Posts by Mark Darwin
Baidu reports flat Q2 revenue as China’s economic slowdown hits ad spending
SeaRCH engine giant Baidu reported flat quarterly revenue on Thursday, as a sluggish economy weighed on advertiser spending. Revenue in the second quarter was 33.93 billion yuan (S$6.2 billion), compared with analysts’ average estimate of 33.55 billion, LSEG data showed. Net income fell 8 per cent to 7.4 billion yuan but beat the 6.45 billion…
Read MoreHong Kong crypto exchanges face challenges to get full licences
HONG Kong’s push for a digital-asset hub faces growing pains amid uncertainty over whether 11 crypto exchanges will all achieve full licences after earlier receiving initial approvals. The city’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) found unsatisfactory practices at some of the “deemed-to-be-licensed” platforms during on-site inspections carried out since they won the designation in June,…
Read MoreBudget carrier AirAsia gets US$443 million private credit funding
BUDGET carrier AirAsia Bhd has secured a US$443 million dual-tranche private financing to use partly for refurbishing planes grounded during the pandemic, according to sources familiar with the matter. Private credit funds Ares Management and Indies Capital Partners provided a US$200 million tranche for the refurbishment of the aircraft to get them back in the…
Read MoreChinese EV maker BYD eyes state incentives for Mexico plant
CHINESE electric vehicle (EV) maker BYD has narrowed its list of finalists for the location of a manufacturing plant in Mexico down to three states and is reviewing a range of proposed incentives from them, the firm’s country head said on Wednesday (Aug 21). Jorge Vallejo, BYD’s Mexico director general, said the company was reviewing…
Read MoreBank of Korea signals rate cuts as inflation, growth slow
SOUTH Korea’s central bank kept interest rates unchanged on Thursday but signalled it was ready to start easing policy as price pressures and growth eased, raising expectations for a rate cut at its October meeting. The Bank of Korea held the benchmark interest rate at 3.50 per cent, a decision expected by 38 out of…
Read MoreMalaysian bonds set to gain most in EM Asia from treasury rally
THE sensitivity of emerging Asian bonds to Treasuries is climbing back towards its 2024 peak, with Malaysia’s debt set to be the biggest beneficiary. The 30-day correlation between EM Asia bonds and 10-year US yields has risen to around 0.29 from zero at the end of June, close to the highest in seven months. Malaysian…
Read MorePwC expects six-month ban in China for Evergrande audit: report
PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS’ (PwC) China unit expects the Chinese government to hand down a six-month ban that will start as early as next month as part of punishment over its audit of failed property giant China Evergrande Group, the Financial Times (FT) reported. The business ban that PwC outlined to its customers will potentially come with a…
Read MoreLVMH’s Sephora cuts around 10% of staff in China as woes deepen
COSMETICS retailer Sephora is cutting hundreds of staff in China, according to sources familiar with the matter, as one of LVMH’s biggest brands tries to turn around a loss-making operation in the world’s second-largest economy. Sephora China has fired both office and store staff while persuading others to resign, with an estimated 10 per cent…
Read MoreIn a rout no one’s safe, ESG-compliant or not
IF COMPANIES with strong environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance cannot protect you from a stock market rout, what good are they? Leading ESG indices have mostly tracked their vanilla benchmarks over the past two weeks as global equities took a hit amid fears of a US recession. Among Straits Times Index (STI) component stocks, better ESG…
Read MoreHong Kong Exchange sees 9% profit gain on rising trading
HONG Kong Exchanges & Clearing (HKEX) is benefiting from mainland Chinese investors in need of diversifying their holdings at a time of turbulence in markets from Shanghai to Shenzhen. Flows in the trading link that connects Hong Kong with mainland markets jumped 47 per cent in the second quarter from a year earlier period, the…
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