1.NISSAN:-Nissan Motor Co announced it will spend 2 trillion yen ($17.59 billion) over the next five years to accelerate vehicle electrification, aiming to catch up with rivals in one of the fastest growth areas for the automobile industry.
This is the first time Japan’s No.3 automaker, one of the world’s first mass-market electric vehicle (EV) makers with its Leaf model more than a decade ago, is unveiling a comprehensive electrification plan.
Nissan will be spending twice as much as it did in the previous 10 years for a share of the EV market as rivals, including Toyota Motor Corp and newer entrants such as Tesla Inc, move ahead with their electric-car plans.
Nissan said on Monday it will introduce 23 electrified vehicles by 2030, including 15 electric vehicles (EVs), and wants to reduce lithium-ion battery costs by 65% within eight years. It also plans to introduce potentially game-changing all solid-state batteries by March 2029.
Those commitments, Chief Executive Makoto Uchida said, would make EVs affordable to more drivers.
“We will advance our effort to democratise electrification,” he said in an online presentation.
Some analysts were unimpressed with Nissan’s plan, noting it was already behind rivals in the electrification game.
Masayuki Otani, senior analyst at Securities Japan Ltd, also said auto stocks were falling on Monday because of market concerns about a new coronavirus variant and the impact it could
2.EVERGRANDE :Developer China Evergrande Group’s shares fell as much as 4.8% on Monday after chairman Hui Ka Yan divested some of his stake in the company to raise about $344 million.
The company’s Hong Kong shares tumbled 8.40% to HK$2.29 ($0.29) by 11:53 PM ET (4:53 AM GMT). Shares in electric vehicle unit China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group Ltd. also tumbled 13.11% to HK$4.11 after China Evergrande said it was still exploring ways to pump capital into the unit with different investors.
Hui sold a total of 1.2 billion China Evergrande shares, the company said on Friday. The shares had an average price of HK$2.23 each, a 20% discount to the closing price on Nov. 24, and lowered Hui’s stake to 67.9% from 77%. The buyers were not disclosed.
China Evergrande has been desperately raising capital to tackle its more than $300 billion in liabilities and Chinese authorities have reportedly told Hui to use part of his personal wealth to help pay bondholders.
Investors are now waiting to see if the company will be able to meet its obligations on coupon payments totaling $82.5 million that were due on Nov. 6. The 30-day grace period for the payment ends on Dec 6.
China Evergrande is the most prominent player in the Chinese property sector to deal with debt woes and credit rating downgrades within the past few months, but it is far from alone. Fantasia Holdings Group Co. Ltd. suspended trading in its own Hong Kong shares on Monday, pending the release of information. It said on Thursday that a winding-up petition was filed against a unit related to an outstanding loan.
3.AMAZON:-Amazon has asked India’s antitrust regulator to revoke its approval for Future Retail’s $3.4 billion sale of retail assets to Reliance, saying it was “illegally obtained”, violating an order suspending the deal, a letter seen by Reuters shows.
The approval for the deal was a “nullity in the eyes of law” as an arbitrator’s order was still in force, according to the letter sent by Amazon.com Inc to the Competition Commission of India (CCI) last week.
The battle between two of the world’s richest men, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Reliance Industries Ltd boss Mukesh Ambani, marks a contest for preeminence in India’s booming, nearly trillion-dollar retail market.
The winner in the fight for Future Retail Ltd, India’s second-largest retailer and Amazon’s estranged local partner, will get pole position in the race to meet the daily needs of more than a billion people.
The CCI, Amazon, Future Group and Reliance did not respond to requests for comment.
4.DAIMLER : Daimler Truck Chief Martin Daum expects the global chip shortage to hit revenues by several billion euros this year and sees the problem continuing into next year, Automobilwoche reported on Sunday.
The world’s largest commercial vehicle maker, to be spun off from Daimler on Dec. 10, has outlined cost-cutting measures aimed at boosting profit margins as it struggles with chip shortages hurting the entire sector.
Daum said there would be a significant financial hit.
“It is a huge sum,” Daum told Automobilwoche, saying the company would sell a “mid five-digit number” fewer vehicles than it could have.
With an average price of 100,000 euros ($113,170) per vehicle, this means several billion euros in lost revenues, reported Automobilwoche.
“We also have many vehicles sitting in the factory where just one part is missing. These deliveries are a priority because they are already sold,” said Daum.
5.SHOPIFY :Canadian e-commerce company Shopify Inc recorded worldwide sales of nearly $2.9 billion on Black Friday, an increase of about 21% in comparison to last year, the company said Saturday.
New York, London and Los Angeles were among the top-selling cities, the company said, while apparel and accessories was the top-selling product category.
Shopify also said it funded 23,000+ tonnes of carbon removal to counteract emissions from the delivery of every order placed on its platform on Black Friday.
