September, 2019

• 21 September

  Blackstone REIT’s success lures global funds to India

  Bloomberg Blackstone-backed real estate investment trust’s successful India trading debut has left global funds including Japan’s NikkoAM-StraitsTrading Asia wanting a piece of the action. Eastspring Investments, North Carolina Fund, and Sentry Global are among names looking to invest in the instrument that bets on India’s rent-yielding real estate, said Shobhit Agarwal, managing director of Anarock Property Consultants Ltd. Blackstone Group ...

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• 21 September

  Huawei tries to overturn US ban that cites ‘cyber-exploitation’ risk

  

  Bloomberg Huawei Technologies Co is making a Hail Mary bid to undo a US law that prohibits federal agencies and contractors from buying or using the Chinese telecom giant’s equipment because of the alleged risk of “cyber exploitation” by China. Lawyers for Huawei were due in federal court to convince a judge that the law is an unconstitutional attempt by ...

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• 21 September

  Alibaba invests in Taiwan’s Perfect

  

  Bloomberg Chinese internet giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd has agreed to invest in augmented-reality (AR) startup Perfect Corp in its biggest bet so far in Taiwan, people with knowledge of the matter said. Alibaba is leading a new round of funding for Perfect Corp, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. Chinese ...

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• 21 September

  Apple’s brand in China takes hit from backlash against Trump

  

  Bloomberg The trade war is taking its toll on Apple Inc, a new survey of Chinese consumer attitudes shows. The company tumbled to No. 24 in an annual report on China’s top brands, falling from No. 11 a year ago. In 2017, before the trade war started, Apple was fifth in this ranking. Meanwhile, Apple’s biggest local rival, Huawei Technologies ...

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• 21 September

  Synthetic bio pioneer Ginkgo raises $290mn in new funding

  

  Bloomberg Ginkgo Bioworks Inc raised $290 million in new funding, giving a boost to a startup that designs organisms to do everything from re-create the scent of an extinct Hawaiian hibiscus to treat liver disorders in humans. The latest investment brings the Boston-based biotech’s total valuation to $4 billion, according to a person familiar with the company’s finances who wasn’t ...

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• 21 September

  OECD warns UK over recession in no-deal Brexit

  

  Bloomberg The OECD warned that a no-deal Brexit would push the UK into a recession, send investment and exports plunging and create damaging long-term fallout for the economy. In a report, the Paris-based group said exports would “immediately decline” by 8 percent, and uncertainty would put the brakes on business spending. While part of the trade shock would be absorbed ...

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• 21 September

  Canadian fund buys stake in Neuvoo

  Bloomberg Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec (CDPQ) is acquiring a minority stake in jobs website Neuvoo, the latest investment by Canada’s second-largest pension fund in companies that rely on artificial intelligence. The institutional investor, also known by its initials CDPQ, is buying $40 million worth of shares in the company, Neuvoo co-founder Maxime Droux said. Droux didn’t say ...

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• 21 September

  Tesla Model 3 wins top-tier safety award

  

  Bloomberg Tesla Inc’s Model 3 earned a coveted Top Safety Pick+ award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), after the sedan performed better in a crash test than the Model S. The Model 3 earned “good” crash ratings in each of IIHS’s tests, including one that measures how vehicles perform in front, driver’s-side-corner collisions. The Model S fell ...

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• 21 September

  Hong Kong now is a ‘hair’s breadth from destruction’

  

  Physically diminutive, intellectually acerbic and with an eye for the ironic, Margaret Ng — lawyer, writer and former legislator — is, at 71, a member of the generation for which this city’s youthful protesters have scant patience. They say the elders have been too patient about Hong Kong’s precarious situation. But, says Ng dryly, the youths frequently welcome assistance from ...

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• 21 September

  Germany isn’t listening to Draghi

  

  The European Central Bank’s (ECB) decision to reactivate quantitative easing has put monetary policy back in the spotlight. But as the bank’s president Mario Draghi says, the currency union would be in much better shape if countries with strong fiscal positions opened their purses. Fiscal doves will no doubt take heart from a slight softening of tone in Germany, the ...

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