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☆ Edtech giant leverages up in financial expertise
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, April 4 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Indian education technology giant Byju’s has a new chief financial officer. Ajay Goel, who recently left a similar role at the Mumbai-listed natural resources firm Vedanta (VDAN.NS), will now steer the debt-laden company’s finances. Prosus-backed (PRX.AS) Byju’s, meanwhile, in December sought easier terms on a year-old $1.2 billion loan private placement. That provides some breathing room, but with the company’s top line shrinking and losses mounting, the battle-hardened Goel’s start date cannot come too soon. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ Aussie central bank fix will paper over inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Antony Currie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MELBOURNE, April 4 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Australia’s central bank is getting the builders in – literally and figuratively. The Reserve Bank of Australia’s 1960s Sydney headquarters is currently clad in scaffolding, part of what is supposed to be a two-year, A$200 million-plus ($135 million) renovation. For a central bank, the RBA is particularly quirky. Another major task for the review panel was assessing how the bank combats inflation, which hit 7.8% in the year to December. Treasurer Jim Chalmers on March 31 received the final report on the review of the country’s central bank that he unveiled last July.

☆ Bank bail-ins, and how to prevent climate bailouts: podcast
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( George Hay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON, April 4 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Mark Carney helped design the post-2008 system for resolving bust lenders. In this episode of the Exchange, the ex-Bank of England governor tells George Hay what he makes of last month’s rescue of Credit Suisse, and how to limit future financial sector hits from climate change. Listen to the podcastFollow @gfhay on TwitterSubscribe to Breakingviews’ podcasts, Viewsroom and The Exchange. Editing by Thomas ShumOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ How Modi can grab India’s geopolitical “moment”
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Hugo Dixon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

India is in a geopolitical sweet spot because of growing tension between the United States and China. The hard-nosed realpolitik view is that this doesn’t matter as India and the United States have a common threat. This matters for India’s economic future, as geopolitical considerations are increasingly driving global commerce. The United States is encouraging this process through what it calls “friendshoring”. Modi can do a lot to make the most of India’s geopolitical opportunity.

☆ Google giggles at China tech’s shrinking act
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Pete Sweeney | Thomson Reuters | Asia Economics Editor Pete Sweeney Joined Reuters Breakingviews In Hong Kong In September Previously He Served As Reuters' Chief Correspondent For China Economy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HONG KONG, March 31 (Reuters Breakingviews) - As an $18 trillion economy home to 1.4 billion people, China is a natural font of statistical superlatives. The country’s internet giants, however, are dwarfed by American colossi like the $1.3 trillion Google owner Alphabet (GOOGL.O). Access to cheap capital helped founders like Alibaba’s Jack Ma quickly diversify and build sprawling empires with global ambitions. Meanwhile, the top eight U.S. tech names, led by Apple (AAPL.O), Microsoft (MSFT.O) and Alphabet, are worth $8 trillion today. The American tech giants already generate three times more revenue and nearly five times more free cash flow than their aspirant Chinese challengers, Refinitiv Eikon data shows.

☆ Alibaba hands parched dealmakers a glass half-full
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Antony Currie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Then New York- and Hong Kong-listed Alibaba (9988.HK) revealed it was creating six independently run businesses. That will keep dealmaking teams busy for months if, as CEO Daniel Zhang envisions, multiple listed companies emerge from the $250 billion parent. And if a breakup is good for Alibaba, they can dust off pitchbooks for its domestic rivals. Follow @AntonyMCurrie on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSAlibaba CEO Daniel Zhang said on March 29 that he hopes multiple listed companies will emerge from the group. “I hope there will be multiple listed companies emerging from the Alibaba system, and that they will continue to nurture their own sons and daughters, and cultivate more listed companies”, Zhang said, according to the South China Morning Post.

☆ Busting through the brick wall barricading M&A: podcast
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Jeffrey Goldfarb | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

NEW ORLEANS, March 28 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Worldwide merger activity is down by about half this year to $470 bln, stymied by tough financing conditions, assertive trustbusters and more. In this Exchange podcast from New Orleans, JPMorgan’s head of M&A Anu Aiyengar debates downbeat dealmakers and the pockets of optimism. Listen to the podcastFollow @jgfarb on TwitterSubscribe to Breakingviews’ podcasts, Viewsroom and The Exchange. Editing by Sharon Lam and Thomas ShumOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

HONG KONG, March 28 (Reuters Breakingviews) - In the biblical parable of the prodigal son, a repentant wastrel returns home to a forgiving and beneficent father. In China, Alibaba (9988.HK) founder Jack Ma's homecoming and rehabilitation appears to be part of an official campaign to revive flagging private sector investment. However, if officials believe the mere sight of Ma in public will revive business confidence, that hope has a whiff of desperation. Ma the prodigal entrepreneur has returned, but perhaps not for long. Shares of Alibaba rallied as much as 4% in Hong Kong following the SCMP report before closing flat at HK$85.25 on March 27.

☆ US corporates and China hug awkwardly in Beijing
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Pete Sweeney | Thomson Reuters | Asia Economics Editor Pete Sweeney Joined Reuters Breakingviews In Hong Kong In September Previously He Served As Reuters' Chief Correspondent For China Economy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The final quarter saw a slight rebound, but American FDI into China has been slowing for years. Despite their suspicions of the U.S. government, Chinese officials don’t want American capitalists to stop investing in the country because their firms create jobs, bring technology and best practices. Anecdotal evidence suggests even in harmless industries like textiles and market research, decoupling is becoming the default American investment thesis. If China surprises by dramatically boosting internal demand, U.S. executives and their shareholders will be placated. Cook is in Beijing to attend the China Development Forum, a flagship investment conference organised by the government and held March 25-27.

☆ Hong Kong sharpens fine art edge over Singapore
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Thomas Shum | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HONG KONG, March 24 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Chinese collectors are piling into Hong Kong for Art Basel this week. As the financial hub jostles with rival Singapore, its vibrant art market could help it grab a bigger slice of Asia’s wealth management pie. The cream of that crop tends to go on the block in Hong Kong. Hong Kong is hardly out of the economic woods. But the chattering crowds at Art Basel should remind investors that the city retains a profitable artistic edge.

HONG KONG, March 23 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Tencent (0700.HK) is sounding more like its normal self again. The combination of regulatory respite, a post-lockdown consumption bounce plus cost cuts have put the company in a sweet spot for 2023. Revenue in the three months to December inched up 0.5% from a year earlier, to $21 billion, reversing year-on-year declines from the previous two quarters. With 2022 firmly behind it, Tencent can put a spring back in its step. Shares of Tencent rose 4.7% to HK$364.00 during early morning trading on March 23.

HONG KONG, March 22 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Time may be on Richard Li’s side. By cobbling together acquisitions, Li has built a brand to sell life insurance across Hong Kong, Japan and Southeast Asia. The value of new business – a measure of the present value of future earnings from policies signed - rose around 30%. Follow @KatrinaHamlin on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSAsian insurer FWD has made a fresh application for a Hong Kong listing, according to stock exchange filings published on March 13. A first attempt to go public in Hong Kong in 2021 was refused owing to concern over its dual-class shares.

☆ Bayer pumps H2O to top of climate agenda: podcast
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Antony Currie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

NEW YORK, March 21 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The UN is hosting its first confab on water security in almost 50 years as floods and droughts worsen with rising temperatures. In this Exchange podcast, Bayer executive and former member of Germany’s Green Party Matthias Berninger lays out the drugs-to-seeds maker’s remedies. Subscribe to Breakingviews’ podcasts, Viewsroom and The Exchange. Editing by Thomas ShumOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ Credit Suisse reinforces Japan’s offshore anxiety
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Pete Sweeney | Thomson Reuters | Asia Economics Editor Pete Sweeney Joined Reuters Breakingviews In Hong Kong In September Previously He Served As Reuters' Chief Correspondent For China Economy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

HONG KONG, March 21 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The crisis at Credit Suisse has traders wondering who’s next. Japanese lenders, with their staid depositor bases, look like unlikely targets for bank runs. Yet the rising cost of short-term dollar and euro credit, combined with extreme yen volatility, have made hedging much more expensive. Domestic commercial lenders alone held $600 billion of international debt securities at the end of 2022, and some look overexposed. Take Japan Post Bank (7182.T), a $32 billion institution whose parent is partly owned by the Ministry of Finance.

☆ Water’s big moment risks getting lost in the weeds
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Antony Currie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The latest is research published last Thursday by the Global Commission on the Economics of Water. The sum, though, is just $140 million, and the U.S. government’s International Development Finance Corporation is pouring in three-quarter of the proceeds. But there is a decent investment case for water without state or supranational support. Without them, water’s big moment risks getting lost in the weeds. Follow @AntonyMCurrie on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSThe United Nations 2023 Water Conference starts on March 22, World Water Day, in New York.

Concerns that Chinese investors are buying overseas to make a quick profit at home are valid. Since last year, 11 Chinese companies have raised a combined $3.6 billion by selling GDRs on the Six Swiss Exchange, data from Dealogic show. Savvy punters with access to foreign funds can therefore make a quick and relatively risk-free profit by shorting the Chinese stock and buying the discounted GDRs. This helps explain why Swiss shares of Chinese companies barely trade. Since the launch of a China-Swiss stock scheme in 2022, 11 Chinese companies have raised a combined $3.6 billion, according to data from Dealogic.

☆ Bad news salvo gives Bank of Japan some cover
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Pete Sweeney | Thomson Reuters | Asia Economics Editor Pete Sweeney Joined Reuters Breakingviews In Hong Kong In September Previously He Served As Reuters' Chief Correspondent For China Economy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HONG KONG, March 16 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Incoming Bank of Japan (8301.T) Governor Kazuo Ueda can breathe a sigh of relief; things aren’t going very well. Ripples from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank have shoved down sovereign bond yields, inadvertently driving off an attack by traders who believed global inflation made rate hikes unavoidable. This year, however, spiking energy costs have pushed the core consumer index excluding fresh food over 4%, double the BOJ’s target. Consumer price inflation including energy but excluding fresh food touched 4.2% in January, a 41-year high. Core consumer inflation has now exceeded the Bank of Japan's 2% target for nine straight months.

☆ Big Oil’s old profligacy lives on Down Under
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Antony Currie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Throw in dividends and Santos shareholders have received a measly 6% total return during that period. Santos’ 15% return on capital employed last year puts it at the bottom of the class; BP delivered almost 25%. It looks slated to stay in the basement, with analysts projecting a sub-8% return for 2025, per Refinitiv data. The bonus is mostly tied to successful “growth projects”, which arguably encourages him to overinvest. If that happens again at next month’s annual meeting, it would, under Australian rules, allow investors to boot the entire board.

☆ Middle East pivot to Asia is strategic this time
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Una Galani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Xi Jinping has brokered a deal the United States would have found hard to secure, despite its traditional military influence in the Middle East. The Middle East has trained its financial sights on Asia before. At current rates of growth, emerging Asia will become the top trade partner for the Gulf countries by 2028, per Asia House, surpassing advanced economies. As U.S.-China relations continue to sour, the Asian financial centre is looking to the Middle East to find new foreign companies to trade in the territory. Delegations from the two Middle East countries held talks in Beijing between March 6 and 10, the statement added.

Now overseas demand is slumping amidst a local credit crunch and a corruption crackdown. A trade agreement and warmer relations with Washington spared its manufacturers from tariffs and sanctions applied to its northern neighbour. Now overseas demand is stuttering. Vietnam's exports of goods and services have been slowingFollow @KatrinaHamlin on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSVietnam's economy grew 8.02% in 2022, the fastest annual pace since 1997, according to data released by the country’s General Statistics Office on Dec. 29. Vietnamese exports were flat in February and fell 23.4% in January compared to a year earlier, according to Refinitiv data released on March 9.

☆ China central bank punts its succession problem
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

That may be because Zhu Hexin, his mooted successor, is known mostly for his stint heading state-owned financial conglomerate CITIC – not a household name outside China - has no detectable international experience. In contrast, Yi is a respected known quantity for domestic and international investors alike, comfortable parleying with global institutions like the World Bank and IMF. Beijing might be keeping Yi for the painful parts of the reorganisation – including massive pay cuts – before retiring him. The so-called sea turtles – Chinese people with overseas market experience and foreign language skills – have been migrating out of government for years. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ Bank rescue buys stability at a high price
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( John Foley | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Along the way, they also closed down another struggling lender, Signature Bank of New York. First, the FDIC will reimburse all of the two banks’ depositors, not just those whose balances are within the $250,000 guaranteed limit. In the event that the bank’s assets, after a sale, are below the value of the deposits, that cost will be spread among all FDIC-insured banks. Follow @johnsfoley on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSFinancial authorities teamed up on March 12 to protect the depositors of failed U.S. lender Silicon Valley Bank. The authorities also said that Signature Bank, a New York-based lender, was also closed on March 12.

☆ Cathay’s people problem is Hong Kong’s too
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Thomas Shum | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HONG KONG, March 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Cathay Pacific (0293.HK) may be a high-flying reminder of the Asian finance hub’s pandemic-induced isolation for longer than anyone wants. It promises a swift reversal on a HK$6.5 billion ($834 million) net loss for 2022 Cathay reported on Wednesday. The company has close to 2,405 pilots, roughly 63% of pre-pandemic numbers, according to a survey conducted in March by the Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association and seen by Breakingviews. That makes Cathay’s people problem Hong Kong’s too. Cathay Pacific carried 1.03 million passengers in January 2023, up from 24,699 last year.

☆ CATL’s battery ram is losing power
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HONG KONG, March 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Chinese battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology (300750.SZ) posted earnings growth of 61% for the quarter ended December on Thursday. The company led by Robin Zeng boasts unrivalled economies of scale, allowing it to drive down costs for clients including Tesla (TSLA.O). Alas, in China, which accounts for four fifths of CATL’s top line, such dominance is drawing unwanted attention. On Monday, during a meeting between Zeng and Chinese President Xi Jinping, the Party leader expressed mixed feelings about CATL’s 37% global market share. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

The usually sleepy Ministry of Science and Technology will be tasked to help lead the country's efforts to reduce dependence on Western suppliers. Meanwhile, creating a National Data Bureau should streamline the myriad of regulations spanning cybersecurity, personal privacy and information transfer. The benefits of upgrading the science, technology and patent ministries are less clear. And despite China being the world's most prolific patent filer, 90% are low-value "trash", estimated one Chinese official in 2019. Other proposals from the State Council include creating a National Data Bureau to coordinate sharing and developing the country's data resources.

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