Tag: Alibaba

AirAsia Group Welcomes Dr. Stanley Choi as Substantial Shareholder

February 28, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

AirAsia Group Berhad (Kuala Lumpur: 5099.KL) is pleased to announce that Dr. Stanley Choi Chiu Fai has joined the Group as a substantial shareholder via his wholly-owned entity Positive Boom Ltd. on 18 February 2021. He acquired 167.1 million AirAsia shares in the first tranche of the private placement, raising his shareholding in the group to 332.5 million shares equating to a 8.96% stake.

Dr. Stanley Choi is the Chairman of Head & Shoulders Financial Group, as well as the Chairman and Executive Director of International Entertainment Corporation (IEC), a company listed on the main board of Hong Kong Stock Exchange (1009.HK). He is also the only co-founding member from Hong Kong for YunFeng Capital – a private equity fund started in 2010 by a group of successful entrepreneurs and influential industry leaders, named after its co-founder Jack Ma Yun, founder of Alibaba Group, and David Yu Feng, founder of Target Media.

His previous directorships include his appointment as Executive Director of Target Insurance (Holdings) Limited (stock code: 6161.HK) from 2014 to 2019, Director of ZhongAn Online P&C Insurance Co. Limited (stock code: 6060.HK) from 2013 to 2016 and Executive Director of Media Asia Group Holdings Limited (stock code: 8075.HK) from 2011 to 2015.

The successful businessman possesses more than 20 years of experience in financial services and merger & acquisition transactions, with a particular focus on private equity investment. He was a seed investor of Kidswant, a Chinese-startup that has now become a leading maternity, baby and children’s product retailer in China with a valuation of over USD3 billion.

Dr Stanley Choi, Chairman of Head & Shoulders Financial Group said: “It is my great pleasure and honour to gain a substantial ownership stake in AirAsia Group – the world’s best low cost airline and one of Asia’s biggest known brands that has successfully pivoted into digital business as well. I believe the worst period in the aviation industry’s history has now passed. I am confident that air travel will bounce back and that under Tan Sri Tony’s and Datuk Kamarudin’s leadership, and with vaccines being rolled out across the region and globally, AirAsia has a very bright future ahead. I look forward to working with everyone at AirAsia.”

Datuk Kamarudin Meranun, Executive Chairman of AirAsia Group said: “We are thrilled to welcome Dr Stanley Choi as a strategic shareholder of AirAsia Group, bringing an impressive track record and solid reputation as a business powerhouse to our Group. We are confident that he will add value to our digital business development in China through his vast experience and network with top digital players in the country.

Dr Stanley Choi graduated with a Master’s Degree of Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, United States in 1996. In 2013, he obtained a Doctoral Degree of Business Administration from the City University of Hong Kong.

Wall Street Set To Jump On Temporary Trade Detente

December 3, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures jumped around 2 percent on Monday, setting Wall Street up to add to last week’s strong gains, after the United States and China declared a temporary trade truce.

Strong gains in Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and other technology stocks pushed Nasdaq futures NQc1 up more than 2 percent, while S&P 500 e-minis ESc1 touched a near 1-month high. Gains in Dow futures set the blue-chip index up for a near 450-point gain at the open.

Washington and Beijing agreed to a 90-day trade ceasefire during the G20 summit in Argentina on Saturday and U.S. President Donald Trump said China has agreed to “reduce and remove” tariffs below the 40 percent level that the country is currently charging on U.S.-made vehicles.

However, the White House also said that the existing 10 percent tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods would be lifted to 25 percent if no deal was reached within 90 days.

The trade optimism spilt over to shares of Apple, which gained 3.3 percent in premarket trading.

Trump had said last week that the next round of tariffs could also be placed on the company’s iPhones, as part of the $267 billion list of goods not yet hit by tariffs.

Trade-sensitive Caterpillar Inc (CAT.N), Boeing Co (BA.N) gained over 4.5 percent each, while U.S. carmakers General Motors Co (GM.N), Ford Motor Co (F.N) and Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) rose between 3 percent and 4 percent.

Shares of energy companies also rose as crude prices surged, helping lift Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) up by 2.1 percent and Chevron Corp (CVX.N) by 2.4 percent. [O/R]

“Most of us were hoping that we would come out of these discussions with no new tariffs and a pause, which is ultimately what we got,” said Randy Frederick, vice president of trading and derivatives for Charles Schwab in Austin, Texas.

Image from RT.com

Chinese EV Maker NIO Stock Rises On U.S. debut

September 12, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

(Reuters) – Shares of Chinese electric carmaker NIO Inc (NIO.N) recovered sharply from a 15 percent fall in their market debut on Wednesday, a day after the company’s IPO was priced at the lower end of the expected range.

NIO shares rose as much as 11 percent to $6.93 in afternoon trading, giving it a market capitalization of $7.11 billion.

The rebound in shares was a welcome relief for NIO, whose offering came under pressure as investors have turned wary about electric carmakers due to struggles at its chief rival Tesla Inc (TSLA.O).

Investors have worried about Tesla’s cash-burn rate as the company struggles to meet its production targets amid its efforts to become a mass-market automaker.

NIO began deliveries of its ES8 SUVs in June and in August sold 1,121 units. The company plans to launch a second, lower-priced electric sport-utility vehicle, the ES6, by the end of this year.

NIO, founded by Chinese entrepreneur William Li in 2014, incurred a net loss of $502.6 million in the first six months of 2018 on $6.95 million in revenue. It has $677 million in cash and cash equivalents as of June 30.

The listing – the third-biggest in the United States by a Chinese firm this year – comes as Chinese EV makers seek fresh capital to develop new products and finance investments in areas including autonomous driving and battery technologies.

NIO, formerly known as NextEV and backed by Chinese tech heavyweight Tencent Holdings Ltd <0700.HK>, is one of several largely Chinese-funded EV startups betting on the benefits of local production to compete with firms such as Tesla.

Having begun promoting EVs in 2009, China aims to become a dominant global producer as it bids to curb vehicle emissions, boost energy security and promote high-tech industries.

Several EV makers such as WM Motor Technology Co and Xpeng Motor have also raised funds from heavyweight investors including tech giants Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA.N), Baidu Inc (BIDU.O) and Tencent.

Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley led the IPO. Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and UBS were also part of the process.

(Reporting by Diptendu Lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Anil D’Silva)

AirAsia Group Welcomes Dr. Stanley Choi as Substantial Shareholder

Wall Street Set To Jump On Temporary Trade Detente

Chinese EV Maker NIO Stock Rises On U.S. debut

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