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(Bloomberg) -- Deep in the electric-vehicle industry’s supply chain is a little-known Japanese manufacturer that makes a seemingly mundane, but essential, device: coil-winding machines.If the motor is the heart of an EV, then coils in turn are the heart of the electric motor. Odawara Engineering Co., founded 70 years ago as a supplier for appliance makers, is an expert in the making the dense loops of wire that go into those motors. Tesla Inc., manufacturer of the Model S and Model 3 sedans and most recently the world’s most-valuable automaker, is one of its biggest customers.Although the coronavirus pandemic has depressed global auto sales, BloombergNEF predicts that economies will speed up adoption of EVs as some countries choose to bolster funding for low-emission cars and infrastructure. The global market for coil-winding machines is projected to expand at 10% annually and will reach $1.3 billion in 2024, according to Global Info Research.“We...
(Bloomberg) -- Electric-vehicle maker Xpeng Motors Technology Ltd. raised about $500 million from a group of venture investors, showing Chinese startups with promising car models can attract funding even as the industry’s sales slump.Investors in the Series C+ financing round include Sequoia Capital China, Hillhouse Capital, Coatue Management and Aspex, Xpeng said Monday in a statement. The fundraising follows a $400 million round in November.Xpeng is increasing its chances of staying as a viable contender in the world’s largest electric-car market, where it competes with sales leader Tesla Inc., local peers such as NIO Inc. and such global rivals as BMW AG and Mercedes-Benz maker Daimler AG. Though industry sales have been sputtering since the government scaled back subsidies last year, the market is in its early stages.Other aspiring EV makers have run into funding problems and wound down operations this year amid the market slump, which was exacerbated by the...
(Bloomberg) -- Oil extended losses toward $40 a barrel as concerns about demand linger with the coronavirus raging unabated across many regions.The outbreak flared in Hong Kong, while Los Angeles is on the brink of another stay-at-home order as new cases in California accelerated, although the pace of deaths slowed in Arizona and Florida. Meanwhile, Russia’s oil exports are expected to stay near July’s historically low levels next month, a signal the country is serious about keeping extra crude it plans to pump domestically and draining key refining markets like northwest Europe.Oil has been stuck in a tight range this month after rebounding sharply from a plunge below zero in April. The demand recovery is expected to be uneven with the pandemic still out of control in many parts of the world, while OPEC+ is preparing to return supply to the market next month after historic cuts.Crude prices slipped at the...
Jul.19 -- After banning Huawei from its 5G network, the U.K. may further enflame tensions with China by suspending its extradition treaty with Hong Kong. Bloomberg’s Jodi Schneider reports on “Bloomberg Daybreak: Asia.”...
(Bloomberg) -- Some oil from China’s swelling storage tanks is finding its way back into the international market as traders jump at the opportunity to source cheap crude for resale to regional refiners.The shipments in question, so far just 1 million barrels, have been procured by trading houses via the Shanghai futures exchange, and loaded from the bourse’s numerous storage tanks that dot the country’s eastern coast. From these Chinese ports, the cargoes were then shipped to international buyers who would have otherwise sourced such supplies from producers across the Middle East and Africa.While China will never compete with the likes of Saudi Arabia as a supplier in the long run, the trickle of crude out of the world’s No. 1 importer underscores how fragile oil’s recovery remains. China went on a record buying spree to fill its reserves with low-cost supplies, helping prices double from April lows. Now the purchases...
(Bloomberg) -- A relatively low-tech stock trade is making Tesla Inc.’s dizzying rally look like an under-performance.In Southeast Asia, makers of rubber gloves are attracting more investor fervor than even the electric cars and flame throwers of Elon Musk. Top Glove Corp. is up 389% this year in Kuala Lumpur, the most on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index, while Supermax Corp. has leaped more than 1,000%, compared with Tesla’s 259%. That’s due to the boom in glove demand thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, aided by a short-selling ban in Malaysia till year-end.The meteoric rise has been unprecedented by Malaysian standards, with the top three glove makers adding about 109 billion ringgit ($26 billion) in combined market value this year. More than $1 of every $10 invested in the nation’s stock market right now is a bet on gloves -- a feat that makes the Southeast Asian nation a play on global...
