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☆ Chinese State-Owned Enterprises Are Hong Kong’s Hottest Stocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Dave Sebastian | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

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☆ Hopes for Hong Kong’s IPO Market Rest on Alibaba, JD.com Carve-Outs
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Dave Sebastian | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Plans by two of China’s biggest technology companies to sell shares in their subsidiaries could give a jolt of confidence to a Hong Kong IPO market that has been in the doldrums for more than a year. Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., which is listed in Hong Kong and New York, said last week it would reorganize into six independently run companies and explore IPOs for them. Not long after, smaller rival JD.com Inc. filed paperwork in the Asian financial hub to sell shares in its property and industrial units, which The Wall Street Journal reported were aiming to raise about $1 billion each this year.

☆ Richard Branson’s Space Company Virgin Orbit Files for Bankruptcy
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Dave Sebastian | Benjamin Katz | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Richard Branson ’s Virgin Orbit Holdings Inc. has filed for bankruptcy after the satellite-launch venture said it wasn’t able to secure sufficient funding to continue in what has become a hypercompetitive market. The company on Tuesday said it was working to sell itself. Just three months ago, it was poised to make history by delivering the first satellites into orbit from the billionaire’s home country of the U.K.—before the high-profile launch ended in the destruction of its satellite payload.

☆ JD.com’s Property and Industrial Units Seek About $1 Billion Each in Hong Kong IPOs
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Dave Sebastian | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Workers sort packages for delivery at a JD.com warehouse in Beijing. JD.com Inc.’s property and industrials units are targeting to raise about $1 billion each in Hong Kong initial public offerings, people familiar with the matter said, adding to the supply of potentially sizable deals that could hit the market this year. The Chinese e-commerce giant said on Thursday that it is planning to spin off Jingdong Property Inc. and Jingdong Industrials Inc. by listing both companies in the city.

☆ Saudi Chairman of Credit Suisse’s Largest Investor Resigns
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Summer Said | Dave Sebastian | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

DUBAI—The chairman of Credit Suisse Group AG’s largest shareholder has resigned less than two weeks after his comments set off a panic with the European lender’s shareholders that eventually led the Swiss government to engineer a takeover by rival UBS Group AG. Ammar al-Khudairy, the chairman of Saudi National Bank, is leaving for personal reasons and will be succeeded by Chief Executive Saeed Mohammed al-Ghamdi , the bank said on Monday. It didn’t say whether the resignation was tied to Mr. Khudairy’s comments on SNB’s investment in Credit Suisse.

☆ Chinese Shares Lead Gains as U.S. Breaks for Presidents Day
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Dave Sebastian | Caitlin Ostroff | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Friday action in New York, where stock markets are shut Monday for Presidents Day. Stocks in mainland China and Hong Kong rose Monday, giving a strong start to global equities on a day when U.S. markets are shut for a public holiday. China’s broad CSI 300 index closed up 2.5%, its biggest single-day rise this year. The Shanghai Composite Index gained 2.1%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.8%.

☆ China Sanctions Lockheed Martin and Raytheon as Tensions Over Balloon Increase
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Dave Sebastian | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Lockheed Martin is prohibited from export and import activities related to China under the country’s latest sanctions. HONG KONG–China has imposed fresh sanctions on the U.S.’s two largest defense contractors, a largely symbolic gesture that nevertheless signaled escalating tensions between the world’s two largest economies following the shooting down of a Chinese balloon by an Air Force fighter jet. On Thursday, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said it blacklisted Lockheed Martin Corp. and an arm of Raytheon Technologies Corp. over the companies’ arms sales to Taiwan. Putting the companies on its “unreliable entities list” prohibits them from export and import activities related to China.

☆ Berkshire Hathaway Sheds Most of Its Stake in Chip Maker TSMC
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Dave Sebastian | Dan Strumpf | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Workers at a TSMC chip factory in Tainan, Taiwan, late last year. Warren Buffett ’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. sold billions of dollars worth of shares in a Taiwanese chip maker just months after taking a stake in the company. The Omaha, Neb.-based conglomerate cut its position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. by 51.8 million shares in the last three months of 2022, according to a regulatory filing Tuesday. That was roughly 86% of its investment.

☆ Hong Kong Vies for Blockbuster Aramco Listing as Saudi Ties Deepen
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Dave Sebastian | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

If Aramco chooses to list in Hong Kong, the deal would be a boon for the city. Hong Kong officials are making a renewed push to convince Saudi Arabia’s national oil company to list its shares in the city, two months after a visit by Chinese leader Xi Jinping to the Middle Eastern country. John Lee, Hong Kong’s chief executive, led a large delegation of government officials, bankers and other executives to Saudi Arabia this week, part of a wider tour of the Middle East. Mr. Lee told Amin Nasser , chief executive of oil giant Aramco, that Hong Kong’s stock exchange would welcome a secondary listing by the company. A deal could be valued at tens of billions of dollars, according to some bankers’ estimates.

☆ Adani Plans $1.1 Billion Loan Repayment After Share Collateral Plummets
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Dave Sebastian | Weilun Soon | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The ports-to-energy conglomerate controlled by Indian billionaire Gautam Adani said its founders will prepay a $1.1 billion loan that was backed by shares of some of its companies, a move to shore up investor confidence after a rout in its stock prices over the past two weeks. The Adani Group said Monday that its so-called promoters—a term used to describe controlling shareholders—have posted amounts to pay off the loan ahead of its maturity in September 2024. The loan was backed by shares in several Adani companies, all of which have fallen dramatically since U.S. short seller Hindenburg Research published a scathing report on the Adani Group on Jan. 24.

☆ Adani Group Plans $1.1 Billion Loan Repayment After Share Collateral Plummets
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Dave Sebastian | Weilun Soon | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Losses From Adani Stock Rout Top $100 Billion
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Dave Sebastian | Weilun Soon | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Gautam Adani said Thursday that the assets of his namesake conglomerate were robust. Shares of companies linked to Indian billionaire Gautam Adani continued to slide on Thursday, after his namesake conglomerate canceled a planned share sale that was meant to raise more than $2 billion. Adani Enterprises Ltd., the group’s flagship business that scrapped its follow-on public offering after a plunge in its shares the previous day, fell another 26% on Thursday. The shares have lost more than half their value since Hindenburg Research, a U.S. short seller, released a scathing report last week alleging fraud and stock-price manipulation at Mr. Adani’s conglomerate.

☆ Adani Draws Enough Investor Bids to Pull Off $2.5 Billion Stock Sale
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Dave Sebastian | Weilun Soon | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The flagship company of India’s Adani Group collected enough investor bids Tuesday to pull off a large stock sale, advancing its fundraising plans in the face of fraud allegations from a U.S. short seller. By Tuesday afternoon in India, a public share offering by Adani Enterprises Ltd. was slightly oversubscribed—indicating that the Mumbai-listed company would be able to complete the deal, which aimed to raise up to $2.5 billion.

Gautam Adani has accumulated wealth through companies that own coal mines, ports, cement producers and other assets. A giant Indian conglomerate couldn’t stop the freefall in its shares and bonds set off by an American short seller in what has grown into a bitter fight over the empire created by one of India’s richest and most politically connected businesspeople. Adani Group, an energy and infrastructure company, released its 413-page rebuttal to the short seller’s claims just as the trading week began in Asia. Investors weren’t convinced and dumped shares of the company on Monday, bringing the total value lost to $64 billion since last week.

☆ Indian Shares Face Tough Year as China Steals the Limelight
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Dave Sebastian | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Analysts expect foreign investors to continue cutting their exposure to India over the next six months, but they say the market could perform better in the second half of the year. India’s stock market was one of the few bright spots in Asia last year. But high valuations and the increasing attractiveness of China mean investors should expect a bumpy first half, according to analysts. The MSCI India index rose 1.6% in 2022, compared with a 22% decline in the comparable benchmark for China. While China was struggling with the economic impact of its zero-Covid policy and a sharp slowdown in the property sector, India’s economy performed well as the pandemic eased.

☆ Kuaishou Co-Founder Sells $483 Million in Stock to Fund Donations
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Dave Sebastian | Raffaele Huang | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Beijing-based Kuaishou says some of the proceeds will go to a foundation that will make donations for public-benefit purposes. Kuaishou Technology Chairman Su Hua sold $483 million worth of shares in the short-video app operator to fund charitable contributions and other causes, joining other founders of Chinese technology giants who have made similar moves. A company owned by Mr. Su and his family sold a roughly 1.3% stake in Hong Kong-listed Kuaishou on Wednesday in an off-market block trade, according to a regulatory filing. Beijing-based Kuaishou said some of the proceeds will go to a foundation that will make donations entirely for public-benefit purposes. Other funds will be directed to a trust supporting the development of cutting-edge technology and related infrastructure.

☆ Japanese Stocks Fall Ahead of BOJ Meeting
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Dave Sebastian | Megumi Fujikawa | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Bank of Japan’s monetary-policy board is due to meet this week. Stocks in mainland China rose to start the week, while Japanese markets fell as the country’s long-term bond yields again breached a cap set by the Bank of Japan . The Nikkei 225 closed down 297.20 points, or 1.1%, to end the day at 25822.32. The Japanese yen weakened slightly against the U.S. dollar, hitting 128.69 by late afternoon trading in Hong Kong.

☆ Chinese IPOs Set to Return Outside the Mainland, One Step at a Time
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Dave Sebastian | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Will initial public offerings from Chinese companies make a comeback in Hong Kong and New York next year? Deal makers hope so—but they might have to start small. Chinese companies have raised just $536 million from U.S. listings this year through Dec. 23, down around 96% from the total they raised throughout 2021. The proceeds of their Hong Kong listings are less than a third of last year’s haul. But after progress on resolving a long-running audit dispute between China and the U.S. and guarded hopes for a recovery in share prices, these companies may now be preparing to return to overseas exchanges in greater numbers.

☆ Citigroup to Pull Out of Consumer Banking in China
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Dave Sebastian | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Citigroup Inc. is winding down its consumer-banking operations in China, the latest step in its retreat from the business in Asia. The move followed a strategic shift for Citi last year, one of the first big steps taken by Chief Executive Jane Fraser after she got the top job. The U.S. bank laid out plans to shed most of its retail operations in Asia and devote resources to wealth management and corporate customers.

☆ SoftBank, Tencent Lead Way as Asia’s Tech Investors Become Stock Sellers
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Dave Sebastian | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

SoftBank and other large investors in Asian tech companies are pulling out of the sector. Some of the world’s most influential institutions are selling shares of Asia’s technology giants after owning them for years, a troubling sign for investors after what has already been a painful market selloff. In recent months, Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp. has pared its stakes in the Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and the Indian mobile-payments company Paytm, in both cases following declines in their share prices. Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Warren Buffett’s company, has been gradually reducing its stake in BYD Co., a Chinese electric-vehicle maker that it has owned shares in since 2008.

☆ Chinese Nickel Producer Lygend Seeks Up to $593 Million in Hong Kong IPO
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Dave Sebastian | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Lygend Resources & Technology Co. , a Chinese nickel producer and trader, wants to raise as much as $593 million in its Hong Kong initial public offering, becoming the latest company along the electric-vehicle supply chain to tap public markets in a lackluster year for debuts. The company, based in Ningbo, China, said Monday that it is taking investor orders through Thursday, and that it expects to list on Dec. 1. Its offer price will be somewhere from HK$15.60—equivalent to $1.99—to HK$19.96 apiece, Lygend said. About 90% of the 232.5 million shares on offer will be available to international investors, the company added.

☆ Indonesia Earthquake Kills at Least 56 and Injures More Than 700
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Dave Sebastian | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Rescuers helped a man hurt in the 5.6-magnitude earthquake that hit Cianjur, Indonesia, on Monday. An earthquake struck the Indonesian island of Java on Monday, leaving at least 56 people dead, around 700 injured and hundreds of buildings damaged, officials said. The 5.6-magnitude earthquake was centered in the Cianjur area in West Java at a shallow depth of 6.2 miles, according to Indonesia’s meteorological agency. The temblor didn’t have the potential to create a tsunami, the agency said.

☆ Indonesia Earthquake Kills at Least 162, Damages Thousands of Homes in Java
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Dave Sebastian | Fadiyah Alaidrus | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

An earthquake struck the Indonesian island of Java on Monday, leaving at least 162 people dead, hundreds injured and thousands of homes damaged, a senior official said. The 5.6-magnitude earthquake was centered in the Cianjur area in West Java at a shallow depth of 6.2 miles, according to Indonesia’s meteorological agency. The temblor didn’t have the potential to create a tsunami, the agency said.

☆ Indonesian Tech Giant GoTo Axes 1,300 Employees
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Dave Sebastian | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

HONG KONG—Indonesian ride-hailing, e-commerce and financial-services company GoTo Group is laying off 12% of its employees, or 1,300 people, as it seeks to cut costs and chart a course through a difficult period for global technology companies, its chief executive told staffers. The Jakarta-based company is seeking to give priority to core products and businesses and make its organizational structure more efficient, Chief Executive Andre Soelistyo said, adding that while savings had been made across the group’s operations, job cuts were necessary because of the uncertain market conditions created in large part by the pandemic.

☆ Hong Kong’s Stock Exchange Hit Hard by Market Rout
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Dave Sebastian | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing has proposed a rule change that would allow more early-stage companies to list. Hong Kong’s stock market has performed badly this year—but its stock-exchange operator has done even worse. The shares of Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd. are down 43% since the start of the year, even after a rally so far in November. That is a bigger drop than that of Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index, which has fallen 30% in the year to date. It also compares poorly with its global peers—no major exchange operator has lost more value this year.

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