Retail News CRM

Author: Mei Ling Tan

  • Clubhouse to end invitation system this summer; over 2 million install the Android app

    Clubhouse to end invitation system this summer; over 2 million install the Android app

    Roughly a couple of weeks ago, popular group audio chat app Clubhouse finally made its debut on the Google Play Store although invites are still required to become a Clubhouse subscriber. This past Sunday, Clubhouse held a Town Hall meeting on the app and discussed what it has experienced since allowing the vast majority of smartphone users to install the app.

    In a tweet sent out following the Town Hall, Clubhouse noted that it now has over 2 million Android subscribers which double the 1 million Android users it had after the previous week. Since Clubhouse launched in March 2020 in the App Store and was available only on iOS until now, the number of subscribers on Apple’s mobile platform, over 10 million, currently swamps the number of Android users. And while the Android version of the Clubhouse app has yet to reach feature parity to the iOS variant, it is getting closer every day.

    More exciting though, is the statement that Clubhouse is “heading for general release sometime this summer!” That would mean the end of invites and should greatly expand the usage of the app. As a result, Clubhouse says that its next few updates will be about “discovery, notifications, and less visible but very crucial improvements” as it gears up for a massive surge in usage.

    Clubhouse does have its competition with many big names in social media having started something similar or announcing that a similar feature is on the way. And several Clubhouse users have been complaining about how glitchy the app has been with some users getting kicked out of a room in mid-sentence. So the company does face some hard work ahead.

  • Malaysia’s AirAsia X gets shareholder go-ahead for restructuring plan

    Malaysia’s AirAsia X gets shareholder go-ahead for restructuring plan

    AirAsia X Bhd shareholders have approved the Malaysian budget airline’s debt restructuring, it said on Tuesday, allowing it to pursue a scheme it viewed as key to survival.

    Shareholders of the long-haul affiliate of AirAsia Group Bhd approved all resolutions at an extraordinary general meeting, including a rights issue and a share subscription for new investors to raise 500 million ringgit.

    AirAsia X last October proposed restructuring its 64.15 billion ringgit ($15.6 billion) debt into a principal amount of 200 million ringgit and having the rest waived.

    The airline said in a separate statement that the resolutions were passed with at least a 99.8% margin, and marked a major milestone in its restructuring progress.

    “These approvals have been obtained simultaneously with final negotiations being held with creditors,” it said, adding that with advisers New York-based Seabury Capital it had been “in active and productive” talks with lessors and others.

    A Malaysian court in February granted the airline leave to convene separate meetings with its different groups of creditors within six months, to vote on its scheme.

    The meeting is scheduled for late July or August, AirAsia X said.

    In March, the court also granted AirAsia X a three-month order against any proceedings that may be filed against it, which could have slowed down its restructuring.

    Planemaker Airbus last year joined more than a dozen creditors to challenge the debt restructuring plan, telling the court it stands to lose more than $5 billion worth of orders if the scheme goes through.

    Other challengers include lessor BOC Aviation (BOCA), which called for a debt-to-equity swap.

    Airbus said it cannot comment on the airline’s ongoing restructuring plan, while BOCA did not immediately respond to an emailed query seeking comment.

    AirAsia X in February proposed a separate restructuring program for its aircraft lessors that aims to address their concerns about forward commercial agreements and the viability of the airline’s business after recapitalization.

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  • Google is testing two features for mobile YouTube users

    Google is testing two features for mobile YouTube users

    Google has been busy testing new features on the mobile version of YouTube. Remember back in 2007 when one ad for the Apple iPhone said that “maybe the biggest surprise is finding YouTube on your phone.” But these days, every iOS and Android phone has access to the streaming video site and Google continues to improve the UI and functionality of the app.

    For example, a limited number of Android users are in the process of testing a feature called Loop video that is already offered to those running the desktop version of YouTube. With this feature, a video will automatically continue to play over and over again. This really isn’t meant for a long movie like Titanic (which runs for three hours and 30 minutes), but for short music videos that can be over in under four minutes.

    If you have an Android device, you can look for the Loop video option by tapping the three-dot menu button. The feature does have an icon consisting of a right-facing arrow on top, a left-facing arrow at the bottom with the number “1” sandwiched in between.

    Also being tested is another feature called Clip that allows YouTube users to create 60-second video clips from existing videos. The clip you create can then be shared with others. Clip, which uses the image of a scissor for its icon, is being tested on both Android and iOS devices which means that you might not see it on your device at the moment.

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  • ZTE provides wireless coverage to the second highest peak in the world

    ZTE provides wireless coverage to the second highest peak in the world

    ZTE Corporation, a major international provider of telecommunications, enterprise and consumer technology solutions for the mobile internet, together with a local operator in Pakistan, has built a base station and completed several kilometers of wireless coverage around the station at the K2 base camp for the world’s second-highest peak on the border between China and Pakistan, with the aim of building a strong communication network for climbers.

    The altitude of K2, the second-highest peak in the world after Mount Qomolangma, is 8611 meters. It’s about 200 kilometers from the villages at the foot of the mountain in northern Pakistan to the K2 base camp. On the way to the K2 base camp, the mountain is steep and the environment is harsh. Compared with Mount Qomolangma, its difficulty and risk for climbers are higher and more challenging. It is one of the most popular peaks that climbers hope to conquer. However, there was no signal coverage along the K2 before April 2020, so it was very difficult for climbers to communicate in case of an emergency. The death rate of the climbers, who trek toward the K2’s summit, is as high as 25%.

    In order to fill the signal gap along the climbing route of K2, ZTE assisted the local operator in completing the construction and provisioning of the base station at the K2 base camp with an altitude of 5100 meters before the peak climbing season in 2021, so as to provide 24×7 stable network services for climbers in the area.

    The signal strength, speed rate, effective coverage distance, and other technical indicators of the base station have reached the desired level, providing stable and high-speed communication experiences for climbers, and effectively guaranteeing high-quality communication and timely information transmission for climbers.

    Since the establishment, the base station has provided communication services for hundreds of climbers. ZTE and the local operator will continue to work together to ensure the communication quality of the station, so as to protect the life security of climbers in this harsh environment.

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  • Rimac Nevera Electric Hypercar Unveiled

    Rimac Nevera Electric Hypercar Unveiled

    After a long wait, Rimac Automobili has finally unveiled the Nevera, an all-electric, hypercar that has been designed and engineered to surpass anyone’s expectation of an electric car. The Nevera is the production-ready iteration of the Rimac C_Two concept car, which was revealed at the International Geneva Motor Show in 2018. Since then, Rimac’s engineers have refined the new flagship car. The Nevera was developed in-house at Rimac’s headquarters in Croatia and only 150 examples of the car will be made.

    Underlining his own commitment to the project, Mate Rimac will personally test and sign off each of the Neveras, before they are delivered to customers from the company’s current production site on the outskirts of Zagreb, Croatia.

    Nevera’s monocoque construction includes a bonded carbon roof, integrated structural battery pack, and rear carbon subframe, is forming the largest single carbon fibre piece in the entire automotive industry. Weighing less than 200 kg and utilizing 2200 carbon fibre plys and 222 aluminum inserts, the monocoque encases the car’s battery to form a compact yet incredibly strong structure with a torsional stiffness of 70.000 Nm/degree.

    The unique H-shaped, liquid-cooled, 120kWh, 6960-cell battery was designed from scratch by Rimac and sits at the heart of the Nevera. Capable of producing 1.4MW of power, the Lithium/Manganese/Nickel battery also forms an integral part of the car’s core, adding 37 percent structural stiffness to the carbon fibre monocoque. The battery’s optimum positioning low and central within the car’s floor contributes to an ultra-low centre of gravity. This helps create a 48/52 front/rear weight distribution.

    Four bespoke surface-mounted permanent magnet motors drive the Nevera’s four wheels individually. Together, they enable 1914 horsepower and 2360 Nm of torque, which is triple the output of a ‘conventional-engined’ supercar. The front and rear wheels are each connected to a pair of single-speed gearboxes.

    With the ability to sprint to 96.5 kmph in 1.85 seconds and continue the acceleration all the way to a 412 kmph which is its top speed, the Nevera opens up a new dimension in hypercar performance. Accelerating from rest to 161 kmph requires just 4.3 seconds and it maintains acceleration throughout a full-throttle cycle, achieving 300 kmph from rest in 9.3 seconds, shredding a whole 2.5 seconds from the initial targets.

    Rimac’s All-Wheel Torque Vectoring 2 (R-AWTV 2) system replaces traditional Electronic Stability Program and Traction Control systems to further bolster grip and traction. Meanwhile, the Nevera’s R-AWTV 2 system enables infinitely variable dynamic responses to road and track conditions by calibrating the amount of torque supplied to each wheel. R-AWTV 2 calculates the precise level of torque to channel through each wheel for ultimate stability and exceptional agility. Both predictive and responsive, R-AWTV reads the road and makes over 100 calculations per second to tailor the level of torque to achieve the desired driving style.

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  • Nokia and Optus deploys Australia’s first integrated antenna

    Nokia and Optus deploys Australia’s first integrated antenna

    Nokia announced the deployment of Australia’s first Interleaved Passive Active Antenna (IPAA) in collaboration with Optus. Together, Nokia and Optus deployed the first IPAA in Yeerongpilly, Brisbane. The solution helps ease site-related challenges which accelerate the introduction of 5G services across the country.

    As operators look to rollout 5G, finding space on existing towers and rooftops for new massive MIMO active antenna equipment poses a significant deployment challenge for operators. Long delays in acquiring permission for site upgrades; the potential strengthening of the supporting structures and potentially higher rental payments to landlords, can in combination seriously delay operators, such as Optus, in getting 5G services to their customers.

    Nokia’s IPAA solution was developed in collaboration with CommScope. It will allow Optus and other operators to upgrade existing sites to 5G by simply replacing their existing antennas with a similar-sized unit that supports all legacy technologies as well as 5G massive MIMO active antenna, all in a single compact solution. By utilizing this solution, Optus can overcome many deployment challenges that can typically hinder the introduction of 5G.

    Lambo Kanagaratnam, Managing Director of Networks at Optus, said: “We’re committed to keeping our customers connected and at the forefront of 5G. By partnering with global technology leaders like Nokia, we continue to bring the best global innovations to our customers. The introduction of the IPAA into our network infrastructure will help us speed up the deployment of our 5G network by addressing space and structural capacity constraints.”

    Rob Joyce, Chief Technology Officer of Australia and New Zealand at Nokia, said: “We’re delighted to be partnering with Optus to bring our unique IPAA solution into play in the Australian market. The IPAA is an advanced technical solution to tackle the problems of finding space on towers and rooftops for 5G upgrades. Operators can now simply replace an existing antenna with Nokia’s IPAA solution to upgrade the site and at the same time, introduce 5G; it couldn’t be simpler.”

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  • Deliveroo to expand Editions shared-kitchen network in Hong Kong

    Deliveroo to expand Editions shared-kitchen network in Hong Kong

    While the current COVID-19 pandemic is causing Hong Kong’s brick and mortar F&B industry to suffer, online food delivery platforms are enjoying success as self-isolating diners order from the safety of their homes. To reach out to more customers, Deliveroo Hong Kong has opened its third Editions site, a hub housing a number of delivery-only kitchens.

    Located in Quarry Bay, the new site, spanning 2,877 square feet, aims to serve customers from North Point, Braemar Hill, Quarry Bay, Tai Koo, and Shau Kei Wan. With six kitchen spaces, this latest addition is Deliveroo Hong Kong’s largest Editions site.

    “Our newest Deliveroo Editions at Quarry Bay highlights Deliveroo’s ambition, confidence, and vigorous commitment to investing in Hong Kong’s F&B industry. We look forward to continuing our investment in the industry in 2020 with additional openings towards Q3 and Q4,” said Brian Lo, general manager of Deliveroo Hong Kong.

    Deliveroo’s existing sites already include a location in Wan Chai and the Deliveroo Food Market in Sai Ying Pun. With the new Quarry Bay site, Deliveroo Hong Kong now houses a total of 17 kitchens consisting of 42 brands. In order to provide a range of cuisine types, Deliveroo Hong Kong’s new location will be working with Pirata Group, Shanghai Lane, Beef & Liberty, Treehouse, Pololi, and Soupday.

    In addition, Deliveroo Hong Kong has also rolled out a new pick-up feature on its app, allowing customers to order food from restaurants that might not offer delivery services or products suitable for delivery. At the same time, the pick-up service eliminates delivery fees and the need to stand in queues.

    Lo commented, “As Hong Kong’s food delivery sector leader, we want to ensure that we reach communities, deliver convenience, and provide great service across every part of Hong Kong.”

    Looking forward, Deliveroo Hong Kong is seeking opportunities to expand its Editions sites to Kowloon and New Territories later this year.

  • Intel Reiterates Chip Supply Shortages Could Last Several Years

    Intel Reiterates Chip Supply Shortages Could Last Several Years

    Intel Corp’s CEO said on Monday it could take several years for a global shortage of semiconductors to be resolved, a problem that has shuttered some auto production lines and is also being felt in other areas, including consumer electronics. Pat Gelsinger told a virtual session of the Computex trade show in Taipei that the work-and-study-from-home trend during the COVID-19 pandemic had led to a “cycle of explosive growth in semiconductors” that has placed huge strain on global supply chains.

    “But while the industry has taken steps to address near-term constraints it could still take a couple of years for the ecosystem to address shortages of foundry capacity, substrates and components.”

    Gelsinger had told The Washington Post in an interview in mid-April the shortage was going to take “a couple of years” to abate, and that it planned to start producing chips within six to nine months to address shortages at U.S. car plants.

    Intel announced a $20 billion plan in March to expand its advanced chip manufacturing capacity, building two factories in Arizona and opening its plants to outside customers.

    “We plan to expand to other locations in the U.S. and Europe, ensuring a sustainable and secure semiconductor supply chain for the world,” Gelsinger said, without elaborating.

    Intel’s plans could directly challenge the two other companies in the world that can make the most advanced chips – Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC) and South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co Ltd.

    The two have come to dominate the semiconductor manufacturing business, moving its centre of gravity from the United States, where much of the technology was once invented, to Asia, where more than two-thirds of advanced chips are now manufactured.

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  • DBS Expands Digital Exchange Offering

    DBS Expands Digital Exchange Offering

    DBS expands the offering on its digital exchange with its first-ever bond issuance via security token offering.

    DBS has issued a S$15 million ($11.35 million) bond through a security token offering (STO) on its digital exchange, according to a statement.

    The bond has a six-month tenor with a coupon rate of 0.60 percent per annum.

    The issuance was executed via private placement and DBS was the sole bookrunner for the transaction.

    According to the bank, asset tokenization enabled the digital bond can be traded at a significantly smaller minimum of S$10,000 per board lot, further driving liquidity and lowering barriers for investor access.

    While most bond tokenization exercises announced in Asia to date tend to be repackaged forms of a conventional bond issue, the current transaction directly combines existing legal and tax infrastructure requirements with a direct issuance on the digital exchange in smaller lot sizes, said DBS’ global head of fixed income Clifford Lee.

    This bond token structure was only made possible because of the progressive development of Singapore’s legal and tax infrastructure, which can facilitate more STO issuances to broaden and deepen our capital markets.

    According to DBS’ group head of capital markets Eng-Kwok Seat Moey, the bank expects more issuers to leverage asset tokenization for fundraising.

    Our maiden STO listing on the DBS Digital Exchange is a significant milestone, as it highlights the strength of our digital asset ecosystem in facilitating new ways of unlocking value for issuers and investors, he said.

    We expect asset tokenization to increasingly become more mainstream as more of our clients start to embrace security token issuance as part of their capital fundraising exercise which we believe will boost Singapore’s ambitions to be a digital asset hub in Asia.

    DBS’ digital exchange – DDEx – launched in December 2020 with an initial offering that covered cryptocurrency trading.

    Daily trading volumes have increased 10-fold compared to the initial week of the launch, the bank said, with over 120 participants on the exchange and S$80 million of digital assets in custody.

    Earlier this month, the bank launched a crypto trust offering that combined wealth planning services with emerging digital currencies.

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  • Saxo Markets Appoints Hong Kong CEO

    Saxo Markets Appoints Hong Kong CEO

    Copenhagen-headquartered Saxo Markets has internally promoted a new chief executive for Hong Kong.

    Richard Douglas has been named Hong Kong CEO for Saxo Markets, effective immediately, according to a statement, reporting to APAC CEO Adam Reynolds.

    Douglas was most recently chief operating officer and chief information officer for Greater China and the role will be succeeded by Patrick Chung who will be responsible for all tech staff, platforms, and deliverables in the region while reporting to Saxo Bank chief information officer Ashok Kalyanswamy.

    Douglas has 18 years of experience, including six years in Hong Kong, having previously worked at the investment banking units of Macquarie, Nomura, Citi and UBS in London, Sydney, and Hong Kong.

    As part of the reshuffle, Greater China CEO Fan Xu will shift to a new role of CEO for Chongqing-based Saxo FinTech, a joint venture with Chinese automobile giant and majority shareholder Geely.

    China country head Echo Zhao will be leaving Saxo Group.

    «We believe that scaling and growing our Hong Kong business is critical to achieving our broader ambitions in the region, including building a strong partnership business,» said Saxo Bank CEO and founder Kim Fournais.

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  • Bridging Asia-Pacific digital divide to attain sustainable development

    Bridging Asia-Pacific digital divide to attain sustainable development

    Expanding on his keynote speech at the 7th Asia-Pacific Spectrum Management Conference, held from 24 May to 27 May 2021, Tide Xu, Chief Strategy Officer, Wireless Product Line at Huawei addressed a prevalent digital divide in the Asia-Pacific region and offered details on policy recommendations as countries chart a sustainable digital development in the 5G era.

    APAC, made up of densely-populated countries and some of the fastest-growing economies in the world, has been experiencing a surge in mobile broadband demand in recent years. Against a backdrop of uneven network distribution between urban and rural areas, the pandemic has fuelled a greater divide, but has also helped governments recognize the role of mobile broadband as a catalyst for digital transformation moving forward.As nations embark on digitalization strategies to build economic resilience, Xu cited three policy recommendations to enhance mobile broadband development and close the digital divide.

    Firstly, with spectrum being critical to mobile network development, the ready provision of key spectrum bands such as C-band and 700 MHz is instrumental to unleashing a good mix of coverage and capacity benefits. As countries work towards a 5G-oriented evolution, Xu stressed the importance of adopting an all-encompassing spectrum strategy combining low-, mid- and high-bands to support all use cases.

    Secondly, countries yet to roll out 5G should continue investing in 4G infrastructure to ensure a seamless transition into the 5G era. Until 2030, 4G and 5G will coexist to power connectivity and offer nationwide network coverage. Apart from expanding 4G coverage to increase the penetration rate of network users, 4G VoLTE deployment should be accelerated to expedite the sunset of 2G/3G. With mobile broadband coverage being key to digital inclusion, policies can incentivize mobile broadband coverage in underserved areas.

    Thirdly, affordability and availability of entry-level mobile devices are essential for underprivileged families in rural areas to access mobile internet. Supportive demand-side policies as such respond to user needs to effectively bridge the usage gap.

    Bridging the experience gap

    While 4G changes lives, 5G changes societies. According to findings from consulting firm A.T. Kearney, the Industry 4.0 evolution is estimated to bring about a revenue potential of about $150 billion in ASEAN by 2025. In this evolution, 5G will be a key driver to unlock a broad range of opportunities to achieve significant socio-economic growth.

    These promises have motivated transitions from 4G to 5G, with 5G deployment gaining momentum in many countries. In fact, the 5G revolution is taking place at a faster pace compared to previous 3G or 4G revolution.  Frontrunners in global 5G adoption like China and South Korea are experiencing stellar progress. A leader in 5G adoption, China has accumulated more than 285 million 5G subscribers, with more than 819,000 base stations deployed. Meanwhile, South Korea has amassed 5G subscribers totaling about one-fourth of its total population. As regional countries chart their trajectories to harness the benefits of 5G, Xu noted three takeaways from China and South Korea’s 5G journey thus far.

    Firstly, both governments embrace national digitalization founded on 5G infrastructure, using stimulus policies to spur accelerated 5G adoption across various industries.

    Secondly, spectrum strategies have been mapped with future 5G evolution in mind; each MNO should be allocated a large bandwith of 80 MHz to 100 MHz continuous TDD, deemed ideal for 5G deployment to kickstart a country’s 5G journey. This strategy can attract early buy-in as advanced massive MIMO offers user experiences 25 times more superior than 4G.

    Thirdly, MNOs in both countries have been actively developing new applications, services and business models for both the consumer market and vertical industries. For the consumer market, MNOs have been delivering innovative content such as augmented reality and virtual reality experiences. Across vertical industries, high-connectivity, low-latency 5G has been deployed to power smart ports, smart manufacturing, smart agriculture and etc.. In 2020, China recorded more than 2,000 commercial and pilot projects across industry verticals.

    Besides China and South Korea, Thailand is also picking up speed in 5G deployment. A pioneer in 5G development in the region and the first country in ASEAN to launch a 5G commercial network utilizing a TDD band plan in 2.6 GHz, Thailand has garnered 1.5 million subscribers within the first year of launching 5G services, yielding user experiences 13 times more superior than that offered by 4G. Thailand has also begun exploring wide 5G applications in industrial use cases

    Additional mid-band spectrum to reap full 5G value

    5G marks a new era of connectivity that will lead this decade, similar to how 3G and 4G stayed dominant for about a decade before gradually phasing out. After 2025, the industry will enter 5G-Advanced (5.5G) – the second phase in the 5G evolution introduced by the 3GPP in conjunction with Release 18.

    Amid the transitions, industries will continually innovate to align with changing requirements of both the consumer and vertical markets. To keep abreast with the evolution, Huawei is committed to continually invest in research and innovation  to embrace 5G-Advanced and seek synergistic collaborations with global industry partners to develop new applications and expand existing capabilities.

    Moving forward, 5G success is dependent on access to a cost-effective mid-band spectrum, already deployed by about 90% of global MNOs to deliver an optimal balance of coverage and capacity for 5G services.

    Given that countries like China and South Korea are reporting an average handset data traffic per 5G user per month (DOU) of 30 GB to 40 GB – a threefold jump from 4G users – ITU predicts that DOU will reach 250 GB in the next 5 to 10 years. To support sustainable development in the coming years, APAC countries require at least 1 GHz of additional mid-band spectrum, according to research from Coleago Consulting. This will provide MNOs the capability to scale 5G or 5G-Advanced services accordingly, to reap the full potential of the prevailing service.

    Within the mid-band, countries are now exploring 6GHz as the ideal future mobile band after the WRC-19 earmarked it as a new agenda item for IMT identification for WRC-23. 6GHz is also perhaps the only optional intermediate frequency.

    Based on internal evaluations demonstrating 6GHz’s comparable performance to C-band in satisfying requirements for both capacity and coverage, Xu echoes GSMA’s recent call for governments to license the 6 GHz frequency band to facilitate sustainable digital development.

    Capturing the full value of 5G is an international effort that requires governments and regulators to work on supporting harmonised bands. For now, the success of 5G services and beyond weighs heavily on governments and regulators to evaluate and formulate spectrum strategies and policies. Xu concluded by urging policy-makers to take a comprehensive and balanced approach towards harnessing the potential of mid-band spectrum when pursuing national digitalization ambitions.

  • Vietnam stops live pig imports from Thailand

    Vietnam stops live pig imports from Thailand

    Vietnam has decided to stop importing live pigs from Thailand starting June 30 after 980 of them were found infected with African swine fever.

    The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development took the decision to stop imports to try and prevent the disease from being transmitted to domestic herds.

    Enterprises with signed contracts for pigs to be transported to Vietnam before June 30 can still implement them. The ministry has asked the Department of Animal Health to place imported pigs under strict quarantine.

    The department had detected the disease among 980 pigs during the quarantine process on May 19. The pigs were imported by livestock firm Senat Limited Liability Company and worth VND6.2 billion ($269,500). The infected pigs were destroyed May 21.

    Vietnam allowed the import of live pigs for the first time starting mid-June 2020 to contain rising pork prices as a result of the African swine fever.

    The country imported over 503,000 live pigs from Thailand last year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

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  • Tencent Ordered to Restructure Financial Units

    Tencent Ordered to Restructure Financial Units

    Similar to rival Ant Group, Tencent has also been ordered to set up a holding company to contain its finance-related businesses.

    Regulators told Tencent to place its finance-related businesses into a new financial holdings company for better supervision, according to a Caixin report citing unnamed sources.

    This follows a report last month that said top financial regulators summoned 13 tech giants – including Tencent – to discuss tighter restrictions across various areas including payments linked to financial products, customer data collection, and credit scoring services.

    Tencent and its peers are following a similar path to that of Ant Group which was first to face restructuring to become a financial holding company after it was ordered to do so by China’s central bank.

  • Beef prices rise as global supply gets ‘very tight’

    Beef prices rise as global supply gets ‘very tight’

    Beef prices are reaching record levels in some international markets with localized disruptions – including droughts and increased consumer demand in some countries – exerting a “dramatic impact” on global trade, according to Rabobank.

    In its Q2 Beef Quarterly research, the bank says a fundamental shift is underway in international beef market dynamics creating a “very tight” global market for beef cattle.

    The report’s co-author, Rabobank senior animal proteins analyst Angus Gidley-Baird, says local factors include the post-drought herd rebuilding in Australia which has reduced the number available for slaughter, and soaring demand in the US as restaurants reopen after Covid-related trading restrictions. Meanwhile, Chinese consumers are eating more beef.

    “Given the growth in demand (for beef) and global trade, pressures created in the system now mean that what may once have been considered slightly abnormal seasonal conditions (for example) are now causing major shifts to markets,” the report says.

    In the US, wholesales prices in April were running 18.5 percent higher than those of April 2019 and retail prices were up by 11.5 percent.

    “This is the result of a number of factors, including renewed competition between foodservice and retail triggered by the reopening US economy, combined with grilling season, high consumer incomes, and strong exports,” he said.

    In Australia, successive years of drought have forced farmers to liquidate stock resulting in the country’s smallest beef cattle herd in 30 years. East Coast cattle slaughter was down 30 percent in April, for example. These factors underpinned a 30-per-cent year-on-year surge in young cattle prices in February last year and a further 20 percent last February.

    But it is not all bad news for local farmers, said Gidley-Baird.

    “While lower volumes and higher prices make competing in the global market more difficult, the tight market situation is working in Australia’s favor and creating less resistance to our high prices,” he said.

    “We believe that current cattle prices in Australia will ease as cattle numbers increase and producer demand dissipates. However, as the supply chain overcomes the disruption here and consumers adjust their price expectations, we believe the market will adjust and a new baseline will be established.”

    In China, efforts to increase local beef production are failing to match increasing demand from consumers, forcing the country to rely on imported beef which is in short supply and commanding a higher price. Many Chinese consumers have switched from pork to beef after an outbreak of African swine fever.

    “While part of the beef consumed as a substitute for pork and will shift back when pork production recovers, we expect strong Chinese beef demand to remain as new markets have been established,” said Gidley-Baird.  “This will continue to drive Chinese beef imports from the global market.”

    Australia’s beef exports were down 22 percent in April and are running 11 percent below the five-year average. China accounted for just 17 percent of that, down from 24 percent in 2019.

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  • Vietnam Airlines signs up for international vaccine passport program

    Vietnam Airlines signs up for international vaccine passport program

    Vietnam Airlines has signed an agreement with the International Air Transport Association to trial a vaccine passport next month.

    It will implement the IATA Travel Pass initiative that allows people to store verified Covid-19-test and vaccination certificates on a smartphone app.

    They must be issued by authorized facilities registered with IATA.

    Le Hong Ha, CEO of Vietnam Airlines, said: “The most important goal of the initiative is to revive people’s faith in air transport and ensure safe and smooth travel.”

    Nick Careen, an IATA board member, said it is a solution for facilitating international travel during the pandemic.

    Three countries have signed up for the use of the IATA Travel Pass, Singapore, Panama and Estonia, and 30 airlines.