WORLD
Nestle CEO sees full-year revenue growth at high end of forecast
First-half revenue gained more than analysts expected as Nestle pushed prices of Purina pet food and KitKat chocolate bars higher.
WORLD
Severe dry spell spurs Indonesian rice farmers to switch to corn
Farmers in Subang, West Java, one of the nation’s top rice-producing regions, have shifted from planting the grain to growing things like cabbage, chili and watermelon instead, in anticipation of drought, said Yadi Sofyan Noor, chairman of Andalan Fishermen and Farmers Community.
WORLD
Private funding in Asia may hit 10-year low, Preqin says
Funds raised in the region in the first half of 2023 accounted for 22% of last year’s total, Preqin analysts wrote in a quarterly report. Aggregate capital targeted by China-focused funds fell to $115.9 billion at the end of the second quarter, from $141.9 billion in the previous three months.
BUSINESS
ASK plans to raise up to $122 million for private debt
India has also experienced a pickup in private credit activity. Restrictions on bank lending — such as to fund mergers and acquisitions — make it an attractive proposition.
WORLD
Elon Musk the banker wants to take on Jamie Dimon where Google failed
Facebook spent years investing in a project called Libra that was supposed to revolutionize cross-border payments, but regulatory scrutiny forced it to abandon the push.
WORLD
Ouster of Xi Jinping’s handpicked foreign minister halts rising career
The former Chinese ambassador to the US became his nation’s shortest-ever serving foreign minister on Tuesday, after China’s top legislative body stripped him from the role and reinstated his predecessor Wang Yi.
WORLD
Samsung aims to slash cost of foldables in fight with iPhone
The world’s largest smartphone maker is in talks with supply partners to drive down the cost of manufacturing foldables without compromising key specs.
WORLD
Meta to charge cloud providers for AI tech that it said was free
Instead, Meta said the making the technology available for free and opening its source code would result in improvements from a wider community of developers.
BUSINESS
QIA considering $1 billion stake in Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Retail
The Qatar Investment Authority wants to increase its bets in India and is among parties that are in talks to buy into Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd., said the people, who asked not to be identified as the discussions are private.
WORLD
Microsoft’s Azure slowdown overshadows optimism about AI growth
The world’s largest software maker projected that Azure gains would slow further in the current quarter, and said it would boost spending to expand data centers for new cloud services — while expecting only a gradual increase in AI revenue.
BUSINESS
Star founder broke down in tears as crises engulfed Byju’s
With a planned $1 billion equity fundraise from Middle Eastern investors still in limbo, Raveendran broke down in tears defending his company, according to people who attended the calls.
WORLD
IMF lifts world growth outlook on US stability, but risks linger
Global gross domestic product will expand 3% in 2023, the IMF said
INDIA
Cereal shortages may further fuel India’s inflation, HSBC says
The widespread cereal shortages in India could drive inflation higher in Asia’s third largest economy, even as the vegetable price shock is set to ease in the coming months, according to HSBC Holdings Plc.
WORLD
HSBC pledges to return to private banking in India
On a rainy July evening in Mumbai’s central business district, HSBC Holdings Plc announced to about 100 wealthy Indians it is returning to private banking in India, where it exited about eight years ago.
WORLD
Panic buyers load up on rice supplies as India bans exports
India’s move to ban certain rice exports has sparked some panic buying in various countries, with videos on social media showing bags of the staple food flying off the shelves and long lines outside grocery stores.
WORLD
China names Pan Gongsheng as new Central Bank Governor to revive economy
China named Pan Gongsheng as governor of the central bank, strengthening his position as head of the institution tasked with boosting the world’s second-largest economy.
BUSINESS
Rice may hit decade-high as India’s curbs rock world market
Rice prices are set to surge after top exporter India banned a large chunk of shipments, adding to stresses on global food markets that have already been roiled by bad weather and the worsening conflict in Ukraine.
WORLD
India’s energy transition to top $200 Billion a year, says REC
New policies to classify green investments would help spur an energy transition in India that’s likely to need spending of $200 billion a year, according to REC Ltd., a key lender to the nation’s power sector.
ECONOMY-2
Foreign inflows may continue driving India’s rally: HSBC
Foreigner investors may continue pouring money into Indian stocks, driving benchmarks to new highs in an extended bull market, according to HSBC Holdings PLC.
BUSINESS
Xiaomi to slash smartphone line after conceding India missteps
China’s Xiaomi held the smartphone lead in India for years before regulatory headaches and a too vast product portfolio — which by its own admission confused customers — led to its decline.
WORLD
Saudi oil revenue drops to lowest since 2021 as prices falter
The kingdom’s oil exports dropped to just over $19 billion during May, according to data from the General Authority for Statistics that includes both crude and refined products. The share of oil sales in total exports fell to 74% from nearly 81% a year ago.
WORLD
A pivotal earnings week looms for high-flying stock markets
Coming into the season, investors were focused on bets that central banks would stop raising interest rates soon, and the US economy could avoid a contraction.
WORLD
Jamaican rum is the new liquor of choice for high-end collectors
To be clear, it’s not the liquor itself that has changed in any meaningful way. On the contrary: a devotion to traditional production technique is what makes Jamaican rum appealing to today’s connoisseurs.
WORLD
The little known metals giant that rules a global market
Spin forward a few years, and the influence of a company some people in the industry have still barely heard of is a timely illustration of the scale of the challenge to loosen China’s grip on what have become key raw materials.
