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Bloomberg In the race to build safe and affordable driverless vehicles, being first to deliver isn’t fetching a premium from investors. French startup Navya SAS would know: the first standalone self-driving company to be publicly traded has sold 15 of its autonomous vehicles that need no steering wheel, mirrors or pedals, and plans to start deliveries next year. It thinks ...

Bloomberg KKR & Co. and Blackstone Group LP are among suitors that have expressed interest in acquiring a stake in Shriram Group, the Indian finance conglomerate backed by billionaire Ajay Piramal, people with knowledge of the matter said. The two private equity firms have each held preliminary talks in recent months about buying stakes in Chennai-based Shriram Group owned by ...

Bloomberg Chinese electronics giant TCL Corp. is weighing a bid for ASM International NV’s remaining stake in its listed Asian affiliate, as the Dutch semiconductor-equipment maker faces pressure from activist investors, people familiar with the matter said. TCL has been working with an adviser to explore making an offer for the 25 percent stake in Hong Kong-listed ASM Pacific Technology ...

Bloomberg Tencent Holdings Ltd. is turning into a serious drag for emerging-market investors. The stock has tumbled 18 percent since June, its worst performance relative to an index of global technology companies since it started trading in 2004. The biggest stock in Asia — and one which 48 analysts recommend buying — extended its decline even as the MSCI World ...

Bloomberg India’s Infibeam Avenues Ltd. lost 71 percent of its market value on a single day after a WhatsApp message circulating among traders raised concerns about the online iPhone and iPad retailer’s accounting practices. Speculation mounted before a shareholder meeting on Saturday after a message attributed to brokerage Equirus Securities Pvt. began to be distributed on WhatsApp, said Bhavin Mehta, ...

Bloomberg India’s ministry of corporate affairs has ordered an inspection of Vakrangee Ltd.’s books for three financial years, five months after Price Waterhouse resigned as the firm’s auditor. The process will include scrutiny of the auditor’s resignation, Vakrangee’s tax filings in the past five years, the number of outlets across India through which it provides financial services, and its shareholding ...

Bloomberg The collapse of Skye Bank Plc is darkening the outlook for Nigeria’s other small lenders struggling to recover from the economy’s contraction two years ago, and threatening to derail the regulator’s ambitions of expanding the industry. The Central Bank of Nigeria revoked the lender’s license for failing to meet capital and liquidity thresholds since the authorities first intervened to ...

Bloomberg India’s troubled shadow bank Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd., whose recent debt defaults sparked concern about contagion in the nation’s financial markets, has sought shareholder’s approval for a plan to revive the firm at the company’s annual general meeting on Saturday. The management aims to bring the group back to normalcy by selling shares through a rights issue, ...

Bloomberg China will maintain a neutral and stable monetary policy while also assuring reasonable and ample liquidity, the People’s Bank of China said in a statement on Saturday. China’s overall exchange rate and market expectations are stable, the bank said at its third-quarter meeting. The nation will continue to deepen its financial system reform, the PBOC said in its statement. ...

Bloomberg UK inflation pressures are likely to pick up even if the Bank of England’s forecasts for wage growth and productivity gains aren’t met, according to Deputy Governor Dave Ramsden. In a speech in London, Ramsden said that he’s on board with BOE’s collective view that limited and gradual increases are needed to control inflation. Labour market tightness and rising ...