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☆ Indonesian Tech Champion GoTo’s Tough Balancing Act in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Megha Mandavia | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

GoTo shares have declined 72% since its public listing in April last year. Indonesia’s ride-hailing and e-commerce company GoTo Group is racing toward profitability—but perhaps not fast enough for suddenly risk-averse investors. GoTo, Indonesia’s largest technology company, posted an adjusted loss before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization for the fourth quarter of 3.1 trillion Indonesian rupiah, equivalent to $201.89 million. That was less than half what it lost a year earlier, mainly thanks to aggressive cost cutting and a new focus on high-quality profitable users.

☆ SVB Crisis Tests India’s New Finance Hub Potential
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Megha Mandavia | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Many Indian startups rushed this week to open new bank accounts in India’s Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, known as GIFT city. The swift collapse of Silicon Valley Bank has cast an aspiring Indian finance center into sudden relief. India, which has long been a bit player in global finance, has a chance to boost its role—but only if it moves swiftly to rectify some regulatory barriers. This week, many Indian startups rushed to open new bank accounts in India’s Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, known as GIFT city, once they regained access to their SVB deposits. Accounts set up within the hub’s International Financial Services Center, or IFSC, are free of India’s stringent capital controls since the funds are held in U.S. dollars.

☆ Tech Investors in Southeast Asia Want to See the Money—Now
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Megha Mandavia | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

E-commerce and games company Sea has distinguished itself with a laserlike focus on profitability. These days, profit is often the thin green line dividing loved and unloved tech shares. That makes sense in saturated e-commerce markets such as the U.S. But firms that retrench now in places like Southeast Asia, where e-commerce penetration is still relatively low, risk losing out to competitors that are able to grin and bear losses—even in a tough market environment.

☆ Adani Group Stocks’ Recovery Is on Shaky Ground
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Megha Mandavia | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Shares of embattled Adani Group companies have taken a wild ride over the past six weeks. Recent moves by the conglomerate have helped put a floor under stock and bond prices, but clawing back further ground could be difficult, unless a new panel appointed by the Indian Supreme Court completely clears the group of wrongdoing.

☆ India's rural women are 'bearing the brunt' of climate shocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Sumathi Bala | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

India's rural women are bearing the brunt of climate related shocks like severe drought and extreme weather events, Universal Images Group | Getty ImagesIndia's rural women are bearing the brunt of climate related shocks like severe drought and extreme weather events, which are drastically affecting their daily livelihoods. The climate fund will allow women and communities to fight climate change and help provide new livelihood resources and education, said Clinton. Having access to clean water makes a huge difference in tackling the overall health issues for rural women, she added. In the latest economic survey released in February, the government said rural women were increasingly participating in economic activity. Government schemes and policies have helped rural women, said Akanksha Khullar, a visiting fellow with the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi.

☆ Foxconn Signals India’s Arrival as Electronics Manufacturer
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Megha Mandavia | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The postpandemic reshuffle of the world’s electronics supply chain is speeding up. At the center of the change: India and Apple . Apple supplier Hon Hai Precision Industry , better known as Foxconn, plans to more than double its iPhone production at an existing plant near Chennai, India, to around 20 million units by 2024, The Wall Street Journal reported last week, and roughly triple the number of workers to as many as 100,000.

☆ Foxconn Signals India’s Arrival in Electronics Manufacturing
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Megha Mandavia | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ India’s Economy Looks Shaky Under the Hood
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Megha Mandavia | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

India’s economy is losing steam in the one place that has been the South Asian nation’s strongest bulwark against a possible global recession: robust domestic demand. India’s economy slowed further in the December quarter, figures released this week showed, as postpandemic pent up demand ebbed and the country’s manufacturing sector continued to weaken. Asia’s third largest economy recorded year-over-year growth of 4.4% last quarter, down from 6.3% in the September quarter.

☆ Battery Metal Prices Fall Back to Earth
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Megha Mandavia | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

After a substantial stretch when battery makers were desperate for mineral supplies, the shoe is suddenly on the other foot. In the past few months, previously red hot cobalt and lithium prices have cooled dramatically. Supply bottlenecks are easing while China’s demand for electric vehicles, and global demand for many consumer electronics, have ebbed as well. Cobalt has fallen out of favor the most: prices in February were down 61% from January last year, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. Lithium carbonate prices rose rapidly for most of last year, but the metal has seen a sharp correction of 21% since November.

☆ India Signals Its Arrival as a Force in Aviation
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Megha Mandavia | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Newly privatized Air India is making up for lost time. A turnaround of India’s flag carrier Air India Ltd. could place the country on the global aviation map. The beleaguered airline just kick-started the process with a historic aircraft order. Last week, Air India ordered 470 jets from aircraft giants Boeing Co. and Airbus, marking the largest deal for commercial aircraft in aviation history. The airline also has an option of ordering an additional 370 planes in the future.

☆ Glencore Profits Handsomely at the Fulcrum of Energy Transition
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Megha Mandavia | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

For Glencore, coal remains a comfortable cushion until the copper supercycle kicks off in earnest. Coal gave Glencore —one of its last major allies—a lot to be grateful for in 2022. This year, its fortunes will depend more on a metal powering the other end of the global energy transition: copper. The mining and commodities-trading company posted another year of blockbuster earnings Wednesday. Glencore’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose 60% to a record $34.1 billion, including $17.9 billion from coal mining.

☆ Adani Gets a Reprieve, Courtesy of the Black Stuff
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Megha Mandavia | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Adani Enterprises, the flagship listed vehicle of the beleaguered Adani Group conglomerate, has long pitched itself as a good environmental, social and governance company—but it has coal to thank for a reprieve during the most turbulent time in its history. On Tuesday, Adani Enterprises swung to a profit of 8.2 billion Indian rupees ($99.3 million) in the quarter ended in December, from a loss of 116.3 million Indian rupees in the year-earlier period, helped by robust revenue growth of 42%. Most of the boost came from its coal-trading business, the firm’s largest segment.

☆ Adani Crisis Complicates India’s Infrastructure Ambitions
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Megha Mandavia | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Infrastructure heavyweight Adani Group’s market crisis is coming at an inconvenient time: just as India aims to bulk up its infrastructure to position itself as a manufacturing alternative to China. Adani Group companies’ plunging dollar bonds won’t derail those plans. But they could force some project delays and hamper India’s bid to establish itself in emerging industries. On Wednesday, French oil major TotalEnergies said it would wait for the result of an independent audit before proceeding with a planned $4 billion collaboration with Adani Group on green hydrogen.

☆ World Trade Weakens, but Maersk Will Float On
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Megha Mandavia | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/world-trade-weakens-but-maersk-will-float-on-11675865856

☆ India Embraces Budgetary Caution—And Infrastructure
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Megha Mandavia | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman expressed confidence that the budget gap could fall to 4.5% by fiscal year 2026. New Delhi fought off its populist impulses and clawed back some fiscal space this week, announcing a relatively conservative federal budget. Falling spending on subsidies should give a large assist—but realizing the country’s big infrastructure push will still be a lift. That would be particularly true if public markets continue shunning infrastructure heavyweight Adani Group.

☆ Adani Group’s Moment of Truth
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Megha Mandavia | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Global investors, who largely funded Adani Group ’s rising debt in recent years, are shunning its bonds after an attack from a New York-based short seller. Regaining markets’ confidence—or finding new private funding—will be essential to avoid problems as the Indian conglomerate’s dollar bonds start coming due. After a brief rally following Adani Enterprises’ successful completion of a new share offer on Tuesday in India, prices of many of the group’s dollar bonds—including issues from Adani Ports and Adani Green maturing in 2024—continued their slide on Wednesday. Adani Enterprises, whose shares are now at half of the offer price on the new issue, on Wednesday evening in India said it was canceling the sale and would return the proceeds to investors.

☆ Adani Group Saga Is Credibility Test for India’s Markets, Institutions
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Megha Mandavia | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

News about Adani appeared on a sign at the Bombay Stock Exchange, where shares of the group’s companies have plunged. The sprawling conglomerate built by Gautam Adani is under attack by short seller Hindenburg Research , which successfully deflated electric-vehicle maker Nikola Motors in 2020. Adani Group denies the allegations and says the short seller is trying to smear its reputation and derail a public stock offering. Shares of the group’s companies have plunged since Hindenburg’s report, wiping out nearly $64 billion in market value. Hindenburg’s report comes amid a $2.5 billion secondary share sale by Adani Enterprises that closes on Tuesday.

☆ India’s Reliance Industries Deserves More Patience
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Megha Mandavia | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Reliance Industries , India’s most valuable company, is undergoing a transformation—its fourth this century. Chairman Mukesh Ambani probably deserves more shareholder love than he is getting right now. Delayed gratification is always a tough sell. Despite high interest rates, Reliance secured board approval last week to raise as much as 200 billion Indian rupees, equivalent to $2.5 billion, to pay short-term debt maturities and double down on its 5G cellular rollout, new energy ventures and to expand its retail business.

☆ Google’s Big India Opportunity Faces a Challenge
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Megha Mandavia | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

India wants to tame big tech’s dominance and it has its antitrust sights on Google. The giant company will be a tough nut to crack. Last week, Google lost an appeal in India’s Supreme Court to block an antitrust order that requires it to make significant changes to the way its Android operating system does business with smartphone makers, app developers and users. It strikes at the company’s core business model for Android and may force the technology giant to alter its approach in its largest market.

☆ Liquefied Natural Gas Will Have a Less Frenzied 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Megha Mandavia | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Last year was the year of liquefied natural gas. Russia’s decision to curtail pipeline gas supplies to Europe sent prices through the roof and threatened to push Europe into recession. The panic-induced price spike of 2022 probably won’t recur this year—but betting on lower prices would also be unwise. LNG prices have slid after a much milder than expected winter in Europe. Asian LNG spot prices have fallen nearly 67% from the record highs reached in August last year.

☆ Commodities Warrant Cautious Optimism, Not Exuberance, in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Megha Mandavia | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Copper prices will benefit from new demand from clean-energy applications over the next few years. Commodities bulls have left the pen, ready for a long run. Odds are that 2023 will end with industrial-metal prices, at least, higher than they are now. Three-month copper futures are trading at $9,100 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange, already up 9% in 2023 according to FactSet. And iron-ore prices rallied by almost 50% from early November to the end of 2022, according to CEIC, a data company.

☆ Can a Plucky Skin-Care Products Startup Unfreeze India’s IPO Market?
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Megha Mandavia | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Initial public offerings from Indian startups have remained largely in the deep freeze for the past 12 months. A Sequoia Capital-backed beauty and personal-care-products startup is now hoping to break the curse. At the tail end of 2022, the parent of Indian personal-care-products startup Mamaearth—Honasa Consumer Ltd.—filed for an initial public offering. The company plans to issue new shares worth 4 billion Indian rupees ($49 million) and sell 46.8 million existing shares. Investors including Sofina, Stellaris Venture Partners and Fireside Ventures would sell part of their stakes while Sequoia would stay put.

☆ China’s Belt and Road Plan Is Down, Not Out
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Megha Mandavia | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Belt and Road Initiative—China’s gargantuan overseas infrastructure push which began gaining steam in the mid 2010s—has been the subject of some belt tightening recently. It is too early to write it off entirely. The BRI’s retrenchment during the pandemic has been remarkable in Asia—where much of the funding was initially committed. It is however still expanding its footprint rapidly in Latin America, at least in foreign-direct investment terms. And even in some trouble spots such as Pakistan, Beijing is unlikely to abandon its megaprojects, given how much it has already invested.

☆ India’s Face-Off With Big Tech Will Intensify in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Megha Mandavia | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The standoff between India and U.S. tech giants will intensify in 2023 as New Delhi cooks up its own regulatory medicine for the world’s second most populous internet market—an unusual concoction of Europe’s strict antitrust approach and Chinese-style government surveillance. Three significant pieces of legislation likely to pass in 2023 will harden positions on both sides.

☆ Shipping Companies Face More Dangerous Shoals
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Megha Mandavia | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Container spot rates started to slip early this year and their descent accelerated in the second half. The last two years featured supply-chain disruptions, limited shipping capacity and remarkably high container rates. But 2023 will be rather different—and not in a good way, at least from the perspective of the world’s shipping giants. Container spot rates started to slip in early 2022 and their descent accelerated in the second half of the year. The World Container Index compiled by London-based Drewry Shipping Consultants is down 77% so far this year.

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