Latest news with #Sino
Straits Times
17 hours ago
- Automotive
- Straits Times
Car review: Kia EV5 stands tall while being middle of the road
High 5: Standing above 1.7m, the EV5's stature is befitting that of an SUV. ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG SINGAPORE – Chinese cars are bulldozing their way up the sales chart, leaving many an incumbent heaving and wheezing in their wake. From my armchair, it appears the only ones who can stand up to the Sino onslaught in the long run are the South Koreans. In terms of design, functionality and user experience, electric cars from Hyundai and sister brand Kia are a notch above most European brands. And they are a tad less fastidious than the Chinese, while offering nearly as good value for money. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
West Australian
5 days ago
- Business
- West Australian
CITIC Pacific fights Palmer's $1.8b-plus Queensland Nickel claim, blasting his ‘idiosyncratic' activities
CITIC Pacific has fired back in a $1.8 billion-plus legal battle with Clive Palmer, claiming the royalties billionaire expected the Pilbara miner to underwrite his 'idiosyncratic business activities' for three decades. Fighting Mr Palmer's attempts to recover alleged losses from the January 2016 collapse of Queensland Nickel, CITIC barrister Noel Hutley said an agreement for the Sino Iron project did not cover every Palmer investment. 'He wants some sort of guarantee for his commercial decisions,' Mr Hutley said. 'We underwrite it — no matter how significant and silly those investments and what he is choosing for 30 years.' Mr Palmer claims in the WA Supreme Court that CITIC's delays in paying disputed royalties from the Sino project caused Queensland Nickel's collapse and the permanent closure of its Yabulu refinery, near Townsville. CITIC and Mr Palmer's flagship Mineralogy struck a series of deals in the late 2000s that led to the Hong Kong-listed company developing the $20 billion Sino magnetite iron ore mining, processing and shipping operation around Cape Preston. Thanks to Mineralogy holding the Pilbara land under a State Agreement, billions of dollars in iron ore royalties have flowed to Mr Palmer since 2013 and made him one of Australia's richest men. While the major category of royalty was always uncontested, Mr Palmer and CITIC fought in the WA Supreme Court for four years over a smaller, more complex royalty originally based on a scrapped price benchmark. Mr Palmer won a Supreme Court judgment in 2017 to be paid upwards of $200m in this second royalty category. Opening Mr Palmer's action aimed at connecting delayed royalty payments to the Queensland Nickel collapse, the billionaire's barrister Peter Dunning said CITIC imagined it was somehow not in breach of its contractual obligations for four years. 'Their breach is a matter of record in this court,' Mr Dunning said. CITIC says its main agreement with Mineralogy was related to the Sino Iron project and not Mr Palmer's other business activities. And if Mr Palmer established he was covered by an indemnity under this agreement, CITIC says he had not provided evidence of what he lost on Queensland Nickel or that he had taken all reasonable steps to minimise these losses. Mr Hutley said the evidence would show that Mr Palmer did not comply with his obligations under the agreement through which he wants CITIC to pay for his purported Queensland Nickel losses. The barrister told Justice Michael Lundberg that Mr Palmer's 'obvious unwillingness to step into the witness box' should be assessed against evidence that the billionaires did not comply with his obligations. 'He declines to make himself available . . . to explain what he did, why he did it and what he believed or understood about these events,' Mr Hutley said. CITIC claims that Mr Palmer admitted in other proceeding he could have funded Queensland Nickel when it was distressed. Justice Lundberg earlier this month killed an expert report commissioned by Mr Palmer estimating the post-collapse value of Yabulu to be anything from zero to $227m after its collapse. The hearing continues on Monday.
Time Out
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Tatar Bunar
Tatar Bunar is a very nice place for a meal. Tall, spindly trees grow out of huge pots and the branches drape over tables. Tall windows are hung with elegant white curtains. A buzzing open kitchen sits at the centre and there's a little shaded courtyard out the back. But more than that, it's got a 'this new restaurant is a big deal' feel to it, like joining the three-hour queue for Oma for the first time. Waiters are rushed off of their feet (but handling it), and the place is packed. For many excited guests, this is their first time trying Ukrainian food, and amid a Ukrainian food boom in London (Sino, another Ukrainian restaurant, has just opened in Notting Hill) – things feel exciting. Very exciting. Tartare comes with elderberry capers, pickled cucumbers, and my new favourite discovery, sprats mayo The clientele is, expectedly, a bit posh – we're in Shoreditch after all, and at a restaurant everybody is talking about – but prices here are genuinely reasonable, the food rich and decadent, and the portions generous. We sit up at the bar facing the kitchen, where watch chefs sear meat on the grill and drizzle oil over starters. They are performing a rather serious operation here; the arrival of food is rapid, and you get the feeling waiters have you on a two-hour timer, ready to slap down the bill and greet the next customer. But like I said, it's exciting. My first starter is pickled cherry tomatoes on a bed of lemon yoghurt, and pretty much a mandatory order, noted as Tatar Bunar's 'best dish' on its own menu. It's a lovely, glossy thing, punchy, vinegary and covered in fresh herbs. Before I can catch my breath, the tartare is here too. It was at this point that I began to wish I could slow the whole process down, and spend an hour with each of these lovely little meals, giving them my undying attention. The tartare is served in a whopping great wooden bowl with soft onion bread. It's made from both lamb and beef, and not totally raw as it's seared ever so slightly on the grill. It comes with a tangy hit of tiny elderberry capers, pickled cucumbers, and my new favourite discovery, sprats mayo, which is exactly what it sounds like. And get this – it's topped with bryndza, a mellow sheep's cheese, meaning each bite hits the back of your throat with salty, savoury flavour. Our next starter is mellow and smooth. It's sprats and potatoes, and each element is served in its own little dish – the silky sprats, laid flat, smooth and boneless like a piece of art – the boiled potatoes, naked and buttered and scattered with dill – and the bright pink pickled onions. As a trio they're things of simplicity and beauty, soft and delicate. We're recommended the lamb chops, deeply smoky and tender, and the cheburek, a deep-fried pastry filled with tender minced lamb, similar to a Turkish börek, which is huge, and the perfect crispy, puffy vessel for sour cream and ajika, a spicy, red peppery chill sauce. For dessert, we tried the texturally confusing, but wonderful crepes with cottage cheese and jam, and the soft cheese-filled varenyk, a Ukrainian dumpling, with a crème brûlée top. Speaking of dumplings, there were three different kinds of savoury ones we couldn't squeeze in. Despite the amount of dishes we tried, it's almost unimaginable there's still half a menu here I'm yet to try. I honestly can't wait to come back. The vibe A buzzy Shoreditch restaurant that looks set to become one of London's hardest-to-secure reservations. The food A Ukrainian menu where tomatoes, potatoes, dumplings and grill-fired meats are the stars of the show. The drink Ukrainian wines, vodkas and cocktails, and a beer or two thrown in with the soft drinks.
CNBC
07-06-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Spirit makers face a sobering cocktail of challenges — from tariffs to teetotalers
Global spirit makers are staring down a sobering cocktail of challenges as tariffs and brand boycotts threaten to exacerbate wider shifts in drinking habits. French cognac maker Rémy Cointreau on Wednesday became the latest spirits maker, following Diageo and Pernod Ricard, to withdraw its sales targets on increased economic and trade uncertainty. "Given the continued lack of macroeconomic visibility, the geopolitical uncertainties surrounding U.S.-China tariff policies, and the absence to date of a recovery in the U.S. market ... the conditions required to maintain [Remy Cointreau's] 2029-2030 targets are no longer in place," it said in a statement. The move came as full-year sales at the group's cognac business, which includes its namesake Remy Martin brand, fell 22% on an organic basis on slowing U.S. consumption and "complex market conditions" in China. The popular brandy variety, which hails from the French region of Cognac, has been particularly caught in the crosshairs of ongoing U.S.-Sino tensions. LVMH similarly saw a 17% drop in its Hennessy cognac in the first quarter. But the specialty drink is far from alone as trade barriers weaken already drying demand for spirits. LVMH's wine and spirits remains the French luxury group's worst performing division, while Diageo spirits including Tanqueray, Gordon's and Smirnoff saw the steepest declines in the first quarter as sales of Irish stout Guinness rallied ahead. "Distilled spirits in the U.S. are going through a correction, and U.S. tariffs add another layer of uncertainty," Jefferies said in a note last month. The prestige — and often legal requirements — associated with spirits and wines mean that they are heavily dependent on local production and thus heavily exposed to U.S. import levies. Champagne must be produced and bottled within the Champagne region, for instance. "With spirits and wines you have terroir caches, and that means you're producing locally and exporting. Hence it's much more vulnerable to geopolitical tensions," Sanjeet Aujla, analyst at UBS, told CNBC via video call. Remy Cointreau estimated that tariffs as they currently stand could serve a 65-million-euro blow ($55 million) to its business after mitigating measures. Diageo, meanwhile, said about 25% of its business is set to be impacted by duties. The same does not apply for beer, which relies on local production and has been flagged as an unlikely winner from brewing trade divisions. Notably, the world's largest brewer AB InBev, as well as Dutch and Danish beermakers Heineken and Carlsberg all maintained their full-year guidance in the first quarter. As a result, wines and spirits are potentially more exposed to brand boycotts too, with consumers more likely to swap out a particular product on political grounds in favor of a locally-made alternative. The tariff hit comes as the industry has slowed over recent years following a strong decade of growth, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic. Locked-down consumers forked out more on alcohol in 2020 and 2021, fueling a simultaneous surge in premium brands. "During the pandemic, not only did people drink more, they premiumized more," Aujla said. Spirits are often seen as an affordable luxury, especially in good economic times. But they nevertheless tend to be an occasional purchase, with many Covid-era stockpiles remaining in liquor cabinets across the world. As economic conditions turn, however, consumers may be less inclined to cough up $100 for a good bottle, instead downtrading or opting for lower-cost ready-to-drink (RTD) alternatives. "Spirits-based RTDs are weighing on distilled spirits growth alongside the impact of cumulative inflation," the Jefferies note said, adding that downtrading was most visible in vodka and rum products, while demand for premium whisky, tequila and gin remained more robust. "That [premiumization] is on pause today, given the cyclical headwinds we have in the industry," Aujla added. The drying demand comes as health and wellness trends spark a shift in consumer habits, with more people becoming "sober curious" and experimenting with lower alcohol consumption. Indeed, many drinks makers have sought to embrace that shift with new ranges of low and no alcohol products. Meanwhile, the proliferation of weight loss drugs — and early evidence of their role in suppressing alcohol cravings — pose another potential challenge for the industry. Nevertheless, analysts remain divided over the severity and permanence of the downturn. "There is considerable debate over the extent to which currently anemic demand is cyclical or structural," James Edwardes Jones, analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said in emailed comments. Cyclical pressures refer to economic headwinds and hangover supplies from the Covid-era, while structural shifts refer to changing consumer patterns. "It's a bit of both, and more cyclical than structural," Aujla said. "But when the cyclical headwinds dissipate, we think US Spirits industry growth will be 1-2% lower than the 4-5% historical growth."
Epoch Times
19-05-2025
- Business
- Epoch Times
The Yuan Will Not Replace the Dollar Any Time Soon, If Ever
Commentary For some years now, financial media have speculated about when China's yuan will replace the U.S. dollar as the world's premier international currency—what bankers and currency traders refer to as the 'global reserve.' As an export-oriented economy in which sales to the United States account for 3 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), Beijing knows that China's prosperity is much more vulnerable to Sino–U.S. trade than American prosperity is. Private analysts estimate that this trade involves some 16 million Chinese workers. With this much at stake and economic troubles to worry about, China's trade negotiators have no desire to antagonize their American counterparts with triumphant declarations on currency matters. More fundamentally, Chinese authorities know—or should know—how very far the yuan is from achieving global reserve status. To be sure, the U.S. economy and the dollar no longer have the overwhelming dominance they once did. That is clearly a consideration that every nation on Earth has taken into account. Even so, no other currency—especially the yuan—has the necessary characteristics to take the role over from the dollar. What may make Beijing even less eager to tout the yuan as a dollar replacement is the realization that the yuan could only gain the necessary characteristics to supplant the dollar if the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) becomes willing to ease the tight financial and currency controls that it otherwise treasures and is not likely to surrender. Related Stories 4/12/2025 1/27/2025 Custom constitutes the first hurdle for the yuan's ambition. The CCP has tried hard to elevate the yuan's status in what some have called a ' Yet for all this effort, and the expense that goes with it, the dollar still dominates. Some 80 percent of global trade is conducted in dollars, even when Americans are not involved. The dollar lies on one side or the other in some 90 percent of all currency transactions. In contrast, the yuan is present in a mere 4 percent of such transactions, and even the euro can claim only 30 percent. The conversion of Egyptian pounds into yuan, for instance, typically occurs via the dollar. These powerful relationships have taken years to develop, and it would take years for the yuan to unwind in its favor. Liquidity presents a second challenge for the yuan. It is possible to trade dollars and dollar assets 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Dollar markets are so large and well developed that people can move huge sums easily and with minimal effect on prices of either currencies or financial assets. Dollar markets also offer a huge variety of financial instruments, making them attractive to traders and their financial backers who, in the course of their business, must hold balances in whatever currency serves as the 'global reserve.' These crucial players treasure these characteristics and know that the yuan-based markets cannot match them. As should be clear, the CCP in the best of circumstances would face years of effort and promotion even to begin to challenge the dollar's global position. And it is not even clear that Beijing wants to make the needed sacrifices. To do so, for instance, would require regulators to abandon the tight control over the yuan's foreign-exchange value and let it float freely on global currency markets. To offer exporters, importers, and their financial supporters the liquidity and a variety of investment instruments they need, Beijing would have to give up its present insistence on controlling capital and investment flows into and out of the country. Theoretically, of course, Beijing could make such adjustments. Still, since they would fly in the face of the CCP's obsession with control, the yuan fails even as a starter in competition with the dollar for global reserve status. Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
