CHINA
Restructuring plan approved
Regulators have pushed through the debt restructuring plan of a state-owned steel trader as the government gets set for a new round of debt cleanups, a subsidiary said. Sinosteel Engineering and Technology Co Ltd (中鋼設備) on Tuesday received a notice from its controlling holder, Sinosteel Corp (中國中鋼), that its parent’s plan had been approved with guidance from government agencies, according to a statement from the unit to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. Beijing-based Sinosteel Corp will accelerate supply-side reforms and take the restructuring as an opportunity to become an international company, the statement said.
BANKING
Tax puts jobs at risk
The Swedish Bankers’ Association says a planned tax targeting the finance industry would put some 16,000 jobs at risk. The ruling coalition in Sweden, where assets in the four largest banks are four times the size of the economy, has proposed a new payroll tax that the association says might be set at 15 percent of financial industry salaries. Citing “signals” from a government-ordered review on the levy that has yet to be published, the group said such a move would jeopardize almost one-fifth of Sweden’s 85,000 finance jobs.
GERMANY
Consumers’ moods brighten
Consumers’ moods brightened slightly this month, a monthly survey showed yesterday, but researchers spotlighted fears of trouble in the wake of Brexit and a summer of violence. The headline consumer sentiment index from market research firm GfK crept up to 10.2 points this month. However, the pollsters said that “just the announcement that Britain would leave the EU has caused increased uncertainty” and forecast a slight fall in consumer confidence next month.
CHINA
Rebalancing ‘reverses’
Economic rebalancing to consumer-led growth is reversing, according to the China Beige Book, which said third-quarter growth engines are exclusively in the “old economy.” Manufacturing, property and commodities strengthened while retail, services and transportation — crucial parts of the “new economy” — all saw weaker results, the private survey by CBB International shows. Employment held up while profits and cash flow deteriorated, the New York-based research group said.
FOOD AND DRINK
Chicken nuggets recalled
Tyson Foods Inc on Tuesday said it is voluntarily recalling more than 59.87 tonnes of chicken nuggets after receiving reports that “hard, white plastic” was found in some nuggets. The Springdale, Arkansas-based company said that the 2.27kg bags of fully cooked panko chicken nuggets were sold at Costco stores nationwide. A small number of 9kg cases of chicken patties, sold under the Spare Time brand, were sold to a single wholesaler in Pennsylvania.
E-COMMERCE
Walmart to invest in Flipkart
Wal-Mart Stores Inc is in advanced discussions to invest as much as US$1 billion into India’s Flipkart Online Services Pvt, as the two companies battle Amazon.com Inc in e-commerce, according to a person familiar with the matter. Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, would take a minority stake in Flipkart, the person said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. Final terms of the deal have not been worked out and negotiations are still under way, the person said.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last