Latest news with #Chinese-dominated
Roya News
01-05-2025
- Business
- Roya News
US secures access to Ukraine's minerals in historic economic deal
The United States and Ukraine finalized a landmark economic partnership on April 30, 2025, granting the US preferential access to Ukraine's vast mineral resources. The deal, signed after months of intense negotiations, establishes a joint investment fund aimed at supporting Ukraine's reconstruction while bolstering US access to critical materials like titanium, uranium, and rare earth minerals. The agreement, described as 'historic' by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, allows American investors first rights to new projects involving Ukraine's natural resources, including aluminum, graphite, oil, and gas. In exchange, the US will contribute to a reconstruction fund, with future military aid potentially counted as part of its investment. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko emphasized that Ukraine retains full control over its resources, with the deal designed to attract global investment for post-war recovery. 'This agreement signals to Russia that the Trump administration is committed to a free and prosperous Ukraine,' Bessent said, highlighting the deal's geopolitical weight amid ongoing efforts to broker peace in Ukraine's conflict with Russia. Ukraine's mineral deposits, part of the geologically rich Ukrainian Shield, include 22 of the 50 materials deemed critical by the US Geological Survey, vital for aerospace, electronics, and clean energy technologies. The deal aims to reduce US reliance on Chinese-dominated mineral markets while supporting Ukraine's economic resilience. Despite the optimism, some Ukrainian opposition leaders have raised concerns about the terms, calling for transparency to ensure the agreement aligns with national interests. Russian official Dmitry Medvedev criticized the deal, claiming it forces Ukraine to 'pay for American aid.'
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Semafor World Economy Summit: Views from policymakers and CEOs on AI
Day 3 of Semafor's World Economy Summit got underway in Washington, DC Friday, featuring interviews with leading policymakers and CEOs discussing how artificial intelligence will transform businesses and empower consumers. Semafor's journalists are in conversation with newsmakers including Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi and Nasdaq chief Adena Friedman. Technology Strategy Leader, PwC US Bigger players have been acquiring AI startups 'as a way of amplifying the innovation,' Krishnamurthy said. The trend makes him confident there will be more M&A: 'It will break the deals winter we've been kind of going through to drive the change that we are looking at.' Krishnamurthy said there can be tensions between keeping up with the pace of AI innovations while maintaining long-term corporate vision, 'but they don't need to be necessarily the paradox that we have thought about in the past,' he said. CEO, CoreWeave 'No, I don't feel vindicated,' Intrator said. 'We took the company public for some very specific reasons and we are bringing a new business model to the market, and the validity of that model is being debated every day.' He said the vindication will come two to five years from now 'when people understand what we're doing… and value the company as they see fit.' 'I've never seen an experience where there was a severe dislocation with the interpretation of the financial market and the physical underlying infrastructure' until Deep Seek emerged, Intrator said. He said the 'abject panic' in the markets revealed the extent to which the Chinese startup's AI model 'rattled the foundations of technology investment.' Chairman, President and CEO, Xcel Energy 'We didn't wake up on April 2 or November 6 and think that we weren't gonna be in some form of trade challenges,' Frenzel said. Most of Xcel's equipment is domestically sourced, he said, but the company still has 'some international exposure.' The 'largely Chinese-dominated' battery supply chain, however, is 'relatively fluid and dynamic and can relocate itself predominantly outside of China,' Frenzel said. He specifically mentioned Southeast Asia and the US as possible locations, saying domestic production would be more feasible 'if we had some tariff and trade certainty.' The solar energy supply chain has 'dramatically shifted' to these regions in recent years, Frenzel noted. President Donald Trump's executive orders on energy 'recognize the fact that the country needs as much electricity as we can get right now,' said Frenzel, but he doesn't expect coal to see a big resurgence. Xcel itself uses 40 gigawatts of coal generation, but that will be retired over the next five years, he added, as the company needs nearly 400 gigawatts of new generation. Coal 'just scratches the surface… for a short period of time until we can get the supply chains for either natural gas or wind or solar or storage ramped up to meet the demand that we see on the horizon,' he said. Frenzel said wildfire-related lawsuits raise the cost of capital for companies. 'We are hyper-focused on our cost of capital,' he said, and need 'to mitigate risk as an industry.' Building resilient grid infrastructure to lower the risk requires public-private partnership, he said, including involvement of federal and state governments. CEO and President, Booking Holdings Inc. While the travel industry globally is up since 2019, the number of people visiting the US is actually down, Fogel said. Having heard from customers that they are now hesitant to visit the US, he believes the brand of the US 'has been tarnished.' AI's impact on the travel industry has been severe, said Fogel, citing data showing a '70% reduction in the number of human travel agents' between 2000 and 2021. 'That's great for shareholders, it's great for productivity, it's great for the bottom line. But the question is, so what are those people doing now who used to be travel agents?' Fogel said. As generative AI continues 'accelerating' efficiencies, the resulting job elimination is 'going to have incredible ramifications for our society,' he said. 'I'm not sure how many people really recognize how fast this is happening.' Chair and CEO, Nasdaq Global investors won't necessarily stop investing capital in US markets — but they're looking for predictability and dividends, Friedman said. 'They will go to where the returns are over time. 'It's a matter of just making sure that the US economy delivers those returns,' she said. She said investors are especially looking for 'some level of predictability,' which is 'what really drives the economy forward.' Banks and financial regulators can deploy AI to spot criminal activity, Friedman said, calling the technology 'a game changer for defense in addition to being, unfortunately, a game changer for the criminals.' She said Nasdaq uses its 'very advanced' AI-enabled Verafin platform to detect criminals as well as automate its workflows. Founder and CEO, Aurelia Institute Today the space economy has 'a thriving commercial ecosystem,' Ekblaw said. 'The cost to get to space in the last 15 years has dropped dramatically, she said, noting that with SpaceX the costs are 'like FedEx — if you can ship something around the world, you can ship it to space. Now 'ambition [is] what we need the government's help with,' she said. 'What we want to now see is, how can we do large-scale infrastructure in-orbit for the public good?' Achieving 'that scale of ambition' calls for public-private partnerships,' she said. : 'When we cut science funding at this scale, there are really massive impacts to aviation,' Ekblaw said. However, she continued, 'I'm optimistic that [NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman] is going to be able to find a way to negotiate within the constraints that he's gonna be put under and be able to find a way to protect some of that funding.' Chief Investment Officer, Artificial Intelligence, MGX MGX plans to invest $8-$10 billion a year in artificial intelligence infrastructure and companies, particularly in the US, Osman said. 'We remain optimistic that the technology will revolutionize the way we create value in the economy, and the United States continues to be at the bleeding edge of this technology.' While MGX hasn't disclosed the overall size of its fund — estimates put it at $100 billion — Osman said the firm will invest between $1 billion and $2 billion per deal. He said MGX is taking a 5-10 year view and is 'deploying capital in order to support that build-out growth.' 'The demand is still very high,' he said. Global installations are still expected to be around 60 gigawatts, he said, but he thinks that capacity needs to grow to 200 or 300 gigawatts over the next handful of years. CEO, Infosys There needs to be a clear way to demonstrate benefit at scale across the company,' Parekh said. 'Most of these companies are built from acquisitions and so there are various components to these companies, not a uniform set of structures that allow AI to be deployed. Companies need a strong data infrastructure, and most companies don't have that.' CEO, Uber These cars have to be close to 10 times safer than human-driven cars, Khosrowshahi said. He said that while pedestrian behavior is likely to be erratic in cities like New York, 'AIs now are acting in much more human ways. You will see autonomous drivers who drive more and more like a super safe human.' 'I don't think that there will be a winner-take-all,' he said, noting the industry tops $1 trillion. 'There'll be plenty of room in the industry. We'd love to work with them.' Khosrowshahi said he owns a Tesla himself and called its self-driving ability 'delightful,' but added that he has 'to take over every once in a while.' Tariffs that are supposed to protect domestic companies, can actually reduce competition, and therefore innovation, Khosrowshahi said. 'Sometimes that protection removes the need for vicious competition,' he said. 'If the tariff policy results in companies who have it easier and rest on their laurels, no, it's not gonna work.' Khosrowshahi said the Federal Trade Commission's recent lawsuit against the company related to its Uber One service, was a 'head-scratcher.' The FTC alleged the subscription platform charged consumers without their consent and made it difficult to cancel. 'We make it incredibly easy to sign up for Uber One,' Khosrowshahi said. 'The value is enormous. The renewal rates are over 90%. It's a great product.' He said Uber is 'recession-resistant,' because its revenues and expenses both fluctuate based on GDP. 'In a weaker economy, if there is more unemployment, the cost of Uber will come down because to some extent, the cost of labor comes down,' he said. Artificial general intelligence seems imminent, with increasingly capable robots coming along for the ride, but it remains unclear how increasingly powerful computers will impact the world's knowledge workers. The billions of dollars companies are pouring into AI have not paid off, yet. Read more in The Semafor View -> A SPONSOR MESSAGE Time and again, technology has reshaped how we live and work, from electricity and automation to the internet and mobile. But Generative AI isn't just another shift — it's a seismic technology transformation unfolding faster than ever. For businesses across all sectors, it's gone from experimental to fundamental. At Booking Holdings, we're moving just as fast to harness this technology across our global brands. Beyond improving efficiency, we're reimagining how we serve customers and empower our teams to advance our mission to make it easier for everyone to experience the world. Decades of working with technology and data provide a natural advantage, but we must continue to look beyond the horizon to remain at the forefront of innovation. As a world leader in digital travel technology, we know that the velocity of innovation demands adaptability, agility, and a continuous need to challenge the status quo. Thriving in the AI era means continuously investing, learning, and collaborating across the industry to unlock new opportunities for the benefit of all. Now is the time to forge the future, together. Sign in to access your portfolio
Time of India
21-04-2025
- Business
- Time of India
India may do a 'Donald Trump' on Chinese companies as they look beyond America
India is reportedly considering limiting Chinese companies to a 10% equity stake in electronics joint ventures, contingent on technology transfer due to a lack of local expertise, sources told ET. According to a report in the Economic Times, India may restrict Chinese companies to a 10% equity stake in electronics joint ventures, conditional on technology transfer due to limited local expertise. "As the Indian firms need technology transfer, the government is likely to allow 10% Chinese equity in joint ventures. But there won't be open gates for Chinese investments in electronics or other sectors," a source told the publication. This follows Chinese companies' growing willingness to meet India's terms to expand in the market, amid U.S. tariff pressures increasing their product costs. The report said that the government prefers Chinese contract manufacturers or supply chain firms over brands to strengthen India's manufacturing ecosystem. Flexibility on equity limits may be offered if U.S. or European firms relocate from China to India, with Chinese suppliers potentially holding up to 49% stakes in exceptional, case-by-case approvals, officials told ET. India's caution stems from suspected Chinese supply chain disruptions in drilling machines, solar panel equipment, and electronics, worsened by strained ties since the 2020 border clashes. "The drilling machines are made by German companies but since they have supply chains in China, the same are being throttled," an industry executive told ET, noting similar issues in electronics equipment. To avoid replicating Vietnam's Chinese-dominated electronics sector, India is limiting broad Chinese investment. So far, none of the U.S. manufacturers have reportedly yet proposed shifting Chinese suppliers to India, with companies likely assessing geopolitical developments. India is also encouraging its companies to target the U.S. market, ahead of an expected India-U.S. bilateral trade agreement later this year. While open to Chinese suppliers in Apple's ecosystem, Apple has prioritized Indian firms, supported by Taiwanese and Japanese suppliers. Tata Electronics, for instance, now produces iPhone enclosures locally for export, excluding iPads. Apple's expanding Indian supplier base, including Motherson Group, Jabil, Aequs, Tata Electronics, Sunwoda, Foxlink, Salcomp, and Bharat Forge, reflects its shift away from China, boosting local value addition.
Bloomberg
10-03-2025
- Automotive
- Bloomberg
Norway's Morrow Nears Battery-Cell Output After Industry Flops
Norway's Morrow Batteries AS is poised to begin production of lithium-iron phosphate cells at its factory in southern Norway, looking to learn from the failures of other European producers. After setbacks at Northvolt AB, Britishvolt Ltd. and Freyr Battery, Morrow is among a handful of the remaining European manufacturers seeking to prove that regional producers can carve a niche in the Chinese-dominated market. The Arendal, Norway-based company is targeting batteries for energy storage systems and heavy machinery, rather than electric cars.
