Thursday, March 28

Tag: China

US President Donald Trump suspends H-1B visas till year end
USA

US President Donald Trump suspends H-1B visas till year end

US President Donald Trump has issued a proclamation to suspend issuing of H-1B visas, which is popular among Indian and Chinese workers, along with other foreign work visas for the rest of the year. Trump said the step was essential to help millions of Americans who have lost their jobs due to the current economic crisis. Issuing the proclamation ahead of the November presidential elections, Trump has ignored the mounting opposition to the order by various business organisations, lawmakers and human rights bodies. The proclamation that comes into effect on June 24, is expected to impact a large number of Indian IT professionals and several American and Indian companies who were issued H-1B visas by the US government for the fiscal year 2021 beginning October 1. They would now have t...
Chinese Tech Company criticize US Government
CHINA

Chinese Tech Company criticize US Government

One of China's biggest tech companies has criticised the Trump administration for "politicising business" after it slapped export sanctions on 33 more Chinese enterprises and government entities. The new measures announced on Friday expanded a US campaign against Chinese companies Washington says might be security threats or involved in human rights abuses. Beijing criticised curbs imposed earlier on tech giant Huawei and other Chinese companies but has yet to say whether it will retaliate. The most prominent name on the latest blacklist is Qihoo 360, a major supplier of anti-virus software and a web browser. The decision to add the companies to the Commerce Department's Entity List limits their access to US components and technology by requiring government permission for exports...
Foreign Investors pull out USD 26 billion from Asian economies
BUSINESS

Foreign Investors pull out USD 26 billion from Asian economies

Amidst global economic recession due to coronavirus, foreign investors have pulled out an estimated USD 26 billion from developing Asian economies. Foreign investors have pulled an estimated USD 26 billion out of developing Asian economies increasing concerns of a major economic recession in Asia, the latest report on global economic effects of COVID-19. In Europe, over 30 million people in Germany, France, the UK, Spain, and Italy have applied for state support, while first quarter 2020 data indicates that the eurozone economy contracted by 3.8 percent, the largest quarterly decline since the series started in 1995, it said. In the US, preliminary data indicated that the GDP fell by 4.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2020, the largest quarterly decline since the fourth quarter...
German footwear brand shifts production from China to India
INDIA

German footwear brand shifts production from China to India

German Footwear company Casa Everz Gmbh which owns healthy footwear brand Von Wellx has decided to shift its entire production from China to India. The company took this decision on the basis of demonstrating a start to the Indian government's recent plans to bring foreign companies into the country. The production will now happen at Agra in Uttar Pradesh in collaboration with Iatric Industries Pvt Ltd. Von Wellx is a pioneer of healthy footwear with benefits like relieving feet, knees and back pain, protection of joints and muscles against shocks, and correct posture. The brand is sold in over 80 countries and has over 100 million customers across the globe. It was launched in India in 2019 and is available at over 500 top retail locations and online. "We are very happy to...
Lava to shift operations from China to India, Invest $100 Million cr in 5 yrs
INDIA

Lava to shift operations from China to India, Invest $100 Million cr in 5 yrs

Mobile devices maker Lava International said it is shifting its China operations to India following recent policy announcements by the Indian government. The company plans to invest around $100 million (800 crore) over the next five years to scale up its mobile phone development and manufacturing operations in the country. "We had around 600-650 employees in China for product design. Now we have shifted designing to India. Our sales requirements for India were met from our local plant. "We used to partially export mobile phones from China to the rest of the world, which will now happen from India," Lava International Chairman and Managing Director Hari Om Rai told PTI. During the lockdown period, Lava met its export demand from China. "My dream is to export mobile devices t...
Chinese investment lowest in US since 2009 But Coronavirus is not the reason
CHINA

Chinese investment lowest in US since 2009 But Coronavirus is not the reason

China's direct investment in the United States fell last year to its lowest level since the Great Recession, even before the coronavirus pandemic shut down much of global commerce. The decline in Beijing's investment in the United States reflected tensions between the world's two biggest economies and Chinese government restrictions on overseas investment. A report out Monday from the National Committee on US-China Relations and the Rhodium Group consultancy found that China's direct investment in the US dropped from USD 5.4 billion in 2018 to USD 5 billion last year, the lowest level since the recession year of 2009. Direct investment includes mergers, acquisitions and investments in things like offices and factories but not financial investments like purchases of stocks and bon...
India cancels orders for Chinese COVID-19 test kits
INDIA

India cancels orders for Chinese COVID-19 test kits

The Indian Council of Medical Research on Monday asked the states to stop using COVID-19 rapid testing kits procured from China due to their poor quality even as the government said not a single rupee will be lost in cancelling the orders as payments were not made to the Chinese suppliers. India procured around five lakh rapid antibody test kits from the two Chinese firms, Guongzhou Wondfo Biotech and Livzon Diagnostics, and they were distributed to several states reporting rising cases of the coronavirus infection. In a communication to chief secretaries of all states and union territories, the ICMR asked them to stop using the kits saying it found "wide variation" in the effectiveness of the equipment supplied by the two Chinese firms despite the promise of good performance. "T...
Samsung ends Mobile Phone production in China
BUSINESS

Samsung ends Mobile Phone production in China

SEOUL (Reuters)- Samsung Electronics Co Ltd has ended mobile telephone production in China, it said on Wednesday, hurt by intensifying competition from domestic rivals in the world’s biggest smartphone market. The shutdown of Samsung’s last China phone factory comes after it cut production at the plant in the southern city of Huizhou in June and suspended another factory late last year, underscoring stiff competition in the country. The South Korean tech giant’s ceased phone production in China follows other manufacturers shifting production from China due to rising labor costs and the economic slowdown. Sony also said it was closing its Beijing smartphone plant and would only make smartphones in Thailand. But Apple still makes major products in China. Samsung’s share of th...
China’s Manufacturing Rebounds as Virus Controls Ease
CHINA

China’s Manufacturing Rebounds as Virus Controls Ease

China's manufacturing rebounded in March as authorities relaxed anti-disease controls and allowed factories to reopen, an official survey showed Tuesday, but an industry group warned the economy has yet to fully recover. The ruling Communist Party is trying to revive the world's second-largest economy after declaring victory over the coronavirus even as the United States and other governments shut down businesses. The purchasing managers' index issued by the Chinese statistics bureau and the official China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing rose to 52 from February's record low of 35.7 on a 100-point scale on which numbers above 50 show activity increasing. The federation and private sector economists cautioned the economy still faces challenges as manufacturers rebuild sup...
Apple to miss Revenue forecast as iPhone supply hit by Coronavirus
News

Apple to miss Revenue forecast as iPhone supply hit by Coronavirus

Apple is to miss its revenue forecast for the March quarter due to the coronavirus epidemic, warning that iPhone supplies worldwide would also be impacted, underlining the economic cost of the health crisis. The COVID-19 virus death toll now exceeds 1,800 in China, where it has infected more than 72,000 after emerging in the central province of Hubei in December. The virus has sparked global economic jitters, travel bans and the cancellation of high-profile sporting and cultural events. "We are experiencing a slower return to normal conditions than we had anticipated," Apple said in a statement. "As a result, we do not expect to meet the revenue guidance we provided for the March quarter." Apple had forecast revenue of $63 billion to $67 billion for the second quarter to March...
Volvo Cars and Its Chinese Owner Plan to Merge
Automobile

Volvo Cars and Its Chinese Owner Plan to Merge

Sweden's Volvo Cars and its Chinese owner Geely said they are considering merging into a single group to better share technology and financial resources while preserving their separate brands. The merged firm "would have the scale, knowledge and resources to be a leader in the ongoing transformation of the automotive industry," they said in a statement. "The combination would preserve the distinct identity of each of the brands Volvo, Geely, Lynk & Co, and Polestar," they added. Geely bought Volvo in 2010 from Ford which hadn't been able to turn around the Swedish automaker. But under the Chinese firm Volvo has rebounded and smashed its sales records. Volvo sold more than 705,000 vehicles in 2019, besting the record it set in 2018 by 10 percent, and the automaker expects c...
Ikea to close half its Chinese Stores over Virus Outbreak
CHINA

Ikea to close half its Chinese Stores over Virus Outbreak

Swedish furniture giant Ikea had temporarily closed half of its 30 stores in mainland China until further notice amid concerns over the deadly new corona virus. "In response to the Chinese government's call for strict and effective disease control, Ikea Retail China will temporarily close around half of the stores in mainland China until further notice, effective from January 29," the company said in a statement. Ikea had last week closed its store in Wuhan, the city where the outbreak originated in late 2019. Chinese authorities said Wednesday that the number of confirmed deaths from the virus has risen to 132 nationwide, with the confirmed total of infections now nearly 6,000 worldwide. Ikea said it was working with authorities in the cities and regions where it operates and...