Day: October 8, 2025

Japan has an ‘enshortification’ problem

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor, pharmacist, tax accountant, bus driver, chef. Name the profession, and Japan is likely running perilously low on its practitioners — not just to the point of inconvenience, but to somewhere a little more existential. So while there is much to welcome in the ruling Liberal Democratic party’s election of Sanae Takaichi as both its new leader and (we may reasonably assume) the country’s first female prime…

China unveils sweeping rare earth export controls to protect ‘national security’

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. China has unveiled sweeping new export controls on rare earths and related technologies, as Beijing seeks to protect and leverage its dominant position in the global supply chain for critical minerals. The restrictions announced on Thursday by China’s commerce ministry will for the first time create a Chinese version of the US foreign direct product rule, measures which Washington has used to block semiconductor-related exports to China from third countries.…

China tightens export rules for crucial rare earths

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China has tightened its rules on the export of rare earths – the elements that are crucial to the manufacture of many high-tech products. New regulations announced by the country’s Ministry of Commerce formalise existing rules on processing technology and unauthorised overseas cooperation. China is also likely to block exports to foreign arms manufacturers and some semiconductor firms. Rare earth exports are a key sticking point in the months-long negotiations between Beijing and Washington over trade and tariffs. The announcement comes as China’s President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart…

Japan’s top insurer bets on engineering acquisition to mitigate climate risk

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Japan’s largest non-life insurer is betting its acquisition of an engineering consultancy that specialises in natural disaster mitigation can help keep customers’ expenses in check and drive profits as climate change intensifies and raises recovery costs. Tokio Marine’s ¥97.8bn ($642mn) purchase of Integrated Design & Engineering (ID&E) this year is being held up by the Japanese group and analysts as a solution to fears of a growing gap between insured…

Greater Bay Area must seize the chance to ignite the Olympic flame

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As the world awaits the selection of the host for the 2036 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Greater Bay Area development zone stands at a crossroads. More than a celebration of elite athleticism, bidding for and hosting the games offers transformational benefits that could elevate the region socially, culturally and economically for generations. Advertisement From fostering community integration and inspiring youth to championing health initiatives and instilling regional pride, the Olympics present a rare and powerful opportunity for Hong Kong and other cities covered by the bay area scheme…

China places new export controls on rare earth production technology

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China on Thursday announced export controls on rare earth production technology as it looks to cement its dominance in the sector amid intensifying rivalry with the United States. Advertisement “Exporters should strengthen their compliance awareness,” the Ministry of Commerce said in an online statement. “They must understand the primary uses of their exports and judge whether they are dual-use items.” The decision will take effect immediately, according to the statement. China is the world’s leading producer of rare earth elements, which are essential to the production of everything from electric…

HSBC offers $13.6bn for 100% control of Hong Kong lender Hang Seng

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. HSBC has made a HK$106bn ($13.6bn) offer to buy out minority investors in Hong Kong lender Hang Seng Bank as it presses ahead with a restructuring plan. Europe’s largest bank has offered HK$155 a share, a 30 per cent premium over Hang Seng’s closing price on Wednesday, to take the unit fully private and delist its Hong Kong-listed shares. The all-cash deal values Hang Seng at HK$290bn. HSBC’s share price…

HSBC offers $13.6bn deal to delist local Hong Kong unit

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. HSBC has proposed a HK$106bn ($13.6bn) transaction to delist its local Hong Kong lender Hang Seng Bank as Europe’s largest bank presses ahead with a restructuring plan. HSBC has offered to pay HK$155 a share, a 30 per cent premium over Wednesday’s closing price, to take Hang Seng fully private in an all-cash deal that values it at HK$290bn. UK-headquartered HSBC took control of Hang Seng during a banking crisis…

HSBC to take Hang Seng Bank private amid worsening property loans

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HSBC Holdings announced a plan to privatise its Hang Seng Bank subsidiary, drawing the curtains on half a century of the unit’s publicly traded status amid worsening real estate loans in Hong Kong. Advertisement The London-based bank would buy all outstanding Hang Seng Bank shares for HK$155 each in cash, or a premium of 30 per cent over the stock’s Wednesday closing price of HK$119, according to a statement to the Hong Kong exchange on Thursday. The Hang Seng shares would be cancelled after the purchase, according to the plan.…

FirstFT: Narendra Modi inaugurates Gautam Adani’s $2bn Mumbai airport

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This article is an on-site version of our FirstFT newsletter. Subscribers can sign up to our Asia, Europe/Africa or Americas edition to get the newsletter delivered every weekday morning. Explore all of our newsletters here Good morning and welcome back to FirstFT Asia. In today’s newsletter: We start in Mumbai, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday inaugurated a new airport developed by Gautam Adani on the fringes of the city, in the latest sign of the Indian tycoon’s domestic rehabilitation after fraud allegations. What to know: The airport — shaped…