Bahrain Economic Development Board Concludes High-Level Engagements in Japan to Promote Investment Opportunities in the Kingdom
The visit forms part of the Bahrain EDB's broader efforts around Expo 2025 Osaka, where the Kingdom is participating to spotlight its unique economic offering and long-term vision for sustainable, innovation-led growth.
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Daily Tribune
18 hours ago
- Daily Tribune
‘Stop production': Small US firms battered by shifting tariffs
TDT | Manama Washington When US President Donald Trump announced tariffs on almost all trading partners in April, Ben Knepler contacted the factory in Cambodia producing his company's outdoor furniture. 'Stop production,' he ordered. The announcement involved a 10-percent levy on imports from most partners, set to rise further for many of them. For Cambodia, the planned duty was a staggering 49 percent. 'That night, we spoke to our factory,' Knepler told AFP. 'We literally cannot afford to bring our own product into the US with that kind of tariff.' The decision was even more painful for Knepler and his Pennsylvania-based company, True Places, given that he had previously shifted production of his outdoor chairs to Cambodia from China, following tariffs on Chinese imports imposed by Trump during his first presidency. 'We were facing 25-percent tariffs in China, and there were zero-percent tariffs in Cambodia,' Knepler recalled. It took him a year to move the massive equipment and molds to Cambodia only to see another steep levy. With Trump's 'reciprocal' tariff hikes taking effect last Thursday, these Cambodia-made chairs face a lower -- though still significant -- 19 percent duty. 'Wheel of misfortune' Knepler's experience echoes that of many US companies producing everything from yo-yos to clothing abroad, after years of offshoring American manufacturing. To cope, businesses use various strategies. Some pass on the new costs as a surcharge to customers. Others halted imports when duties reached prohibitive levels, hoping Trump would strike bilateral trade deals that would make their businesses viable again. Trump frames his tariffs as paid for by other countries, touting tens of billions in revenue this year -- but firms contest this description. 'We make the tariff payments when the product comes into the US,' Knepler stressed. 'Before we sell it, we're the ones who pay that tariff.' Now saddled with hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt he took on to relocate the company's production to Cambodia, Knepler worries if his business will survive. He likens the rapid policy changes to spinning a 'wheel of misfortune,' resulting in a new tariff each time. Over four months this year, the planned tariff rate on Cambodian exports has gone from 0 to 49 percent, to 10 percent, to 36 percent, to 19 percent, he said. 'No one knows what it's going to be tomorrow,' he added. 'It's impossible to have any kind of confidence in what the rate will be in three- or four-months' time.' Economists warn that tariffs could fuel inflation and drag on growth. EY chief economist Gregory Daco noted that the duties effective Thursday raise the average tariff rate to 17.6 percent from 2.8 percent at the start of the year -— the highest level since the early 1930s. While Trump lauds the limited effects his duties have had on US prices so far, experts say tariffs take time to filter through to consumers. Many of Trump's sweeping levies also face legal challenges over his use of emergency economic powers. Price hikes The global tariffs are especially hard to avoid. Barton O'Brien said he accelerated production and borrowed money to bring in as much inventory as possible before Trump took office. On the election campaign trail, the Republican leader had floated a 60-percent tariff on imports from China, where O'Brien makes most of his products. The Maryland-based veteran selling dog harnesses and other accessories rented a container to ship as many products as he could before Trump's new tariffs would take effect. 'I had dog life jackets in the bathroom,' he told AFP.
Daily Tribune
18 hours ago
- Daily Tribune
Google offered $34.5 bn for Chrome
Perplexity AI offered Google $34.5 billion for its popular Chrome web browser, which the internet giant could potentially be forced to sell as part of antitrust proceedings. The whopping sum proposed in a letter of intent by Perplexity is nearly double the value of the startup, which was reportedly $18 billion in a recent funding round. 'This proposal is designed to satisfy an antitrust remedy in highest public interest by placing Chrome with a capable, independent operator focused on continuity, openness, and consumer protection,' Perplexity chief executive Aravind Srinivas said in the letter, a copy of which was seen by AFP. Google is awaiting US District Court Judge Amit Mehta's ruling on what 'remedies' to impose, following a landmark decision last year that said the tech titan maintained an illegal monopoly in online search. US government attorneys have called for Google to divest itself of the Chrome browser, contending that artificial intelligence is poised to ramp up the tech giant's dominance as the goto window into the internet. Google has urged Mehta to reject the divestment, and his decision is expected by the end of the month. Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Perplexity's offer vastly undervalues Chrome and 'should not be taken seriously,' Baird Equity Research analysts said in a note to investors. Given that Perplexity already has a browser that competes with Chrome, the San Francisco-based startup could be trying to spark others to bid or 'influence the pending decision' in the antitrust case, Baird analysts theorized. 'Either way, we believe Perplexity would view an independent Chrome -- or one no longer affiliated with Google -- as an advantage as it attempts to take browser share,' Baird analysts told investors.
Gulf Insider
2 days ago
- Gulf Insider
Wave Of Suicides Among Chinese Entrepreneurs Signals Deepening Crisis In Private Sector: Expert
In the span of just four months, four prominent Chinese entrepreneurs from multiple industries have committed suicide, all reportedly jumping from buildings in desperate final acts. Experts say that these incidents stand in stark contrast to the Chinese regime's official narrative of 'better-than-expected' GDP growth for the first half of the year. On April 16, Bi Guangjun, founder of Jindianzi Textiles Ltd, leapt from the 28th floor of a building. Insiders revealed that he invested heavily in China's new energy industry but lost a fortune. On June 2, Liu Wenchao, chairman of Xizi Elevator Co. Ltd., a firm heavily reliant on China's now-floundering property sector, died after falling from a building. Chinese state-controlled media said that Liu once said that anyone who has ambition ends up scarred. On July 17, Zeng Yuzhou, founder of home renovation chain Liangjiaju Building Materials, jumped from a high-rise in Guangzhou. He left behind a 1 billion yuan ($140 million) mess, affecting over 2,000 families, more than 1,000 employees, and over 300 suppliers, according to Chinese media. Just 10 days later, on July 27, Chinese media reported that the chairman of home retail giant Easyhome New Retail Group, Wang Linpeng, died after jumping off a building, only four days after being released from police custody. Wang had been held by authorities during an anti-corruption investigation. Xiao Yi, a London-based Chinese finance professional with 30 years of experience in the industry and a China watcher, shared his analysis of the four deaths with the Chinese edition of The Epoch Times, where he is a regular contributor. Although the deaths occurred in different sectors, Xiao said he believes that it reveals common underlying pressures strangling China's private sector, which includes collapsing cash flows, mounting debt, policy uncertainty, and the erosion of public trust. He noted that China's ballooning local government debt has crowded out private-sector financing. While state media champion slogans like 'supporting the real economy,' capital is disproportionately funneled to state-owned enterprises (SOEs), leaving private firms informally blacklisted from loans. Chinese banks, being fearful of defaults, are tightening credit, according to Xiao. After Bi's firm suffered massive losses, his bank slashed lending instead of offering support. Liangjiaju's last 5 million yuan ($685,000) in reserve funds were directly seized by its bank, pushing the company into collapse. Since 2021, China's property market has been in freefall, with demand for new and second-hand homes shrinking sharply. Xiao said that this has devastated related sectors—from elevators and interior decoration to appliances and building materials. Liangjiaju's customer payment cycles stretched from two weeks to six months. Xizi Elevator's revenue disappeared as developers defaulted. Xiao pointed out that China's exports have deteriorated due to U.S. tariffs and a surge in manufacturing in Southeast Asia. Bi's textile firm saw orders drop by 40 percent and payment terms double. The cumulative effect of these sector-wide declines has ensnared supply chains and suffocated cash flows. Entrepreneurs in China, Xiao said, are operating in an environment of overregulation and unpredictable policy shifts. Harsh environmental fines, frozen accounts, and arbitrary audits can cripple companies overnight. More alarming is the anti-corruption watchdog's power to detain individuals without legal oversight, Xiao said, pointing out that Wang was reportedly held incommunicado, with no legal representation—a process designed to extract confessions and map 'interest networks,' effectively turning suspects into pawns in political purges. According to Xiao, many of the companies that collapsed operated on trust-dependent models with prepayments, chain financing, and personal guarantees. When that trust evaporates, the system implodes. In the case of Liangjiaju Building Materials, its customers demanded refunds, suppliers protested, and employees fled. He said that, unlike in the United States or Europe, Chinese law lacks meaningful bankruptcy protection for private businesses. Most reorganization cases are rejected by courts, particularly for asset-light firms. Once a firm collapses, the founder's personal and financial freedoms vanish. They're blacklisted, surveilled, and ostracized, with no option for a second chance. Many see suicide as the only 'honorable' way to resolve unpayable debt, Xiao said. Each entrepreneur's suicide was censored from trending on Chinese social media for at least 24 hours, showing the regime's tight control over public narratives. Xiao observed online discourse in China, and Zeng's death was seen as the failure of 'doing business with integrity.' Despite his efforts to complete pending projects, he was overwhelmed by creditors. His story illustrates how easily trust can be weaponized in today's China and how quickly a person's reputation can collapse, Xiao said. In Wang's case, the public speculated that he may have disclosed sensitive information about collusion between local officials and business figures during his detention. China's opaque justice system is often marked by the lack of legal counsel, secret detention, and forced confessions. Wang's high-profile fall has become a cautionary tale of what happens when business collides with political danger, according to Xiao. Xiao believes that the deaths of Bi, Liu, Zeng, and Wang are not isolated tragedies. They represent the mounting pressure bearing down on China's private entrepreneurs who are caught between shrinking markets, policy unpredictability, financial exclusion, and a collapsing social contract, he said. In today's China, the greater crisis may not be an economic slowdown, but the collapse of faith in the system itself, according to Xiao.
