International News

Bloomberg Chinese artificial-intelligence (AI) giant Megvii Technology Ltd is facing additional queries from the Hong Kong bourse ahead of its planned initial public offering, people familiar with the matter said. Some questions relate to public complaints about whether the company adequately disclosed risks related to US sanctions, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. Megvii, ...

Bloomberg Thailand plans new borrowing of 1 trillion baht ($30.5 billion) for its latest stimulus package to tackle the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak. The package is worth about 1.9 trillion baht overall as it also includes 900 billion baht of steps by the Bank of Thailand, finance minister Uttama Savanayana said in a briefing in Bangkok. The Thai ...

Bloomberg Taiwan barred all official use of Zoom, becoming one of the first governments to impose an outright ban on the popular video-conferencing app over security concerns. Agencies should avoid using services such as Zoom as they may have security flaws, the island’s cabinet said. Governments, companies and individuals around the world, including in Taiwan, have been using the app ...

Bloomberg From oil to copper to coal, China’s gigantic commodities industry is signalling that the first economy to be flattened by the coronavirus is getting closer to a return to normality. Bloomberg Economics estimates that most of China was 90%-95% back to work at the end of last week, noting pick-ups in the steel market, construction activity and crude processing. ...

Bloomberg A pivotal round of global climate talks scheduled for November in Scotland has been postponed because of the coronavirus. The delay deals a blow to efforts to tackle climate change and raises questions about unanticipated obstacles to international cooperation created by the pandemic. Rounds of preliminary talks in the lead up to the COP26 conference, one of the world’s ...

Bloomberg Italy is finalising new measures aimed at providing liquidity to companies, Finance Minister Roberto Gualtieri said. The government will guarantee loans of up to 800,000 euros at 100%, and will boost guarantees to 90% on another 200 billion euros ($216 billion) in loans, Gualtieri said in a televised comment on Rai TG1. Companies will be able to seek bank ...

Bloomberg The Spanish government is working to roll out a universal basic income as soon as possible, as part of a battery of actions aimed at countering the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, according to Economy Minister Nadia Calvino. Social Security Minister Jose Luis Escriva is coordinating the project and plans to put some sort of basic income “in place ...

Bloomberg If UK debt issuance is anything to go by, this economic crisis is likely to be far worse than the last. Britain’s Debt Management Office will have to raise sales of government bonds to 285 billion pounds ($352 billion), according to Citigroup Inc. That’s over 50 billion pounds more than during the great financial crisis. Still, gilts have been ...

Bloomberg Italy’s government expanded its powers to block foreign takeovers and prepared a massive injection of liquidity into companies that risk bankruptcy amid the world’s deadliest coronavirus outbreak. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced new economic measures as the country enters its fifth week of lockdown, with all non-essential businesses shuttered and still no plan to relax restrictions. Italy reported 3,599 ...

Bloomberg European companies have been quick to slash or cancel their dividends in response to the coronavirus crisis, fueling calls from market participants that U.S. firms should take heed and preserve cash. The pandemic’s damage to profit as well as regulators’ calls for corporations to preserve liquidity have so far pushed 107 companies in the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 Index ...