HSBC's next move could shake up India's venture debt play
The 1GBP acquisition of the UK unit of collapsed Silicon Valley Bank in early 2023 opened new avenues for global banking major Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp (HSBC). The move offered a quick start to its startup banking division, HSBC Innovation Banking. SVB's clients – 3,000 European startups and venture capital funds – became its customers overnight. HSBC Innovation Banking then spread its wings to the US, Israel, and Hong Kong. Its next
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economic Times
an hour ago
- Economic Times
Portugal considers sweetening incentives for Golden Visa program
Live Events Less than two months after Spain scrapped its golden visa due to concerns about its effect on the housing market, Portugal is considering whether to sweeten its golden visa program and make a special tax regime for expatriates even more of the Presidency Antonio Leitao Amaro said in an interview that the measures being discussed would aim to bolster foreign investment and lure global talent to Portugal's declining to provide specifics, he said the goal was to burnish Portugal's image as an 'investment destination.'(Join our ETNRI WhatsApp channel for all the latest updates)Portugal's golden visa, among the most popular in Europe, offers non-Europeans a fast-track to residency through options including a minimum €500,000 ($572,780) investment in eligible funds. New Portuguese residents may also be eligible for a 20% flat tax on local income and a ten year exemption on most foreign to the golden visa and tax programs, Amaro said that the government is looking into organizing them in 'a more effective and economically efficient way' while ensuring that any changes are 'economically and socially fair.'Portugal's approach stands in contrast to not only Spain, which scrapped its golden visa program in April over complaints that it was driving up housing prices, but also to other European nations. Malta, Ireland, the Netherlands and Greece have all either ended or tightened the rules around their golden visa or equivalent programs in recent has risen for Portugal's golden visa, which only requires participants to spend about a week per year in the country. Golden visa approvals also rose 72% last year to a record 4,987 from the previous year, according to the country's immigration agency AIMA. Since the program launched in 2012, Americans have been among the top three recipients of golden visas along with Chinese and Brazilian whose center-right government won a second mandate in an early election last month, said there were no plans to scrap or 'demonize' the golden visa. That's a reversal from the previous socialist government, which removed real estate investment as a basis for golden visa eligibility in 2023 as a way to fight speculation in the housing market, where prices have surged to record highs. It previously threatened to scrap the program entirely.'There's no plan to end it. It's not on the table,' said Amaro. He said AIMA is working on clearing a backlog of almost 45,000 golden visas applications currently awaiting review.'We expect that by the end of the year this process will be largely taken care of,' he added.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
China's rare earth weapon changes contours of trade war battlefield
China has signalled for more than 15 years that it was looking to weaponise areas of the global supply chain, a strategy modelled on longstanding American export controls Beijing views as aimed at stalling its rise. The scramble in recent weeks to secure export licences for rare earths, capped by Thursday's telephone call between U.S. and Chinese leaders Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, shows China has devised a better, more precisely targeted weapon for trade war. Industry executives and analysts say while China is showing signs of approving more exports of the key elements, it will not dismantle its new system. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Support elderly mothers. Donate Today HelpAge India Donate Now Undo Modelled on the United States' own, Beijing's export licence system gives it unprecedented insight into supplier chokepoints in areas ranging from motors for electric vehicles to flight-control systems for guided missiles. "China originally took inspiration for these export control methods from the comprehensive U.S. sanctions regime," said Zhu Junwei, a scholar at the Grandview Institution, a Beijing-based think tank focused on international relations. Live Events "China has been trying to build its own export control systems since then, to be used as a last resort." After Thursday's call, Trump said both leaders had been "straightening out some of the points, having to do mostly with rare earth magnets and some other things". He did not say whether China committed to speeding up licences for exports of rare earth magnets, after Washington curbed exports of chip design software and jet engines to Beijing in response to its perceived slow-rolling on licences. China holds a near-monopoly on rare earth magnets, a crucial component in EV motors. In April it added some of the most sophisticated types to an export control list in its trade war with the United States, forcing all exporters to apply to Beijing for licences. That put a once-obscure department of China's commerce ministry, with a staff of about 60, in charge of a chokepoint for global manufacturing . The ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters' questions sent by fax. Several European auto suppliers shut down production lines this week after running out of supplies. While China's April curbs coincided with a broader package of retaliation against Washington's tariffs, the measures apply globally. "Beijing has a degree of plausible deniability - no one can prove China is doing this on purpose," said Noah Barkin, senior adviser at Rhodium Group, a China-focused U.S. thinktank. "But the rate of approvals is a pretty clear signal that China is sending a message, exerting pressure to prevent trade negotiations with the U.S. leading to additional technology control." China mines about 70% of the world's rare earths but has a virtual monopoly on refining and processing. Even if the pace of export approvals quickens as Trump suggested, the new system gives Beijing unprecedented glimpses of how companies in a supply chain deploy the rare earths it processes, European and U.S. executives have warned. Other governments are denied that insight because of the complexity of supply chain operations. For example, hundreds of Japanese suppliers are believed to need China to approve export licences for rare earth magnets in coming weeks to avert production disruptions, said a person who has lobbied on their behalf with Beijing. "It's sharpening China's scalpel," said a U.S.-based executive at a company seeking to piece together an alternative supply chain who sought anonymity. "It's not a way to oversee the export of magnets, but a way to gain influence and advantage over America." DECADES IN THE MAKING Fears that China could weaponise its global supply chain strength first emerged after its temporary ban of rare earth exports to Japan in 2010, following a territorial dispute. As early as 1992, former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping was quoted as saying, "The Middle East has oil, China has rare earths." Beijing's landmark 2020 Export Control Law broadened curbs to cover any items affecting national security, from critical goods and materials to technology and data. China has since built its own sanctions power while pouring the equivalent of billions of dollars into developing workarounds in response to U.S. policies. In 2022, the United States put sweeping curbs on sales of advanced semiconductor chips and tools to China over concerns the technology could advance Beijing's military power. But the move failed to halt China's development of advanced chips and artificial intelligence, analysts have said. Beijing punched back a year later by introducing export licenses for gallium and germanium, and some graphite products. Exports to the United States of the two critical minerals, along with germanium, were banned last December. In February China restricted exports of five more metals key to the defence and clean energy industries. Analysts face a hard task in tracking the pace of China's approvals following the Trump-Xi call. "It's virtually impossible to know what percentage of requests for non-military end users get approved because the data is not public and companies don't want to publicly confirm either way," said Cory Combs, a critical minerals analyst with Trivium, a policy consultancy focused on China.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Portugal considers sweetening incentives for Golden Visa program
Less than two months after Spain scrapped its golden visa due to concerns about its effect on the housing market, Portugal is considering whether to sweeten its golden visa program and make a special tax regime for expatriates even more attractive. Minister of the Presidency Antonio Leitao Amaro said in an interview that the measures being discussed would aim to bolster foreign investment and lure global talent to Portugal's economy. ALSO READ: Portugal speeds up Golden Visa processing after long delays by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Honor a Forgotten Father Today HelpAge India Donate Now Undo While declining to provide specifics, he said the goal was to burnish Portugal's image as an 'investment destination.' (Join our ETNRI WhatsApp channel for all the latest updates) Portugal's golden visa, among the most popular in Europe, offers non-Europeans a fast-track to residency through options including a minimum €500,000 ($572,780) investment in eligible funds. New Portuguese residents may also be eligible for a 20% flat tax on local income and a ten year exemption on most foreign income. Live Events ALSO READ: Portugal is done being one of Europe's most welcoming destinations for foreigners Referring to the golden visa and tax programs, Amaro said that the government is looking into organizing them in 'a more effective and economically efficient way' while ensuring that any changes are 'economically and socially fair.' Portugal's approach stands in contrast to not only Spain, which scrapped its golden visa program in April over complaints that it was driving up housing prices, but also to other European nations. Malta, Ireland, the Netherlands and Greece have all either ended or tightened the rules around their golden visa or equivalent programs in recent years. ALSO READ: Portugal tightens migrant labour laws: End of work permits for these workers Demand has risen for Portugal's golden visa, which only requires participants to spend about a week per year in the country. Golden visa approvals also rose 72% last year to a record 4,987 from the previous year, according to the country's immigration agency AIMA. Since the program launched in 2012, Americans have been among the top three recipients of golden visas along with Chinese and Brazilian nationals. Amaro, whose center-right government won a second mandate in an early election last month, said there were no plans to scrap or 'demonize' the golden visa. That's a reversal from the previous socialist government, which removed real estate investment as a basis for golden visa eligibility in 2023 as a way to fight speculation in the housing market, where prices have surged to record highs. It previously threatened to scrap the program entirely. 'There's no plan to end it. It's not on the table,' said Amaro. He said AIMA is working on clearing a backlog of almost 45,000 golden visas applications currently awaiting review. 'We expect that by the end of the year this process will be largely taken care of,' he added.
