Industrials

Profits for China’s industrial firms shrank in April as slowing manufacturing activity halted the previous month’s surge, putting more pressure on policymakers to step up support for an economy hit by a bitter trade war with...

China’s East Hope Group is evaluating plans to invest US$10 billion in an industrial zone in the United Arab Emirates, Reuters reports. Chinese companies are increasingly seizing opportunities in the Gulf, expanding overseas in line with...

Rare earth reserves are not a trade war game-changer. Here’s why: 1. There are abundant reserves. The US has several years of its annual consumption in domestic reserves and can also use alternative sources. 2. Most...

Earlier this year, German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier unveiled his “National Industrial Strategy 2030”, which aims to protect German firms against state-subsidized Chinese competitors. The strategy identifies key industrial sectors that will receive special government support,...

Electric vehicle (EV) battery maker LG Chem has sued its South Korean peer SK Innovation in the United States for alleged theft of trade secrets, Reuters reports. LG Chem and its American unit have filed a...

Former Nissan Motor chairman Carlos Ghosn looked set to walk out of a Japanese detention center for the second time since his arrest last year on financial misconduct charges, after a Tokyo court on Thursday set...

A former engineer and a Chinese businessman have been charged with economic espionage and conspiring to steal trade secrets from General Electric Co to benefit China, Reuters reports, citing an indictment unsealed by the US Justice...

China will reduce direct government intervention in its vast industrial sector, the industry minister said on Monday, as Beijing seeks to ease concerns about its industrial policy, core to Washington’s complaints in the Sino-US trade war....

In a district of northern Bangladesh, Hong Kong entrepreneur Felix Chang employs 18,000 people in four factories making hair products. They account for 90 percent of his company’s revenue, against 10 percent from three plants in...

General Electric said it will sell its biopharma business to Danaher Corp. for US$21.4 billion in the biggest strategy reversal since Lawrence Culp took over as the industrial conglomerate’s chief executive in September, Reuters reports. GE...

China Minsheng Investment Group (CMIG) recently failed to make a bond repayment.  The group was jointly set up by 59 businessmen in 2014. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang attended the signing ceremony back then, underlying the central...

Some are worried that the global economic growth may run out of steam if the world’s largest growth engine, China, shifts to a lower gear.  A recent Bollywood movie, Pad Man, may offer some insight as to...

The fresh round of vice-ministerial-level trade talks between US and China had a good start this week. Chinese Vice Premier Liu He made a surprise appearance at the meeting, sending a positive signal and helping lift...

China’s November retail sales grew at their weakest pace since 2003 and industrial output rose the least in nearly three years as the economy lost further momentum, heaping pressure on Beijing to defuse its trade dispute...

United Technologies Corp. said it will separate into three companies consisting of its aerospace unit, Otis elevators division and its Carrier air-conditioning business, Reuters reports. The company has been under pressure from activist investors to split...

Johnson Controls International Plc said it will sell its power solutions business, which makes car batteries, to investment firm Brookfield Business Partners LP, in a cash deal valued at US$13.2 billion. Shares of Johnson Controls were...

More than 70 percent of US firms operating in southern China are considering delaying further investment there and moving some or all of their manufacturing to other countries as the trade war bites into profits, Reuters...

China has asked the World Trade Organization (WTO) to establish an expert group to determine the legality of tariffs imposed by the United States on steel and aluminum, Reuters reports. China’s commerce ministry was quoted as...

Chinese conglomerate HNA Group has put up for sale property assets worth at least US$11 billion, according to documents seen by Reuters, accelerating a push to cut its large debt and restructure. Two sets of documents...

European regulators are set to exercise their new powers by handing out fines and even temporary bans on companies that breach a new EU privacy law, with the first round of sanctions expected by the end...