Protests Erupt in China as Furious Factory Workers Demand Unpaid Wages as Trump Tariffs Cripple Economy
Furious factory workers in China are protesting over unpaid wages, as President Trump's tariffs on Chinese goods begin to weigh on the country's economy. Reports from Radio Free Asia indicate that protests have erupted nationwide, with workers taking to the streets over unpaid wages and unfair layoffs after factory closures linked to pressure from U.S. tariffs.
At the same time, Chinese industry leaders are reportedly "extremely anxious" about the high import duties that were imposed by Trump last month. Wang Xin, the head of an industry group representing more than 2,000 Chinese businesses, told the Financial Times that several factories and suppliers are being asked to halt or delay shipments.
Mass Protests in China Over Tariffs
At least 16 million jobs across various sectors in China are at risk following Trump's implementation of a 145% tariff on Chinese imports, according to a Goldman Sachs analysis. "It's not easy at the moment," a 26-year-old employee at a toy factory in Zhejiang told the Financial Times.
The company, which primarily exports to the United States, recently forced it workers to take two weeks of unpaid leave due to the impact of the tariffs.
In the northeastern city of Tongliao last month, construction workers threatened to jump from buildings they were working on unless their unpaid wages were cleared, according to Radio Free Asia.
Meanwhile, in southern Hunan province, a sporting goods factory suddenly closed down without notice, leaving workers without severance or social security coverage. The sudden closure sparked a strike involving hundreds of employees, the report added.
Protests have become more frequent in China since the Covid-19 pandemic, as the nation's economy continues to face challenges, Beijing-based activist Ji Feng—who was a student leader during the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations—told Radio Free Asia.
Chinese officials have admitted that the tariffs are taking a toll on the country's economic health.
China's Economy Feeling Pressure of Trump's Tariffs
In April, China's manufacturing sector witnessed its sharpest decline in 16 months, with new export orders falling to their lowest level since the pandemic began three years ago.
While experts have raised concern over Trump's hardline trade policies, the downturn in Chinese industrial production and the rise in protests suggest he may still hold some negotiating power — even as Beijing retaliates with tariffs of up to 125% on U.S. goods.
In response, Chinese President Xi Jinping has been visiting neighboring Southeast Asian nations, including Vietnam, Cambodia, and Malaysia, in a bid to strengthen regional ties.
Likewise, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has been in touch with officials from the United Kingdom and the European Union to strengthen diplomatic ties.
President Trump has insisted that relations with China are "going fine," though it's still unclear if he and President Xi will meet face-to-face.
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Straits Times
31 minutes ago
- Straits Times
China-backed militia secures control of new rare earth mines in Myanmar
A satellite image shows an overview of West River rare earth mine, in Myanmar, May 6, 2025. Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS BANGKOK - A Chinese-backed militia is protecting new rare earth mines in eastern Myanmar, according to four people familiar with the matter, as Beijing moves to secure control of the minerals it is wielding as a bargaining chip in its trade war with Washington. China has a near-monopoly over the processing of heavy rare earths into magnets that power critical goods like wind turbines, medical devices and electric vehicles. But Beijing is heavily reliant on Myanmar for the rare earth metals and oxides needed to produce them: the war-torn country was the source of nearly half those imports in the first four months of this year, Chinese customs data show. Beijing's access to fresh stockpiles of minerals like dysprosium and terbium has been throttled recently after a major mining belt in Myanmar's north was taken over by an armed group battling the Southeast Asian country's junta, which Beijing supports. Now, in the hillsides of Shan state in eastern Myanmar, Chinese miners are opening new deposits for extraction, according to two of the sources, both of whom work at one of the mines. At least 100 people are working day-to-night shifts excavating hillsides and extracting minerals using chemicals, the sources said. Two other residents of the area said they had witnessed trucks carrying material from the mines, between the towns of Mong Hsat and Mong Yun, toward the Chinese border some 200km away. Reuters identified some of the sites using imagery from commercial satellite providers Planet Labs and Maxar Technologies. Business records across Myanmar are poorly maintained and challenging to access, and Reuters could not independently identify the ownership of the mines. The mines operate under the protection of the United Wa State Army, according to four sources, two of whom were able to identify the uniforms of the militia members. The UWSA, which is among the biggest armed groups in Shan state, also controls one of the world's largest tin mines. It has long-standing commercial and military links with China, according to the U.S. Institute of Peace, a conflict resolution non-profit. Details of the militia's role and the export route of the rare earths are reported by Reuters for the first time. University of Manchester lecturer Patrick Meehan, who has closely studied Myanmar's rare earth industry and reviewed satellite imagery of the Shan mines, said the "mid-large size" sites appeared to be the first significant facilities in the country outside the Kachin region in the north. "There is a whole belt of rare earths that goes down through Kachin, through Shan, parts of Laos," he said. China's Ministry of Commerce, as well as the UWSA and the junta, did not respond to Reuters' questions. Access to rare earths is increasingly important to Beijing, which tightened restrictions on its exports of metals and magnets after U.S. President Donald Trump resumed his trade war with China this year. While China appears to have recently approved more exports and Trump has signalled progress in resolving the dispute, the move has upended global supply chains central to automakers, aerospace manufacturers and semiconductor companies. The price of terbium oxide has jumped by over 27% across the last six months, Shanghai Metals Market data show. Dysprosium oxide prices have fluctuated sharply, rising around 1% during the same period. CHINESE INFLUENCE A prominent circular clearing first appears in the forested hills of Shan state, some 30 km (18.6 miles) away from the Thai border, in April 2023, according to the satellite images reviewed by Reuters. By February 2025 - shortly after the Kachin mines suspended work - the site housed over a dozen leaching pools, which are ponds typically used to extract heavy rare earths, the images showed. Six km away, across the Kok river, another forest clearing was captured in satellite imagery from May 2024. Within a year, it had transformed into a facility with 20 leaching pools. Minerals analyst David Merriman, who reviewed two of the Maxar images for Reuters, said the infrastructure at the Shan mines, as well as observable erosion levels to the topography, indicated that the facilities "have been producing for a little bit already." At least one of the mines is run by a Chinese company using Chinese-speaking managers, according to the two mine workers and two members of the Shan Human Rights Foundation, an advocacy group that identified the existence of the operations in a May report using satellite imagery. An office at one of the two sites also had a company logo written in Chinese characters, said one of the workers, who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss sensitive matters. The use of Chinese operators in the Shan mines and transportation of the output to China mirrors a similar system in Kachin, where entire hillsides stand scarred by leaching pools. Chinese mining firms can produce heavy rare earth oxides in low-cost and loosely regulated Myanmar seven times cheaper than in other regions with similar deposits, said Neha Mukherjee of London-based Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. "Margins are huge." Beijing tightly controls the technology that allows for the efficient extraction of heavy rare earths, and she said that it would be difficult to operate a facility in Myanmar without Chinese assistance. The satellite imagery suggest the Shan mines are smaller than their Kachin counterparts but they are likely to yield the same elements, according to Merriman, who serves as research director at consultancy Project Blue. "The Shan State deposits will have terbium and dysprosium in them, and they will be the main elements that (the miners) are targeting there," he said. STRATEGIC TOOL The UWSA oversees a remote statelet the size of Belgium and, according to U.S. prosecutors, has long prospered from the drug trade. It has a long-standing ceasefire with the junta but still maintains a force of between 30,000 and 35,000 personnel, equipped with modern weaponry mainly sourced from China, according to Ye Myo Hein, a senior fellow at the Southeast Asia Peace Institute. "The UWSA functions as a key instrument for China to maintain strategic leverage along the Myanmar-China border and exert influence over other ethnic armed groups," he said. Some of those fighters are also closely monitoring the mining area, said SHRF member Leng Harn. "People cannot freely go in and out of the area without ID cards issued by UWSA." Shan state has largely kept out of the protracted civil war, in which an assortment of armed groups are battling the junta. The fighting has also roiled the Kachin mining belt and pushed many Chinese operators to cease work. China has repeatedly said that it seeks stability in Myanmar, where it has significant investments. Beijing has intervened to halt fighting in some areas near its border. "The Wa have had now 35 years with no real conflict with the Myanmar military," said USIP's Myanmar country director Jason Towers. "Chinese companies and the Chinese government would see the Wa areas as being more stable than other parts of northern Burma." The bet on Shan's rare earths deposit could provide more leverage to China amid a global scramble for the critical minerals, said Benchmark's Mukherjee. "If there's so much disruption happening in Kachin, they would be looking for alternative sources," she said. "They want to keep the control of heavy rare earths in their hands. They use that as a strategic tool." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
42 minutes ago
- Straits Times
MoneyHero's CEO Rohith Murthy lays out path towards sustainable profitability
BRANDED CONTENT MoneyHero's new playbook: CEO Rohith Murthy lays out path towards sustainable profitability The fintech group is pivoting to higher margin financial services to drive progress toward positive adjusted Ebitda in the latter part of the year, reflecting disciplined focus on operational efficiency and sustainable profitability In a market where conventional wisdom keeps failing, MoneyHero chief executive officer Rohith Murthy is banking on the oldest playbook in business – diversify revenue, slash costs. MoneyHero Group, which boasts a diverse portfolio that includes the personal finance site SingSaver, Singapore's largest personal finance community Seedly, and the B2B platform Creatory, has implemented a clear strategy to diversify its revenue streams and to significantly reduce financial losses, he said in a recent interview. Listed on the Nasdaq in October 2023, MoneyHero joined a growing number of Singapore-based start-ups marking their presence on the US stock exchange. While the stock price has faced headwinds since being listed, MoneyHero maintains zero debt and strong cash reserves, positioning it well for future growth. In this interview, Mr Murthy discusses how MoneyHero is actively reshaping its business model to drive long-term growth and enhance shareholder value amid a volatile market environment. To achieve profitability, MoneyHero is strategically focusing on higher-margin areas such as insurance and wealth management. Q: Let's start by sharing your journey. What's the original vision behind MoneyHero, and what was the motivation for taking the company public in the US? A: The MoneyHero journey spans nearly a decade long, driven by a straightforward vision: to simplify personal finance and make it a lot more accessible to everyone. Today, we operate across Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Philippines, holding the largest market share by revenue in these markets. In Hong Kong, our brand is MoneyHero; in Singapore, SingSaver and Seedly; in Taiwan, Money101; in the Philippines, Moneymax; and the B2B platform Creatory operating across our markets. Our platform serves approximately 7.5 million registered members, and we have facilitated more than 1.7 million financial applications. Achieving this scale has helped us build strong trust – not only with consumers, but also with financial institutions. We believe that we need to build a comprehensive ecosystem so we are constantly looking at enhancing it. For instance, we have a strategic partnership with credit bureau TransUnion in Hong Kong that allows us access to credit scoring data so we can make personalised recommendations to our Hong Kong users. Similarly, our collaboration with Boltech significantly accelerates our insurance growth, empowering us to offer seamless, end-to-end insurance purchasing journeys. Boltech's integration strengthens our ecosystem by seamlessly connecting banking and insurance services, further improving customer experience and overall value. Additionally, as a licensed insurance broker in three of our markets, we enable users to buy travel and other forms of general insurance or get real-time pricing for car insurance on our platform. Listing on Nasdaq was a deliberate decision that aligns us with global fintech best practices and gives us access to deeper, more sophisticated capital markets. It also allows us to cultivate strong relationships with investors who have a deep understanding of the fintech sector. Q: Since the Initial Public Offering (IPO), MoneyHero has faced scrutiny over its financial performance and share price. There are concerns over the expenses, growth sustainability and the risk of delisting. What would you say to the shareholders and the broader market so that they understand the journey you're on? A: We have been listed for over 18 months now and we're navigating a challenging environment. More importantly, we're undergoing a very meaningful internal transformation. Investor concerns are completely understandable, especially given how volatile market conditions are. What matters most is that we've been addressing these things directly and proactively – this has been my top priority since taking over as CEO. Despite recent market challenges, we've sharpened our focus on revenue quality, margin improvement, and tightened cost management. Looking at our full-year 2024 results, we significantly improved our adjusted Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) loss in Q4 2024. When I took over in Q2 2024, it was US$9.3 million (S$12 million), and then we significantly improved it to US$2.9 million in Q4 2024 – representing substantial progress and clearly demonstrating our trajectory towards sustainable profitability. A key part of this transformation lies in our evolving revenue mix. Previously, credit cards were a primary revenue source, but we have pivoted towards higher-margin, recurring revenue streams such as insurance and wealth, which contributed over 20 per cent of our FY2024 revenue. Notably, revenue from our insurance products alone grew nearly 40 per cent year-on-year in FY2024, underscoring the success of our diversification efforts. Operationally, we made some tough decisions last year to restructure and significantly optimise our operating expenses. We are committed to maintaining a lean cost structure while sustaining our growth, all aimed at improving adjusted Ebitda and building long-term shareholder value. As at end 2024, we remained strongly capitalised with ample cash reserves and cash equivalents of approximately US$42.5 million and no debt. This solid financial position enables us to strategically invest in the next phase of growth. I want shareholders and potential investors to recognise that we are strongly backed by prominent investors such as Pacific Century Group (PCG), which fully support our strategic direction and long-term vision. Our leadership team, including myself, holds significant personal stakes in MoneyHero, ensuring full alignment with the goal of creating sustainable shareholder value. Q: What is your timeline for a clear path to profitability, and how do you hope to pivot the business into long term growth? A: Profitability is our absolute priority and lies at the core of the efficiency-focused strategy I introduced shortly after becoming CEO approximately 15 months ago. We target to progress toward positive adjusted Ebitda in the latter part of 2025 – a milestone we're increasingly confident of achieving, given our consistent quarterly improvements. To support this, we have adopted an artificial intelligence (AI) first strategy. Our teams are actively leveraging AI tools to boost productivity across areas such as content production, customer service, design and engineering. Another key focus is shifting our revenue mix towards higher-margin segments like insurance, lending and wealth management. We've already started that trajectory. As a digital platform, enhancing user experience remains a priority. Last year, we placed significant emphasis on data. We now operate a central data platform that enables us to better understand and serve our 7.5 million members through personalised recommendations and tailored services. This approach has helped reduce our reliance on paid marketing, which declined by 23 per cent year-over-year in Q4 2024. With AI-driven content production ramping up, we expect organic traffic growth to be a major driver of profitability. Globally, we've seen fintech aggregation platforms in the Western markets successfully emerge as consolidators, streamlining fragmented markets into sustainable, profitable ecosystems. MoneyHero is well positioned to lead similar transformation across Greater South-east Asia. Q: MoneyHero recently announced a strategic collaboration with OSL in the digital assets space. What's the rationale behind this, are you considering further investments in digital assets? A: This announcement marks an exciting and important first step for us as we strategically explore the digital assets space. The region is witnessing growing interest in digital asset accounts licensed by regulators such as the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong. Digital assets are increasingly viewed alongside traditional insurance, stocks and banking products, offering enhanced user experiences, greater product diversification and new monetisation opportunities for our platform. On a personal note, I've been closely studying companies like Strategy and Metaplanet that have successfully implemented digital asset strategies and subsequently delivered impressive stock performance. Their examples highlight the potential shareholder value that can be unlocked through well-considered moves that MoneyHero can make in this space. While we have not yet made definitive decisions regarding additional investments, we remain proactive and open-minded. Given our strong cash position and disciplined capital allocation approach, we are actively evaluating strategic opportunities in digital assets, carefully assessing risks, potential benefits and alignment with our long-term objectives. Q: In the next 12 months, what are the key markers of progress you hope to achieve, and how should stakeholders and customers evaluate them? A: The first is our focus on moving towards positive adjusted Ebitda during the latter part of the second half of the year. We are targeting US$100 million in full-year revenue for this year. Improving margins is going to be critical as we focus on both profitability and top-line growth. Second, we aim to scale our insurance business, particularly car insurance, which offers a recurring revenue stream. This is why we have prioritised rapid growth in this market and plan to apply this model more broadly across insurance and wealth management verticals. Additionally, we want to invest in membership strategies to reduce our reliance on paid marketing. While quarterly results provide updates on our strategic progress, it's important not to focus solely on these short-term figures. Examining our trailing 12-month trajectory offers a clearer view of how we are consistently improving across these key markers. By focusing on these broader trends and long-term indicators, stakeholders can gain a more accurate and meaningful understanding of our growth momentum and operational efficiency. Fintech is a massive term, and often, attention is given to businesses without clear business models or paths to profitability. This is why fintech aggregators are less frequently highlighted. But when you look around, fintech aggregators have proven globally to be profitable models, with numerous successful examples in Western markets. Q: What's the biggest learning moment in the transition from a private to public company, and what keeps you motivated as a leader in times of challenge and change? A: The journey so far has been truly transformative. Transitioning to a public company has instilled a new level of discipline in how we operate. While we've always been a metrics-driven company, the process has made us a lot more precise in our forecasting and planning. It's not easy, especially as a relatively small market cap company, but it has strengthened our approach. Our decision to go public in the US was a tough but deliberate one. We're not just building our own company – we're helping build confidence in the entire regional fintech ecosystem. We want fintech startups from Singapore, the Philippines, and beyond to know that they too can build successful companies and list on global exchanges. That's why I actively engage with many of these startups, offering partnership opportunities when they have unique technology or valuable data assets. Observing successful global fintech peers – where disciplined execution, clear paths to profitability, and strategic acquisitions have been key – reinforces our strategic clarity. Understanding these market dynamics globally helps us confidently navigate challenges and strategically position MoneyHero as a leading player in the region. The past 15 to 18 months have been challenging. However, how we successfully turn these obstacles into opportunities is what builds market-leading brands. Our belief in our mission is fundamental to overcoming these challenges. I'm privileged to lead a mission-driven, energetic and passionate team that embodies this belief every day. No matter how the landscape evolves, I am confident that we will remain a resilient organisation. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
Asian shares stumble after Trump's latest trade threat
HONG KONG: Asian shares were rattled on Thursday (Jun 12) after Donald Trump said he would impose unilateral tariffs on partners in the next two weeks, reigniting trade war fears soon after reaching a deal with China to dial down tensions between the superpowers. The mood was also shaded by geopolitical concerns after the US president said personnel were being moved from the Middle East as nuclear talks with Iran faltered and fears of a regional conflict grew. The equity losses snapped a recent rally fuelled by talks between Beijing and Washington in London that saw them hammer out a framework agreement to move towards a pact to reduce levies. Investors have been on edge since Trump's "Liberation Day" tariff blitz on Apr 2 that sent shockwaves through stock and bond markets and stoked global recession fears. Days later he announced a pause in those measures until Jul 9 to allow for countries to cut deals with the White House, sparking relief rallies that have pushed some markets towards all-time highs. However, he once again shook confidence by saying Wednesday that he intended to send letters telling governments what levies Washington would be imposing. "We're going to be sending letters out in about a week and a half, two weeks, to countries, telling them what the deal is," he told reporters. "At a certain point, we're just going to send letters out. And I think you understand that, saying this is the deal, you can take it or leave it." While some analysts indicated that previous threats had been rowed back, the comments added to the ongoing uncertainty about Trump's policies, reviving fears about sky-high levies and the impact on the economy. They also came not long after he had flagged the London agreement, and posted on social media that "President XI and I are going to work closely together to open up China to American Trade", referring to his counterpart Xi Jinping. "The uncertainty doesn't help," Nick Twidale at AT Global Markets Australia said. "And his overall comments overnight have led to more uncertainty for the market rather than the clarity we were hoping for." Most Asian markets fell on Thursday, with Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Wellington, Taipei and Jakarta in the red after a broadly healthy run-up this week. There were gains in Sydney, Singapore and Seoul. The weak performance followed losses on Wall Street, where trade worries overshadowed another below-forecast inflation reading that provided fresh speculation the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates. Oil prices slipped but held most of Wednesday's surge of between four and five per cent that came after Trump said US personnel were being moved from the potentially "dangerous" Middle East as Iran nuclear talks stutter. The move came as Tehran threatened to target US military bases in the region if a regional conflict broke out. The US president said the staff were "being moved out because it could be a dangerous place". "We've given notice to move out and we'll see what happens." With regard to Iran, he then added: "They can't have a nuclear weapon, very simple. We're not going to allow that."
