January, 2018

• 21 January

  Google, Tencent agree to share patents in global tech alliance

  

  Bloomberg Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Tencent Holdings Ltd. have agreed to share patents covering a range of products and technologies, an alliance between two of the world’s largest corporations. The cross-licensing deal comes with an understanding that the search giant and Tencent—the world’s second largest and fifth largest company, respectively—will team up on developing future technologies. The agreement may smooth ...

  Read More »
• 21 January

  Modi’s home-for-all pledge may become India subprime problem

  

  Bloomberg India’s $207 billion bad loan pile could get worse. Delinquencies are rising in the affordable housing sector, a pet project for Prime Minister Narendra Modi that’s touted as a main growth driver for Asia’s third-largest economy. Most of these were loans below 200,000 rupees ($3,100) made to some of the poorest Indians, whose incomes are now under threat as ...

  Read More »
• 21 January

  Hong Kong targets tighter scrutiny of listed firms’ auditors

  Bloomberg Hong Kong, which has faced a slew of criticism on company financial reporting, is set to create a new framework to oversee auditors of listed entities in the city. Proposed legislation will boost the Financial Reporting Council by giving it the independence to investigate and discipline auditors, according to a statement. It will also empower the FRC to oversee ...

  Read More »
• 21 January

  Cinedigm rises on ‘film release’ deal

  Bloomberg Cinedigm Corp., a digital distributor of movies and other programming, jumped the most in three months after striking a deal to release films online and in theatres in China. The agreement with Starrise Media Holdings Ltd., a former textile company that entered the media business two years ago, sent shares up as much as 14 percent. The agreement also ...

  Read More »
• 21 January

  Kuwait to join Gulf bond rush with plans for dollar sale

  

  Bloomberg Kuwait is weighing plans to sell dollar-denominated bonds, according to people familiar with the matter, joining other Gulf Cooperation Council states also said to be considering sales. Officials from the oil-rich Gulf nation have held talks with banks about the possibility of a sale as soon as the first quarter, two of the people said, asking not to be ...

  Read More »
• 21 January

  San Francisco solar firm nabs $55mn to expand into Africa

  

  Bloomberg Off Grid Electric, a San Francisco-based company that develops rooftop solar and battery systems in Africa, has raised $55 million as it expands into Ghana. The Series D round was led by Helios Investment Partners and included GE Ventures, the venture capital subsidiary of General Electric Co., Off Grid said in a statement. The company’s Ghana expansion is part ...

  Read More »
• 21 January

  Texas solar boom poses $1.4bn threat to fossil fuels

  

  Bloomberg A boom in solar power is threatening to wipe out $1.4 billion a year of summertime revenue for fossil-fuel generators in Texas. Almost 15 gigawatts of solar power may crop up in the Lone Star state in the coming years, and every gigawatt stands to shave about $2.76 a megawatt-hour from wholesale electricity prices there when demand peaks in ...

  Read More »
• 21 January

  Florida waters still being considered for oil drilling

  Bloomberg Despite Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s January 9 declaration that Florida is “off the table” for offshore oil drilling, that activity is actually still on the table. The acting director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management made clear that Zinke’s decision, announced on Twitter and described to reporters in the Tallahassee airport, doesn’t stop a formal process of considering ...

  Read More »
• 21 January

  Iraq’s Kurdish gas project gets boost amid political tumult

  

  Bloomberg Plans to export natural gas from Iraqi Kurdistan got a boost after reserves were upgraded at two key fields. Yet successful development still hinges on the region’s turbulent politics. The Miran and Bina Bawi deposits hold 14.8 trillion cubic feet of contingent gas resources, explorer Genel Energy Plc said in a statement after an audit was carried out by ...

  Read More »
• 21 January

  ValueAct takes AES stake in clean energy push

  

  Bloomberg Activist investor ValueAct Capital Management has taken a stake in international power producer AES Corp., and the fund’s founder Jeffrey Ubben will join its board to help push for cleaner energy resources. Ubben will work with AES on the company’s plan to sell coal assets, reduce debt and develop more solar power and battery storage, according to AES. ValueAct, ...

  Read More »