Archive for ‘rival’

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19/11/2019

Tata Steel to cut 3,000 jobs in ‘severe’ market

Port TalbotImage copyright GETTY IMAGES
Image caption Port Talbot employs just under half of Tata’s 8,385 UK workforce

Tata Steel plans to cut as many as 3,000 jobs across its European business in another bid to come to terms with a “severe” international steel market.

The company wants to focus on higher-value products, it said, adding there would be no plant closures.

About two thirds of the job cuts will be office-based, it added.

The announcement comes after a merger with German rival Thyssenkrupp was blocked during the summer. Bosses had hoped the deal could reduce costs.

“Today we are highlighting important proposals towards building a financially strong and sustainable European business,” said Henrik Adam, chief executive of Tata Steel in Europe.

“We plan to change how we work together to enable better cooperation and faster decision-making. This will help us become self-sustaining and cash positive in the face of unprecedented severe market conditions, enabling us to lead the way towards a carbon-neutral future.”

The business employs about 20,000 people and is owned by India’s Tata.

Port Talbot steelworks employs just under half of Tata’s 8,385-strong workforce in the UK.

Wales’ economy minister Ken Skates said: “I am seeking an urgent conversation with Tata to establish what this means for workers in Wales and how we can support those affected by this announcement.”

Last week, Chinese firm Jingye agreed to invest £1.2bn in British Steel as it signed a deal to rescue the UK steelmaker.

It also said it would seek to “preserve thousands of jobs in a key foundation industry for the UK” but did not put a number on how many would be saved.

British Steel employs about 4,000 people in Scunthorpe and Teesside.

It has been kept running by the government via the Official Receiver since May when the company went into liquidation.

Source: The BBC

Posted in "severe", blocked, British Steel, Chinese, Chinese firm, Company, cut, economy minister, employs, Europe, firm, foundation, German, Government, half, industry, Jingye, Jingye Group, jobs, key, liquidation, market, Merger, Official Receiver, Port Talbot, rival, Scunthorpe, summer, Tata Steel, Teesside, Thyssenkrupp, UK, Uncategorized, Wales, workers, workforce | Leave a Comment »

24/09/2019

European firms are on the lookout for tangible incentives before embracing Shanghai’s expanded free trade zone in Lingang

  • Shanghai’s authorities have doubled the free-trade zone to 240 square kilometres by including part of Lingang, a previously untapped area linked to the Yangshan deep water port
  • The expansion reflected the city’s renewed efforts to build a free marketplace that can rival regional business hubs such as Hong Kong and Singapore
Aerial photo taken on March 9, 2017 shows the Shanghai free trade zone (FTZ). Photo: Xinhua
Aerial photo taken on March 9, 2017 shows the Shanghai free trade zone (FTZ). Photo: Xinhua

Shanghai’s ambitious plan to turn Lingang into a Hong Kong-style free-trade port has yet to impress European companies due to a slow pace of enforcement with a series of liberalisations subject to Beijing’s approval.

The European Union Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai said on Tuesday that the business lobby group was expecting concrete measures to be implemented at the 119.5-square kilometre newly expanded free-trade zone (FTZ), which would whet European companies’ investment appetite, but it also vented dismay towards the slow progress.

It was advisable for the government to carry out planned reforms sooner to convince foreign investors of the golden opportunities inside the zone, said Carlo Diego D’Andrea, the chamber’s Shanghai chairman, who is also vice-president of the EU business chamber in China.

“After so many years [of waiting], we would like to see reform happen soon, not just the talks,” he said in an interview with South China Morning Post.

Shanghai doubled the size of the free-trade zone last month to about 240 sq km by including part of Lingang, a previously untapped area that is linked to the Yangshan deep water port.

The expansion reflected the city’s renewed efforts to build a free marketplace that can rival regional business hubs such as Hong Kong and Singapore.

Where is China’s Silicon Valley? SCMP Graphics
Where is China’s Silicon Valley? SCMP Graphics
Hong Kong’s ongoing street protests against a controversial extradition bill have wreaked havoc on the city’s economy and brought an opportunity to mainland metropolises such as Shanghai and Shenzhen to catch up with the special administrative region.
Shanghai plans to impose zero tariffs on imported goods inside the Lingang FTZ, but the reform measures cannot be implemented unless the General Administration of Customs gives a green light.

Shanghai’s city government had proposed a series of incentives aimed at building Lingang into a world-class investment magnet, the free-trade zone’s deputy director Wu Wei said at a Friday press conference, without elaborating on when the policies might be endorsed by the relevant ministry-level authorities.

Professor Zhou Zhenhua, president of Shanghai Academy of Global Cities, said the central government was still cautious of taking drastic steps in quickly liberalising the Lingang FTZ amid worries of rampant capital and cargo flows.

Interactive Infographics: China’s tiered city classifications
US bestselling electric vehicle maker Tesla has built its Gigafactory 3 at the Lingang FTZ after it secured an approval from Beijing to establish a wholly owned assembly plant late last year.
The approval for the first wholly-owned foreign car factory on mainland China coincided with a sales drop in the country’s automobile market, the first contraction in nearly three decades.
“Why could not you have opened the market before when the market was booming,” said D’Andrea.
He said that the timing of scrapping the foreign ownership cap amid the first negative growth of the domestic car market in three decades was not enough to show Beijing’s determinations in drawing overseas funds.
Beijing has been harping on its resolution in further opening up the markets to foreign businesses as a way of amid the US-China trade war that began in 2018.
Source: SCMP

Posted in Central government, China’s Silicon Valley, electric vehicle maker, embracing, European firms, European Union Chamber of Commerce, expanded, expansion, foreign car factory, free marketplace, free trade zone (FTZ), Gigafactory, Hong Kong, Lingang, lookout, Mainland China, regional business hubs, rival, Shanghai, Shanghai Academy of Global Cities, Shenzhen, Singapore, south china morning post, tangible incentives, Tesla, Uncategorized, US-China trade war, Yangshan deep-water port, zero tariffs | Leave a Comment »

19/08/2019

Schools deserted in Indian Kashmir as parents fear more unrest

SRINAGAR, India (Reuters) – Schools reopened in Indian Kashmir’s main city on Monday but most classrooms were empty as parents kept their children home, fearing unrest over the government’s decision two weeks ago to revoke the region’s autonomy.

Some 190 primary schools were set open in Srinagar as a sign of normalcy returning to Muslim majority Jammu and Kashmir as authorities ease a clampdown aimed at preventing mass protests.

Parents said their children would stay home until cellular networks are restored and they can be in contact with them.

“How can we risk the lives of our children?” said Gulzar Ahmad, a father of two who are enrolled in a school in the city’s Batamallo district where protests have occurred.

“Troops have arrested minor children in the last two weeks and several children were injured in clashes,” he said. “Our children are safe inside their homes. If they go to school who can guarantee their safety?”

Authorities were not immediately available for comment, but have previously denied reports of mass arrests.

Protests began after the Aug. 5 decision by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to withdraw Kashmir’s special status and integrate it fully into India, with equal rights for all Indians to buy property there and compete for government jobs.

Critics said the decision will alienate many Kashmiris and add fuel to a 30-year armed revolt in the Himalayan territory that Pakistan also lays claim to.

On the weekend, residents of Srinagar – the hotbed of the separatist revolt – threw stones and clashed with police. Dozens of people were injured, two senior officials and witnesses said.

Reuters journalists visited two dozen schools in Srinagar on Monday. Some schools were lightly staffed and classrooms deserted. Gates at other schools were locked.

Only one student showed up at Presentation Convent Higher Secondary School, which has an enrolment of 1,000 pupils, and went home, said a school official.

A handful of teachers but no students turned up at the barricaded Burn Hall school in one of the city’s high security zones.

“How can students come to classes in such a volatile situation? The government is turning these little children into cannon fodder,” a teacher said, adding that schools should stay closed until the situation is normal.

CROSS BORDER FIRING

New Delhi’s decision on Kashmir has heightened tensions with its neighbour and rival nuclear power, Pakistan, and triggered cross-border exchanges of fire.

In the latest incident, two civilians were killed in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir by Indian soldiers firing across the disputed border, Pakistan’s foreign ministry said, adding that it had summoned India’s deputy commissioner in Islamabad to protest.

“The ceasefire violations by India are a threat to regional peace and security and may lead to a strategic miscalculation,” the foreign ministry said.

There was no immediate comment from India which has previously accused Pakistan of trying to whip up tensions to draw global attention.

More than 50,000 people have died in the revolt that erupted against Indian rule in Kashmir in 1989. India blames Pakistan for giving material support to the militants and helping them cross into its part of the mountainous region.

Pakistan denies the allegation and says it only gives moral and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri people in their struggle for self determination.

Source: Reuters

Posted in Burn Hall school, ceasefire violations, deserted, diplomatic support, fear, global attention, Himalayan territory, India alert, Indian Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir, militants, Muslim-majority, neighbour, Nuclear power, Pakistan, parents, Presentation Convent Higher Secondary School, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, rival, schools, self determination, Srinagar, Uncategorized, unrest | Leave a Comment »

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