Day: May 14, 2025

Starbucks has contacted private equity firms, technology companies and others as it considers options for its China business, including a possible stake sale, according to people familiar with the matter. Advertisement The coffee chain sent out letters via a financial adviser to several potential investors this week to solicit views on the China business and how to grow it, the people said, asking not to be identified because the process is private. A transaction could value the assets at several billion dollars, the people said. Bloomberg News reported previously that…

China is ramping up its efforts to support businesses and workers affected by the trade war, with officials from two key government departments holding separate meetings with private sector representatives within hours of each other on Wednesday. Advertisement The back-to-back talks signal that China still has work to do to stabilise its economy and labour market, as uncertainties linger despite Beijing and Washington agreeing to dramatically roll back tariffs on each other’s goods on Monday. Bai Qingyuan, deputy chief of the State Administration of Market Regulation (SAMR), met with representatives…

Indebted property developer China Vanke has secured a 1.55 billion yuan (US$215.4 million) loan from state-owned Shenzhen Metro Group, offering some respite as it looks to meet US$3.4 billion in debt obligations this year. Advertisement Shenzhen’s railway operator, Vanke’s largest shareholder with a 27.2 per cent stake, is extending the loan to the cash-strapped developer to help cover interest and principal repayments, according to a stock exchange filing on Wednesday evening. The loan has a 36-month term and may be extended or repaid early upon mutual agreement. It carries an…

Advertisement The observers noted that Duterte, now likely to survive an impeachment trial in July, was poised to become a formidable candidate in the country’s 2028 presidential election, and her “pragmatic” stance on China could usher in better China-Philippines ties if she succeeded in the race. Accused of misusing millions in public funds and plotting to assassinate Marcos, Duterte needs nine out of 24 senators to vote in her favour to block a conviction. With 12 Senate seats up for grabs in the midterms on Monday, preliminary results on Wednesday…

China is launching dedicated recruitment programmes to lure Chinese-born researchers who are considering leaving the United States, a source told the South China Morning Post. Advertisement The offer comes amid major funding cuts and declining academic freedom under the Trump administration. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior geologist based in Beijing said one of the programmes offered “very attractive” postdoctoral positions designed to appeal to researchers thinking about returning to China due to financial and political challenges in the US. “I’ve heard of offers approaching US$100,000 per year for…

The costs of broad-based tariffs on Chinese imports remain too high even if the tariff reduction deal between Washington and Beijing lasts beyond 90 days, the head of a soybean industry group told US senators on Wednesday. Advertisement After weekend talks in Switzerland, the two nations agreed to reduce tariffs temporarily until they reach a more substantive deal, with US tariffs on Chinese imports lowered to 30 per cent, from 145 per cent, and Chinese tariffs on US imports cut to 10 per cent, from 125 per cent. “While this…