A growing crisis in China's solar panel industry risks becoming unmanageable. The solar sector is bracing for a pivotal year as an agreement similar to that of OPEC weakens due to a pricing conflict and surplus capacity.

During the yearly gathering of the China Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA) in the beginning of December, 33 leading photovoltaic producers agreed to a self-regulation commitment, somewhat inspired by the alliance of the globe's largest oil providers. The manufacturers consented to production limitations relative to their capabilities and vowed to adhere to the minimum price suggestion previously established by the association.

Two weeks later, the CPIA publicly criticized a solar project based in Xinjiang for disregarding their agreement. The branch of China Energy Investment Group set a top bidding limit that was notably lower than the CPIA's minimum price of 0.68 yuan (US$0.09) per watt, and they selected the winners based on the lowest bids.

"Are you attempting to halt the ruthless rivalry in the industry, or intensify it?" questioned the CPIA.

This incident has significantly undermined the spirit of the sector, since industry insiders and analysts viewed the pact similar to Opec as one of the final plausible attempts to rescue China's solar-related businesses, over a million in number, which have been battered by a year-long price war and surplus that even Beijing acknowledges as problematic.

Macroscope | Biden's halting of US Steel agreement latest indication of globalization's decline

Even with a rise in global collaboration, governments are hesitant to compromise on matters of sovereignty for the sake of global interests.

The idea of a "business world without borders" promoted in 1990 by Kenichi Ohmae, a Japanese business advisor and ex-senior partner at McKinsey, seems to be a thing of the past. In his popular book, The Borderless World: Power and Strategy in the Interlinked Economy, Ohmae contended that national boundaries were losing their significance in the business realm like never before.

Meanwhile, Biden's directive is triggering worries within the Japanese government and business sector. They fear that this move may deter Japanese companies from investing in the United States and potentially harm the mutual relations between both nations.

The problems at hand are more profound than just displays of limited nationalism from either leader. They bring up the fundamental question of whether the eradication of national boundaries can be accomplished from grassroots level – through commercial interests, for instance, as seen in this situation – rather than from a top-down approach by governance and the judicial system.

Macroscope | Biden's hindrance of US Steel transaction is the most recent indication of globalization's decline

Even with heightened global interactions, nations are hesitant to compromise their independence, even if it benefits the world.

The idea of a "world without business boundaries," which was popularized in 1990 by Kenichi Ohmae, a well-known Japanese business advisor and ex-high-ranking associate of McKinsey, may not hold much weight anymore. His top-selling publication, The Borderless World: Power and Strategy in the Interlinked Economy, suggested that national boundaries were becoming increasingly insignificant in the business world.

Meanwhile, Biden's directive is causing unease within the Japanese government and business sector, with fears that the move will deter Japanese companies from investing in the United States and potentially damage the relationship between the two nations.

The problems at hand are more profound than simply the display of limited patriotism by any of the leaders. They bring to the forefront the fundamental query of whether eradicating national boundaries can be accomplished through grassroots efforts – such as economic motives, as seen in this instance – instead of being imposed by authoritative bodies like the government and the judicial system.

Macroscope | Biden's halt on US Steel agreement indicates a step back from globalization

Even with heightened global interaction, governments are reluctant to compromise their autonomy for the sake of global benefits.

The idea of a "business world without borders," initially promoted in 1990 by Japanese business strategist Kenichi Ohmae, a past high-ranking associate of McKinsey, seems to have lost its ground. In his widely celebrated book, The Borderless World: Power and Strategy in the Interlinked Economy, Ohmae contended that national boundaries had become increasingly insignificant to the world of commerce.

Meanwhile, Biden's directive is causing apprehension among the Japanese government and business sector. They fear that the move might deter Japanese companies from investing in the United States and undermine the mutual relations between both nations.

The problems at hand are more complex than simple displays of limited nationalism by either of the leaders. They bring to light the fundamental query of whether the elimination of national boundaries can be accomplished through grassroots efforts, such as through commercial interests like in this scenario, instead of being imposed by government bodies and legal institutions.

Lenders are taking legal steps against developers Evergrande and Shimao amidst a downturn in the housing market. Property bonds valued at more than 700 billion yuan are due this year from developers in China.

Two of China's biggest real estate developers are facing increased pressure from creditors, who are taking legal measures to recover debts amidst the challenging recovery of the country's housing market.

The property management division of China Evergrande, known as China Evergrande Property Services Group, announced that its parent company has been directed by a court in Guangzhou to reimburse 13.4 billion yuan (approximately US$1.8 billion) in pledge guarantees associated with deposit certificates. This information was disclosed in a filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange late on Friday night.

Legal action by Evergrande Property against its financially troubled parent company initiated a year back, following the disclosure by the firm in 2022 that it utilized 13.4 billion yuan of the property division's funds as collateral for pledge guarantees.

The announcement was made just hours after a Hong Kong court mandated the dissolution of CEG Holdings BVI, an overseas subsidiary of Evergrande that holds almost 50% of Evergrande Property. This ruling marks another win for those in charge of the liquidation process.

On the same day, another prominent developer, Shimao Group, announced that CPYM Link Investment had initiated a dissolution lawsuit against them concerning cross-border loan guarantees valued at 258 million yuan. A court hearing is scheduled for March 19 in the Hong Kong High Court.

China revives significant Nigerian railway project by providing crucial loan

In 2020, Chinese state financiers had discontinued the Kaduna-Kano project, but they have now approved new funding under commercial conditions.

State-backed financial institutions in China have given the green light for a loan towards a crucial portion of a fresh nationwide railway project in Nigeria. This arrangement seems to showcase China's evolving sensible perspective towards funding development in Africa.

The China Development Bank, a significant policy bank, declared on Tuesday that it plans to allocate an initial funding of €245 million (US$253.7 million) for the Kaduna-Kano railway project. This project is a component of a broader railway network that connects Nigeria from the northern to the southern regions.

"China has emerged as a vital catalyst for worldwide connectivity," said foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun at a press conference on Wednesday, referencing numerous international rail projects that China has contributed to.

The rail link between Kaduna and Kano – a 203-kilometer (126-mile) track uniting Nigeria's northern Kaduna state with its second biggest city, Kano – is projected to cost around US$1.2 billion in total. China is expected to fund 85 per cent of this amount, while the remaining portion will be covered by the Nigerian government.

A local insider familiar with the project reports that the new railway aims to join two past Chinese-supported train projects in Nigeria. One project connects Nigeria's capital, Abuja, with Kaduna, while the other spans from Lagos, the largest city in the country, to Ibadan, the third largest city.

Analysts predict Trump's tariffs won't exceed 60%, which may strengthen stock markets in Hong Kong and China.

Pictet and BNP Paribas analysts foresee US tariffs on Chinese products hitting 20% and 25% correspondingly.

Analysts suggest that the substantial 60 per cent tax on Chinese exports, proposed by incoming US President Donald Trump, might end up being significantly less. This could soften the blow on company profits and stock markets in mainland Hong Kong.

Pictet Wealth Management has forecasted that US import duties on Chinese products will increase to 20%, whereas BNP Paribas has stated they will not exceed 25%.

"We're skeptical about accepting the 60 per cent at face value because we believe it could significantly affect the US economy, particularly in terms of inflation," stated Dong Chen, the Chief Asia Strategist and Head of Asia Research at Pictet in Hong Kong, on Thursday.

Trump's focus on tariffs is likely a tactic to facilitate negotiations with China, rather than the end goal, he suggested. He also stressed the need to anticipate possible countermeasures from China and other nations that are predicted to face further US tariffs.

One minute and forty

China's thriving 'underwear hub' could encounter difficulties if Trump remains committed to his promise of US tariffs.

Jacqueline Rong, the lead economist for China at BNP Paribas, predicts a 10% tariff on Chinese goods to be implemented later this month once Trump takes office. She also anticipates an additional 15% to be gradually introduced in the latter half of the year. She highlighted a high degree of uncertainty concerning when and how aggressively the U.S. will impose these tariffs.

She suggested that Chinese exporters may reroute some deliveries to lessen the impact of potential tariff hikes. The bank projected a likely decrease of approximately 14% in China's exports to the US year on year, resulting in a reduction of about 2% in China's total export growth.

Introducing Alibaba's AI coder: a system capable of creating an app 'in minutes'

The AI coder is a component of Alibaba Cloud's AI programming tool known as Tongyi Lingma.

"Alibaba Cloud's version appears to be more robust than the ChatGPT one based on its initial presentation," stated Lin, further noting that he wouldn't mind purchasing the new service if it demonstrates competitive capabilities.

Hong Kong's stock market experiences largest drop in two months due to China's economic prospects and trade disputes

Shares fell due to worries over China's economy and its trade relations with the US; Tencent, Orient Overseas and Haidilao saw a decrease of over 9 per cent on a weekly basis.

On Friday, the Hang Seng Index experienced a drop of 0.9 per cent, closing at 19,064.29. This represents a cumulative five-day loss of 3.5 per cent, marking the most significant fall since the week of November 15. The Tech Index also saw a decrease, with a 1.2 per cent drop, while the Shanghai Composite Index pulled back by 1.3 per cent.

Athletic apparel producer Li Ning saw a decrease of 4.8 per cent, dropping to HK$14.82, and China Life Insurance experienced a decline of 4.4 per cent, falling to HK$13.10. Meanwhile, the Alibaba Group's value diminished by 1.2 per cent, settling at HK$79.60. Computer manufacturer Lenovo also fell by 4.9 per cent to HK$9.34.

Tencent experienced a 1 per cent decrease in its stock value, falling to HK$369.60, despite a brief recovery on Thursday. In other news, the company also reduced its investment in merchant services provider Weimob from 8.4 per cent to 2.94 per cent, which led to a 41 per cent decline in Weimob's shares to HK$1.88.

The initial six months of the year could see significant fluctuations in the stock market, particularly due to the anticipated increase in tensions between the US and China following the inauguration of the new government, according to Edith Qian, a researcher at CGS International.

Two past two

Trump, referring to China, doesn't dismiss the possibility of utilizing military force to regain control of the Panama Canal and purchasing Greenland.

The stock market in Hong Kong experienced a loss of US$118 billion in value this week. Companies such as Tencent, shipping firm Orient Overseas, and Haidilao, a popular hotpot restaurant chain, endured a sell-off exceeding 9 per cent. Meanwhile, in China, the central bank announced on Friday that it would not purchase additional government bonds, perceived as a strategy to curb the devaluation of the yuan.

Bloks, a toy production company, saw an 82% increase in its first appearance on the Hong Kong market following a highly successful IPO debut. Retail investors from Hong Kong demonstrated significant interest, with the demand being 6,000 times greater than the shares they were assigned. This marks the second highest demand in history.

Stocks of the Chinese toy manufacturing company, Bloks Group, skyrocketed up to 82 percent during their first appearance in the Hong Kong market. This significant increase was due to the massive interest shown by individual and institutional investors in its initial public offering (IPO).

The stocks initially traded at HK$109.60, compared to the IPO price of HK$60.35, at the start of trading at 9.30am local time. Their value increased to a peak of HK$109.90 before settling at HK$85 on Friday, giving the manufacturer of Ultraman and Transformers toys a market cap of HK$20.8 billion (US$2.7 billion). The Hang Seng Index, however, decreased by 0.9 per cent.

The company based in Shanghai secured net proceeds of HK$1.6 billion by offering 27.7 million shares to investors. The IPO was priced at the higher limit of the HK$55.65 to HK$60.35 range, as evidenced by filings with the stock exchange.

Hong Kong's retail investors placed orders for shares that exceeded their allotment by 6,000 times, marking it as the second most popular IPO in the city since Most Kwai Chung, a media publishing company, received subscriptions 6,289 times over for its IPO in 2018. According to Bloks, international funds' bids were 38.6 times over.

"Dickie Wong, executive director at Kingston Securities, pointed out that investors were influenced by the achievements of other businesses in the toy and retail industries. He also suggested that the stock exchange's reduced IPO settlement cycles could have contributed to a surge in purchasing," he further commented.

Breaking News | TSMC severs connection with Singapore company due to chip discovered in Huawei processor: informants

The global leader in chip production has terminated its partnership with a Singaporean company following a client evaluation.

Since 2020, Huawei, a leading technology firm from China, has been completely banned by the United States, blocking its ability to use semiconductor factories globally. TSMC previously confirmed it has not delivered any products to Huawei from 2020 onwards. Further, Huawei has stated that they haven't manufactured any chips through TSMC after the US introduced corresponding sanctions.

Sophgo and its partner, Bitmain, a supplier of bitcoin mining equipment, have refuted any commercial ties with Huawei.

Efforts to contact PowerAIR have been futile as they lack an official website and there's no public information on their phone number or email address. Both TSMC and Huawei remained silent, failing to respond to a comment request made on Thursday.

Sunac China, a developer burdened with debt, is at risk of being dissolved in Hong Kong. A court session regarding this issue is planned for March 19.

A bankruptcy claim has been lodged against debt-ridden developer Sunac China Holdings in Hong Kong, even as it tries to reorganize its foreign debt for a second time. This is the most recent episode in the ongoing struggle of China's financially distressed real estate industry.

Shares of Sunac listed in Hong Kong dropped 26% to HK$1.30 by the end of trading on Friday, following a nearly 29% decrease earlier in the day.

The firm announced it would release a statement later on Friday, and China Cinda did not respond to a request for a comment.

The firm, positioned 18th in terms of sales among Chinese developers, has alerted some of its bondholders that it may fail to meet repayment deadlines for a dollar bond due in September. This bond was part of the initial batch of restructured notes, according to a Monday report by Reuters.

Sunac, which received judicial consent to reorganize its $9 billion worth of foreign bonds in late 2023, is reportedly preparing for a second debt restructuring, as per an individual with close ties to the company. This individual indicated that a suggestion regarding the restructuring could be presented by March's end.