Tory MPs amp up pressure for UK ban on Tiktok July 20, 2020 A group of senior Conservative MPs have warned that Chinese social media app Tiktok is”’as much a threat to Britain” as banned telecoms firm Huawei, as tensions between London and Beijing continue to sour. The government last week announced it will introduce a ban on new Huawei products from the UK’s 5G network from next [...]
Britain enters talks with Japan to fill Huawei vacuum as trade deal deadline looms July 20, 2020 The British government has entered talks with Japan to help build the UK’s 5G infrastructure after it last week banned Huawei technology from the network over national security concerns. British officials held talks with their counterparts in Tokyo last Thursday about the future of the UK’s 5G networks, according to Japanese newspaper Nikkei, with businesses [...]
Rare earth miner Pensana inks deal with Chinese firm for Angola project July 20, 2020 Rare earth metals firm Pensana has today announced that it is exploring a partnership with China Great Wall Industry Corporation (CGWIC) to develop its flagship mine in Angola. The project, at Longonjo in the southern African country, is the first new rare earth mine in over a decade. The mine, which is slated to start [...]
Ant Financial to float in dual Shanghai-Hong Kong listing July 20, 2020 Alibaba’s payments arm Ant Financial has started the process of a concurrent initial public offering in Shanghai and Hong Kong. The world’s most valuable tech unicorn said it would list its shares on both the Shanghai’s Nasdaq-style Star Market and the Hong Kong stock exchange. In a statement Ant Financial, which provides the digital payment [...]
In allying with Iran, China signals the start of Cold War II July 20, 2020 To read the lion’s share of today’s headlines, you would think the western world is in its final days, a Rome tottering on the edge of the abyss. And yet geopolitically, for all our leaders’ unheroic bungling of the coronavirus pandemic, our primary strategic rival China has had a far worse innings. Overconfident President Xi [...]
Tiktok shelves London HQ plans as tensions mount July 19, 2020 Bytedance, the Chinese owner of video app Tiktok, has had its plans to create a new international headquarters in London thrown into doubt by a growing diplomatic crisis and fears it could be blocked in the US. Tiktok has been in discussions with the UK government over the past few months to locate its headquarters [...]
Ericsson shares soar as 5G sales boost profit July 17, 2020 A rise in 5G network sales and software revenue helped Ericsson report higher-than-expected quarterly core earnings today, as it stuck to 2020 and 2022 financial targets. The Swedish company has experienced a recovery under Borje Ekholm – a former CEO of Investor AB- who took the position in 2017, having been chosen to steer the [...]
BMW inks €2bn battery deal with Sweden’s Northvolt July 16, 2020 Auto giant BMW has signed a €2bn(£1.8bn) deal with Swedish energy firm Northvolt to provide battery cells to power its electric vehicles. The Scandinavian company, which was founded by two former Tesla executives, will make the cells using only renewable energy at a new facility in the north of Sweden. In a statement, BMW said [...]
Pizza Express draws up plans to close 75 restaurants July 16, 2020 Pizza Express is drawing up plans to close up to 75 restaurants around the UK as the pizza chain undergoes a wide-scale financial restructure as a result of the coronavirus crisis. The company is mulling the closure of “around 75” of its 470 UK outlets through a company voluntary arrangement (CVA), Pizza Express said today. [...]
FTSE 100 slips as US-China tensions continue July 16, 2020 The FTSE 100 continued to fall today as US-China tensions and mixed Chinese economic data outweigh optimism over a coronavirus vaccine. Britain’s main stock index stood 0.4 per cent down at 6,267 points just after midday. The FTSE 250 index of smaller companies slipped further, falling 0.6 per cent. Germany’s Dax fell 0.6 per cent, [...]