1.FORD:-Ford Motor Co said on Wednesday it would invest $900 million to modernize its factories in Thailand that support production of its Ranger pickup and Everest SUV, in what will be the company’s largest single investment in the country.
The investment would be through its own manufacturing plant and AutoAlliance Thailand, its joint venture with Japan’s Mazda Corporation, Ford said in a statement.
Thailand is Asia’s fourth-largest auto assembly and export hub, featuring some of the world’s largest carmakers such as Toyota and Honda. The industry accounts for about 10% of Thailand’s GDP and manufacturing jobs.
The expansion would add about 1,250 new jobs at Ford’s plants and about $400 million of the investment would go towards its supply chain network, the automaker said.
2.VISA:Visa Inc , the world’s largest payment processor, on Wednesday launched a global crypto advisory service for clients such as banks and also merchants, as the adoption of digital currencies gains steam.
The move by Visa comes against the backdrop of unprecedented investor demand for crypto services and the company’s latest offering is geared towards financial institutions eager to attract or retain customers with a crypto offering, retailers looking to delve into non-fungible tokens (NFTs), or central banks exploring digital currencies.
Visa’s services include educating institutions about cryptocurrencies, allowing clients to use the payment processor’s network for digital offerings, and helping manage backend operations.
“We came to Visa to learn more about crypto and stablecoins and the use cases that are most relevant for our retail and commercial business lines,” said Uma Wilson, executive vice president at UMB Bank, a regional U.S. lender.
A new global study by Visa showed nearly 40% of crypto owners surveyed would be likely or very likely to switch their primary bank to one that offers crypto-related products in the next 12 months.
3.FACEBOOK:-Meta Platforms Inc said on Tuesday it will fully reopen its U.S. offices on Jan. 31 next year while giving its employees an opportunity to delay their scheduled return by three to five months.
The social media giant’s new “office deferral program” will ensure that its employees have flexibility in returning back to offices, Meta said.
Meta, formerly known as Facebook Inc , said it will also stick to its earlier plans that employees who can work remotely can request for full-time remote work.
“We recognize that some employees aren’t quite ready to come back. We continue to offer a variety of options to choose what works best for them, so our employees can make informed decisions about where they work,” said Janelle Gale, vice president, human resources of the company.
4.EVERGRANDE:China Evergrande Group’s shares hit an all-time low on Wednesday after a missed debt payment deadline put the developer at risk of becoming China’s biggest defaulter, although hopes of a managed debt restructuring calmed fears of a messy collapse.
So far, any Evergrande fallout has been broadly contained, and with policymakers becoming more vocal and markets more familiar with the issue, consequences of its troubles are less likely to be widely felt, market watchers have said.
5.HYUNDAI :South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co said on Wednesday it planned to invest 40 billion rupees ($530 million) to launch six electric vehicles in India by 2028, making a clean driving push in a country with some of the world’s most polluted cities.
Hyundai, India’s second largest carmaker, will launch affordable and premium electric models including sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and sedans, starting with its first electric vehicle (EV) in 2022, said Tarun Garg, director sales and marketing for Hyundai Motor India.
