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Good morning and welcome back to FirstFT Asia. In today’s newsletter:
China likely to delay rare earths export controls
OpenAI’s unconventional dealmaking
The top executive who blew the whistle twice
A traveller’s guide to Hong Kong
We start with the US-China talks in Malaysia over the weekend, which have raised hopes of a trade truce extension when Donald Trump and Xi Jinping meet later this week. Here’s what to know.
Rare earths relief? Following two days of negotiations in Kuala Lumpur, US officials expect China to delay introducing export controls on rare earths. Beijing’s announcement of the sweeping controls this month triggered a sharp escalation in trade tensions and threatened to torpedo plans for Trump and Xi’s first summit since 2019. A senior US official told the FT that Beijing’s likely delay was prompted by Washington’s threat of additional tariffs as well as pressure from other countries that rely on the minerals.
Looking ahead: Treasury secretary Scott Bessent, who led the US delegation, said the sides had agreed on a “very positive” framework for Trump and Xi to approve when they meet at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in South Korea on Thursday. Trump arrived in Malaysia on Sunday as part of a week-long trip to Asia. The US president flies to Japan today to meet Sanae Takaichi, the new prime minister, before heading to South Korea for his summit with the Chinese leader.
Here’s what else we’re keeping tabs on today:
Economic data: Taiwan publishes monthly jobs figures.
‘Davos in the Desert’: Saudi Arabia’s state-backed Future Investment Initiative event begins in Riyadh. Speakers include JPMorgan Chase chief executive Jamie Dimon, his HSBC counterpart Georges Elhedery and Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon.
Five more top stories
1. OpenAI chief Sam Altman and an inner circle of executives masterminded deals worth as much as $1.5tn with little input from external advisers, despite unusual structures that tie the start-up’s fortunes to some of the world’s largest companies. Read more about OpenAI’s unconventional dealmaking process.
2. The US risks falling further behind China in the global electric car race after the Trump administration’s championing of the petrol engine led to a steep drop in EV investments, industry executives have warned. EV-related investments tumbled by almost a third to $8.1bn in the three months to September, according to new data.
3. French police have made the first arrests linked to the heist at the Louvre last week, when four burglars broke into the Paris museum and made off with eight pieces of royal jewellery. One of the suspects was arrested at Charles de Gaulle airport while attempting to leave France. Read the full story.
4. A CVC executive who is one of Spain’s most powerful yet discreet dealmakers has been dragged into the spotlight by a tax probe into a multibillion-euro healthcare deal. Javier de Jaime Guijarro is being investigated by a Spanish court over allegations of tax fraud that threaten to rock Spain’s private equity sector.
5. Novartis has agreed to buy Avidity Biosciences, a biotech focused on rare diseases, for $12bn, in the biggest acquisition by the drugmaker in more than a decade. Vas Narasimhan, the longtime chief executive of Novartis, said two of the three potential drugs in Avidity’s pipeline have the potential to reach annual peak sales of many billions of dollars.
FT Magazine
Meet the top executive who blew the whistle — twice. Mark MacGann leaked the Uber Files, exposing the tech giant’s lobbying, influence peddling and rule breaking across multiple continents. The decision cost him professionally and placed him under legal threat. Now, after another personal reckoning, he reveals the inside truth about telecoms conglomerate Veon.
We’re also reading . . .
Japan: A catalogue of workplace microaggressions points to a downward shift in tolerance levels, writes Leo Lewis.
Exclamation marks in emails: Pilita Clark on what the research shows about people who litter work emails with exclamation points.
Trump’s ballroom blitz: The US president’s vast refurbishment of the White House ignores questions of style and scale, writes FT architecture critic Edwin Heathcote.
Fan power: Amplified by social media, fanbases now feel closer than ever to their idols — for good and for ill, writes FT pop critic Ludovic Hunter-Tilney.
Chart of the day
Argentines voted on Sunday in midterm elections that may determine the future of President Javier Milei’s free market reforms, as a crisis of confidence in his government roils Argentine assets.
Take a break from the news . . .
Don’t miss HTSI’s traveller’s guide to Hong Kong. David Coggins explored the ever-evolving city’s many attractions, from dim sum and horseracing to its famed tailors. “The culture of the city was always to dress up, and that remains the norm,” says Mark Cho, co-founder of The Armoury.
