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Tag: JV

  • Volkswagen & Bosch Form JV For European Battery Production

    Volkswagen & Bosch Form JV For European Battery Production

    Volkswagen and Bosch have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore a joint venture dedicated to providing the European market with battery equipment solutions. The two, together, plan on selling integrated battery solutions with on-site ramp-up and maintenance support for battery cell and system manufacturers. This joint venture has also been designed with the goal of enabling Volkswagen to achieve its goal of building six battery cell factories by 2030 which will also be available to third-party customers.

    The idea for both Bosch and Volkswagen is to be self-sustaining for electric cars in terms of the supply chain. Volkswagen is building on top of its JV with NorthVolt with which it has planned its first facility in Salzgitter in Germany.

    “Europe has the unique chance to become a global battery powerhouse in the years to come,” said Thomas Schmall, a VW board member responsible for the automaker’s battery plans, in a statement.

    “There is a strong and growing demand for all aspects of battery production, including the equipment of new gigafactories. Volkswagen and Bosch will explore opportunities to develop and shape this novel, multi-billion-euro industry in Europe,” he added.

    “Our decision to actively engage in the vertical integration of the battery-making value chain will tap considerable new profit pools. Setting out to establish a fully localized European supply chain for e-mobility made in Europe certainly marks a rare opportunity in business history,” Schmall explained.

    The European battery alliance has already said that a third of the global batteries need to be manufactured in Europe by the end of the decade to cut dependence on South Korean and Chinese suppliers.

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  • Shell Plans To Exit California Joint Venture With Exxon Mobil

    Shell Plans To Exit California Joint Venture With Exxon Mobil

    Royal Dutch Shell Plc plans to leave Aera, its California-based oil and gas-producing joint venture with Exxon Mobil Corp, four people familiar with the talks said.

    Shell has divested numerous carbon-intensive assets this year, selling its refinery in Washington state to Holly Frontier Corp and its stake in a Houston-area refining joint venture to Petroleos Mexicanos as it shifts new investments to renewables and power.

    The company is also considering a sale of its assets in the Permian Basin of Texas, Reuters previously reported.

    Aera produces about 125,000 barrels of oil and 32 million cubic feet of natural gas each day, accounting for about 25% of the state’s oil and gas production. Exxon, Occidental Petroleum Corp and others are looking to shed unwanted assets and raise cash, according to industry experts.

    Shell has notified Exxon of its plans to exit the venture, the people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity as the talks are private. A Shell spokesperson declined to comment, citing company policy.

    The joint venture, headquartered in Bakersfield, California, produces primarily in the San Joaquin Valley. Shell has previously sold all of its California oil refining operations, some of which had pipeline connections to the fields.

    California still produces roughly 360,000 barrels of oil per day even as it has introduced the most stringent state-level rules on greenhouse gas emissions. Last year, an executive order required that by 2035 all-new cars and passenger trucks sold in California be zero-emission vehicles, and that the state reduce the dirtiest forms of oil extraction.

    Oil prices have soared this year, gaining more than 50% as demand has rebounded as COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions are lifted. The price increase has prompted many oil producers to put assets up for sale. The rush to sell is amplified by investor pressure to reduce fossil-fuel investments to stem global climate change brought by carbon emissions.

    Shell and other Europe-based oil producers such as BP Plc and TotalEnergies have pledged to lower emissions through increased investment in renewables while divesting some oil and gas holdings.

    Shell, one of the world’s largest oil companies, said this year it would aim to cut the carbon intensity of its products by at least 45% by 2035, and by 100% by 2050 from 2016 levels. A Dutch court has ruled that Shell’s efforts are not enough, ordering it to lower emissions by 45% by 2030 from 2019 levels.

    More deal-making could take place this year, with Chevron looking to shed about $1 billion of assets in the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico. Exxon, Occidental Petroleum Corp and others are looking to shed unwanted assets and raise cash, according to industry experts.

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  • Ant Group in Talks to Form Credit Scoring JV with Beijing

    Ant Group in Talks to Form Credit Scoring JV with Beijing

    Ant Group is reportedly in discussions with state-owned enterprises to create a credit scoring firm that houses data collected from its massive user base.

    The formation of the new entity could see Ant Group cede control over financial data of more than a billion users, according to a report citing unnamed users.

    Ant Group’s data sharing process with Beijing has been ongoing with reports earlier this year that the People’s Bank of China was unhappy with the progress.

    According to the report, considerations are being made to form a joint venture co-owned by Ant and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) – including an unnamed Shanghai-based financial conglomerate.

    The talks also covered the types of data collected, alignment between the credit scoring system and broader state plans as well as whether the joint venture should be controlled by Ant or SOEs.

    The entry could be established as soon as the third quarter this year though discussions are ongoing and no final decisions have been made.

  • Porsche Setting Up Battery JV With Customcells For An EV Future

    Porsche Setting Up Battery JV With Customcells For An EV Future

    Porsche has made waves around the world with its Taycan and Taycan Cross Turismo EVs which have been dubbed as the most driver-centric EVs in the world, more so than even Tesla’s groundbreaking vehicles. To further an electrified future, like all things Volkswagen group, it is forming a joint venture with Customcells that will create high-performance batteries that will significantly reduce charge times.

    Like Porsche, Customcells is also a German company hailing from the Southern German region specializing in lithium-ion batteries aiming to create packs that have higher energy density than what Porsche is already using in cars like the Taycan.

    More importantly, it is part of a broadened push towards enhancing the battery supply chain in Europe which is currently dominated by Asia. The Volkswagen group has been making huge investments in this space as the EU has stricter emissions norms which means European manufacturers have to go green faster than automakers around the world.

    One of the keys to achieving better battery efficacy is enhancing the energy density which in turn results in less raw material being used. It will also cut battery production costs and help make electric cars more affordable.

    As a part of the JV, Porsche doesn’t disclose its investment but does say it is a number upwards of 10 million Euros and it holds an 80 percent stake in the venture. The production facility in the equation will have an aim to deliver 100 kWh of capacity which could service about 1000 cars per year. This is a tie-in from what Porsche chief executive officer Oliver Blume said in April which was indicative of the legendary German sports cars marquee ramping up its e-mobility plans for a German factory in Tuebingen for battery production. It so happens this JV with Customcells is based in Tuebingen.

    Porsche parent, Volkswagen has even broader plans of building 6 battery cell plants across Europe and expand its infrastructure for the charging of electric vehicles.

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  • DBS Kicks Off Business at Chinese Securities JV

    DBS Kicks Off Business at Chinese Securities JV

    DBS’ securities joint venture in China will officially commence business operations after receiving its license from the mainland regulator.

    Securities joint venture DBS Securities (China) will kick off operations, according to a statement, effective immediately after receiving its securities business license from the China Securities and Regulatory Commission.

    The joint venture will operate brokerage, securities investment consulting, securities underwriting and sponsorships, as well as proprietary trading.

    DBS joins other global banks to capitalize on China’s market-opening especially with regards to the securities business where the likes of J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs are seeking to obtain full ownership of their joint ventures.

    Today, DBS Securities is honored to become the first Sino-Singapore securities joint venture, said DBS group chief executive Piyush Gupta. We hope to continue to facilitate China’s economic growth and look forward to contributing to its ‘Dual Circulation’ strategy.

    DBS Securities currently has a registered capital of 1.5 billion yuan ($230 million) and is majority-owned by DBS (51 percent). Other shareholders include Donghao Lansheng Investment Management (24.67 percent), Shanghai Huangpu Investment Holding (13.33 percent), Shanghai Huiyang Asset Management (6.5 percent) and Shanghai Huangpu Guidance Fund Equity Investment (4.5 percent).

  • J.P. Morgan Seeks Full Ownership of Chinese JV

    J.P. Morgan Seeks Full Ownership of Chinese JV

    J.P. Morgan is seeking regulatory approval to obtain full ownership of its mainland Chinese securities joint venture.

    J.P. Morgan has applied to regulators for approval of its full ownership of the securities joint venture, according to a report citing China chief executive Mark Leung.

    The bank currently has a 71 percent stake in the unit after last boosting ownership in November 2020.

    J.P. Morgan joins Goldman Sachs in the race to become the first to obtain full ownership of their securities unit in mainland China.

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  • Morgan Stanley Increases Ownership in China JVs

    Morgan Stanley Increases Ownership in China JVs

    Morgan Stanley is the latest global bank to add exposure to mainland China’s financial sector with increased ownership in two joint ventures.

    Morgan Stanley will buy stakes in its securities and mutual fund joint ventures, according to a company filing with the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

    We are excited by opportunities to significantly expand our onshore securities and asset management businesses, which further strengthen our position to provide the best advice and services to our clients, according to a spokesperson for the bank.

    China Fortune Securities is the planned seller of a 39 percent stake in Morgan Stanely Huaxin Securities and its entire 36 percent stake in Morgan Stanley Huaxin Fund Management Company to the American lender for 958.6 million yuan (US$150 million), according to the filing.

    If the sale succeeds, Morgan Stanley would effectively own 90 percent of the securities joint venture, with China Fortune retaining the remaining 10 percent stake, and 85 percent of the fund joint venture.

    Global banks continue to take advantage of the opening up of China’s financial sector with Goldman Sachs, most recently, receiving preliminary approval to establish a wealth management joint venture with ICBC.

  • Nokia deploys first 5G standalone RAN in Southeast Asia to M1-Starhub JV in Singapore

    Nokia deploys first 5G standalone RAN in Southeast Asia to M1-Starhub JV in Singapore

    Nokia announced the first 5G standalone (“SA”) Radio Access Network (“RAN”) Sharing network in South East Asia. The company has been selected by Antina Pte. Ltd. (“Antina”), a joint venture formed by mobile network operators M1 and StarHub, following a competitive tender process, to deploy 5G SA networks across Singapore. The commercial deployment of a 5G SA network will introduce compelling new use cases and cater for the growing data demand in the country, putting Singapore at the forefront of 5G standalone technology in the region.

    The partnership will enable Antina’s customers – M1, StarHub and other mobile service providers on wholesale arrangements – to benefit from a game-changing ultra-high speed, low-latency and highly secure 5G SA network that will reduce complexity and increase cost efficiencies. It will also enable new use cases across entertainment, cloud gaming, transportation, education and healthcare.

    Nokia will provide equipment from its comprehensive AirScale portfolio and CloudRAN solution to build the Radio Access Network (RAN) for the 5G SA infrastructure, utilizing the 3.5GHz spectrum band. Nokia will supply 5G base stations and its small cells solution for indoor coverage, as well as other radio access products. Nokia’s 5G SA technology will provide Singaporean enterprises with the opportunity to explore multiple new use cases due to the network’s higher bandwidth, higher uplink speeds and lower-latency.

    Nokia CloudRAN solution is designed to enable Antina to build a more agile business, meet new traffic demands, make better use of spectrum as well as optimize performance and mitigate costs. Nokia’s CloudRAN technology is expected to provide Antina with the flexibility to meet customer demands in the evolving 5G era. Nokia’s NetAct network management, CloudBand Application Manager and CloudBand Infrastructure Software will streamline operations and securely manage Antina’s networks.

    The commercial launch of this 5G SA network in Singapore will underpin the infrastructure for a vibrant 5G ecosystem.

    Tommi Uitto, President of Mobile Networks, Nokia, said: “This is an important win for Nokia that demonstrates our leadership in commercial-grade Cloud RAN as well as mobile operators’ trust in our capabilities for rapidly transitioning to 5G standalone networks. We look forward to supporting Antina in the deployment of a successful rollout of the 5G SA network in Singapore which aligns with the country’s vision of creating a world-class 5G infrastructure. We hope other global markets considering making the move to 5G SA will take note of Antina’s success.”

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  • Couche-Tard acquires Circle K business in Hong Kong

    Couche-Tard acquires Circle K business in Hong Kong

    Convenience Retail Asia Ltd said on Thursday it had agreed to sell its convenience store business in Hong Kong to Canadian convenience store and road transportation fuel retailer Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc for HK$2.79 billion ($359.8 million).

    The Circle K convenience stores and Saint Honore bakery chain operator plans to declare a special dividend of HK$3.85 per share to its shareholders, with the dividend to be paid before the end of 2020, the firm said in a filing to the Hong Kong bourse.

    The convenience store business, with a net asset value of HK$622 million as of end-June 2020, comprises of 340 Circle K stores in Hong Kong, and the net proceeds will be used to pay the special dividend, the Hong Kong-listed firm added.

  • Waymo And Daimler Are Partnering For Self Driving Trucks

    Waymo And Daimler Are Partnering For Self Driving Trucks

    Recently few reports emerged which said that Mercedes was scaling back from developing autonomous driving technology which was quickly buried by the company’s head of digital transformation. Now Alphabet-owned Waymo and Daimler have officially announced a partnership in which the German company will be teaming up with the pioneering self-driving company to sell autonomous trucks in the US. This partnership will see the Waymo One technology make its way to Daimler’s trucks – it is the same technology that Alphabet has deployed in Phoenix, Arizona which forms the world’s first self-driving ride-hailing service.

    “The autonomous Freightliner Cascadia truck, equipped with the Waymo Driver, will be available to customers in the U.S. in the coming years,” the two companies said in a statement. “Waymo and Daimler Trucks will investigate expansion to other markets and brands in the near future,” the statement added without outlining an actual timeline.

    The deal is particularly with Daimler North America ties in soundly with Waymo’s vision of graduating to larger vehicles like trucks. Daimler also has tested its own self-driving trucks in the past. Mercedes recently also introduced autonomous driving technology to the S-class and has also partnered with the airport in Stuttgart to provide a self droving car valet service in partnership with Bosch.

    “We have the highest regard for Daimler’s engineering skills and broad global truck product portfolio, and so we look forward to scaling the Waymo Driver, together with our new partner, to improve road safety and logistics efficiency on the worlds’ roadways,” said John Krafcik, Waymo’s CEO.

    Adding to this Martin Daum, chairman of the board of management of Daimler Truck AG and Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG said, “As the leader of our industry, Daimler Trucks is the pioneer of automated trucking. In recent years, we have achieved significant progress on our global roadmap to bringing series-produced highly automated trucks to the road. With our strategic partnership with Waymo as the leader in autonomous driving, we are taking another important step towards that goal. This partnership complements Daimler Trucks’ dual strategy approach, of working with two strong partners to deliver autonomous L4 solutions that are seamlessly integrated with our best-in-class trucks, to our customers.”

    The Freightliner Cascadia truck will be the primary focus of this deal. It will be outfitted with the Waymo driver platform. It is a class 8 vehicle and comes with a hefty safety suite called the Detroit assurance 5.0 which includes active safety technology including active brake assistance, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning and lane-keeping systems as options.

    The Waymo Driver platform will elevate the ADAS capability of this truck beyond level 4. They will be able to handle most driving conditions including heavy inclement weather. This comes with the credence of the Waymo driverless platform being able to handle alternative climates something Waymo has tested for more than half a decade as the pioneer of driverless technology ever since it graduated out of Google Skunkworks R&D unit called Google X and then was spun off into a separate company called Waymo.

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  • Cebu Pacific and SIAEC dismantle maintenance joint ventures

    Cebu Pacific and SIAEC dismantle maintenance joint ventures

    Cebu Pacific Air (CEB) and SIA Engineering are unwinding their partnership in both their joint venture MRO companies based in the Philippines.

    These are Aviation Partnership (Philippines) Corporation (APPC), 51% owned by SIAEC and 49% by CEB, and SIA Engineering Philippines Corporation (SIAEP), 65% owned by SIAEC and 35% by CEB, established in 2005 and 2008, respectively. SIA Engineering Philippines is based in Clark.

    APPC is based in Manila and provides line maintenance, light aircraft checks, technical ramp handling, and other MRO services, at Manila, Cebu, Davao, and Clark, as well as other secondary airports in the Philippines.

    Clark-based SIAEP provides airframe maintenance, repair, de-lease checks, cabin retrofits, and overhaul services for Boeing 737, Airbus A320, and A330 aircraft, as well as line maintenance at Clark.

    CEB is acquiring SIAEC’s entire 51% stake in APPC for a cash consideration of nearly $5.61 million.

    SIAEC is acquiring CEB’s 35% stake in SIAEP for $7.74 million cash and states that this will be accounted for as an equity transaction.

    CEB and SIAEC signed on 26 October a share sale and purchase agreement for each entity. When completed, each joint venture company will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of the acquiring partner while the divesting partner will cease to hold any equity interest.

    The valuation for each transaction was arrived at after arm’s length negotiations on a willing-buyer, willing-seller basis, taking into account the net asset value and financial performance of each joint venture, among other factors.

    SIAEC states in a disclosure to the Singapore Exchange that based on each entity’s unaudited financial statements for the financial year ended 31 March, 51% of APPC’s net asset value was equivalent to $4.76 million and 35% of SIAEP’s net asset value was $9.32 million.

    According to CEB’s disclosures to the Philippine Stock Exchange, its financial statements for the quarter ended 30 June put its net carrying value of a 35% stake in SIAEP at $7.5 million while 51% of APPC’s net asset value works out to $4.5 million.

    CEB says that acquiring APPC is in line with its overall strategy to align line maintenance operations with its network and service requirements more closely, “for significant operational efficiencies and optimization of resources for an even stronger competitive advantage.”

    SIAEC says that the SIAEP acquisition fits its strategy to strengthen core competencies and enhance the entity’s status as the group’s center of excellence for narrowbody aircraft MRO offerings.

    It states: “The SIAEC Group is now in a stronger position to seize new opportunities, and provide customers with cost-competitive and integrated MRO solutions, from airframe to engines and components, for modern aircraft fleets of various sizes and composition.”

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  • Esprit launches JV to run Mainland China business

    Esprit launches JV to run Mainland China business

    Hong Kong-listed fashion retailer Esprit has announced a joint venture business to take over the marketing and retailing of its products in Mainland China.

    Through a subsidiary called Million Success, the fashion retailer will hold a 40 percent stake in the Esprit China business, with the majority partner being Mulsanne Group, a company listed in Hong Kong last May. The deal covers the mainland only, not Hong Kong, Macau or Taiwan.

    In a stock-exchange filing on Sunday, Esprit company secretary Patrick Lau Yiu Pong said Mainland China had always been “an important pillar” of Esprit’s strategic plan.

    Subject to regulatory approvals, the joint venture is expected to launch in June next year. Prior to that, Esprit will be closing some underperforming mainland stores, before transferring the assets of the remainder to the JV company.

    “The directors believe that the deal creates a strong base for the Esprit brand to improve the relevance and accelerate growth,” said Pong in the filing.

    Mulsanne Group is an investment holding company engaged in retail and online platforms for menswear, as well as product development. The company’s brands include GXG, GXG Jeans, GXG. Kids, Yatlas and 2XU. The group operates more than 2000 stores across Mainland China.

     

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  • Matsumoto Kiyoshi drugstore to set up JV in Vietnam

    Matsumoto Kiyoshi drugstore to set up JV in Vietnam

    Japanese drugstore operator Matsumoto Kiyoshi is to open stores in Vietnam in partnership with a local company, Lotus Food Group.

    The two parties have formed a joint venture, Matsumoto Kiyoshi Vietnam JSC, to operate a drugstore chain under the name MatsuKiyo in Vietnam. In Japan, Matsumotokiyoshi operates stores under the banner Matsumoto Kiyoshi.

    According to a statement by Matsumotokiyoshi, a JV company has been set up with a capital of US$1.36 million, 51-per-cent owned by Matsumotokiyoshi, 48.87 percent by Lotus Food Group and 0.13 percent owned by Le Van May, the president and CEO of Lotus.

    After its successful expansion in Thailand, Matsumotokiyoshi chose Vietnam as its next Southeast Asian destination, hoping to strengthen its presence further in the region.

    The brand now has 34 stores across Thailand, five in Taiwan and is planning to open in Hong Kong in the near future.

    The first MatsuKiyo store’s location and an opening date has yet to be disclosed.

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  • Hyundai Motor May Raise Stake In China Joint Venture

    Hyundai Motor May Raise Stake In China Joint Venture

    Hyundai Motor said on Tuesday it was considering raising its stake in its underperforming truck joint venture in China, potentially joining other foreign automakers in boosting ownership in the world’s biggest car market. Sichuan Hyundai Motor is Hyundai’s only commercial car venture in China that makes cargo trucks and buses.

    Beijing relaxed rules last year on foreign firms controlling any Chinese automakers or joint venture, removing caps on those making fully electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. Limits on commercial vehicle makers ease in 2020, and by 2022 for the wider car market.

    Hyundai is reviewing various plans to strengthen the joint venture’s competitiveness in changing market conditions in China, the firm said in an emailed statement, without elaborating. Volkswagen AG is exploring the prospect of buying a big stake in its Chinese electric vehicle joint venture partner, sources have told Reuters, while BMW has agreed to buy control of its main joint venture in China.

    Sichuan Hyundai Motor is jointly owned by Hyundai and China’s Sichuan Nanjun Automotive Group, with a stake of 50 per cent each. The Sichuan joint venture, which started operations in 2013, produced 12,228 commercial vehicles last year, down by more than half from 28,786.

    That means that their production facilities are heavily underutilised given that they have a capacity of making 160,000 trucks and 10,000 buses a year.

  • Coffee Day enters Joint Venture with Japanese retailer

    Coffee Day enters Joint Venture with Japanese retailer

    Indian cafe chain Coffee Day has partnered with Japanese sales-floor support-service business Impact HD to grow its retail network in India.

    The joint venture plans to rapidly build market share in the region’s neighborhood retailing sector, launching a minimum of 450 Coffee Day Essentials branded stores in quick succession.

    Coffee Day Group holds a 51 percent controlling share in the joint venture.

    “With about three times the population of Japan in the same standard of living as the Japanese, the multi-retail market environment in which food and daily necessities are purchased on a daily basis remains unexplored,” read a statement released by Impact HD. “In India, kirana stores account for 98 percent of the total, and the remaining 2 percent are hypermarkets and supermarkets that incorporate foreign capital and know-how.”

    The joint venture will convert lagging Cafe Coffee Day cafes into Coffee Day Essentials neighborhood convenience stores.

    The Impact HD JV was among the last major decisions made by Coffee Day Group founder and chairman VG Siddhartha before he took his own life in July.

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