Fall of the dragon: Is everyone far too optimistic about China? November 3, 2014 There's nothing particularly new about fears of a sharp economic slowdown (or “hard landing”) in China. And Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) surveys released in the past few days will only add to the list of worries for those who see annual growth slipping well below the Communist Party’s target of 7.5 per cent this [...]
Alibaba passes WalMart with share price leap October 28, 2014 SHARES in Chinese e-retail giant Alibaba climbed above $100 during trading yesterday after exec chairman Jack Ma said he was open to working with Apple on mobile payments. The stock jump meant that the firm’s market capitalisation edged over the $248bn mark, while that of US retail giant WalMart fell to around $247.5bn according to [...]
Alibaba’s share price reaches record high, valuing it higher than Wal-Mart October 28, 2014 Shares in Alibaba soared to a record high of $100.45 today, valuing the Chinese etail giant at more than $247bn (£152bn), taking it above US rival Wal-Mart for the first time. Alibaba's share price rose 2.8 per cent during mid-morning trading today. It listed on the New York Stock Exchange last month at $68 a [...]
Reed Elsevier to enter China’s car insurance industry in joint venture October 23, 2014 BRITAIN’S biggest media group Reed Elsevier yesterday said a four per cent rise in underlying revenue in the first nine months kept it on track to meet its goal of growing revenue and profit this year. Reed also announced a new joint venture between its LexisNexis Risk Solutions business and Jing You, the largest supplier [...]
Huawei doubles its premium smartphone shipments globally October 23, 2014 HUAWEI said third-quarter smartphone shipments jumped 26 per cent year-on-year, doubling the number of devices it shipped in the high-margin premium market dominated by Samsung and Apple. The Shenzhen-based firm, which is also the world’s second-largest telecoms equipment maker – and the third largest smartphone maker – shipped 16.8m units globally in the quarter ending [...]
Beyond the AGM: Shareholders and firms must collaborate more closely on strategy October 22, 2014 On Monday, the government will publish its final response to the Kay Review, which looked at how we can get financial markets to work better for the long-term. Although the debate about promoting long-termism is far broader than the review, the time is right to take a closer look at whether companies feel the policy [...]
Arm Holdings’ Simon Segars: Britain’s chief chipmaker is moving from smartphones to the Internet of Things October 21, 2014 Simon Segars, the boss of Britain’s biggest tech firm, believes his Chinese customers will begin adopting Arm’s latest chip designs in low-end smartphones next year, a move that would dramatically boost royalties. In its third quarter results yesterday, Arm Holdings, which makes processors for most of the world’s smartphones and tablets, revealed a two [...]
Car auctioneer float comes to a screeching halt October 21, 2014 BRITISH Car Auctions (BCA), owner of the webuyanycar.com, became the latest casualty of weak equity markets yesterday after it was forced to pull its impending stock listing. The private equity-owned group, backed by Clayton Dublier & Rice, blamed “volatility in global equity markets” for pulling down the listing, which aimed to raise £200m. “The board [...]
Jaguar Land Rover opens new Chinese factory in bid to expand October 21, 2014 Jaguar Land Rover opened its first overseas factory yesterday, with the inauguration of the Chery Jaguar Land Rover Automotive Company plant in Changshu, just north of Shanghai. The Range Rover Evoque will be the first model built at the plant, which was created through a 10.9bn renminbi (£1.1bn) joint investment plan with Chinese company Chery [...]
As its growth falls yet again, could a flagging China spell disaster for the global economy? October 21, 2014 Freya Beamish, economist at Lombard Street Research, says Yes. The Chinese authorities are in no man’s land. They have accepted slower growth but are not yet ready to go for the financial and wider reforms that would usher in a new phase of expansion. We calculate our own Chinese GDP numbers. Our estimate shows that [...]