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☆ Toyota gets activism, without the activists
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SINGAPORE, June 5 (Reuters Breakingviews) - It’s one thing to be targeted by pushy activists looking for a quick return. It’s perhaps more embarrassing to receive the wholesale disapproval of American pension funds who are long-term stewards of capital. That’s the position the board of $200 billion carmaker Toyota (7203.T) finds itself in. The pair also favoured a resolution brought by Danish and Dutch pension funds urging Toyota to improve disclosure of its lobbying on climate change. Toyota insists its board adheres to the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s independence standards.

Persons: Akio Toyoda, Katrina Hamlin, Pete Sweeney, Pranav Kiran Organizations: Reuters, Toyota, New York, California Public Employees, Danish, Tokyo Stock, Twitter, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, New York City, Una, Saudi, East

HONG KONG, June 5 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Shein is threading the world’s trickiest geopolitical needle. But rising American pressure is forcing it to tweak its business model right as it tries to list there. Last year, its top line surged 46% to $23 billion, per the Wall Street Journal, surpassing $22 billion at H&M and outpacing the 18% growth at Inditex. A Boston Consulting Group report notes that this model allows Shein to keep inventory turnover at just 40 days. That will be expensive; the company's net profit margin was a razor-thin 3.5% last year, according to the Wall Street Journal, far below bricks and mortar rival Inditex's 13%.

Persons: Shein, Bernstein, Chris Xu, Xu, Mubadala, Pete Sweeney, Katrina Hamlin Organizations: Reuters, U.S ., Rivals, Street, Financial Times, Boston Consulting, Morningstar, Securities and Exchange Commission, Wall Street, ’, Singapore, Sequoia Capital, General Atlantic, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Zara, China, Inditex, Guangdong, U.S, Xinjiang, Nanjing, Singapore, Mexico, Brazil, India

☆ U.N. Body Condemns Torture of Guantánamo Prisoner Awaiting Capital Trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( Carol Rosenberg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Why It Matters: Criticism of Guantánamo Bay is mounting, again. The report could be presented to a sentencing jury of U.S. military officers in Mr. Nashiri’s case. In October 2021, a military jury in the case of another Guantánamo prisoner who was tortured by the C.I.A. Mr. Nashiri’s lawyers describe him as a torture survivor who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and other conditions attributed to untreated physical, psychological and sexual abuse. Mr. Nashiri has more hearings this month focused on what evidence can be used at his eventual capital trial.

Persons: Biden, Cole, Abd al Rahim, Janet Hamlin, Nashiri, Katie Carmon Organizations: International Committee, Pentagon, Associated Press Locations: Guantánamo, America, U.S, Aden Harbor, United States

☆ Indian ports will test tycoons' safe harbour
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Pranav Kiran | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

For the public market wannabe, it tees up a tricky benchmark in a global industry with few listed giants. JSW Infrastructure is closely aligned to India’s growth story. More than half of cargo handled at Indian ports last year was coal, petroleum oil and lubricants. JSW Infrastructure grew revenue 92% in the three years to March 2022, three times as fast as its rival. JSW Infrastructure, India’s second largest commercial ports operator by cargo handling capacity, in May filed for an initial public offering in Mumbai to raise up to 28 billion rupees ($340 million).

Persons: Gautam Adani, Sajjan Jindal, Adani, JSW, ”, Una Galani, Katrina Hamlin Organizations: Reuters, Hindenburg Research, Deloitte, JSW, Infrastructure, Deloitte Haskins, Securities and Exchange Board of India, JM Financial, Axis Bank, State Bank of India, HSBC, Credit Suisse, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU, Mumbai, Goa, Tamil Nadu, West, JSW

☆ Wall Street faces life in China’s second tier
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Antony Currie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Recent earnings reports from U.S. investment banks defy the sober mood among China-focused financiers. Morgan Stanley’s (MS.N) Asia revenue in the first three months of the year was almost 40% above the final quarter of 2022. Companies going public in Hong Kong have raised $2 billion so far this year, per Dealogic. At some point Hong Kong IPOs and cross-border M&A are likely to perk up. Many of those trades flow through the Hong Kong bourse’s Stock Connect links to the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges.

Persons: Jamie Dimon, outlast, It’s, Morgan Stanley’s, Sharon Yeshaya, Goldman Sachs’s, that’s, Stephanie Hui, Goldman Sachs, ”, Morgan Stanley, Goldman, That’s, Breakingviews, Hong Kong, Peter Thal Larsen, Katrina Hamlin Organizations: MELBOURNE, Reuters, JPMorgan, Communist Party, Companies, HK, KKR, Reuters Graphics, Tuesday, Bank of America, Wall, China Securities, Financial Times, Apple, Hong Kong bourse’s, Goldman, JPMorgan –, Bloomberg, Thomson Locations: China, Shanghai, U.S, Asia, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Beijing, Washington, United States, People’s Republic, Germany, Hong, Shenzhen, Greater China, Pacific

HONG KONG, May 31 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Elon Musk may be China’s most popular American. State media quoted Musk saying the United States and China share “inseparable” interests and that Tesla opposes decoupling. This all provides the $638 billion Tesla with good political cover in the world’s largest automobile market. But for now Beijing and Musk are getting what they want out of the arrangement, and that means it is likely to endure. Reuters GraphicsFollow @petesweeneypro and @KatrinaHamlin on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSTesla Chief Executive Elon Musk visited China on May 30 for the first time since 2020.

Persons: Elon, Qin Gang, Musk, Xi Jinping, Elon Musk, Apple's Tim Cook, JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon, Laxman Narasimhan, Robyn Mak, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Foreign, Chinese Communist Party, Tesla’s, Twitter, CCP, SpaceX, Starbucks, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Beijing, Shanghai, China, Japan, Republic, India, Turkey, People’s Republic, United States, Washington

☆ Pru CFO exit adds urgent task to new CEO’s agenda
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HONG KONG, May 31 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Anil Wadhwani's honeymoon period as Prudential’s (PRU.L) boss has ended abruptly. Just as he prepares to mark 100 days in the role, his Chief Financial Officer James Turner has unexpectedly resigned after an investigation into “a recent recruitment situation”. Worse, Turner’s previous assignment was as Prudential’s chief risk and compliance offer, a position he held for more than four years. Following China’s reopening, mainland visitors purchasing insurance products in Hong Kong helped boost its quarterly annual premium equivalent, a measure of new sales, by 35% year-on-year in the three months to March. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Anil Wadhwani's, James Turner, Turner, Katrina Hamlin, Robyn Mak, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, Prudential, Twitter, Toyota, Lufthansa, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Hong Kong, London, Saudi, East, Italy

But rival European battery groups are still scarce, and global carmakers have more to gain than lose. Chinese battery suppliers like Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), SVOLT, Envision, and most recently EVE Energy (300014.SZ), are shaking up Europe’s e-mobility supply chains. At 4.5 billion euros, investments in projects to build new plants in Europe overtook spending on mergers and acquisitions. European battery makers will struggle to compete. Given the chance, Chinese battery makers can power up Europe’s own supply chains, and its auto companies too.

Persons: CATL, It’s, Bernstein, Emmanuel Macron, Tesla, Elon, Lisa Jucca, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Volkswagen, BMW, Volvo, Technology, EVE Energy, Shanghai Putailai, Energy Technology, Mineral Intelligence, Companies, Wall Street, LG, Samsung SDI, Union, Commission, EU, United, Mercedes, Benz, Elon Musk’s, Mercator Institute for China Studies, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, China, People’s Republic, Europe, Shanghai, People’s, Sweden, United States, EU, Hungary, Spain

☆ Syngenta’s IPO is more relief than triumph
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Yawen Chen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

LONDON, May 30 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Syngenta’s $9 billion Chinese market listing finally looks ripe. With Chinese markets in choppy waters, stability-minded domestic regulators could still have cold feet about Syngenta’s mammoth initial public offering. But a reform to fast-track Chinese listings introduced earlier this year suggests a debut is imminent. The seeds-and-pesticide maker has since erased nearly $20 billion of debt, partly thanks to debt-to-equity swaps with ChemChina. Syngenta’s dragged-out market debut will be more of a relief than a triumph.

☆ Damar Hamlin on how he made the decision to play football in the NFL again
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Kaitlin Balasaygun | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Damar Hamlin's on-field cardiac arrest at a "Monday Night Football" game in January was a moment of national trauma that occurred on live television. Still, his decision to play in the National Football League again after the personal medical trauma he experienced left many wondering how he was able to find the courage to return. And that was kind of like where I overcome my fears the most in my life," said Hamlin at the CNBC CEO event. Hamlin experienced commotio cordis, a rare cardiac condition that occurs when there is blunt impact to the chest at the same moment as the heart is preparing to contract. With prompt CPR and defibrillation, the survival and recovery rates after a commotio cordis episode are greater than 50%, according to the AHA.

☆ Aussie billionaires’ solar spat enters new phase
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MELBOURNE, May 29 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The battle between two of Australia’s richest men for control of bankrupt renewables startup Sun Cable has ended in a whimper. Surprisingly absent from the final bout was Squadron Energy, one of Fortescue Metals (FMG.AX) founder Andrew Forrest’s investment companies. Both were early investors in Sun Cable; their spat over its strategy plunged the firm into administration in January. Cannon-Brookes wants to stick to the original plan of sending most of the energy it produces to Singapore via an undersea cable. Now the race is on to see which of the two men is first to flick the on switch.

☆ How US allies can mitigate Trump 2.0
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Hugo Dixon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

LONDON, May 29 (Reuters Breakingviews) - A return to the White House by Donald Trump would create challenges for the world’s other rich democracies. TRUMP IN POLYCRISISBiden has painstakingly created a consensus with his core allies since Putin invaded Ukraine last year. PREPARE FOR THE WORSTThe world’s other rich democracies - call them the G6 - cannot change the outcome of the U.S. presidential election. Politicians in other rich democracies can also try to persuade Republican leaders that now is not the time to abandon Kyiv. If other rich democracies adopt a vigorous mitigation strategy now, they’ll be better prepared if Trump does return.

☆ China thesis lurches from one lazy extreme to next
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | 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, May 25 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Foreigners that once piled into offshore Chinese equities are evacuating as confidence in the country’s economic recovery sags. The China trade has always been unbalanced towards overseas-listed Chinese consumer and internet firms, and foreigners preferred building factories, acquiring large stakes in companies and the like over portfolio trading. Even at a peak in 2021, they held barely over 8 trillion yuan ($1.1 trillion) of yuan-denominated Chinese stocks and bonds, per official data, compared to $27 trillion of American equivalents. Now the former figure has fallen below 7 trillion yuan. Major Chinese indexes in Hong Kong and New York have also slid, with the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index having lost around 15% in the last three months.

☆ BYD and Great Wall feud portends potholes ahead
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HONG KONG, May 25 (Reuters Breakingviews) - China’s Great Wall Motor (601633.SS) has made a rare public allegation that BYD’s (002594.SZ), (1211.HK) Qin Plus and Song Plus hybrid models do not meet emissions standards in the country. Thursday’s accusations sent BYD’s Hong Kong-listed shares down 5.4%, but the whistleblower’s own stock fell 7.3% by market close. BYD is currently the world’s best-selling electric-car marque per Bernstein, and it sold nearly 15,000 electric passenger cars outside China in the year to April. As for Great Wall, some 73,789 of its cars, representing nearly a quarter of its sales, were overseas in the same period. If the mud Great Wall slings ends up sticking, the global image of Chinese auto brands could get stained just as they expand into global markets.

☆ EU will go easy on Indian resale of Russian fuel
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-23 | by ( Shritama Bose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Yet, the risk of an energy inflation resurgence makes a European Union ban on Russian oil reselling a tough call. The war in Ukraine has offered India an opportunity to boost purchases of discounted Russian oil. European imports of oil derivatives jumped to 200,000 barrels per day after the EU banned Russian crude products imports on Feb. 5 from 154,000 barrels previously, according to Kpler data. And New Delhi argues oil products substantially transformed in a third country cannot be subject to EU sanctions. loadingTo avoid an open clash with India, the EU could try to target European companies buying Russian-origin refined oil.

Tesla is proposing to manufacture and sell vehicles in the country, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing a source. Import duties of as much as 100% made it difficult to gauge demand, so Tesla lobbied to reduce tariffs, rather than producing locally. Committing to a factory could work for Musk too, though justifying a Tesla-sized facility calls for fast and furious sales. When Tesla set up a Gigafactory in China in 2019, its sheer scale meant supply chains sprang up to serve it. Senior Tesla executives are in India this week to meet the government to discuss local sourcing of parts and other issues, Reuters reported on May 16.

☆ Damar Hamlin named 2023 George Halas Award winner
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Wayne Sterling | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin was named the 2023 George Halas Award winner by the Professional Football Writers of America on Monday. CPR was performed on Hamlin when he lost his pulse and needed to be revived through resuscitation and defibrillation. In April, Hamlin was cleared to resume football activities after his cardiac arrest was caused by commotio cordis, which can occur when severe trauma to the chest disrupts the heart’s electrical charge and causes dangerous fibrillations. The 25-year-old was cleared to resume football activities last month and said he has been planning to make a comeback to the NFL. “This event was life-changing, but it’s not the end of my story,” Hamlin said in a news conference two months ago.

☆ Private equity is being squeezed from all sides
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Edward Chancellor | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

But this time around there’s a lot more private equity money chasing a limited number of opportunities. So private equity funds could face the prospect of a prolonged period of higher borrowing costs, lower valuations, and depressed investment returns. The birth of private equity coincided with the Reagan administration’s policy of relaxing regulations and tax cuts. Recent high profile corporate bankruptcies owned by private equity include car-rental firm Hertz and retailer Toys R Us. The private equity industry could soon find itself caught in a pincer, between tighter financing on the one hand and tighter regulation on the other.

☆ Thailand’s election could be a lose-lose scenario
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Anshuman Daga | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SINGAPORE, May 12 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Thailand’s elections on Sunday might return opposition parties to power for the first time since 2014, or alternatively deliver a stitched-up military-backed government. Assuming one of these opposition parties wins, it will need to control 376 seats out of the combined 500-seat House of Representatives and the 250-seat Senate to choose a prime minister. Pheu Thai claims it can lift annual economic growth to around 5% so long as is in power, which would be nearly double 2022’s low base. Higher incomes might ease Thailand’s household debt, which at 87% of GDP is the third-highest in Asia. HSBC analysts expect revenue at major Thai corporations to grow by only 2% next year – again, well behind neighbours – and Pheu Thai is mulling a 20% tax on private company profits, per a report in the Bangkok Post.

HONG KONG, May 3 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Chinese travellers are opening their suitcases again, but not their wallets. Domestic travel bookings during the holiday surged eightfold from a year earlier, surpassing pre-pandemic levels, according to online travel agency Trip.com (9961.HK). The return of Chinese holiday-goers should be a huge relief at home and abroad. Before the pandemic, domestic tourism contributed a whopping 11% of GDP and 10% of national employment, according to Fitch. The country's Big 3 carriers - Air China (601111.SS), China Southern (600029.SS), and China Eastern (600115.SS) - are grappling with high oil prices, a weak yuan and geopolitical tensions.

☆ Kirin investors find vitamin deal hard to swallow
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The $15 billion Japanese company is best known as a brewer, but sources more than half its top line from other businesses. Kirin, led by CEO Yoshinori Isozaki, also reckons the deal will be accretive to earnings per share in the first year. Yet investors immediately wiped some $450 million off the purchaser’s market value on Thursday, almost double the premium it agreed to pay Blackmores’ shareholders. Blackmores may yet show Kirin has adopted a better dealmaking regimen, but investors aren’t holding their breath. 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 bourse’s profit pop looks passive
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Thomas Shum | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HONG KONG, April 27 (Reuters Breakingviews) - What does a stock exchange operator do when equity markets are weak and interest rates are high? Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (0388.HK) posted a 28% year-on-year profit pop on Wednesday, largely propelled by stellar investment returns as opposed to its core business. Sustained weakness in equities trading and initial public offerings could augur tougher times ahead if transaction volumes don’t come back soon. Though Hong Kong’s IPO pipeline is better than many, with over 90 applications as of the end of March, the issue sizes are restrained. Net profit amounted to HK$3.4 billion ($434 million), up 28% from a year ago, with revenue and other income rising 19% year-on-year to HK$5.56 billion.

HONG KONG, April 26 (Reuters Breakingviews) - If Japan is the next Macau, $16 billion MGM Resorts International (MGM.N) may be the only winner left at the table. After years of debate and delays, Japan has finally given approval for a resort in Osaka. But as diversifying from China becomes a popular mantra, this big bet looks smarter than it once did. The 1.08 trillion yen ($8.1 billion) resort is set to open in 2029. U.S. casino operator MGM Resorts International and local partner Orix will each own a 40% stake in the company set up to manage the complex.

☆ Exploring the City of London’s existential dread: podcast
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Peter Thal Larsen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON, April 25 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The global financial centre is suffering a spasm of anxiety about its status, while the government is pushing post-Brexit reforms. In this Exchange podcast William Wright, founder of the New Financial think tank, discusses the roots of the malaise and what can be done to fix it. Subscribe to Breakingviews’ podcasts, Viewsroom and The Exchange. Editing by Thomas Shum and Katrina HamlinOur 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.

☆ Damar Hamlin Cleared to Resume Full Football Activities
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Andrew Beaton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

‘This event was life changing, but it’s not the end of my story,’ Damar Hamlin said on Tuesday. Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin has been cleared to resume full football activities, general manager Brandon Beane said, marking the final stage of a remarkable recovery after a life-threatening cardiac incident on the field during an NFL game in January. Beane said Hamlin is “just like anyone else who’s coming back from an injury.” Beane added: “He’s in a great headspace to come back and make his return.”

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