The EM 5 – The 5 Stories You Need to Read Today on Emerging Markets
1. Alibaba’s “Existential Crisis” (BABA)
“This year could be the most consequential for Alibaba since it was founded two decades ago. China’s most famous tech company faces a host of challenges at home and abroad that risk fundamentally changing it forever. Chinese authorities are investigating the company on antitrust grounds as part of a growing crackdown on the tech industry, while also pushing its sprawling financial affiliate, Ant Group, to overhaul its business,” CNN reports.
2. Is it Time to Buy Beleaguered Luckin Coffee? (LKNCY)
“When it peaked at the start of 2020, Luckin Coffee (LKNCY) traded as high as $50.02. Today Luckin stock trades around $10. A lot has changed in the last year, but a comeback could be on the horizon,” writes Chris Lau via Yahoo Finance.
3. Taiwan Semiconductor Spending Blitz Spurs Chip Rally (TSMC)
“Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. triggered a global chip stock rally after outlining plans to pour as much as $28 billion into capital spending this year, a staggering sum aimed at expanding its technological lead and constructing a plant in Arizona to serve key American customers. The envisioned spending spree sent chipmaking gear manufacturers surging from New York to Tokyo. Capital spending for 2021 is targeted at $25 billion to $28 billion, compared with $17.2 billion the previous year. About 80% of the outlay will be devoted to advanced processor technologies, suggesting TSMC anticipates a surge in business for cutting-edge chipmaking. Analysts expect Intel Corp., the world’s best-known chipmaker, to outsource manufacture to the likes of TSMC after a series of inhouse technology slip-ups,” Bloomberg reports,
4. The Next Wave of Korean FinTech IPOs
“Last year was a historic year for initial public offerings (IPOs). While 2021 is shaping up to be no less exciting especially for fintechs, Kakao Bank and Toss are considered as some of the top IPO candidates that deserve a closer look. The COVID-19 pandemic was the primary reason for the stellar IPOs of some fintech companies last year. The pandemic triggered a major shift in consumers’ financial services preferences to digital applications, which ended up boosting the appeal of fintechs to big investors. These developments have paved the way for more IPOs on the horizon,” Korea Times reports.
5. Reliance Industries Stores Hit by Farmer Protests
“Dozens of Reliance Industries’ retail stores and a giant Walmart outlet face revenue losses of millions of dollars after being forced to shut for more than three months over protests against India’s new farm laws, sources said. Thousands of farmers from states including northern Punjab have camped for weeks on the outskirts of the capital, in a bid to force Prime Minister Narendra Modi to repeal the laws they contend will benefit corporates, rather than cultivators,” Business Standard of India reports.
