Robyn Mak
Reuters Top News
Hong Kong
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Past articles by Robyn:
Swiss red carpet for China stocks rolls downhill
European financial centres are rolling out the red carpet for Chinese companies. Easier rules have made Switzerland a popular destination for mainland firms selling shares abroad. With battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) mulling a $5 billion offering in Zurich, other bourses will be eager to join in. → Read More
China targets disruption-free tech disruption
Can China regulate its way to technological self-sufficiency? Beijing wants to foster innovation amid U.S. sanctions by centralising how data, patents and more are governed. The shake-up will, among other fixes, help avoid agency turf wars and resource misallocation. Anything more, though, looks a stretch. → Read More
Alibaba shows limits of China's reopening boon
It's back to reality for Alibaba . Boss Daniel Zhang's cost cutting has paid off at the $250 billion e-commerce group but the outlook he presents is meh. With Alibaba shares down 30% in one month, enthusiasm for China's return to normalcy is peaking early. → Read More
K-pop showdown amplifies shareholder voices
Worldwide boy-band sensation BTS may be on hiatus, but refreshing new financial acts threaten to upend the world of K-pop, and perhaps South Korea. The country’s largest potential hostile takeover hangs in the balance, as music agency Hybe , best known for managing the popular seven-member group vies for control of rival SM Entertainment . The saga showcases a stubborn founder, a rising activist… → Read More
Breakingviews: Buffett’s TSMC U-turn spotlights chips’ siren call
HONG KONG (Feb 16): A lot can change in three months, especially in the world of semiconductor investing. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway inexplicably sold most of its US$4.1 billion holding in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, a position only disclosed in November. → Read More
How Ant fell into fintech’s middle-income trap
It’s been almost ten years since the company now known as Ant tipped China’s clunky financial system on its head. The pivotal moment was the launch of Yu'e Bao, a service that lets online shoppers shift their payment balances into a money-market fund for a return far higher than what they’d get from a bank. Within three years, Yu'e Bao was the biggest money market fund in the world. Disruption… → Read More
Breakingviews: TSMC foots the bill for global chip supremacy
HONG KONG (Jan 12): It's expensive being the world's dominant chipmaker. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing on Thursday reported a bumper end to 2022, with December quarter earnings up a blistering 78% year-on-year to a record US$9.7 billion. But costs, from overseas expansion, research and development and other factors are forecast to eat into profitability as the market enters a downturn. → Read More
Jack Ma's Ant is China tech's tiniest bellwether
Jack Ma is leading China’s consumer internet out of the sin bin. After his fintech champion Ant said its founder will cede control, shares in affiliate Alibaba , rose 7% in Hong Kong on Monday morning. It may mark the end of Ant's campaign to placate regulators after they derailed the group's $37 billion initial public offering in late 2020. It’s not clear whether it marks much more than that. → Read More
Breakingviews: Chip woes short-circuit Samsung's best laid plans
HONG KONG (Jan 6): South Korea's Samsung Electronics can only defy gravity for so long. The world's top memory-chip maker on Friday said it estimates quarterly operating profit will fall a whopping 69% year-on-year in the three months to December to an eight-year low of US$3.4 billion as demand for semiconductors plunge. The worse-than-expected earnings guidance throws cold water on the… → Read More
Chip mergers are more urgent and awkward in 2023
Western Digital faces a daunting M&A challenge. The $11 billion outfit has revived talks with Japan's Kioxia after efforts for a $20 billion deal stalled in 2021, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. Price wars are plaguing sales of semiconductors storing data and consolidation can help as demand plunges. The duo will have to be creative to convince politicians fretting about chips wars. → Read More
Breakingviews: Foxconn reinvents itself, and EV supply chains
HONG KONG (Jan 3): Foxconn’s most important project in 2023 will be to remake itself. The Taiwanese company is best known for churning out Apple iPhones in China and shipping them around the world, but chairman Liu Young-way is looking elsewhere for the next phase of growth. It’s a well-timed pivot. → Read More
Foxconn reinvents itself, and EV supply chains
Foxconn’s most important project in 2023 will be to remake itself. The Taiwanese company is best known for churning out Apple iPhones in China and shipping them around the world, but Chairman Liu Young-way is looking elsewhere for the next phase of growth. It’s a well-timed pivot. → Read More
Breakingviews: Chip dilemma will buy Beijing precious time
HONG KONG (Dec 19): America’s chip war against China will make only partial inroads in 2023. After unveiling sweeping new export restrictions in October, Washington appears to have successfully lobbied friendly governments including Japan and the Netherlands to join. A full anti-China alignment, however, will be tricky while global semiconductors demand slows. → Read More
Chip dilemma will buy Beijing precious time
America’s chip war against China will make only partial inroads in 2023. After unveiling sweeping new export restrictions in October, Washington appears to have successfully lobbied friendly governments including Japan and the Netherlands to join. A full anti-China alignment, however, will be tricky while global semiconductors demand slows. → Read More
China's chip suppliers have some growing up to do
All eyes are on China's semiconductor-equipment laggards. Beijing is readying a $144 billion fiscal package aimed at supporting tool and machinery manufacturers that are woefully behind Dutch and Japanese rivals. A combination of targeted subsidies and local demand will help. But catching up will be a years-long, if not decades-long, slog. → Read More
Sinopharm's second Chinese herb shot is potent
Herbal remedies usually take a while to work. In Sinopharm's case, two years may be enough. The Chinese pharmaceutical giant may revive a buyout of its 32%-owned traditional medicine arm listed in Hong Kong. A growing disconnect between the Asian hub’s markets and those on the mainland allows for the buyer to pay a bigger premium and still hope for lucrative relisting closer to home. → Read More
Taiwan's Foxconn slowly checks into iPhone detox
Covid-19 lockdowns and protests across China have highlighted the risks of the mutual dependence between Taiwan's Foxconn and its top customer Apple . Even before the recent supply chain disruptions and violent protests that disrupted production in the People’s Republic, the Cupertino giant has been hedging its exposure to Foxconn. → Read More
Ackman’s Hong Kong short is logical, not likely
Pershing Square boss Bill Ackman is taking another tilt at the Hong Kong dollar , betting the government will be forced to break its link to the greenback. His logic is stronger today than when he took the plunge in 2011 but it’s up to Beijing, not Hong Kong. → Read More
Naspers swaps one Tencent headache for another
Naspers has a new Tencent quandary. The South African group has long traded at a big discount to its stake in the Chinese tech giant, currently worth $100 billion. That shortfall has narrowed since it started selling shares to fund buybacks. A bigger factor, however, is Tencent's plunging value. → Read More
Breakingviews: Hong Kong’s steep slide shows misplaced priorities
HONG KONG (Nov 1): Hong Kong’s third-quarter GDP plunged 4.5% from a year earlier as consumers and companies slashed spending. The government is trying to rally enthusiasm for its finance sector — as signalled by the flagship Fintech Week and Global Financial Leaders Investment Summit events happening this week. But it is mundane sectors like real estate and retail that are dragging performance. → Read More