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☆ China issues heavy fog warnings, some shipping suspended
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, Feb 7 (Reuters) - China issued dangerous heavy fog warnings for many regions and shipping was suspended in the Qiongzhou Strait, an important economic transport hub near Hainan, according to state and local media on Tuesday. China has a four-tier, color-coded weather-warning system, with red representing the most severe warning, followed by orange, yellow and blue. Multiple areas in China's southeastern Fujian also issued alerts for heavy fog, with ferry crossings between Xiamen and Zhangzhou suspended, according to CCTV. Fog will continue in the mornings and evenings of Qiongzhou Strait until Friday, and conditions for navigation will be poor, CCTV reported citing the national weather forecast bureau. In December, one person was killed when more than 200 vehicles were involved in a pile-up on a bridge in China's central Zhengzhou city due to heavy fog.

☆ Investments in Indonesia's nickel industry
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Here are some of the major investment deals involving nickel in Indonesia:Jan. 2020: Indonesia bans exports of unprocessed nickel to attract investment in downstream processing. Dec. 2020: Indonesia's investment ministry signs an MOU with LG Energy Solution (373220.KS) on integrated EV battery investment with total investment of $9.8 billion. 2021: Indonesia establishes the Indonesia Battery Corporation (IBC), a joint venture of state owned enterprises to cooperate with foreign investors in developing an EV battery supply chain. Jan. 2022: Indonesia's Investment Ministry signs an MoU with Foxconn (2317.TW), Gogoro Inc, IBC and Indika Energy (INDY.JK) for investment in electric vehicle and battery development. Sept 2022: Vale Indonesia signs an agreement with Zhejiang Huayou to build a second plant to produce nickel MHP with 60,000 tonnes capacity.

[1/2] A VLCC oil tanker is seen at a crude oil terminal in Ningbo Zhoushan port, Zhejiang province, China May 16, 2017. REUTERS/StringerBENGALURU, India, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Oil producers may have to reconsider their output policies following a demand recovery in China, the world's second-largest oil consumer, the International Energy Agency's Executive Director Fatih Birol said on Sunday. "We expect about half of the growth in global oil demand this year will come from China," Birol told Reuters on the sidelines of the India Energy Week conference. He added that China's jet fuel demand is exploding, putting upward pressure on demand. OPEC+ rolled over the group's current output policy at a meeting on Wednesday, leaving production cuts agreed last year in place.

☆ Exclusive: Volvo readies EV blitz in biggest product revamp under Geely
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Norihiko Shirouzu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] A Volvo S60 is displayed during the inauguration of Volvo Cars first U.S. production plant in Ridgeville, South Carolina, U.S., June 20, 2018. The Swedish carmaker, wholly owned by China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, is expected to launch at least six new battery electric vehicles through 2026, the two people told Reuters. The previously unreported product plans amount to the largest revamp of Volvo’s model line-up since Geely acquired the brand from Ford Motor Co (F.N) in 2010. Under Geely, Volvo initially started to share technologies such as car platforms with Geely. Volvo has carved out and sold its gasoline engine and hybrid powertrain operations to Geely.

☆ EV battery maker ONE raises $300 million, now valued at $1.2 billion
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Paul Lienert | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Workers are seen at the production line of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles (EV) at a factory in Huzhou, Zhejiang province, China August 28, 2018. REUTERS/StringerFeb 1 (Reuters) - Michigan-based battery startup Our Next Energy (ONE) on Wednesday said it closed a $300 million Series B funding round that takes the three-year-old company’s valuation to $1.2 billion. The latest round, led by investors Franklin Templeton and Fifth Wall, makes Our Next Energy one of the most valuable privately held battery companies in the United States. Investors in the latest round include Temasek, Coatue, Riverstone Holdings, AI Capital Partners and Sente Ventures. The Series B round included an earlier $62.5 million convertible note closed with BMW iVentures, Assembly Ventures, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Volta Energy Technologies, Flex and Coatue.

Maike's absence has encouraged some direct trade between sellers and buyers in the market but they face challenges. Fitch Solutions expects China's copper consumption to rise 4.4% this year, after just 1.5% growth in 2022. Anti-pandemic restrictions had also prolonged smelter maintenance and curtailed copper production growth last year, especially in the Guangdong area. Some smelters there have hiked their offers for 2023 copper premiums to 300 yuan a tonne, up from 200 yuan a tonne last year, a Shanghai-based trader said. While Maike's disappearance from the import market has been blamed for disrupting supplies and pricing, China's refined copper imports increased 6.6% in 2022, according to customs data.

☆ China's cities are struggling to pay their bills from three years of Covid and a real estate crash
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Rolling lockdowns seriously dented household incomes, leading many to reduce spending, which in turn resulted in less tax revenue for local governments. “China’s runaway local debt poses a serious threat to the country’s overall economic health and will weigh heavily on China’s still-nascent recovery,” said Singleton. Debt that is backed by local governments but which doesn’t show up on their balance sheets could be much bigger. That’s more than 20% higher than the estimate of 53 trillion yuan made by Goldman Sachs in 2021. Their debt squeeze could pose a serious threat to China’s financial system, particularly to small regional banks.

☆ Davos 2023: Big oil comes in from the cold on energy transition
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Maha El Dahan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

CHINA OUT./File Photo/File PhotoSummarySummary Companies Energy transition front and centre at Davos meetingEurope energy crisis forces moment of reckoningClimate activists sceptical of oil industry inclusionDAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 20 (Reuters) - A different type of energy transition has taken place at this year's World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting. Unlike 2021's COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, where oil and gas executives were personae non gratae, fossil fuel chiefs and renewable energy bosses sat cheek by jowl in Davos. Thunberg's was not the only voice at Davos with strong objections to the industry's new mantra that the energy crisis justifies new oil investments. Like Birol, British opposition leader Keir Starmer said the oil and gas sector has a role to play in the energy transition. Jaber, who is the founding CEO of Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy firm Masdar and has overseen the UAE's mandate to adopt renewables is not without green credentials.

☆ Indonesia says BASF, Eramet near $2.6 bln deal to process nickel for EV batteries
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A logo is seen on the facade of the BASF plant and former Ciba production site in Schweizerhalle near Basel July 7, 2009. Indonesia's investment ministry cited BASF chief executive Martin Brudermüller as saying the project investment would be worth around 2.4 billion euros ($2.59 billion). Eramet spokeswoman Fanny Mounier said the project was subject to a final investment decision and further details would be disclosed if a decision was made. The planned plant would produce mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) from nickel through a high-pressure acid leach (HPAL) plant. Investment into MHP production in Indonesia has so far been dominated by Chinese companies such as Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt and Tsingshan Holding Group.

☆ Most Chinese provinces set growth targets of above 5% in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BEIJING, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Most Chinese provinces aim for economic growth of above 5% this year, pledging to focus on boosting consumption following a lifting of stringent COVID curbs, according to local government work reports. Zhejiang province, which is a "demonstration zone" for China's common prosperity campaign, has set a more than 5% growth target this year, after missing its "around 6%" goal by half in 2022. Growth is expected to rebound to 4.9% in 2023, according to a Reuters poll. China is likely to aim for economic growth of at least 5% in 2023 to keep a lid on unemployment, policy insiders said. The tropical southern province of Hainan set an ambitious target of around 9.5% for 2023 growth, after the island's main tourist hub, Sanya, locked in tens of thousands of tourists last August.

☆ BASF, Eramet near $2.6 bln Indonesia deal to process nickel for EV batteries
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

JAKARTA, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Germany's BASF (BASFn.DE) and French miner Eramet (ERMT.PA) are finalising a $2.6 billion partnership deal to invest in a facility in Indonesia to process nickel for use in batteries for electric vehicles, Indonesian officials said. The project investment would be worth around 2.4 billion euros ($2.59 billion), the investment ministry said, citing BASF chief executive Martin Brudermüller. BASF and Eramet's investment plan was in line with the government's "aspirations to set up Indonesia as world-class EV player," said Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia. Indonesia is also finalising agreements with Chinese automaker BYD Group and Tesla (TSLA.O) to invest in EV production facilities, a senior cabinet minister said on Tuesday. Investment into MHP production in Indonesia has so far been dominated by Chinese companies such as Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt and Tsingshan Holding Group.

☆ Morgan Stanley says cheaper electric vehicles are coming — and names the global stocks set to benefit
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

As electric cars become increasingly popular, a new manufacturing technique that could make them more affordable is garnering interest, according to Morgan Stanley. Asian automakers are outsourcing this process which could benefit three leading parts suppliers, according to Morgan Stanley: The investment bank is overweight on Wencan, which it says has taken the lead in this sector. As a result, Morgan Stanley expects the Shanghai-listed buy-rated stock to rise by 18% to 78 Chinese Yuan ($11.5) over the next 12 months. Another Zhejiang-based car parts maker, Tuopu, is expected to "aggressively" expand into unibody manufacturing, the bank said. Morgan Stanley is similarly "equal-weight" on Xusheng , which recently won orders from BYD and has extensive know-how in aluminum casting.

☆ Macao gambling promoter Alvin Chau sentenced to 18 years - public broadcaster
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Philip Wang | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Alvin Chau, one of Macao’s high-profile gambling promoters, has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for racketeering and illegal gambling activities, the city’s public broadcaster TDM reported Wednesday. Chau, 48, was the former chairman of Suncity Group, a Macao-based company that helped promote gambling by lending credit to high rollers. Macao is the only region in China where gambling in casinos is legal. Chau was ordered by the court to pay the Macao government more than HK$6.5 billion ($830 million), the broadcaster reported, as well as $22.7 mlliion to $98 million to a number of casino operators. After his arrest, experts said that the move signaled a tougher stance on gambling in Macao by the Beijing authorities.

☆ China acquires 'golden shares' in two Alibaba units
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] The logo of Alibaba Group is seen at its office in Beijing, China Jan. 5, 2021. REUTERS/Thomas PeterBEIJING, China, Jan 13 (Reuters) - China has acquired minority stakes with special rights in two domestic units of tech giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (9988.HK), business registration records showed, as Beijing extends a campaign to strengthen control over online content. Beijing has been taking 'golden shares' in private online media and content companies for more than five years, and in recent years expanding such arrangements to companies with vast troves of data. These golden shares, typically equal to about 1% of a firm, are bought by government-backed funds or companies which gain board representation and/or veto rights for key business decisions. Having such golden shares can be helpful to firms when they try to secure licences to disseminate online news and to show online visual and audio programmes, sources have told Reuters.

Follow @KatrinaHamlin on TwitterloadingCONTEXT NEWSHong Kong-listed Apollo Future Mobility said on Jan. 12 that it had agreed to buy Chinese electric-car maker WM Motor Global for HK$15.9 billion ($2.02 billion). To fund the acquisition of its larger peer, Apollo will issue 28.8 billion new shares at HK$0.55 each. Apollo shares fell 8.6% and were trading at HK$0.23 by market close on Jan. 12. WM Motor Global filed for a Hong Kong initial public offering in May 2022, but the application lapsed in November. WM Motor Global’s owner, WM Motor Holdings, is the largest shareholder in Apollo Future Mobility, and WM Motor founder Freeman Shen sits on the latter’s board as co-chair.

☆ China’s local governments set 2023 growth targets, offering clues on economic recovery
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The meetings will culminate in the national parliamentary session to be held in March, in which the premier is expected to disclose the nation’s GDP growth target. So far, a group of government economists and international analysts have said they expect Beijing to set a growth target of above 5% in 2023. On Thursday, Zhejiang province, another major economic powerhouse, announced it’s targeting an expansion of more than 5% in 2023. On Wednesday, Shanghai, the most affluent city in mainland China, announced it would aim for 5.5% growth this year. On the same day, Fujian, Sichuan and Hebei provinces all disclosed growth targets of 6% for 2023.

REUTERS/Tingshu WangBEIJING, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Chinese state media defended on Wednesday the retaliatory measures against South Korea and Japan over their COVID-19 travel curbs as "reasonable", while Chinese tourists decried Seoul's "insulting" treatment on social media. South Korea, Japan, the United States and more than a dozen other countries imposed at the start of the year requirements for pre-departure negative test results from visitors from China. 'INSULTING'Chinese social media anger mainly targeted South Korea, whose border measures are the strictest among the countries that announced new rules. Global Times reserved a separate article for South Korea, saying the measures made Chinese people suspicious that Seoul was putting up a "political show." Annual spending by Chinese tourists abroad reached $250 billion before the pandemic, with South Korea and Japan among the top shopping destinations.

The holiday, known before the pandemic as the world's largest annual migration of people, comes amid an escalating diplomatic spat over COVID curbs that saw Beijing introduce transit curbs for South Korean and Japanese nationals on Wednesday. The virus is spreading unchecked in China after Beijing abruptly began dismantling its previously tight curbs in early December following historic protests. Among them, South Korea and Japan have also limited flights and require tests on arrival, with passengers showing up as positive being sent to quarantine. COUNTING DEATHSSome of the governments that announced curbs on travellers from China cited concerns over Beijing's data transparency. Annual spending by Chinese tourists abroad reached $250 billion before the pandemic, with South Korea and Japan among the top shopping destinations.

☆ In rural eastern China, not testing for COVID becomes the norm
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Brenda Goh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Breathing problems, body aches and lethargy had prompted her to visit a hospital in her home village in Tonglu county in eastern China's Zhejiang province' for treatment. It was a common reaction among patients in Tonglu, illustrating how COVID-19 is spreading across China without recognition, especially in its vast rural regions. Several residents around Tonglu county told Reuters they had COVID symptoms or believed they had been infected previously, but that testing was not that common, especially for those living in the villages. Medical facilities visited this week by Reuters in Tonglu county, in one of China's most prosperous regions and known for farming, were relatively calm. In Tonglu county, residents described how crowded the local crematorium was, echoing what funeral home staff in other cities such as Beijing and Shanghai have told Reuters.

☆ Alibaba signs cooperation agreement with authorities in China's Hangzhou -media
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SHANGHAI, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (9988.HK) has signed a cooperation agreement with the government of Hangzhou, the city where the company is headquartered, local media reported on Tuesday. China's internet giants have been in the crosshairs of Chinese regulators for the past two years, but authorities have in recent months given increasing signs that relations between the government and China's tech sector will thaw, which would bode well for the sector's prospectsThe government-backed Zhejiang Daily reported that at the signing event, local authorities formulated specific measures to help develop the online platform economy. The signing comes just two days after Ant Group Co Ltd (688688.SS), the finance company long affiliated with Alibaba, announced Jack Ma had ceded control of the company. The announcemnt caused shares of Alibaba and other Ant Group affiliated companies to soar, as investors interpreted the move as possible cap to a years-long regulatory crackdown on the Chinese tech industry read moreOn Monday, Guo Shuqing, Communist party chief of the People's Bank of China, was quoted by state broadcaster CCTV as saying that rectification of the financial business of 14 online platform companies has been "basically completed," though he did not name any companies. read moreReporting by Josh Horwitz; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Conor HumphriesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China suspends social media accounts of Covid policy critics
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

China has suspended or closed the social media accounts of more than 1,000 critics of the government's policies on the COVID-19 outbreak, as the country moves to further open up. The popular Sina Weibo social media platform said it had addressed 12,854 violations including attacks on experts, scholars and medical workers and issued temporary or permanent bans on 1,120 accounts. Nonetheless, China is forging ahead with a plan to end mandatory quarantines for people arriving from abroad beginning on Sunday. On Sunday, the National Health Commission reported 10,681 new domestic cases, bringing the country's total number of confirmed cases to 482,057. China has said the testing requirements being imposed by foreign governments — most recently Germany and Sweden — aren't science-based and has threatened unspecified countermeasures.

☆ Ant Group founder Jack Ma to give up control in key revamp
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Alibaba founder Jack Ma attends the 5th World Zhejiang Entrepreneurs Convention at Hangzhou International Expo Centre on November 13, 2019 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province of China. Ant Group's founder Jack Ma will give up control of the Chinese fintech giant in an overhaul that seeks to draw a line under a regulatory crackdown that was triggered soon after its mammoth stock market debut was scuppered two years ago. China's domestic A-share market requires companies to wait three years after a change in control to list. Hangzhou Yunbo, an investment vehicle for Ma, had control over two other entities that own a combined 50.5% stake of Ant, the prospectus showed. "At least Ant investors can (now) have some timetable for an exit after a long period of uncertainty," said Clark, who is also an author of a book on Alibaba and Ma.

☆ Tesla suppliers shares jump as electric automaker cuts prices for some models in China
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Jihye Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Hong Kong, China, 13 Sept 2022, A red Tesla car passes in front of a Tesla dealership in Wanchai. (Photo by Marc Fernandes/NurPhoto via Getty Images)Tesla's Chinese suppliers jumped after the electric automaker slashed prices for some models in China. Shenzhen-listed shares of Tesla's Chinese suppliers rallied on optimism the price cut could boost demand. Shares of Anhui Shiny Electronic Technology closed 8.8% higher and Hengdian Group DMEGC Magnetics gained nearly 9%. Zhejiang Chint Electrics closed 7.92% higher and Shandong Jinjing Science & Tech rose more than 6%.

HONG KONG/BEIJING, Jan 6 (Reuters) - China is in talks with Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) to secure a licence that will allow domestic drugmakers to manufacture and distribute a generic version of the U.S. firm's COVID-19 antiviral drug Paxlovid in China, three sources told Reuters. In February last year, China approved Paxlovid, which was supposed to be largely available via hospitals, to treat high-risk patients in several provinces. Pfizer last month reached an agreement to export Paxlovid to China through a local company to make the medicine more widely available. A Pfizer spokesperson said the company is actively collaborating with Chinese authorities and all stakeholders to secure an adequate supply of Paxlovid in China. That licence does not allow the companies to sell generic Paxlovid in China.

☆ China Dec factory activity extends declines on COVID infections - Caixin PMI
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A worker polishes a bicycle steel rim at a factory manufacturing sports equipment in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China September 2, 2019. The Caixin/Markit manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) fell to 49.0 in December from 49.4 in November. China's larger official PMI survey on Saturday showed a much sharper decline, with the activity index falling to a near three-year low. The figures provide a snapshot of the challenges faced by Chinese manufacturers who now have to contend with surging infections after the country's abrupt COVID policy U-turn in early December. Chinese leaders have pledged to step up policy adjustments to cushion the impact on businesses and consumers of a surge in COVID infections at a time when a weakening global economy is hurting exports.

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