Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering

Chinese President Xi Jining courts foreign direct investment (FDI) in encouraging letter to the Global CEO Council. China plans to impose sanctions on United States (US) company Lockheed Martin because of the latter’s weapons sales to Taiwan. China’s new, strict cybersecurity laws and regulations have driven Morgan Stanley, a US investment banking firm, to block its interns in China from remotely accessing its virtual network. The recent border clash with China has increased the pressure on New Delhi to reduce the country’s dependence on Chinese solar goods. Various special interest groups have called for the US to sanction China’s CRRC after the US Pentagon labeled it as backed by the Chinese military, saying it represents a security threat. Despite calls for a boycott in the wake of India’s border clash with China, many are skeptical Chinese smartphones can be displaced from the India market. Japanese and British trade negotiators agree they will not require encryption keys or the localization of data. Japan’s Mizuho Financial Group faces growing shareholder pressure to stop financing coal projects. Japan helps Japanese companies move to Vietnam and also helps them shift production lines to Japan as well as various Southeast Asian countries. Myanmar gives three Japanese firms permission to build a mega-liquified natural gas power plant. Korea to spend billions to promote an innovation-based economy. European Union to restart review of the merger of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering and Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings. Incheon Port Authority joins the United Nations Global Compact. The backlash against Huawei creates some openings for Samsung, though it is unclear if the Korean firm can exploit them.

JPMorgan (China) intends to assume full ownership of all its mainland China operations by 2021 to take advantage of China’s financial sector opening. Chinese regulators approve United States (US) credit card firm Mastercard Inc.’s application to establish a bankcard clearing house joint venture. Peter Navarro urges the US to reduce its reliance on Chinese pharmaceutical and medical supplies. New US regulations expanding the authority of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) with respect to the review of foreign direct investment (FDI) have gone into effect, with notable implications for Chinese FDI in the US. Coronavirus impact on supply chains and production in China accelerates move already occurring because of US-China trade war and rising labor costs in China. Japan is excluded from list of countries exempted from new CFIUS review ambit, but this may change. Merger of Korean shipbuilding giants potentially affected by Japanese filing of World Trade Organization petition, charging illegal subsidies. Korea’s SK Engineering & Construction wins mega-deal to build a beltway in Kazakhstan.

China has opened the upstream exploration of its oil and natural gas resources by foreign investors by scrapping joint venture (JV) restrictions. In the first half of the year, the top geographic destination for Chinese inward foreign direct investment (FDI) continued to be Jiangsu, which attracted large amounts of inward FDI (FDI) in emerging industries from countries like Great Britain. Cross-border investments between China and the United States (US) totaled $13 billion in the first half of 2019, dropping to a five-year low due to the trade war and other factors. In 2018, Chinese investors poured money into Indian start-ups due to the latter’s more affordable labor market and fast economic growth. Japan’s Cabinet approves removal of South Korea from its so-called white list with Seoul promising retaliation. Fears of a more stringent review process flowing from current tensions lead Hyundai Heavy Industries to delay filing for an antitrust review in regard to its planned takeover of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering. Seoul organizes information events for Korean companies that might be affected by Tokyo’s decision to remove Korea from its “whitelist,” with Korean firms complaining the initiatives are “‘unhelpful and belated.’” SK Innovation contemplates supplying electric vehicle (EV) battery separators to its Korean competitors because this could aid Korean businesses confronting Japanese export restrictions on EV battery separators.

Inward foreign direct investment (FDI) in China shows growth over the previous month year over year (YOY) and for the first eight months of 2016 YOY. China’s State Council announces China will adopt a nationwide negative list by October 1. Chinese outward FDI (OFDI) dramatically jumps over first 8 months of 2016. Chinese OFDI (COFDI) surges dramatically over first eight months of 2016. British government surprise review of Hinkley Point C nuclear plant deal involving China General Nuclear Corporation (CGNC) results in approval. Chinese government and CGNC pleased by British decision on Hinkley Point C. China is major investor in Myanmar’s power sector. Peru’s President expresses concerns about the financial viability and environmental consequences of a Chinese-proposed transcontinental railway from Brazil to Peru. Brexit may drive some political realignments between Japan and Britain, though Japanese companies await developments. GM Korea President James Kim calls for an end to worker strikes and warns of adverse consequences for GM Korea. Korean Fintech firms will push the Korean Fair Trade Commission to force Apple to open its APIs for near field communication. Following high level leader summit, Korean firms win many deals in Russia. Indonesia tax amnesty fails to produce anticipated results. Indonesian minister’s proposal to soften 2009 Mining Law draws fire. Thailand reports the Sino-Thai high-speed rail initiative is chugging forward.