Tag: china

Xiaomi moves ahead with Tesla-like SUV as first EV hits goals

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Xiaomi Corp. aims to begin making and selling a sport utility vehicle similar to Tesla Inc.’s Model Y as early as 2025, embarking on a major new expansion with production of its debut SU7 electric car set to reach about a 100,000 units this year.

Xiaomi is approaching full initial capacity and is working now to increase output to accommodate demand, people familiar with the matter said. The company benchmarked its envisioned SUV against Tesla’s during development, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing a private project.

An SUV would mark a big expansion of Xiaomi’s $10 billion EV endeavour, spearheaded personally by billionaire co-founder Lei Jun. The company is trying to reduce its reliance on a volatile smartphone market dominated globally by Apple Inc., though with EVs it’s getting into a crowded arena and taking on established rivals Tesla and BYD Co.

It’s unclear what specifications and pricing Xiaomi envisions for the SUV — a type of vehicle gaining in popularity across China. The company’s plans for production, first reported by local media outlet Yicai, could also shift depending on how it progresses on capacity, the people added. Representatives for Xiaomi didn’t respond to emails and a phone call seeking comment.

Discussions about an SUV began as far back as when Lei announced in 2021 that EVs represented his final major entrepreneurial effort, one of the people said. But the company eventually decided to move first on the SU7, a $30,000-plus sedan with a design aesthetic similar to Tesla’s Model 3 and the Porsche Taycan.

Xiaomi doesn’t anticipate the SUV going into mass production until late 2025 at the earliest, when it completes construction on a second phase of its assembly factory in Beijing, said one of the people. For now, it’s prioritizing production of the SU7 as it only has the capacity to make fewer than 10,000 deliveries a month, the person said.

Xiaomi, which gets more than 60% of its revenue from smartphones, has been trying to diversify in part because of sluggish device demand in its home market.

Yet it joins scores of players vying for a slice of the Chinese EV market — the world’s largest, but one where margins have compressed as Tesla and BYD lead a price war during a period of slowing growth. Apple nixed its own long-incubating EV project after failing to overcome challenges in adapting its technological expertise to a new field of manufacturing.

Xiaomi’s SU7 series received close to 90,000 confirmed orders as of the end of April — about a month after the debut in late March. Xiaomi’s stock has risen some 30% since the SU7’s debut and is now close to its highest level in about two and a half years.

Its EV business could break even in 2026 — two years ahead of a previous estimate — because of improving capacity and a positive market reception for premium models, HSBC Qianhai Securities’ analysts Frank He and Steven Wang wrote in a memo last week.

They expect the company to more than double shipments to 240,000 units in 2025. “The capacity bottleneck will start to ease in the third quarter of 2024,” they wrote.

Also Read: Platinum’s shortage to persist as EV slowdown fuels demand

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

China averts moral hazard, for now, after Country Garden pays

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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A Chinese program to backstop distressed developers’ debt dodged its first potential intervention after Country Garden Holdings Co. paid bond interest, averting the moral hazard that such support may fuel.

The distressed developer paid interest totaling 65.95 million yuan ($9.1 million) on its 3.95% note and 3.8% bond, according to company filings. The coupon payments were made despite Country Garden saying in a statement on May 9 that it couldn’t meet initial deadlines that day, and that a guarantor would step in if it couldn’t pay within three days. Both notes are guaranteed by state-owned firm China Bond Insurance Co.

The payments raise questions about the outcome of talks between China Bond Insurance and Country Garden, given speculation that the guarantor would likely push issuers first to pay under the guarantee program to avoid raising moral hazard issues. Any nonpayment in this program could open the door to more distressed borrowers not paying as they wouldn’t want to be seen being selective about which debts to pay.

“We cannot rule out the possibility that Country Garden might have been pressured by the regulator to cough up the cash for the coupon payment rather than triggering the payment clause under the bond guarantee program,” said Zerlina Zeng, senior credit analyst at Creditsights Inc.

China Bond Insurance may have been possibly concerned that a failed payment by Country Garden “would reduce the willingness of other developers that are covered under the bond guarantee program,” she said.

China Bond Insurance and Country Garden didn’t immediately respond to Bloomberg’s requests for comments.

Once China’s largest developer by sales, Country Garden has been hit hard by the property crisis and now is saddled with 1.36 trillion yuan of total liabilities, according to its unaudited 2023 interim results. The Foshan-based company reported contracted sales for April of 3.9 billion yuan, compared with 22.7 billion yuan in the same period last year.

China Bond Insurance is at the heart of a program introduced by authorities in 2022 to help private-sector developers struggling with the country’s property-debt crisis avoid liquidity crunches.

So far at least 33 bonds have been issued under the program, with 33.7 billion yuan raised in total, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. No coupon payments have been missed on other bonds guaranteed under the program.

Some developers that have issued notes via the program, such as CIFI Holdings Group Co., have defaulted on other bonds, but not those guaranteed by China Bond Insurance.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

China largest trading partner of India in FY24 with $118.4 billion; US second with $118.3 billion

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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China has emerged as the largest trading partner of India with $118.4 billion two-way commerce in 2023-24, slightly edging past the US, according to the data of economic think tank GTRI.

The bilateral trade between India and the US stood at $118.3 billion in 2023-24. Washington was the top trading partner of New Delhi during 2021-22 and 2022-23.

The data showed that India’s exports to China rose by 8.7% to $16.67 billion in the last fiscal. The main sectors which recorded healthy growth in exports to that country include iron ore, cotton yarn/fabrics/made-ups, handloom, spices, fruits and vegetables, plastic and linoleum.

Imports from the neighbouring country increased by 3.24% to $101.7 billion.

On the other hand, exports to the US dipped by 1.32% to $77.5 billion in 2023-24 as against $78.54 billion in 2022-23, while imports dipped by about 20% to $40.8 billion, the data showed.

The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said that from fiscal year 2019 to FY2024, India’s trade dynamics with its top 15 trading partners underwent significant transformations, impacting both exports and imports along with the status of trade surplus or deficit across various sectors.

It added that China witnessed a marginal decline in exports by 0.6%, from $16.75 billion to $16.66 billion, while imports from China surged by 44.7%, from $70.32 billion to $101.75 billion.

“This growth in imports led to an expanding trade deficit, rising from $53.57 billion in FY2019 to $85.09 billion in FY2024, highlighting concerns over stagnant exports amidst rising imports,” GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava said.

Conversely, it said, trade with the US showed growth, with exports increasing significantly by 47.9% from $52.41 billion to $77.52 billion.

Imports from the US also grew by 14.7%, from $35.55 billion to $40.78 billion. This resulted in an expanded trade surplus for India, which grew from $16.86 billion to $36.74 billion.

According to the Commerce Ministry data, China was India’s top trading partner from 2013-14 till 2017-18 and also in 2020-21. Before China, the UAE was the country’s largest trading partner. The US was the largest partner in 2021-22 and 2022-23.

In 2023-24, the UAE with $83.6 billion, was the third largest trading partner of India. It was followed by Russia ($65.7 billion), Saudi Arabia ($43.4 billion), and Singapore ($35.6 billion).

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

China to nurture stock rally by masking live foreign flows data

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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China is set to switch off a live feed of foreign flows for stocks as early as Monday, the latest policy move to shore up confidence by removing a potential source of negative data.

The Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges plan to cease displaying real-time figures on purchases or sales of local stocks through trading links with Hong Kong. Instead, the two bourses will provide the turnover details on a daily basis, along with the 10 most-traded stocks via the northbound channel.

While authorities said this aligned with international practices, it also marked an attempt to limit the impact of data showing foreign funds selling on market sentiment. Chinese shares have rallied since the move was announced, an indication that investors have taken it in their stride and are focusing on positive catalysts from attractive valuations to government efforts to ease a housing crisis.

“There are surely some funds out there that factor the short-term flows of northbound investors into their models, so it could lead to a lower trading frequency for some without the real-time data,” said Chen Shi, fund manager at Shanghai Jade Stone Investment Management Co. “But to value investors it doesn’t really matter if they release the figure monthly as intraday is mostly just noise.”

Intraday readings showing foreign outflows were partly blamed for worsening sentiment among Chinese retail investors, who still dominate local trading, during several episodes of intense selloffs over the past year. Some participants had urged the authorities to obscure such figures.

When the two bourses announced their decisions on April 12, they said the changes will take effect “in about a month,” without giving a precise timetable. Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchange officials in charge of media relations didn’t immediately respond to requests seeking comment.

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange said in a filing on Saturday that the adjustments to market data including real-time turnover and daily quota balance for stock connect will be implemented starting Monday.

The world’s second-biggest stock market has rallied since February, after Beijing introduced a slew of rescue measures from wider trading curbs to purchases by state funds and naming a new head for the securities regulator. The rebound has gained more traction in recent weeks, buoyed by fresh signs of economic recovery and the return of foreign money.

Northbound investors delivered a third straight month of buying on a net basis in April, the longest such stretch in a year which included a record daily purchase. The inflows have continued this month with another 4.8 billion yuan ($664 million), which means overseas funds have added back more than half of what they had sold since August.

While geopolitical tensions, including Washington’s anticipated decision to impose tariffs on Chinese products like electric cars, may again hurt foreign sentiment, global investors’ presence in China’s stock market remains small. In April, the daily average value of onshore stocks traded via the exchange links with Hong Kong accounted for around 15% of the total turnover of the mainland stock markets.

In a sign that Chinese investors have largely shrugged off the upcoming loss of live northbound data, the benchmark CSI 300 Index has risen more than 5% since the change was announced.

“Northbound is not the key flow factor in this market, and the intraday figures are more a reflection of sentiment rather than changes to fundamentals during the day,” said Yang Bo, chief investment officer of Shenzhen Zhuode Investment Management Co. Ending the live feed “should help avoid volatility brought on by these mood swings and is beneficial to the market’s healthy long-term development,” he added.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

China consumer inflation rises, factory price drop continues

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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China’s consumer inflation quickened in April, holding above zero for a third month, while industrial prices extended a long decline that highlights weak demand in the economy.

The consumer price index rose 0.3% from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said Saturday. That compares with an increase of 0.1% in March and a median forecast of 0.2% in a Bloomberg survey of economists.

Factory-gate prices remained stuck in deflation, as they’ve been since late 2022, with the producer price index sliding 2.5% in April from a year earlier. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected a 2.3% drop after the index declined 2.8% in March.

The numbers suggest that deflationary pressure remains a threat to China’s economy, despite green shoots in the manufacturing sector and robust exports.

The government has struggled to spur higher household spending amid a real estate slump and a weak job market. Falling producer prices are squeezing companies’ profits and making them reluctant to invest. A recent survey of more than 20,000 retailers by the China General Chamber of Commerce showed that average order values contracted by the most in nine months, even though total sales expanded as customer traffic grew during the Labor Day holiday.

The latest data showed “economic momentum and social demand have continued to recover,” said Bruce Pang, chief economist for Greater China at Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. “However, there are still quite big structural divergences between prices in goods and services, as well as upstream and downstream sectors. Policy support still needs to be stepped up and implemented in an effective way.”

Some of the rise in consumer prices may be due to administrative decisions rather than any improvement in demand. Local governments have been increasing utility costs and train fares in recent months, a move that could push the price index higher but leave households with less spending power for other purchases.

More than 130 cities and counties have announced hikes in residential natural gas prices, while a few others such as Shanghai and Guangzhou have increased charges for water, according to a report by Tianfeng Securities Co. Another study by Zheshang Securities estimated that higher utility and rail fees could add between 25 and 101 basis points to producer-price inflation, and between 18 and 72 points to the CPI.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Pakistan’s first lunar orbiter, launched as part of China’s moon mission, sends back images

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Pakistan’s maiden lunar orbiter sent the first images of the sun and the moon, days after it was launched as part of China’s moon mission, it was announced on Friday.

Pakistan’s mini satellite ‘iCube-Qamar’ was launched as part of China’s Chang’e-6 lunar mission on May 3 from the Hainan province.

The images were unveiled at a ceremony organised at the China National Space Agency (CNSA) to mark the successful mission, Maria Tariq, spokesperson of Pakistan’s national space agency Suparco, told Dawn.com.

She said that pictures were officially handed over to Pakistan’s ambassador to China, Khalil Hashmi, at the data handover ceremony in Beijing.

At 16:14 (1:14 pm Pakistan time) on May 8, the Pakistani CubeSat, one of the international payloads carried by the Chang’e-6 mission, “separated from the orbiter near the far moon point of the 12-hour large elliptical orbit around the moon, and then successfully captured the first image.

Pakistan’s CubeSat project achieved the set goal of ‘successfully separating and obtaining telemetry’ and achieved complete success,” the CNSA announcement said.

The first image showed the sun as a bright spotlight; the second was that of a sparkling half moon while the third image showed the moon on the left and the sun on the right, according to images shared by CNSA online.

The module was designed by Islamabad’s Institute of Space Technology (IST) in collaboration with China’s Shanghai University (SJTU) and Suparco. It carries two optical cameras to capture the lunar surface.

The cube satellite or cubesat is a miniature satellite typically characterised by its small size and standardised cubic design. They help to collect valuable data for scientific advancement and innovation.

Pakistan got the opportunity to launch the lunar orbiter after it was offered by the CNSA through the Asia Pacific Space Cooperation Organisation (APSCO) to become part of the Chang’e-6 mission.

Meanwhile, the news of the first lunar orbit sending back images has infused a sense of pride in the country beset with daunting economic and security challenges. The social media was full of posts with almost all of them sharing images with messages full of pride.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

China ready to work with India to find mutually acceptable solutions to ‘specific issues’: Beijing’s new envoy

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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China is ready to work with India to “accommodate” each other’s concerns and find a mutually acceptable solution to “specific issues” through dialogue at an early date, Beijing’s new envoy to New Delhi Xu Feihong has said, remarks that came against the backdrop of the prolonged military standoff in eastern Ladakh. An Assistant Minister ranked official, Xu, 60, appointed by Chinese President Xi Jinping for the sensitive job, said he regards his posting in New Delhi as an honourable mission and a sacred duty to improve and advance the bilateral ties.

“It is an honourable mission and a sacred duty. I will do my best to deepen understanding and friendship between the two peoples, expand exchanges and cooperation in various fields, and improve and advance the bilateral relationship,” Xu told.

Also Read: Pakistan to seek rollover of $12 billion debt to meet budget targets before IMF team’s arrival

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

China’s exports return to growth in April, boosting economy

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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China’s exports rose slightly more than expected in April in a boost for the economy, and imports surged.

Exports increased 1.5% in dollar terms from a year earlier, reversing a drop in March, while imports climbed 8.4%, the customs administration said Thursday. That left a trade surplus of $72.4 billion for the month. Economists had forecast that exports would rise by 1.3% while imports would climb by 4.7%.

A key gauge of Chinese shares listed in Hong Kong extended gains after the trade numbers were published, rising 1.6% to snap a two-day losing streak.

The data confirms signs that global demand is strengthening and will also provide a boost to domestic growth. Beijing is relying on strong sales abroad to offset weak consumer spending at home, where a real estate slump has led households to tighten their belts.

“Exports have been the bright spot in China’s economy so far this year,” said Zhiwei Zhang, president and chief economist of Pinpoint Asset Management. “The weak domestic demand led to deflationary pressure, which boosts China’s export competitiveness. This is actually good news for the global economy given the inflation pressure many central banks are fighting against.”

Also Read: EIA cuts 2024 world oil demand growth estimate, hikes output forecast

Other Asian trading nations also saw overseas sales climb last month on strong US demand. South Korean exports rose almost 14%, while Taiwan reported a record level of shipments to the US.

China’s exports were slower to some of the developed economies, where complaints about cheap imports are growing. Sales to the US were little changed, while those to the European Union fell. By contrast, shipments to the Asean bloc of southeast Asian nations were up almost 13%.

The volume of exports of steel products rose 27% in the year through April, while prices continued to fall, with the value of those shipments down 13%. Countries from Europe to emerging economies like Brazil and Turkey have started probes into claims of Chinese dumping of the metal.

The unexpected jump in China’s imports was spread across many trade partners, with shipments from the US, South Korea, Taiwan, the Netherlands and Russia all rising more than 10%.

The jump in imports was largely driven by products such as chips and PC parts, “which reflect better global tech trade momentum,” said Michelle Lam, an economist at Societe Generale. It’s “more likely to be attributable to export than domestic demand.”

Also Read: India may clock 8% GDP growth for FY24, says chief economic advisor

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

WhatsApp, banned in China, is suddenly working for some users

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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WhatsApp has begun working freely and consistently for some users in China despite a longstanding government ban on the messaging service, an unusual phenomenon for a country with some of the world’s strictest internet curbs.

Users of the Meta Platforms Inc. service in Beijing and Shanghai, who normally employ workarounds like a virtual private network to get on the service, have been sending and receiving messages without those tools. Other social media services such as Signal and Instagram remain barred, part of a broad blockade of foreign internet platforms that critics have dubbed the Great Firewall.

It’s unclear how many people across China have been able to navigate WhatsApp during the period. The phenomenon hasn’t yet trended on domestic social media such as the Twitter-like Weibo. Only several million people are estimated to use Meta’s signature messaging tool in the country, versus more than a billion for Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s WeChat.

Representatives for WhatsApp declined to comment, while the Cyberspace Administration of China didn’t respond to a faxed query.

Beijing has barred the use of foreign messaging and social media platforms like WhatsApp for years, part of a broader campaign to tamp down potential dissent and enforce the Party’s control of content. That’s helped apps like WeChat and Weibo dominate, though Chinese users still employ VPNs to view Western media. Like most foreign messaging platforms, WhatsApp messages are encrypted on both ends and are difficult to police.

Still, users in China have in the past reported being able to access blocked services and websites for brief periods, which industry experts attribute to glitches in network restrictions. But at least some people in China’s two largest cities say they’ve been able to send and receive WhatsApp messages over an uninterrupted two-week span — an unusually long period for the country.

At least one of the users said that span began right around the time Apple Inc. removed WhatsApp and other social media services including Threads and Signal from its Chinese app store, responding to orders from Beijing to close more loopholes in the internet firewall.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Apple’s China iPhone shipments soar 12% in March after discounts

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Chinese iPhone shipments jumped about 12% in March after Apple Inc. and its retailers slashed prices, official data showed, suggesting efforts to arrest an accelerating decline in sales are yielding early results.

Government data showed shipments of foreign-branded smartphones — the vast majority of which would have been Apple’s marquee device — grew to 3.75 million units in March from a year earlier. That’s an about-face from a 37% slump in the first two months of 2024, according to Bloomberg’s calculations off a monthly report by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology. The official readout emerged after Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook, addressing an analyst’s question last week about the March quarter, said the iPhone business in mainland China grew without offering more details.

Apple has struggled to turn its Chinese business around since 2023, when the rise of local rivals such as Huawei Technologies Co. and an unofficial ban on the use of the iPhone in state agencies and firms began to depress its most important market after the US. The academy’s data showed that foreign phone shipments were down 27% in the first quarter of 2024 overall.

Apple and its Chinese resellers began cutting prices around the start of 2024. Last week, it surprised investors with a decent beat on quarterly revenue from China, countering months of data that showed a quickening decline in iPhone sales.

Cook said iPhone revenue in mainland China grew “on a reported basis,” before adjustments related to Covid supply chain disruptions in 2022. He didn’t elaborate on that metric except to reaffirm Apple’s commitment to a market that’s shrinking but still accounted for 18% of net sales.

Investors monitor the company’s performance in China because of the country’s role as both a huge market and global production base for the iPhone.

They’re also looking for growth drivers beyond the country. This week, the company unveiled a new iPad Pro and larger iPad Air, seeking to reinvigorate another of its product lines.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow