South China Morning Post - Companies

US President Joe Biden delays Trump’s ban on investments in companies with similar names to ...

Thu, 28 Jan 2021 06:00:20 GMT

The Biden administration delayed a ban imposed by Donald Trump on American investors, pension funds and financial firms investing in companies that have similar names to a group of blacklisted Chinese firms with purported ties to China’s military.On Thursday, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), an arm of the US Treasury Department, issued a so-called general licence that extended the deadline for US persons to stop engaging in securities transactions in companies “whose name closely…

Hong Kong pay-TV leader i-Cable taps main shareholder for more funds to help end decade of losses

Thu, 28 Jan 2021 04:10:59 GMT

Hong Kong’s biggest pay-TV operator i-Cable Communications is turning to its key shareholder again for cash to help turn around its business and compete with well-funded home rivals.The firm is selling HK$200 million (US$25.8 million) worth of convertible bonds to Forever Top Limited, its controlling shareholder with a 43.2 per cent stake, according to a stock exchange filing. The 10-year securities will pay 2 per cent coupon annually, and may be converted into ordinary shares at HK$0.068 each,…

Hong Kong, China stocks slump in worst global sell-off since October as Covid-19’s impact ...

Thu, 28 Jan 2021 02:58:34 GMT

Hong Kong and mainland China stocks slumped, joining the sell-off in global markets as the ongoing coronavirus pandemic weighs on the financial results of the world’s companies from Facebook to Tesla.The Hang Seng Index fell 2.6 per cent to 28,550.77 for a third day of declines, slipping from a 31-month high. The Shanghai Composite Index retraced 1.9 per cent to 3,505.18 while the benchmark in southern China’s technology hub Shenzhen fell 2.8 per cent to 2,352.75.Asia-Pacific markets fell…

Shanghai banks on big-ticket foreign direct investments to achieve ambitious growth and ...

Thu, 28 Jan 2021 00:30:16 GMT

Shanghai, the mainland’s commercial and financial capital, riding high on the success of Tesla’s Gigafactory 3, is on the lookout for more foreign direct investment (FDI) projects to achieve ambitious growth and employment targets the city has set this year.Mayor Gong Zheng told a press conference on Wednesday that Shanghai remained the top choice for global investors looking to secure a foothold in the mainland, and FDI projects would continue to be a major growth driver for the country’s…

Honor CEO speaks out: unburdened by US sanctions on Huawei, the budget smartphone brand looks ...

Wed, 27 Jan 2021 11:00:08 GMT

No longer constrained by the sanctions that have hammered Huawei Technologies Co’s smartphone business, Honor Device Co has a new mission for 2021: compete with its former owner and Apple in the market as an equal, the company’s CEO George Zhao Ming told the South China Morning Post in an exclusive interview.“Our core mission this year is to make flagship phones that can compete with Apple and Huawei in China,” Zhao said in an interview at Honor’s new office, located just 15km (9 miles) from…

Hong Kong Exchange Fund reports late surge in income as markets rebound, expanding currency war ...

Wed, 27 Jan 2021 09:59:18 GMT

Hong Kong’s Exchange Fund, the war chest used to defend the local currency from attacks by short sellers, recorded one of its best quarters in a pandemic-ravaged year, as profit surged from a rebound in local sentiment and a rally in global asset prices.The fund recorded an investment income of HK$197.8 billion (US$25.5 billion) for the full year, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority said on Wednesday. The fund earned HK$107 billion of income in the fourth quarter, compared with a revised gain of…

Kuaishou’s bankers close order book two days early as investors scramble for US$5. ...

Wed, 27 Jan 2021 09:00:23 GMT

Overwhelming response to Kuaishou Technology’s US$5.4 billion Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) prompted underwriters to close the institutional order book two days ahead of schedule, as global funds jostle for shares in the world’s second-largest short video platform.The retail portion, equivalent to 9.1 million shares or a tiny 2.5 per cent of the global offering, was overbought by 210 times on Tuesday, the first day of a weeklong subscription period ending Friday. The ratio is based on…

HNA’s key decision-making body leaves out Chen Feng’s name, signalling founder’s exit ...

Wed, 27 Jan 2021 07:00:38 GMT

Chen Feng, the founder of China’s largest private airline, has been excluded from the key decision-making body of the HNA Group, in a dramatic development that signals his loss of control of one of the country’s largest conglomerates over five short years.The name of the entrepreneur, who turns 68 this year, was missing from a list of nine members of HNA Group’s Communist Party committee, the major decision-making body akin to the board of directors in the aviation-to-property conglomerate,…

Morgan Stanley, Goldman set biggest bonus bumps for Asia bankers as deal flows rebound

Wed, 27 Jan 2021 06:47:52 GMT

Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs investment bankers are getting the biggest bonus bumps among peers in Asia after revenue from the region climbed by about a third on increased deal flows.The total compensation for Morgan Stanley’s investment bankers in Asia was boosted by about 20 per cent, while at Goldman Sachs it will rise around 15 per cent, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified because bonus decisions aren’t made public. The numbers for UBS Group in the region…

Climate change: Hong Kong’s government raises US$2. ...

Wed, 27 Jan 2021 04:39:12 GMT

Hong Kong’s government priced what it said was the first 30-year green bond by an Asian government ever and the longest tenor bond in its history on Tuesday, raising US$2.5 billion, according to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the city’s de facto central bank.The offering was more than double the size of the government‘s first US$1 billion green bond in 2019. The city’s government announced nearly three years ago that it would seek to issue up to HK$100 billion (US$12.9 billion) in…

The world is dangerously dependent on Taiwan for semiconductors

Tue, 26 Jan 2021 19:00:11 GMT

As China pushes the world to avoid official dealings with Taiwan, leaders across the globe are realising just how dependent they have become on the island.Taiwan, which China regards as a province, is being courted for its capacity to make leading-edge chips. That is mostly down to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest foundry and go-to producer of chips for Apple’s smartphones, artificial intelligence and high-performance computing.Taiwan’s role in the world economy…

Bank of East Asia appoints retail loans chief to lead Greater Bay Area office to drive ...

Tue, 26 Jan 2021 14:11:05 GMT

Bank of East Asia, Hong Kong’s biggest family-run bank, has appointed its head of retail lending, Christine Lo, to lead its Greater Bay Area (GBA) office, as the bank looks to forge closer collaboration across its operations in the region to capture new wealth management businesses.Lo, who also headed the bank’s credit card business, helped launch Bank of East Asia’s cross-border mortgage service last year, allowing Hong Kong customers to process their loans for buying real estate anywhere in…

Ant Group’s IPO could be revived after ‘problem solved’, hints China’s central bank governor

Tue, 26 Jan 2021 14:00:21 GMT

China’s central bank governor Yi Gang raised the possibility on Tuesday that Ant Group, controlled by Chinese billionaire Jack Ma, could be allowed to pursue an initial public offering once it fully complies with the country’s law and has addressed customer complaints.Regulators abruptly shut down Ant Group’s US$34.5 billion dual listing in Shanghai and Hong Kong in November over concerns that the world’s largest financial technology company posed a systemic risk and was violating consumers’…

BlackRock to vote against directors, flag companies for sale that are slow to address climate ...

Tue, 26 Jan 2021 13:00:12 GMT

BlackRock, the world’s biggest asset manager, said on Tuesday that it would vote against directors at companies who are not moving fast enough to address climate-related risks as part of a new “heightened scrutiny model” in its portfolios and would flag investments for sale if those risks threaten client returns.With US$8.7 trillion in assets under management, BlackRock also said it would incorporate climate considerations into its capital markets assumptions and introduce investment products…

Li Ka-shing-backed start-up Perfect Day launches Asia’s first animal-free dairy ice cream in ...

Tue, 26 Jan 2021 12:00:42 GMT

US-based food technology company Perfect Day, backed by Li Ka-shing’s Horizons Ventures, has partnered with a Hong Kong ice cream maker to launch an animal-free dairy variety of the dessert, the first time such a product has been launched in Asia, the venture capital firm said on Tuesday.Horizons and Perfect Day partnered with Hong Kong’s Igloo Dessert Bar to launch the “Ice Age!” range of ice creams that uses whey protein developed by fermentation from the gene sequence of bovine whey protein…

WeChat’s value surpasses Ferrari as Covid-19 pandemic upends businesses and buoys technology ...

Tue, 26 Jan 2021 09:15:16 GMT

The global coronavirus pandemic boosted the brand value of China’s largest technology companies last year, even as it decimated livelihoods and economies the world over, according to a report by the British consultant Brand Finance.The brand value of Alibaba.com, the trading platform of Alibaba Group Holding that focuses on serving business and enterprises, jumped by 108 per cent to US$39.2 billion as the second fastest-growing brand, second only to Tesla’s 158 per cent increase, according to…

Hong Kong marketing second green bond, key part of push to be Asia’s sustainable financing hub

Tue, 26 Jan 2021 05:28:13 GMT

Hong Kong’s government began marketing its second US dollar-denominated green bond on Tuesday as the city seeks to bolster its status as an international centre for sustainable financing – a market that could top US$29 trillion globally over the next decade.The city’s government first announced a programme in 2018 to issue up to HK$100 billion (US$12.9 billion) in green bonds, raising US$1 billion with its first bond under the programme in 2019.Green bonds are fixed-income products designed to…

Securities investments between US and China reach US$3.3 trillion in 2020, says report

Tue, 26 Jan 2021 05:05:06 GMT

American and Chinese investment in each other’s corporate securities reached US$3.3 trillion in 2020, despite political headwinds on both sides, according to Rhodium Group.Given the size of the two countries’ economies, “there would be room for trillions of dollars in additional US-China financial investment” to triple to more than US$9 trillion, said the report released on Tuesday by the New York-based consultancy and the National Committee on US-China Relations.But policy challenges can…

Wirecard executive fled by private jet to Belarus as firm collapsed

Mon, 25 Jan 2021 15:00:15 GMT

A former senior executive at Wirecard AG escaped from Austria to Belarus on a private aircraft last year with the help of a secret-service agent and a far-right politician, according to an arrest warrant seen by Bloomberg.Jan Marsalek, the German payments company’s ex-chief operating officer who is on Interpol’s most-wanted list, fled in June shortly before Wirecard filed for insolvency.Executives admitted that €1.9 billion (US$2.3 billion) in funds never existed, setting off one of Germany’s…

Shanghai’s legislative advisers urge city’s financial exchanges to merge and list to open ...

Mon, 25 Jan 2021 12:50:46 GMT

A score of Shanghai’s legislative advisors have called for the merger of the local stock and futures exchanges to attract global companies and investors raising funds, as the city marked 30 years of explosive growth to become the elder sibling of the world’s second-largest capital market.The merger was proposed by 20 delegates of the Shanghai People’s Political Consultative Conference (SPPCC), including the Shanghai Gold Exchange chairman Jiao Jinpu, the Shanghai chief of the Export-Import Bank…