms in a fight against financial forgery, vowing “zero tolerance” toward misconduct. China’ State Council said accounting firms have not fully played their role as “gatekeepers” of capital markets, which have often witnessed cases of financial forgery and inaccurate accounting information. The authorities will [...]
Queen faces Covid scare at Balmoral as staff member tests positive August 17, 2021 The Queen is carrying on her summer holiday at Balmoral although a staff member at the Scottish estate tested positive for coronavirus this weekend. Her Majesty, 95 and double-vaccinated, will remain at her private castle in Aberdeenshire as planned. The Covid-infected employee was sent home on Saturday after taking a PCR test, reported The Sun. [...]
Hong Kong: First person jailed under national security law to appeal against conviction August 17, 2021 The first person convicted under Hong Kong national security law has filed an appeal against his conviction and nine-year sentence. Tong Ying-kit, 24, was found guilty of terrorism and inciting secession for driving a motorbike into a group of police officers while carrying a “Liberate Hong Kong” protest flag on July 1, 2020. The city’s [...]
Beijing takes stakes in ByteDance and Weibo domestic entities August 17, 2021 The Chinese government has taken stakes in Chinese entities owned by tech companies ByteDance and Sina Weibo, tightening its grip on its technology sector. WangTouZhongWen (Beijing) Technology, co-owned by three Chinese state entities including an investment fund backed by China’s internet watchdog, has taken one per cent of stake in Beijing ByteDance Technology, according to [...]
Chinese tech shares drop after Beijing tightens rules on internet competition August 17, 2021 China has marked its latest crackdown on the technology sector as the authorities announced new rules today to tackle unfair internet competition and companies’ handling critical data. The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) published a set of draft regulations banning unfair competition and restricting the use of user data. Shares of Chinese tech companies [...]
US to investigate Tesla’s Autopilot following emergency vehicle crashes August 16, 2021 The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said today it plans to launch a probe into Tesla’s driver assistance system Autopilot after repeated crashes with emergency vehicles. The investigation will cover Tesla Models Y, X, S, and 3 vehicles released between 2014 and 2021, estimating 765,000 Tesla vehicles in the US to be involved [...]
Hong Kong IPOs run dry amid concerns over China’s regulatory scrutiny August 16, 2021 The global financial hub has seen only one initial public offering so far this month, as Hong Kong’s investors are spooked by China’s tightening scrutiny across sectors. International investors have long used Hong Kong as gateway to China, but they are increasingly concerned by Beijing’s policies, ranging from technology and education to food and health [...]
Facebook and Google eye Asia-Pacific markets amid plans for new subsea cable August 16, 2021 Facebook and Google announced today their plans to build a new subsea cable to improve internet connectivity across the Asia-Pacific region. Apricot, the 12,000-kilometre-long subsea cable, will connect Singapore, Japan, Guam, the Philippines, Taiwan and Indonesia. It is expected to be ready for service in 2024, according to Facebook. The US social media group continued [...]
UK competition watchdog to investigate Central England Co-op funeral deal August 16, 2021 The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will investigate the deal by the Central England Co-op to snap up part of its rival in the funeral care business, the Midcounties Co-op. The UK competition regulator said today it is considering whether the merger deal “may be expected to result in a substantial lessening of competition” within [...]
Group behind Hong Kong mass protests disbands amid police suppression August 16, 2021 Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF), the pro-democracy group that organises some of Hong Kong’s biggest protests, will disband amid threats of police probe. Founded in 2002, the group organised its first rally on 1 July 2003, when half a million people took to the streets to protest against a draft national security law, known as [...]
