26/01/2012
Huawei, China’s premier telecoms supplier, is acquiring the Centre for Integrated Photonics (CIP), the UK’s world-leading photonics research laboratory, for $10m.
The optical networking research unit is currently owned by the East of England Development Agency (EEDA), but is being sold as part of a larger rationalisation of assets.
Huawei said CIP will “significantly deepen” its optical research and development capabilities. The CIP research team will be retained and will form the core of a new Huawei UK R&D centre, part of Huawei’s global network.
This acquisition is much more significant than that of a 10% ownership of Thames Water by a Chinese sovereign fund. It will enable Huawei to tap into British brainpower. Given China’s meed to diversify its surplus from the US$ and other static holdings into tangible assets, this will not be the first such acquisition.
However, there is no need for alarm. Years ago Microsoft set up a research facility in Cambridge and HP set one up in the Thames valley. Even long before then, IBM set up research labs in Switzerland, Britain and France. This all plays to one of the three strands of global power shift that Paddy Ashdown talked about in his talk at TED.com – http://blog.ted.com/2012/01/05/the-global-power-shift-paddy-ashdown-on-ted-com/. From national states to global corporations.
Posted in China alert, Economics, Intellectual Property Rights, Investment in tangibles, Technology |
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23/01/2012
Chow Tai Fook is a Hong Kong based jeweller with revenues 50% higher than Tiffany’s. It has 1,500 outlets in China, mainly in second tier and third tier cities. It IPOed 10% of its shares 6 weeks ago which puts the value of the company at around $20bn.
With Chinese New Year here (Year of the Dragon), jewellery purchases are expected to be high and Chow Tai Fook hopes to gain some of that.
http://blogs.wsj.com/scene/2012/01/03/getting-to-know-chow-tai-fook/
Posted in Affluence, China alert, Economics |
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23/01/2012
Piramal Healthcare is mulling a string of small-ticket acquisitions in the UK biotechnology sector, eyeing early-stage businesses in drug discovery, anaesthetics and contract manufacturing, said Ajay Piramal, head of the Indian pharmaceutical firm.
Piramal, whose company sold its generic drug business to Abbott Laboratories in 2010 for $3.7bn and also has access to debt facilities worth $2bn, told The Timesthat the planned takeovers in the UK and Europe are aimed at strengthening the firm’s drug research unit.
http://www.efinancialnews.com/digest/2012-01-23/indian-pharma-major-prepares-usd-5-billion-war-chest-for-overseas-acquisitions?mod=otherarticles_digests
Posted in Economics, India alert |
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21/01/2012
This is not new news, but I only came across it a few days ago on TED.com
Hans Rosling, world health expert and professor waxes lyrically on Asia’s growth illustrated by his unique graphics.
http://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_asia_s_rise_how_and_when.html
Posted in China alert, Chindia Alert, Economics, Good news, India alert |
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21/01/2012
India’s Supreme Court ruled that India had no jurisdction over Vodafones purchase of Hutchison Essar mobile from Hutchison Whampoa, after a 4-year battle. The government was claiming £3bn in tax revenue.
On the face of it, India lost. But analysts say this has reassured international business that India is, once again, a safe place to invest in. Together with the current low market value many global companies may take the opportunity to re-evaluate their options in India.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-01-21/vodafone-s-india-tax-ruling-clears-way-for-17-6-billion-ipo.html
Posted in Economics, India alert |
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20/01/2012
On 16 January, the Chinese government allowed a non-governmental organisation to lodge a suit concerning the probably causes of cancer in a village due to industrial pollution. This is the first such case and breaks new ground.
The reasons could be; a loosing up of court procedure in the face of increasing anger at industrial pollution bighting lives; an attempt at making owners of factories causing pollution to realise that not only the law is against them, but now non-governmental organisations can take up the cause of the little man in the village and, finally, it makes good press in the run up to leadership changes later in the year.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=china-cancer-village-tests-law-versus-pollution
Posted in China alert, Good news, Law suit, Pollution |
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20/01/2012
Global warming threatens China’s march to prosperity by reducing crops, shrinking rivers and unleashing more droughts and floods, says the Chinese government’s latest “Second National Assessment Report on Climate Change”.
China is the world’s second biggest economy after the US and the biggest emitter of greenhouse gas pollution, now ahead of the US.
Global warming caused and exacerbated by greenhouse gases from industry, transport and changing land-use poses a long-term threat to China’s prosperity, health and food production, says the report. With China’s economy likely to overtake the United States’ in 20 or 30 years, that has dire consequences.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/18/us-china-climate-idUSTRE80H06J20120118
Posted in China alert, Climate change, Ecology, Good news, Pollution |
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20/01/2012
A Chinese sovereign wealth fund has invested c£1bn for 8.7% in the water utility that serves London, in what is the fund’s first UK acquisition following talks with British politicians.
The deal follows a visit to China this week by George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer, who has been urging Chinese investors to inject money into British infrastructure projects.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7b19ca2e-42c0-11e1-b756-00144feab49a.html#axzz1k0uBCqhC
Mr Osborne also made progress in persuading China to use London as the first non-Chinese centre in collaboration with Hong Kong for trading in the Renminbi (RMB). China, of course is keen on diversifying from its vast investment in the slowly declining US dollar into tangible assets; as well as to establish, in time, the RMB as an alternate global currency; especially as, for the time being the Euro is heading nowhere.
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,2104536,00.html
Posted in China alert, Economics, Investment in tangibles |
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19/01/2012
In 2011 Chinese banks loaned Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Mobile $3bn with the condition that it uses Chinese telecoms and energy firms.
This month Chinese banks loaned Anil Ambani’s Reliance Communications $1.2bn with the condition that it uses Chinese telecoms equipment suppliers.
Both parties see these as win-win deals. Indian firms getting loans at lower interest than from local or other banks and China getting more buyers for its technology suppliers.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-17/reliance-communications-to-borrow-1-18-billion-from-china-banks.html
In November 2011, a consortium of banks including some Chinese banks loaned Duke Energy $6bn to buy the largest US electricity utility. Again, part of the deal was joint development with Chinese firms of eco cities and solar technology. Then the Three Gorges Corp acquired Portugal government’s stake in utility EDP.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203802204577067013608051698.html
From the Chinese pov, not only are they supporting Chinese industries, but they are diversifying from US bonds into ‘bricks and mortor’ assets.
http://www.vancouversun.com/story_print.html?id=5905203&sponsor=
Posted in China alert, Chindia Alert, Economics, Good news, India alert, Investment in tangibles |
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CHINDIA ALERT: You'll be living in their world, very soon 