May 13 (Reuters) – Melinda French Gates is leaving the charitable foundation she co-founded with former spouse Bill Gates more than 20 years ago and will get $12.5 billion for her own work to uplift women and families, she said on Monday. The billionaire benefactors parted ways in 2021 after 27 years of marriage but had pledged […]
The Biden administration announced stiff new tariff rates Tuesday on $18 billion worth of Chinese imports. The White House said the tariff hikes were necessary to protect American industries from unfair competition. Starting this year, President Joe Biden will quadruple tariffs on imported Chinese electric vehicles, from 25% to 100%. The import tax on Chinese solar cells will double, […]
The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) proposed norms to tighten project financing, which has recommended an increased standard asset provisioning of up to 5 per cent on loans, is likely to result in an additional provisioning of 0.5-3 per cent of banks net worth. Last week, the RBI released a draft framework for lenders who […]
Fosun International, one of China’s largest private-sector conglomerates, has agreed to sell an 8.2 per cent stake in Belgian insurer Ageas to BNP Paribas for about €670 million (US$714 million) as part of an effort to reduce its debt amid economic turbulence. A deal involving the sale of 15.4 million shares of Ageas was concluded […]
TAIPEI — The Taiwanese financial conglomerate SinoPac Holdings is entering the Cambodian banking industry by acquiring a local institution that is majority-held by Western investors, the latest example of the diversification of Taiwanese investment into Southeast Asia. SinoPac announced over the weekend that its subsidiary Bank SinoPac will acquire 100% of Amret, Cambodia’s largest microfinance […]
LONDON/HONG KONG — Concerns by shareholders of an HSBC split with Asia resurfaced at the annual meeting on Friday after HSBC Chief Executive Noel Quinn’s abrupt resignation this week. One shareholder asked about the possibility of another attempt to spin off the Asian business of Europe’s largest bank — a question quickly dismissed by Chairman Mark […]
TOKYO — Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group seeks to invest in an Indian nonbank lender affiliated with top local lender HDFC Bank, aiming to capture retail financing demand in the South Asian country’s growing economy. Negotiations are underway to acquire around 20% of shares in HDB Financial Services for 200 billion yen to 300 billion yen ($1.3 billion to $1.96 […]
HONG KONG — A Tokyo-based law firm is set to reboot efforts to enlist investors hit by the sudden wipeout of certain bonds issued by the now-defunct Credit Suisse, adding to a growing movement to launch legal action across Asia. Eiji Masuda, the managing partner of Masuda & Partners Law Office in Tokyo, told Nikkei […]
The Japanese yen strengthened sharply in afternoon trading in Asia, bouncing after it briefly hit a new 34-year low of 160 against the dollar on waning expectations for near-term rate increases from the Bank of Japan. The yen rebounded to 155.07 to the dollar Monday afternoon after earlier touching its weakest level since April 1990. Trading volumes […]
Chinese electric vehicle maker Zeekr priced its initial public offering at $21 a share Thursday, at the top end of its range. The company will sell 21 million American depository shares to raise $441 million when it begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday under the ticker ZK. The offering sits at […]