Music Video: Crocodile Rock

Elton John

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Infographic: Generative AI Explained by AI

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Source : Visual Capitalist

Chinese Automaker BYD to Make EVs in Vietnam

Chinese automaker BYD Co. plans to expand into electric vehicles manufacturing and assembly in Vietnam, according to a Vietnamese government statement citing the company’s chair.

Reuters in January exclusively reported that the Xian-based EV maker had plans to open a plant in Vietnam to produce car parts, with the aim to export components to an assembly plant planned in neighbouring Thailand.

In a government statement released after the meeting between BYD’s founder and chair Wang Chuanfu and Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha on May 5, Wang said he expected Vietnam to create favourable conditions for BYD to complete investment procedures.

The statement did not mention how much new investment BYD would top up for the expansion.

BYD, which currently runs a factory to assemble electronic devices and parts in the northern Vietnamese province of Phu Tho, also proposed forming a local supply chain, according to the government statement released on Friday.

The presence of BYD would pose a direct challenge to VinFast, a Vietnamese EV maker that began selling cars in 2019 and plans to expand in the United States and Europe.

Last September, BYD, backed by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, announced that it would build an EV assembly plant in Thailand with annual capacity of 150,000 cars from 2024.

Source : Reuters

Chart: The Rise and Fall of BRICS Electricity Emissions

Brazil stands out for its absolute drop in emissions (-34.2 percent) in 2022.

According to Ember analysts, this fall is due to clean energy generation having increased beyond rising demand. Gas generation fell by 46 percent in the country, while hydropower dominated the electricity mix (63 percent, 428 TWh). At the same time, wind and solar power exceeded the global average of 12 percent, accounting for 15 percent of the country’s electricity.

Source : Statista

Hong Kong Follows Fed Rate Hike, Banking Liquidity at Fresh 2008 Lows

Donny Kwok and Georgina Lee wrote . . . . . . . . .

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) raised its main policy rate on Thursday, following a hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve, even as weakness in its pegged currency forced the de facto central bank to drain cash in the banking system to 15-year lows.

Hong Kong’s monetary policy moves in lock-step with the United States as the city’s currency is pegged to the greenback in a tight range of 7.75-7.85 per dollar.

The HKMA lifted the base rate it charges on an overnight discount window by 25 basis points to 5.50%, its highest since January 2008, hours after the Fed raised its target rate to a 5%-5.25% range.

“Rate hikes in the U.S. will not affect the financial and monetary stability of Hong Kong,” HKMA Chief Executive Eddie Yue told reporters.

“The market has continued to operate in a smooth and orderly manner and the total deposits in the banking system in Hong Kong have also remained stable.”

Yet, the move came alongside another round of intervention by the HKMA to defend the Hong Kong dollar as it bumped into the weakest end of the peg at 7.85.

The HKMA bought HK$4.671 billion ($595.1 million) from the market in New York trading hours, adding to the $37.5 billion worth of Hong Kong dollars it has soaked up through 49 rounds of interventions since the Fed began hiking interest rates in March 2022.

The aggregate balance – a key gauge of cash balances in the banking system – will decrease to HK$44.527 billion on May 5, an HKMA spokesperson said. It has been below 2020 levels since late April, and is now at the lowest levels since 2008.

Persistent intervention by the HKMA has failed to put a floor under the HK dollar and interbank rates, as investment inflows from mainland China and a weak domestic economy have sapped loan demand.

Three-month Hong Kong dollar interbank offer rates (HIBOR) have risen this week to around 3.99%, but are still down a percentage point from December levels and 135 bps below U.S. yields, rendering the Hong Kong dollar cheap for funding overseas carry trades.

“The Hong Kong dollar is likely to move more sustainably away from the weak end of the band when U.S. dollar rates start moving lower as the Fed’s easing approaches, likely later this year,” Standard Chartered Bank said.

The HKMA said Hong Kong interbank rates, which have been rising over the past few months, will likely rise further with the Fed’s latest rate hike, and that people should therefore carefully assess the interest rate risk with mortgages and other borrowing decisions.

HSBC said it would raise its best lending rate in Hong Kong by 12.5 basis points to 5.75%. Bank of China Hong Kong(2388.HK) and Standard Chartered also lift their rates by 12.5 basis points.

“Amid an uncertain global environment, rate expectations will remain uncertain,” said Luanne Lim, chief executive of Hong Kong HSBC. “We will continue to monitor the external environment and be prepared to adjust our rates if needed.”

Source : Reuters