Daily Archives: April 13, 2011

Foxconn: really committed to Brazil?

April 13, 2011 6:59 pm by Kathrin Hille
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The thing Terry Gou used to be proudest of was his ability to run a factory to perfection – faster and cheaper than anyone else. But there is one thing the founder and chairman of Foxconn, the world’s largest electronics contract manufacturer, is even better at: extracting the best incentives from governments to build his next plant.

Gou (pictured) is at it again. Dilma Roussef , Brazil’s president, told reporters in Beijing on Tuesday that Foxconn was considering investing up to US$12bn in Brazil over the next six years. However the company would say no more on Wednesday than that it is “in the process of exploring opportunities in that important market and conducting a substantive analysis of that country’s overall investment environment.” Continue reading »

Tags: , Posted in Asia, Taiwan |

China eyes Ukraine’s black earth

April 13, 2011 6:51 pm by beyondbrics
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blackearthBy Graham Stack of Business New Europe

Chinese  investors are looking to buy agriculture land and agribusinesses in Ukraine, as they widen their global hunt for natural resources.

But given the bureaucratic challenges of investing int Ukraine, not least restrictions on land ownership, can even the world’s most resource-hungry groups implement their plans? Continue reading »

Tags: , , Posted in China, Ukraine |

Indian M&A – for real?

April 13, 2011 6:44 pm by James Fontanella-Khan
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Inbound merger and acquisition activity was back in full swing in India during the first three months of 2011 as foreign groups spent nearly $14bn to seal 26 deals in Asia’s third largest economy, according to the consultancy Grant Thornton.

A flurry of transactions completed by companies based in developed markets highlights how western groups that have recovered from the global financial crisis are now keen to get back into fast-growing emerging markets such as India. Continue reading »

Posted in Asia, India |

[snap] BP breaks off talks with Russian partners

April 13, 2011 6:07 pm by beyondbrics
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BP has broken off talks with its Russian joint-venture partners in TNK-BP that would have cleared the way to a deal with Rosneft, the Russian state-controlled oil group, over a $16bn share swap and Arctic exploration deal, the FT reports.

BP saw the Rosneft deal as a way of turning the corner after its Gulf of Mexico disaster last year, and of opening up a new frontier in the Artctic. But Bob Dudley, BP’s chief executive, is right to walk away. Continue reading »

Tags: Posted in Europe, Russia |

China: up the value chain…in Germany

April 13, 2011 3:39 pm by Daniel Schafer
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china germany flags

Germany’s renowned car companies and suppliers from Daimler to Bosch have invested billions into Chinese plants and joint ventures in the past decade. Now, money is starting to flow back in the opposite direction.

This week, Joyson Investment, a privately-owned automotive electronics supplier, became one of the first Chinese companies to acquire a German rival in this sector. Continue reading »

Tags: , Posted in China |

Korea’s currencies: when two are won

April 13, 2011 3:07 pm by Christian Oliver
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Seoul’s central bankers are well known for losing sleep over the volatile South Korean won.

But beyondbrics popped in to meet the central bank team who have to fret about the even more volatile North Korean won. During 2010, North Korea’s currency crisis became a genuine security concern for the South. Stories of unprecedented public protests filtered in from defector groups. Continue reading »

Posted in Asia, South Korea |

Malaysia prepares Healthcare IPO

April 13, 2011 2:36 pm by Kevin Brown
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Investors trying to work out which of Malaysia’s hundreds of government-linked companies might be slated for privatisation got an unexpected insight yesterday as a senior official identified healthcare as a possible candidate.

Azman Mokhtar, the head of Khazanah, Malaysia’s state investment agency, told reporters at a conference in Kuala Lumpur that Integrated Healthcare Holdings, its medical services subsidiary, would be listed within three years. Continue reading »

Posted in Uncategorized |

Copper imports: tea leaves for reading China’s growth?

April 13, 2011 2:07 pm by Leslie Hook
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It’s amazing what the holidays can do to copper demand. When China took a break for lunar new year in February, imports of the red metal slumped to a two-year low, prompting a sell-off. But imports rose last month to 304,299 tonnes.

But do China’s imports of copper in March really indicate that demand is returning? Continue reading »

Tags: Posted in China |

India’s telecoms scandal: the heat is on

April 13, 2011 1:07 pm by James Lamont
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A sweltering low-ceilinged court room in New Delhi is where a court room battle surrounding one of the worst corruption cases in India’s post-independence history began on Wednesday.

The appearance of Andimuthu Raja (pictured), a former cabinet minister, and Shahid Balwa, a Mumbai-based billionaire, in the unprepossessing public court is a significant moment in India’s fight with corruption, regardless of the case’s outcome. Continue reading »

Posted in Asia, India |

New York headlines

April 13, 2011 12:30 pm by beyondbrics
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* Chinese companies go on global bond spree

* Sberbank in talks to buy 51 per cent of Austria’s Volksbank, report

* BRICS trade ministers dig in heels over trade talks

* India telecoms trial adjourned

* China, Brazil sign deals at Summit Continue reading »

Posted in Global |

Guest post: a guide to the new Bric

April 13, 2011 12:07 pm by beyondbrics
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By Charles Robertson of Renaissance Capital

• On 14th April South Africa will formally join Brazil, Russia, India and China in the Brics forum, to be held in Hainan, China. As South Africa’s minister for investor relations has said: “We do not speak for South Africa alone but also for all other African countries”; so “not only South Africa but a larger African market of a billion people” is the real addition to this forum. Continue reading »

Tags: , , , , Posted in Global |

Further reading: mending supply chains

April 13, 2011 10:43 am by Stefan Wagstyl
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Global manufacturers fix their supply chains; Lex worries about emerging market valuations; and Ratan Tata finds India ‘hostile’. Continue reading »

Posted in Global |

Chile: the hawk swoops, but will it scare the doves into action?

April 13, 2011 9:34 am by Stefan Wagstyl
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Grey hawk swoopsChile’s central bank won’t be giving up its reputation any time soon as one of the emerging world’s most hawkish monetary policymakers. Late on Tuesday it raised rates by 0.5 of a percentage point for the second month running – and signalled that it will be tightening the screws further in future.

Coming just after the International Monetary Fund warned of growing inflation and credit bubble risks in emerging markets, Chile’s decision shows that concerns about possible over-heating aretreated very seriously in some EMs if not in others.  Significantly, Chile had real interest rates even before Tuesday’s move. EMs with negative rates – a sign of monetary slackness – include India, Russia and South Korea. Continue reading »

Tags: , Posted in Chile |

Taiwan’s banks: juicy margins

April 13, 2011 8:58 am by Robin Kwong
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Having survived the 2008 global financial crisis and the 2009 recession, Taiwan’s banks  had one of their best years ever last year. With interest rates rising, this year could be even better.

So argues ratings agency Fitch which said in a report that Taiwanese banks have delivered “their best profitability and asset quality since 2004.” Continue reading »

Tags: , Posted in Taiwan |

London headlines

April 13, 2011 6:00 am by beyondbrics
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* Chinese companies go on global bond spree

* India’s Tata finds home hostile

* China, Brazil sign deals at Summit

* Asia’s American oil venture could be costly

* Foxconn seeks $12bn deal with Brazil

* Putin woos Ukraine on trade pact Continue reading »

Posted in Global |
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