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Tag: asia

  • Sea shipping costs dip amid sliding demand

    Sea shipping costs dip amid sliding demand

    Sea shipping costs have plunged by over 80% from the previous peak as consumption has dropped amid inflation concerns. Tran Lam Son, CEO of wood and furniture exporter Thien Minh, said that shipping a container to Europe now costs around $1,700, down nearly 92% from the peak of $20,000 a couple of years ago.

    The price drop poses opportunities for businesses like Thien Minh but is perceived as a negative sign for the logistics sector.

    Logistics platform Phaata has data showing that shipping a 40-foot container from Ho Chi Minh City to Northern Europe now costs $1,700, down from $15,000 in January.

    From HCMC to Los Angeles, the average price is now $1,400, compared to $12,000 in September 2021. To New York, freight costs $2,900 against $15,000 two years ago.

    From Asia to India costs have plunged by over 90%, said Le Thi Lan Anh, business director of logistics firm MH Great Sun.

    Phaata CEO Nguyen Hoai Chung said that prices are now plunging because consumer demand in North America and Europe has plummeted due to inflation and forecasts of economic difficulties.

    Inventory in these regions is still high and so importers do not need to buy more from Asian countries, including Vietnam, he added.

    Slower manufacturing activity in China in recent years has reduced pressure in ports and congestion is no longer a problem, he said.

    Weak demand is likely to persist throughout this year. The International Monetary Fund last month forecast that global trade growth will drop from 5.4% last year to 2.4% this year.

    American spending on goods has dropped 5.4% from the peak in March 2021.

    Logistics giant Maersk anticipates that container shipping demand will drop by 2.5% this year.

    The supply of container ships, however, is expected to rise in this and next year and many ships are set to be completed.

    Container ship capacity is set to increase by 7.8% this year while demand is expected to rise 3.5%. In 2024 the two figures are expected to be 8.3% and 3.5% respectively.

    This shows that there will be an oversupply of container ships in 2023 and 2024, and competition in the logistics sector is set to be intense, Chung said.

    SSI Securities Corp. analysts said in a report that demand for goods from Vietnam will likely resume in the second half of the year when the shopping season arrives and after unsold inventory has been liquidated in Europe and the United States.

    Anh, however, has a more pessimistic forecast.

    “There is no sign that the financial market will recover this year,” said Anh. “Deposit interest is still rising and a recovery in the logistics industry is not expected until the very end of 2023.”

    Phaata CEO Chung said that container shipping prices to North America and Europe will continue to stay low until recovering in the fourth quarter as Christmas shopping rises.

    Next year, prices will continue to fall as container supply outweighs demand.

    “The logistics sector will see brighter signs in 2025 and prices will resume to pre-pandemic levels,” said Chung, “with a more balanced supply and demand relationship.”

    Chung advises logistics firms to expand their markets to other Asian destinations such as China, Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asian countries.

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  • What airlines need to speed up their recovery

    What airlines need to speed up their recovery

    Vietnamese airlines seek government support to speed up post-pandemic recovery, including scrapping a ticket price ceiling and relaxing visa policies.

    The outlook for the aviation industry seemed bright in a forecast by the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) last month when it said that a full recovery of Vietnam’s air transport is expected by the end of the year.

    CAAV forecast that 80 million passengers and 1.44 million tons of cargo will be transported this year, up 1% and 14.8%, respectively from 2019 when Covid-19 had yet to hit Vietnam.

    For airlines, however, the forecast seems too optimistic. Last year, Vietnam Airlines posted an accumulated loss of over VND34 trillion ($1.43 billion), while budget airline Vietjet recorded more than VND2 trillion in loss.

    Bamboo Airways and Vietravel Airlines are yet to turn a profit. Luong Hoai Nam, a member of the Vietnam Tourism Advisory Board, said at a recent event that there is no rosy picture for domestic airlines this year.

    “Carriers are deep in debt and are facing an operational crisis,” he said.

    Now that demand is rising, aircraft leasing companies are seeking to get their jets back, Nam said, adding that if Vietnamese airlines cannot pay for the lease the jets might be taken away.

    Vietjet’s Deputy CEO Ho Ngoc Yen Phuong said that although some international airlines have become profitable again after the two-year hiatus, Vietnamese carriers are still facing many financial difficulties, and they might lose on their own playground if other carriers increase their presence.

    Deputy CEO of Vietnam Airlines Trinh Ngoc Thanh said that the industry will not fully recover until the end of 2024, but he was not sure whether the national flag carrier can survive until than as its “financial health is very weak.”

    Local airlines, therefore, are proposing several support policies to help them survive and speed up their recovery. They want the domestic ticket price ceiling removed, saying that this policy is no longer in line with international norms. The price ceiling has remain unchanged for eight years and this is unreasonable as expenses, including fuel, currency exchange rates and loan interests, have all increased.

    Vietnam Airlines and Bamboo Airways proposed that while the ceiling is yet to be removed it should be raised to reflect the hike in operational costs.

    Ticket agents are saying that domestic prices on some routes have nearly doubled year-on-year.

    A survey of 1,600 readers last month found that 51% of respondents want the price ceiling to remain unchanged.

    Airlines are also requesting the government relax visa policies and create a national tourism promotion campaign.

    “The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism partnered with airlines to promote tourism in other countries in previous years,” Thanh said. “But now there is no campaign and carriers do not have the budget to create their own.”

    The Vietnam Airlines executive also said that the 15-day visa policy for European and American visitors should be doubled to 30-days.

    Vietjet wants authorities to untie administrative knots so that Chinese tours can soon travel to Vietnam. Vietnam is yet to be included in the 20 countries that Chinese tourism firms are allowed to send tours to.

    Even though China – which accounts for 30% of foreign tourists to Vietnam – has reopened, Vietnamese airlines still have to postpone plans to expand their flight frequency to this country.

    Carriers are also seeking reductions in taxes and fees.

    Thanh said that the 50% reductions in landing and takeoff fees of domestic airlines and an environmental tax on fuel, which were given during Covid-19, should be maintained to help ease the financial burden for carriers.

    Bamboo Airways has proposed for these reductions to last until the end of 2024 or 2025.

    Can Van Luc, chief economist at lender BIDV, said that it is unlikely that carriers will get out of losses this year and that they will still need a lot of government support in taxes and fees.

     

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  • Gold prices up

    Gold prices up

    SJC gold gained 0.07% to VND66.9 million ($2,819.45) per tael Friday morning.

    Gold ring price rose 0.09% to VND54.1 million per tael. A tael equals 37.5 grams or 1.2 ounces.

    Globally gold prices rose on Friday, on track for their first weekly gain in five, as the dollar eased, even though fears persisted that the U.S. Federal Reserve would keep raising interest rates to curb inflationary pressures.

    Spot gold was up 0.3% at $1,840.89 per ounce.

    The dollar index eased 0.1%, making bullion more affordable for buyers holding other currencies.

    The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell again last week, pointing to sustained labour market strength and adding to fears that the Fed would keep hiking interest rates for longer.

    Another report from the U.S. Labor Department on Thursday showed labor costs grew much faster than previously estimated in the fourth quarter.

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  • Dollar slips on black market

    Dollar slips on black market

    The U.S. dollar dropped against the Vietnamese dong Friday morning on the black market.

    Unofficial exchange points sold the greenback at VND23,850, down 0.29% from Thursday.

    Vietcombank sold the dollar 0.15% higher at VND23,910.

    Eximbank maintained the dollar at VND23,860, while at Techcombank the rate stayed unchanged at VND23,890.

    The State Bank of Vietnam kept its reference rate stable at VND23,637.

    The dollar as appreciated over the dong by 0.76% since the beginning of the year.

    The U.S. dollar eased back from a 2-1/2-month high versus the yen on Friday and weakened toward its first weekly loss since January against major peers as traders tried to gauge the path for Federal Reserve policy.

    The yen, which is particularly sensitive to U.S.-Japanese long-term interest rate differentials, threatened to extend a weekly losing streak to seven weeks, even as it gained strength on Friday with 10-year U.S. yields retreating from a nearly four-month high close to 4.1%.

    Taking some steam out of the dollar and the breathless advance in U.S. yields were comments from Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic overnight that “slow and steady is going to be the appropriate course of action,” despite new labour figures adding to the run of strong data of late.

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  • UBS Loses Appeal to Halt London Lawsuit

    UBS Loses Appeal to Halt London Lawsuit

    UBS has lost an appeal to throw out a lawsuit by an exiled Chinese businessman over an allegedly forced share sale by the Swiss bank’s London branch.

    A London court of appeal has dismissed UBS’s latest attempt to throw out a $500 million lawsuit by exiled Chinese businessman Guo Wengui and his firm Ace Decade.

    According to Guo, he and Ace Decade allegedly lost $500 million after UBS forced a sale of an indirect equity investment in Chinese brokerage Haitong Securities during a market downturn in July 2015.

    Last month, UBS argued in the appeal court that the lawsuit would only be valid in Switzerland despite involvement by the London branch. This argument was previously rejected by a lower court in 2022.

    The claims undoubtedly arose out of UBS London’s operations. UBS London significantly participated in the events that have given rise both to the claim and the los ns claimed.

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  • Tata Motors Launches Its First Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facility

    Tata Motors Launches Its First Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facility

    Tata Motors launched its first Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facility (RVSF) in Jaipur, Rajasthan today. The facility is called Re.Wi.Re which stands for Recycle with Respect and has a capacity of 15,000 vehicles per annum. The company also claims that the facility uses eco-friendly methods to dispose of the vehicles, which will go through a strict documentation process before being dismantled. It is developed and operated by Tata Motors’ partner Ganganagar Vaahan Udyog Pvt. Ltd. to scrap end-of-life passenger and commercial vehicles of all brands. The facility was inaugurated by Hon’ble Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Shri Nitin Gadkari.

    Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Hon’ble Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India, Shri Nitin Gadkari said “The National Vehicle Scrappage Policy was introduced with the aim to promote circular economy by creating an ecosystem for phasing out unfit and polluting vehicles and to achieve a lower carbon footprint in the country by replacing them with greener and more fuel-efficient vehicles. I congratulate Tata Motors for setting-up this quality facility that is at par with global standards. We are working towards positioning India as a vehicle scrapping hub for the entire South Asian region and need more such state-of-the-art scrapping and recycling units in India.”

    Mr. Girish Wagh, Executive Director, Tata Motors, said, “The inauguration of this RVSF (Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facility) heralds a new beginning in responsible scrapping of end-of-life vehicles. With globally benchmarked and optimised recycling processes, we intend to yield maximum value from the scrap for future use and minimise waste for the overall betterment. We appreciate the visionary efforts of Shri Gadkari ji in enabling the National Vehicle Scrappage Policy and look forward to setting-up Re.Wi.Re facilities across the country in collaboration with our partners. These decentralised facilities will benefit the customers, share the economic value generated, create employment while addressing the need of scrapping vehicles in every part of the country in an eco-friendly manner.”

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  • Fruit, vegetable exports see high potential, tough requirements

    Fruit, vegetable exports see high potential, tough requirements

    Vietnamese vegetables and fruits are eyeing potential overseas markets, in which quality requirements and standards are high, said experts at a forum in Ho Chi Minh City on March 1.

    Nguyen Minh Phuong, Director of the Asia-Africa Market Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said that due to low supply and high demand, the Middle East and North Africa are also promising markets for Vietnamese farm produce.

    However, experts underscored that the major challenge for Vietnamese fruits and vegetables is the increasing requirements in international market, especially those in origin traceability and food safety.

    Pham Minh Thang from the Agrotrade said that Vietnamese firms have faced a lack of information on market demands and access to distribution channels in imported countries.

    Meanwhile, the export of fresh vegetables to other markets is encountering obstacles due to transportation difficulties, while the rate of processed products remains modest.

    In order to promote fruit and vegetable exports, Thang advised producers and exporters to actively renovate their farming techniques to increase their product quality, while strengthening processing and trade promotion activities, diversifying trading activities in digital platforms, and applying information technology in the sale of farm produce.

    Le Thanh Hoa, Vice Director of the Agro Processing and Market Development Authority (Agrotrade), said that over the recent years, fruits and vegetable have been among the groups with export revenue of over $3 billion each year. The figure reached $3.37 billion in 2022.

    Last year, many kinds of fruits such as passion fruit, durian and banana were allowed to be exported to China through official channels, while Vietnamese pomelo was excepted to the U.S., limes and pomelos to New Zealand, and fresh longan to Japan.

    In the first two months of this year, the export of fruits and vegetables hit $592 million, up 17.8% compared to the same period in 2022. China remained the major market of Vietnam, consuming 57.5% of the country’s total fruit and vegetable exports.

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  • Cooking gas prices drop in Vietnam as global demand eases

    Cooking gas prices drop in Vietnam as global demand eases

    Cooking gas prices have fallen by VND16,000 (68 cents) to VND461,000 for a 12-kg cylinder in Ho Chi Minh City and other southern localities as global prices declined.

    Saigon Petro Co. announced the cut Wednesday after global suppliers lowered average prices by $60 to $730 per ton for March.

    The price of a 12-kg cylinder had shot up by VND62,000 in February when fuel demand spiked in many Northeast Asian and European countries due to cold weather, causing global prices to rise, the company said.

    This month, with warmer weather, gas demand for and prices are down.

    In April 2022 the price of a cylinder exceeded VND500,000 for the first time.

    Retail prices track global developments since domestic supply only meets 60% of demand.

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  • Microsoft is testing an app that will allow the iMessage platform to be used on your PC

    Microsoft is testing an app that will allow the iMessage platform to be used on your PC

    Imagine using Apple’s highly-regarded iMessage messaging platform on your Windows computer. Microsoft is making this happen via an update to its Phone Link app, which will allow you to send messages to your PC contacts (who also use an iPhone) through your Windows computer although there are some caveats. Phone Link cannot enable group messaging nor allow photos or videos to be sent.
    Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft’s head of consumer marketing, said, “We send the messages back and forth via Bluetooth, Apple, I think in turn, sends those as iMessage once it gets onto their system.” The version of the iOS Messages app that is brought to your Windows computer is basic and you won’t see the entire history of a conversation. Only messages sent or received using the Phone Link app will appear.
    Because Phone Link can’t tell the difference between a regular text message and one sent using iMessage, there are no blue or green text bubbles. On an iPhone, blue bubbles indicate a conversation where everyone is using an iPhone and thus it is handled on the iMessage platform. A green bubble reveals that at least one of the parties in the conversation is using an Android phone and all of those great iMessage features (like higher-quality images, read receipts, typing indicators, and more) are not available.
    But as we said, group messaging is not allowed using the Phone Link app and with no difference between texting and sending an iMessage, there is no reason to use different colored text bubbles. While on the subject of Android, the version of Phone Link for this platform has more capabilities. With the Phone Link app on your PC and an Android phone, you can get “instant access to everything you love on your phone, right from your PC,” says Microsoft.
    Linking your Android phone and your PC with this app will allow you to read and reply to text messages, make and receive calls (requires a Windows 10 computer with Bluetooth connectivity), view your notifications, and more. Instead of sending emails to yourself to save content, you can easily share content between your PC and phone. “Copy, edit, and even drag and drop photos without ever touching your phone.” You can even see your phone apps on your PC with a Surface Duo phone, certain Samsung handsets, and some Honor devices.
    Phone Link is bundled with Windows 11 and the new support for the app comes with a major Windows 11 update that includes the new AI-powered version of Bing on the taskbar, improved touch capabilities, and a new feature that records the screen.
    The version of Phone Link with iOS support will be available for Windows Insiders in the Dev, Beta, and Release Preview channels, but only for a small percentage of users. Microsoft says, “We will increase the availability of the preview to more Insiders over time and based on feedback we receive with this first set of Insiders.”
    Microsoft’s Medi explains why Microsoft has added iPhone support for the Phone Link app. He says, “It’s something we’ve been wanting to do for a long time. The experience with Android is quite good, and we felt like we needed to get something out [for iPhone].”
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  • Huawei is expected to make some noise in Barcelona

    Huawei is expected to make some noise in Barcelona

    It’s like old times in Barcelona where the MWC exhibition means something again. Manufacturers are showing off prototypes of future handsets, some with amazing form factors. Other firms are unveiling new phones at the event just like in the good old days. One company expected to announce its new flagship phone in Barcelona is Huawei as the P60 series is rumored to see the light of day very soon.
    According to MyDrivers, the Austrian Gax blog wrote that the Huawei P60 series could be unveiled at MWC 2023. Huawei’s P-series phones are focused on photography (don’t mind the pun since it won’t bite) and the P60 models will feature Huawei’s own XMAGE photography platform (as did last year’s Mate 50 line).
    The P60 Pro will be the first smartphone to carry the 50MP Sony IMX888 sensor (for the primary camera), and a 50MP Sony IMX858 sensor will be employed for the ultra-wide-angle camera.  We expect Huawei to use Omnivision’s 64MP OV64B sensor for the telephoto camera that delivers 3.5x optical zoom.
    The non-Pro P60 could sport the 48MP Sony IMX789 sensor for its primary camera. Both the P60 Pro and P60 should feature the 10-speed adjustable variable aperture feature that debuted on last year’s Mate 50 Pro and allows the aperture to change between f/1.4 and f/4.
    The Huawei P60 Pro could be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset modified to work with 4G signals only. The P60 might be equipped with the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC which also would be tweaked not to support 5G signals. All things considered, these are not a bad pair of chips to employ.
    Huawei launched its emergency satellite communication service last year on the Mate 50 series. The firm’s second-gen satellite system will be featured on the P60 line and reportedly Huawei has added voice text capabilities and support for short-term voice calls to the ability to send and receive two-way text messages via satellite. Huawei beat out Apple last year by one day to become the first smartphone manufacturer to announce emergency satellite connectivity for its smartphones.
    The P60 line will have HarmonyOS 3.1 pre-installed. This could be a minor upgrade from HarmonyOS 3.0 that will focus on exterminating bugs, and improving the stability of the software.
    Keep your eyes peeled. MWC 2023 ends on March 2nd so we could see the Huawei P60 series introduced sometime soon. Huawei, returning to two flagship series a year, is expected to unveil the Mate 60 line in September. The Mate series usually comes out late in the year and focuses on innovative new technology and features. In 2021 and 2022, Huawei released only one flagship model each year with the P50 series launched in 2021 and the Mate 50 line released late last year.
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  • Google Fi reportedly drops US Cellullar service from main supported network to extended roaming

    Google Fi reportedly drops US Cellullar service from main supported network to extended roaming

    Although not officially confirmed, it appears that Google Fi has dropped US Cellular as main network partner, leaving T-Mobile as the sole provider to choose from when using the MVNO. However, US Cellular is still supported as part of Google Fi’s extended network.

    This was discovered by users of the service when reaching out to Google Fi’s customer service and was then promptly posted on Reddit where other users have chimed in confirming that they are receiving the same information. Chat representatives have responded to each query with somewhat conflicting information, but the one thing they agree on is that T-Mobile appears to now be the only main supported network that doesn’t involve roaming.
    This has been cause for concern for Google Fi customers who live in areas where the US Cellular towers are more prominent. In one chat conversation, Google Fi customer support assured that although US Cellular is not longer an official network for Google Fi, users may still be able to access it through roaming on the company’s Extended Network without incurring roaming charges while using it in the United States. Additionally, the MVNO has removed its dialer code, which was required for manual switching to the carrier.
    What this means for users is that they will no longer be able to manually choose a network as there is no other choice besides T-Mobile. Previously, although the setting wasn’t permanent, Google Fi would allow users to manually select their preferred network. Additionally, it would automatically switch between T-Mobile and US Cellular in locations where both networks were available but one had better coverage than the other. This latest change takes both of these options away.
    Now, T-Mobile will take precedence over US Cellular when both networks are available, despite the fact that US Cellular may have a stronger signal in some areas. This is a big change from when Google Fi started offering its MVNO services in 2015 by utilizing T-Mobile and Sprint, and then subsequently added US Cellular as a third partner a year later. However, options began to shrink once T-Mobile acquired Sprint in 2020, effectively combining those two options into one.
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  • AirAsia Looks to China to Drive Budget Airline’s Recovery

    AirAsia Looks to China to Drive Budget Airline’s Recovery

    AirAsia parent company Capital A expects China’s reopening to international travelers in January to drive the recovery of its airlines this year.

    AirAsia’s four airlines — Malaysia-based AirAsia, Indonesia AirAsia, Philippines AirAsia, and affiliate Thai AirAsia — plan to rapidly ramp up capacity to China from less than 1 percent of 2019 levels in December, according to Diio by Cirium schedules, to 90 percent by August, Capital A said in a fourth-quarter earnings presentation on Wednesday. And, barring any unexpected events or waning travel demand, they will fly 11 percent more capacity to China in November than they did four years earlier. The rapid return to China will support the group’s recovery to roughly 85 percent of 2019 capacity levels this year.

    The group said its China capacity plans demonstrate its “confidence and commitment” to the market. Capital A CEO Tony Fernandes added that China’s reopening would “further boost” the company’s recovery.

    China ended its no-Covid policy, and dropped most border restrictions in January. Since then, airlines from around the world have moved to resume flights that were suspended during the pandemic. All Nippon Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, KLM, Singapore Airlines, and Swiss Air, to name a few, are all resuming flights in the next few months. And Singapore Airlines even called out China as partially driving the strong travel demand in the market.

    The easing of China’s restrictions is especially important for AirAsia. The country was the largest source of international visitors to Thailand, and in the top three for international visitors to Malaysia and the Philippines in 2019, each country’s data show. That makes China a critical market for the budget airline’s success. Flights to and from China made up nearly 17 percent of the four AirAsia airlines’ combined capacity in 2019, Diio data show.

    As part of AirAsia’s recovery to China, it plans at least five new routes to the country this year. This includes service to Shenzhen on Indonesia AirAsia, and a new Kuala Lumpur-Guangzhou nonstop on AirAsia.

    Even without China, Capital A posted strong results in the fourth quarter as the Asian travel recovery accelerated. Group revenues increased 77 percent from 2019 to 2.4 billion Malaysian ringgit ($537 million); airline revenues were down 34 percent from three years earlier to 2.1 billion Malaysian ringgit. The group posted an operating loss of 198 Malaysian ringgit. Airline unit revenues, measured in revenue per available seat kilometer, were up 134 percent compared to 2019, while unit costs excluding fuel were up 106 percent. Capacity across the group’s four airlines recovered to 57 percent of 2019 levels in the December quarter.

    Capital A’s much vaunted AirAsia Super App for travel continued to make gains in the fourth quarter. Revenues increased 41 percent year-over-year to 138 million Malaysian ringgit, and the segment was earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) positive at 100,000 Malaysian ringgit. However, despite the public push, the Super App results reinforce the fact that airlines, not travel technology, remain Capital A’s core business — airline revenues were more than 15-times higher than Super App revenues.

    The group’s plan to merge its Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, and Thailand units into a single holding company, AirAsia Aviation Group, is forecast for completion by March.

    AirAsia’s airlines operated 126 of 205 total Airbus A320 and A330 aircraft at the end of December. The group aims to fly 150 aircraft by the end of March, and fully reactivate its fleet by the end of September. AirAsia has 362 A320neo family aircraft on order, and expects its first five A321neos in 2024.

    AirAsia’s long-haul brand, AirAsia X, is a separate company and not included in Capital A’s results.

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  • Bill to ban TikTok in the U.S. takes its first steps toward the White House

    Bill to ban TikTok in the U.S. takes its first steps toward the White House

    on Tuesday Republicans on the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee took short-form video app TikTok closer to its final tick in the U.S. Concerned about reports that TikTok collects personal data from its U.S. subscribers, and might even collect keystrokes from those using TikTok’s  in-app browser, legislation that would result in the ban of TikTok on all U.S. mobile devices has advanced.
    The legislation would give President Joe Biden the authority to ban the popular app in the U.S. Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said, “Everybody knows what TikTok is. It’s too dangerous to be on our phones as members of Congress.I think, it’s too dangerous to be on our children’s phones. That’s the whole point of this bill.” The U.S. in December banned TikTok from government-owned phones.
    McCaul’s DATA Act (H.R. 1153) advanced out of committee by a vote of 24 to 16. Voting on the proposed bill was split along party lines with the 24 votes in favor of moving the legislation along coming from all of the Republicans on the committee while the 16 dissenting votes came from all of the Democrats on the committee. McCaul said that he hoped the voting isn’t the start of a breakdown in bipartisanship when it comes to Chinese technology.
    In 2021, TikTok hit one billion monthly users, and last August, a survey revealed that 67% of teens in the states use TikTok and 16% use it constantly. Insider Intelligence says that TikTok owns 2.3% of the digital ad market behind heavyweights like Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Alibaba. The company is owned by Chinese firm Byte Dance, and while it denies any ties with Beijing’s spying operations, like other Chinese companies it must agree to comply with all requests from the country’s intelligence agency.
    In a statement, TikTok says, “A U.S. ban on TikTok is a ban on the export of American culture and values to the billion-plus people who use our service worldwide. We’re disappointed to see this rushed piece of legislation move forward, despite its considerable negative impact on the free speech rights of millions of Americans who use and love TikTok.”
    The bill has a long road ahead of it. If it gets voted out of the Republican-controlled House, it would still need to be voted on in the Democrat-controlled Senate which could be a problem. And should the bill pass the Senate, it would then require the president to sign the bill, or he could veto it. If Biden does the latter, the veto can be overturned with a two-thirds
    vote from members of the House and Senate.
    A few years ago, when Donald Trump was president, a deal was reportedly in place that would have seen Oracle and Walmart buy the app’s U.S. operations from TikTok owner ByteDance. But the deal never got done and Trump turned his attention toward more pressing matters such as the upcoming presidential election. But Needham analyst Laura Martin says that this time a deal could be finalized.
    While the platform could be weakened, “it wouldn’t just disappear and get shut down,” Martin said. She also said that “Implications are great for anybody that has been losing market share to TikTok.” Martin picked Snapchat, Facebook, and YouTube as platforms that would be big winners if TikTok gets banned in the U.S.
    Another analyst, JMP’s Andrew Boone, said that if TikTok is banned in the states, Facebook would be a big winner because of the money that parent company Meta has been throwing at Facebook’s TikTok rival Reels. Boone also noted that “If TikTok were to go away, I think that there would be a lot more consumption of Instagram Reels.” The analyst also says that Snapchat’s Spotlight and YouTube Shorts would both benefit from the disappearance of TikTok.
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  • Apple has paid $12.12 million to Russia for antitrust practices, another fine is pending

    Apple has paid $12.12 million to Russia for antitrust practices, another fine is pending

    Apple’s decision to stop product sales in Russia over the war in Ukraine has not saved the company expenses, stemming from the multiple antitrust investigations that are going on. One of them has reportedly concluded with a $12.12 million fine over the Cupertino Company breaking monopoly legislation.

    This particular case goes back to 2020, when the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) concluded that Apple is receiving an unfair advantage through its dedicated AppStore. The case has taken years to revolve, but the competition regulator finally concluded that Apple owes Russia a massive amount of money. Naturally, Apple “respectfully disagrees” and plans to appeal this decision, even though reports from Reuters point to the fine being already paid out.

    All of this was initiated through Kaspersky Labs — a company renowned for its antivirus software — when its Safe Kids app was rejected as per AppStore internal regulations. Anton Gorelkin — a committee member on information and communications — went on record stating that the fine isn’t meant to be damaging to Apple, but to be noticeable enough to send a message to Big Tech.

    But as we all know, sometimes, when it rains — it pours. Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) is gaining on Apple with another fine, this time for $17.4 million. This one is related to the AppStore’s way of processing payments and more specifically, the lack of options that developers have when it comes to choosing how they bill their customers.

    As per Reuters’ report, Russia sees Apple’s rules as abuse over its dominant position on the iOS market. Furthermore, the big, red, flashing light is related to Apple’s prohibition of developers to point users to payment solutions outside of the AppStore itself.

    This is yet another instance of Apple being pursued by legislators worldwide over the way it runs its AppStore. This isn’t something unique to Apple either, as Google was recently forced through law to open up Android to third-party stores in India. As more and more lawsuits are being won against Big Tech companies, one cant help but wonder what the future of mobile digital goods will look like.

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  • Skoda cars to be sold in Vietnam from May

    Skoda cars to be sold in Vietnam from May

    Skoda cars are expected to be imported from the Czech Republic and sold from May before being assembled there, according to Skoda Vietnam sources.

    In the C-segment, CUV Karoq, one of the company’s bestselling models, will compete with the Hyundai Tucson, Kia Sportage, Mazda CX-5, Honda CR-V, and others.

    In the D-segment, the SUV Kodiaq will go up against the Kia Sorento, Hyundai Santa Fe, Mazda CX-8, and Toyota Fortuner.

    In late February Skoda and its Vietnamese partner TC Motor, a distributor and assembler of South Korean Hyundai vehicles, began building a plant in the northern province of Quang Ninh.

    Vietnam is the first Southeast Asian country in which Skoda will put up a factory and plans to export vehicles to other countries in the region.

    Skoda makes 11 models, with the Octavia being its bestseller. Various models, including B-segment sedan Slavia are expected to be sold in the country from late 2024.

    Last year the company sold 731,300 vehicles in some 100 markets worldwide, with Germany, the Czech Republic, India, the UK, and Poland being the biggest.

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