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Taiwan to Hold Referendum on Restarting Closed Nuclear Reactor

Taiwan to Hold Referendum on Restarting Closed Nuclear Reactor

Bloomberg26-05-2025

Taiwan will hold a national referendum on restarting a nuclear reactor that it shut down just last week, potentially opening up a pathway to reverse the government's anti-nuclear policy.
The Aug. 23 poll will decide whether the Maanshan nuclear power plant, the territory's last one to be shuttered, should resume operations if there are no safety concerns, according to a statement from Taiwan's Central Election Commission late on Friday.

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BYD Unleashes an EV Industry Reckoning That Alarms Beijing
BYD Unleashes an EV Industry Reckoning That Alarms Beijing

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BYD Unleashes an EV Industry Reckoning That Alarms Beijing

(Bloomberg) -- The price war engulfing China's electric vehicle industry has already sent share prices tumbling and prompted an unusual level of intervention from Beijing. The shakeout may just be getting started. Next Stop: Rancho Cucamonga! Where Public Transit Systems Are Bouncing Back Around the World Trump Said He Fired the National Portrait Gallery Director. She's Still There. ICE Moves to DNA-Test Families Targeted for Deportation with New Contract US Housing Agency Vulnerable to Fraud After DOGE Cuts, Documents Warn For all the Chinese government's efforts to prevent price cuts by market leader BYD Co. from turning into a vicious spiral, analysts say a combination of weaker demand and extreme overcapacity will slice into profits at the strongest brands and force feebler competitors to fold. Even after the number of EV makers started shrinking for the first time last year, the industry is still using less than half its production capacity. Chinese authorities are trying to minimize the fallout, chiding the sector for 'rat race competition' and summoning heads of major brands to Beijing last week. Yet previous attempts to intervene have had little success. For the short term at least, investors are betting few automakers will escape unscathed: BYD, arguably the biggest winner from industry consolidation, has lost $21.5 billion in market value since its shares peaked in late May. 'What you're seeing in China is disturbing, because there's a lack of demand and extreme price cutting,' said John Murphy, a senior automotive analyst at Bank of America Corp. Eventually there will be 'massive consolidation' to soak up the excess capacity, Murphy said. For automakers, relentless discounting erodes profit margins, undermines brand value and forces even well-capitalized companies into unsustainable financial positions. Low-priced and low-quality products can seriously damage the international reputation of 'Made-in-China' cars, noted the People's Daily, an outlet controlled by the Communist Party. And that knock would come just as models from BYD to Geely, Zeekr and Xpeng start to collect accolades on the world stage. For consumers, price drops may seem beneficial but they mask deeper risks. Unpredictable pricing discourages long-term trust — already people are complaining on China's social media, wondering why they should buy a car now when it may be cheaper next week — while there's a chance automakers, as they cut costs to stay afloat, may reduce investment in quality, safety and after-sales service. Auto CEOs were told last week they must 'self-regulate' and shouldn't sell cars below cost or offer unreasonable price cuts, according to people familiar with the matter. The issue of zero-mileage cars also came up — where vehicles with no distance on their odometers are sold by dealers into the second-hand market, seen widely as a way for automakers to artificially inflate sales and clear inventory. Chinese automakers have been discounting a lot more aggressively than their foreign counterparts. BofA's Murphy said US automakers should just get out. 'Tesla probably needs to be there to compete with those companies and understand what's going on, but there's a lot of risk there for them.' Others leave no room for doubt that BYD, China's No. 1 selling car brand, is leading the way on price cuts. 'It's obvious to everyone that the biggest player is doing this,' Jochen Siebert, managing director at auto consultancy JSC Automotive, said. 'They want a monopoly where everybody else gives up.' BYD's aggressive tactics are raising concerns over the potential dumping of cars, dealership management issues and 'squeezing out suppliers,' he said. The pricing turmoil is also unfolding against a backdrop of significant overcapacity. The average production utilization rate in China's automotive industry was mere 49.5% in 2024, data compiled by Shanghai-based Gasgoo Automotive Research Institute show. An April report by AlixPartners meanwhile highlights the intense competition that's starting to emerge among new energy vehicle makers, or companies that produce pure battery cars and plug-in hybrids. In 2024, the market saw its first ever consolidation among NEV-dedicated brands, with 16 exiting and 13 launching. 'The Chinese automotive market, despite its substantial scale, is growing at a slower speed. Automakers have to put top priority now on grabbing more market share,' said Ron Zheng, a partner at global consultancy Roland Berger GmbH. Jiyue Auto shows how quickly things can change. A little over a year after launching its first car, the automaker jointly backed by big names Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. and technology giant Baidu Inc., began to scale down production and seek fresh funds. It's a dilemma for all carmakers, but especially smaller ones. 'If you don't follow suit once a leading company makes a price move, you might lose the chance to stay at the table,' AlixPartners consultant Zhang Yichao said. He added that China's low capacity utilization rate, which is 'fundamentally fueling' the competition, is now even under more pressure from export uncertainties. While the push to find an outlet for excess production is thrusting more Chinese brands to export, international markets can only offer some relief. 'The US market is completely closed and Japan and Korea may close very soon if they see an invasion of Chinese carmakers,' Siebert said. 'Russia, which was the biggest export market last year, is now becoming very difficult. I also don't see Southeast Asia as an opportunity anymore.' The pressure of cost cutting has also led analysts to express concern over supply chain finance risks. A price cut demand by BYD to one of its suppliers late last year attracted scrutiny around how the car giant may be using supply chain financing to mask its ballooning debt. A report by accounting consultancy GMT Research put BYD's true net debt at closer to 323 billion yuan ($45 billion), compared with the 27.7 billion yuan officially on its books as of the end of June 2024. The pain is also bleeding into China's dealership network. Dealership groups in two provinces have gone out of business since April, both of them ones that were selling BYD cars. Beijing's meeting with automakers last week wasn't the first attempt at a ceasefire. Two years ago, in mid 2023, 16 major automakers, including Tesla Inc., BYD and Geely signed a pact, witnessed by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, to avoid 'abnormal pricing.' 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Doug Ford's Bill 5 is now law in Ontario. Here's what happens next
Doug Ford's Bill 5 is now law in Ontario. Here's what happens next

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Doug Ford's Bill 5 is now law in Ontario. Here's what happens next

Now that Ontario's controversial Bill 5 is law, all eyes are on what Premier Doug Ford does with the new powers it gives his government. Bill 5, also called the Protecting Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act, empowers the government (among other things) to create special economic zones, where cabinet can exempt companies or projects from having to comply with any provincial law, provincial regulation or municipal bylaw. Ford pitches Bill 5 as a way of shoring up Ontario's economy in the face of Donald Trump's tariffs by speeding up major infrastructure and resource projects. Ford's officials insist the government won't exempt any company in a special economic zone from Ontario's minimum wage rules or other labour laws. But the wide-open way the legislation is written would allow cabinet to hand out exemptions from any law, whether labour, environmental or operational. Asked this week which laws he's considering overriding with Bill 5 — and whether any laws are off the table for such exemptions — Ford offered no specifics. WATCH | Your quick guide to Bill 5: "I just want to speed up the process," he said during a news conference on Thursday, moments after Bill 5 received Royal Assent, making it law. Ford then talked of how long it takes for a mine to get into production, an issue that is actually tackled in a different part of Bill 5: revisions to the Mining Act designed to shorten Ontario's approval process to two years from the current four years. Pressed again on which laws he would exempt companies from in the special economic zones, Ford said every situation is different. Ford wants to move 'as quickly as possible' "Let's see what companies come to the table, and depending on how quickly we can get opportunities and jobs, we'll reveal them," Ford said. Ford wants Ontario's first special economic zone to be the Ring of Fire mineral deposit, some 500 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, in the heart of Treaty 9 territory. The area is said to be full of so-called critical minerals, such as cobalt, lithium and nickel, in high demand for the tech industry. The premier said on Thursday that he wants to make the Ring of Fire a special economic zone "as quickly as possible" but has also said he won't do so without consulting with First Nations Energy and Mines Minister Stephen Lecce says the province is already "consulting meaningfully" with First Nations and will continue to do so over the coming months. "We're all going to be part of this endeavour to really listen to those voices and help build a common vision for responsible resource development that unlocks the bounty of the resource, to change the lives of northerners and to ensure Indigenous share in that bounty," Lecce said alongside Ford at Thursday's news conference inside Queen's Park. The skepticism from many First Nations leaders is palpable. The Chiefs of Ontario invited Ford to attend their annual assembly June 17 to 19 and sent Ford a message that his attendance would mark the start of consultations on Bill 5. "This legislation, introduced without prior consultation with First Nations rights holders, raises serious concerns due to its far-reaching implications on inherent Treaty rights and community obligations to the land, waters, and wildlife," says the invitation letter from Ontario Regional Chief Abram Benedict. The Chiefs of Ontario, the umbrella group representing more than 130 First Nations across the province, are warning of "resistance, on the ground, and in the courts" against Bill 5. WATCH | What the 'duty to consult' First Nations means for governments: One thing to watch for in the months to come is whether the provincial government's push to fast-track the Ring of Fire is replicated by the federal government. Ford put the Ring of Fire at the top of his list presented to Prime Minister Mark Carney for consideration as a potential nation-building project. Ford calls Carney 'Santa Claus' Carney asked all the premiers to come to last Monday's First Ministers Meeting in Saskatoon with their ideas of projects that would be "in the national interest," either by helping to diversify the Canadian economy or to reach new export markets. It's now up to Carney to decide which projects merit federal backing, whether through fast-track approvals or funding. Ford described Carney as Santa Claus for this approach. But to make the metaphor accurate, it means Ford and his fellow premiers have merely written their letters to Santa Claus, and they now have to wait until Christmas comes to find out whether Santa brings them what they asked for. The other items on Ford's list are also projects that could be designated special economic zones: new nuclear power plants, a new deep-sea port on James Bay, Ford's vision of a tunnel under Highway 401 through Toronto, and an expansion of the GO Transit network. If Carney endorses any of these, you can expect the Ford government will use its Bill 5 powers to speed up the process of moving that project from endorsement to reality. On Friday, Carney's Liberals tabled a bill in the House of Commons called the One Canadian Economy Act, designed in part to speed up the approval process of major infrastructure projects, a goal similar to Ontario's Bill 5. One line in the text of Bill 5 says its purpose is making Ontario "the best place in the G7 to invest, create jobs and do business." Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade Minister Vic Fedeli, whose chief role is attracting companies to the province, says investors around the world are hoarding capital in hopes of some economic certainty. Will Bill 5 attract investment? "That capital that's building up needs to unleash, and we want them to know that when they come to Ontario, it can be unleashed very quickly here," Fedeli said at the news conference alongside Ford and Lecce. Having Bill 5 powers on the books means Ontario could try to entice investors to set up shop in a special economic zone, but officials won't say whether that incentive is now being dangled at any particular companies. More questions remain on how exactly the government will use other powers it obtained through Bill 5, such as the power to ignore the independent scientific committee that determines whether a species is endangered or threatened in Ontario. You can expect a backlash from conservation groups whenever the government uses that power, for instance by scrapping measures that would protect the habitat of a species at risk. What's unknown is when, where and with what species the government will take such a step. Another 'watch this space' related to Bill 5: what happens with the expansion of a landfill on the edge of the southwestern Ontario town of Dresden, which the legislation exempts from having to go through a comprehensive environmental assessment. Local residents say they're not giving up their efforts to halt the project, while the company behind is welcoming the opportunity of "moving forward with our plan."

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