Weekly Highlights of Global Investment | Issue 75, June 22, 2024

Brief

The National Development and Reform Commission of China responds to the EU's plan to impose a temporary countervailing duty on imported Chinese electric vehicles；China will unilaterally waive visas for Australia and New Zealand；SoftBank to Expand US Power Generation Business；Ansemy plans to invest $2 billion to expand Czech chip factory；DingTalk Layout in Overseas Markets；Amazon invests another 10 billion euros in Germany；Ansemy plans to invest $2 billion to expand Czech chip factory；DingTalk Layout in Overseas Markets；Amazon invests another 10 billion euros in Germany；Luckin Coffee plans to cooperate with a Malaysian listed company to enter the Malaysian market；Micron Technology is considering producing HBM in Malaysia；Zero Run Motors began producing electric vehicles in Poland；China Harbor Consortium will invest in Botswana 100MW photovoltaic power plant project；Antai New Energy plans to establish a joint venture production base in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia；Lego Corporation: plans to invest $78 million in the construction of an overseas warehouse project in Ellabell, Georgia, USA；Junda Corporation plans to invest $700 million in building a photovoltaic cell manufacturing plant in Oman.

Policy and Industry  Dynamics

The National Development and Reform Commission of China responds to the EU's plan to impose a temporary countervailing duty on imported Chinese electric vehicles

On June 18th, Xinhua News Agency reported from Beijing that Li Chao, spokesperson for the National Development and Reform Commission, announced that on June 12th, the European Commission released a preliminary ruling on the investigation into anti subsidy measures against electric vehicles imported from China, proposing to impose temporary anti subsidy taxes on such vehicles. This investigation disregards facts, rules, and predetermined results, but in reality, it weaponizes and politicizes the investigation work, undermining fair competition under the guise of fair competition. We firmly oppose this.

China will unilaterally waive visas for Australia and New Zealand

On June 17th, China announced that it will include Australia in the scope of unilateral visa free countries. Half an hour after the announcement, the popularity of Australian tourists searching for Chinese related keywords on Ctrip's international platform Trip.com increased by over 80% compared to the previous day. Li Qiang stated that New Zealand will be included in the scope of unilateral visa free countries, and hopes that the New Zealand side will provide more convenience for Chinese citizens to travel to New Zealand.

MNCs Global Investment

SoftBank to Expand US Power Generation Business

On June 21st, it was reported that Sun Zhengyi, founder of SoftBank Group in Japan, stated that he will mainly expand his power generation business in the United States to provide power for global generative artificial intelligence projects. SB Energy, supported by SoftBank Group, develops and operates renewable power businesses across the United States. Sun Zhengyi also stated that the group will seek "new evolutionary seeds" for investment, mainly outside of Japan.

Ansemy plans to invest $2 billion to expand Czech chip factory

On June 21st, it was announced that onsemi plans to complete a brownfield investment of up to $2 billion (approximately 44 billion Czech kroner) within a few years to expand silicon carbide production capacity. Ansemy collaborates with the government of the Czech Republic to develop incentive programs to support the implementation of investment plans. This investment will become one of the largest private enterprise investment projects in Czech history.

DingTalk Layout in Overseas Markets

News on June 21st, regarding the news of DingTalk's opening of overseas markets, DingTalk responded that there is indeed a related layout. At present, the main purpose is to serve the overseas needs of existing customers, and has been serving the overseas scenarios of hundreds of Chinese enterprises such as Jingke Energy, Trina Solar, and Sunshine Power. In addition, there are reports that DingTalk has started recruiting employees from Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and other regions on LinkedIn, mainly as regional managers and solution managers.

Amazon invests another 10 billion euros in Germany

On June 20, it was reported that the German headquarters of Amazon, an American online e-commerce company, recently announced that it plans to invest another 10 billion euros in Germany, most of which will be used for its cloud Internet services, and a small part of which will be used to expand logistics, robotics and two new corporate headquarters, of which 8.8 billion euros will be invested before 2026. The group currently plans to invest a total of 17.8 billion euros in Germany. By the end of this year, the total number of Amazon employees in Germany will increase to 40000, and Amazon currently has over 1.5 million employees worldwide, most of whom are still in the United States. However, Germany is an important overseas market for Amazon.

Luckin Coffee plans to cooperate with a Malaysian listed company to enter the Malaysian market

News on June 20th, Luckin Coffee will collaborate with a domestic listed company to enter the Malaysian market and actively expand in the next five years. "The two sides will sign a letter of intent for cooperation as early as today, and the main agreement may be finalized within the next 2 to 3 weeks." "Various chain coffee brands are competing with Starbucks due to boycotts caused by the Middle East conflict, resulting in market vacancies." As of the end of March this year, Luckin Coffee's global branch total has reached 18590, with the majority located in China. "; At present, the only overseas market is located in Singapore, with a total of 32 stores.

Micron Technology is considering producing HBM in Malaysia

On June 20th, it was reported that Micron Technology is building an advanced high bandwidth memory testing production line in the United States and expanding its HMB related research and development facilities at its headquarters in Boise, Idaho, including production and validation lines. The company is also considering producing HBM for the first time in Malaysia to capture the increased demand brought about by the artificial intelligence boom.

Zero Run Motors began producing electric vehicles in Poland

On June 19th, European M&A and investment news revealed that Stellantis Group and Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer Leapmotor have been holding a joint venture called Leapmotor International since mid May. The company plans to start operations in Europe in September 2024. In terms of production, the management of Zero Run recently revealed to Jeffrey analysts during a conference call that the first batch of Zero Run T03 was produced at the Stellantis assembly plant in Poland last week. Mass production will begin in September this year to align with the schedule announced in May.

China Harbor Consortium will invest in Botswana 100MW photovoltaic power plant project

On June 17, China Communications Construction Co., Ltd. held the 35th meeting of the 5th Board of Directors, deliberating and passing the Proposal on China Harbor Consortium's Investment in Botswana Zhuwaneng 100MW Photovoltaic Power Plant Project and Related Transactions. The project is located in Jwaneng in the south of Botswana. The project company is jointly established by China Harbor Hainan Company, China Water International Hainan Company and local partners at a share ratio of 55%: 30%: 15% to carry out investment, construction and operation of 100MW photovoltaic power station project. The total investment of the project is approximately 78.32 million US dollars, and the project capital is approximately 19.58 million US dollars.

Antai New Energy plans to establish a joint venture production base in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

News 0n June 17th, Antai New Energy and Bahra Electric signed an agreement to establish a joint venture and factory in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. After completion, the factory will provide solar tracking system products and services for the Middle East region, and will closely cooperate with local IPP and EPC. It is expected that the joint venture factory will become the world's first overseas joint venture production base for Antai New Energy after its landing. The goal is to achieve an annual production capacity of 8GW by 2025, 15GW by 2026, and 24GW by 2027.

Lego Corporation plans to invest $78 million in the construction of an overseas warehouse project in Ellabell, Georgia, USA

On June 17th, Lego announced that it plans to invest in the construction of the "Ellabell Overseas Warehouse Project in Georgia, USA", with an estimated construction cost of 78 million US dollars (approximately 550 million yuan). The company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Ellabell Bryan Lecangs LLC, plans to be the investment subject for this investment project. The Ellabell Overseas Warehouse Project in Georgia, USA is a fundraising project for the company to issue stocks to specific targets. The funds required for this construction will be invested by the company in advance, and will be exchanged after the company issues stocks to specific targets to raise funds.

Junda Corporation plans to invest $700 million in building a photovoltaic cell manufacturing plant in Oman

On June 13th, Junda Corporation announced that it had jointly signed an Investment Intention Agreement with the Investment Authority of Oman, intending to invest in the construction of an annual production capacity of 10GW of high-efficiency photovoltaic cells in Oman. Junda Group's main products are N-type TOPCon photovoltaic cells, and the average conversion efficiency of the N-type TOPCon photovoltaic cells produced by the company exceeds 26%. The company plans to invest in a TOPCon photovoltaic cell manufacturing plant with a capacity of 10GW in Oman. The investment amount of this project is approximately 700 million US dollars, and the production capacity of 10GW will be divided into two phases of construction, each with 5GW.

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