May, 2021

• 31 May

  Meituan’s CEO unveils changes to tackle China antitrust concerns

  

  Bloomberg Chinese food-delivery giant Meituan is working to address regulators’ concerns about its business, changing practices that sparked an antitrust probe while promising better treatment for its millions of drivers and restaurants. The Beijing-based company has set up a dedicated team to work with officials conducting the investigation and vowed strict compliance with new guidelines. It’s also providing insurance for ...

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• 31 May

  JD Logistics gains on debut after $3.2 billion HK IPO

  

  Bloomberg JD Logistics Inc rose as much as 18% on its first day of trading after raising $3.2 billion in Hong Kong’s second-largest initial public offering this year. Shares of the delivery arm of Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com climbed to as high as HK$47.75 in Hong Kong, before giving up some of their gains. The stock had been priced at ...

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• 31 May

  Asia shipping-container rates top $10,000

  

  Bloomberg The cost to move goods in a shipping container to Europe from Asia shot above $10,000 for the first time on record, an index showed, underscoring the pain inflicted on exporters and importers struggling with stretched supply chains. The Drewry World Container Index showed the rate for a 40-foot container from Shanghai to Rotterdam rose to $10,174, up 3.1% ...

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• 31 May

  US’s ban against Dalian Ocean based on ‘lies,’ Global Times says

  

  Bloomberg A decision by the US to ban imports of seafood from Dalian Ocean Fishing Co is based on “lies” that the Chinese company used forced labour, according to the Communist Party-backed Global Times. The paper cited experts who said the US is widening its move against Chinese industries after allegations of forced labour by companies in the Xinjiang region. ...

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• 31 May

  Macron threatens withdrawal of French troops from Mali

  

  Bloomberg France will pull troops out of Mali if the country moves towards radicalism, President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview with Le Journal du Dimanche. Macron told the newspaper during a trip to Africa that he had warned leaders in the west of the continent that the French government will not stand by a country where there is no ...

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• 31 May

  Cyprus’s ruling Disy party slumps to historic low in elections

  

  Bloomberg Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades’s center-right Disy party recorded its worst results in parliamentary elections in 40 years, as voters vented their frustration over the government’s handling of the country’s “golden passport” program. With presidential elections due in 2023, support for Disy fell to between 24% and 28% compared with 30.7% in the last vote in 2016, according to initial ...

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• 31 May

  Covid-19: Malaysia imposes lockdown

  

  Bloomberg Malaysia announced a two-week nationwide lockdown to curb a relentless surge in Covid cases. Only essential economic and service sectors will be allowed to operate from June 1-14, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement, days after Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin had ruled out a repeat of last year’s lockdown. The government will soon announce an aid package ...

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• 31 May

  German election: Green party loses momentum

  Bloomberg Germany’s Green party declined for a second consecutive week and Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative bloc clawed back support, four months before the country goes to the polls. Support for the Greens fell to 22% while Merkel’s Christian Democratic-led bloc rose 1 percentage point to 25% in the weekly Insa poll for Bild am Sonntag. It was the second 1-point ...

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• 31 May

  Digital bank upstarts are years away from profits in Hong Kong

  

  Bloomberg Hong Kong’s virtual banks are facing years of red ink on the bottom line after making limited inroads against their brick-and-mortar rivals in the financial hub. The two leading digital banks so far, Mox Bank Ltd, backed by Standard Chartered, and ZA Bank Ltd, bankrolled by China’s ZhongAn Online P&C Insurance, predict they will start breaking even by 2024 ...

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• 31 May

  Credit Suisse cuts risk as defections mount in wake of scandals

  

  Bloomberg Credit Suisse Group AG is grappling with how to keep top bankers from fleeing to competitors and drastically reducing risk as new Chairman Antonio Horta-Osorio seeks to recover from a series of scandals. The lender is cutting ties with SoftBank Group Corp, a backer to Lex Greensill’s collapsed supply-chain finance empire, and it’s temporarily barring clients from withdrawing all ...

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