Latest news with #ECommerce
Al Bawaba
2 days ago
- Business
- Al Bawaba
Dubai Customs named Best Customs Authority in the Middle East 2025
In a milestone achievement that reflects its unwavering commitment to excellence, leadership, and innovation—while supporting the nation's ambitious vision—Dubai Customs has been awarded the "Customs Authority of the Year 2025" at the Middle East level, as part of the Middle East Transport and Logistics Awards (TLME). This accolade was earned after receiving the highest number of votes from specialists and experts in the customs and logistics sectors via an electronic voting Dubai Customs stands as a global benchmark for implementing the latest digital transformation technologies, with nearly 99.7% of its customs transactions conducted through digital platforms. This high level of digitalization has significantly accelerated procedures, reduced clearance times, and facilitated seamless and transparent trade flows—fully aligned with Dubai's vision and its competitiveness as a strategic global trade hub. Additionally, the Department has developed an advanced security system capable of detecting and preventing smuggling attempts and customs fraud, thereby strengthening the protection of society and the national this occasion, His Excellency Dr. Abdulla Busenad, Director General of Dubai Customs, emphasized that this accomplishment adds to the Department's extensive record of achievements. Recently, Dubai Customs also received the award for the Best Pioneering Initiative for its Cross-Border E-Commerce initiative, under the "Hamdan bin Mohammed Government Services Program." Continuing its strategic plan, the Department is dedicated to reinforcing Dubai's position as a leading global center for international trade and logistics. This supports the goals of Dubai's Economic Agenda D33 and drives future transformations in the global trade sector through the innovation and development of advanced customs services that leverage cutting-edge technology and artificial Busenad further highlighted that Dubai Customs is committed to ongoing improvement and development by providing all the necessary elements and capabilities to increase Dubai's foreign trade volumes. This commitment ensures an exceptional experience for businesses and sectors, boosting returns on their commercial activities and attracting further foreign investments to this vital Eng. Adel Al Suwaidi, Director of Customs Valuation at Dubai Customs, who received the award during the ceremony, stated: 'Dubai Customs has made significant strides in automating customs procedures and reducing the time required to complete transactions. We have developed services that are among the first of their kind 'Seamless Inspections' project launched by the Department represents a qualitative leap in customs operations by relocating inspection procedures to an integrated system at company warehouse premises. This innovation has contributed to cutting inspection times by more than 50%.' The TLME Awards were established with a vision to transform the traditional business awards model. What sets TLME apart is its commitment to transparency, credibility, and genuine recognition from within the industry. It was among the first organizations to adopt a public electronic voting system in this field, ensuring an open and fair selection process.
Forbes
28-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
China Market Update: Fund Flows Highlight Curbed Enthusiasm
CLN KraneShares Asian equities had mixed performance overnight as the US dollar weakened and South Korea led gains in the region. Neither Hong Kong nor Mainland China managed to hold onto early morning gains, as both markets slid to post small losses. Hong Kong's decline was driven by PDD's significant financial results miss and large investments that weighed on the company's bottom line. Sell-side analysts' estimates were off by a wide margin; in their defense, the company has never broken out Temu's results from domestic China revenue, making transparency an ongoing issue. PDD's investment plans raised concerns about margin contraction and the potential for a price war, which weighed on E-Commerce stocks including Alibaba (-1.95%), Meituan (-0.53%), and Inc. (-1.4%). The downdraft was despite a Mainland China media report noting that early sales for the 618 (June 18th) shopping festival, similar to Singles Day, were up fourfold year-over-year (YoY), with 80,000 brands seeing double the turnover and 500 million orders already placed. The decline in Hong Kong largely matched the performance of US-listed China stocks, though not all internet stocks were down. Kuaishou Technology (+5.95%) rose after strong first-quarter results driven by its Kling artificial intelligence initiative. Other notable gainers included NetEase Inc. (+2.81%), Tencent Music Entertainment Group (+1.36%), Bilibili Inc. (+2.29%), and Group Limited (+1.48%). and other consumer-related stocks were higher on a government report estimating that 2.15 million people, an increase of 12.2% year-over-year, will travel overseas or visit China during the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival. Pop Mart International Group Limited (-7.12%) declined, though there was no clear catalyst aside from the stock's 141% year-to-date gain. Electric vehicles (EVs) and autos were mixed and continued to face pressure following reports that dealers sold new cars as old inventory to lower prices. BYD Company Limited (-2.68% in Hong Kong) refuted claims of an aggressive dealer buildout in Shandong Province that had attracted significant attention in Mainland China. In a weekend interview, Great Wall Motor Company Limited's Chairman Wei Jianjun stated, 'The 'Evergrande' in the automobile industry already exists, it just hasn't exploded yet.' Reports cited April car production at 2.23 million units versus 1.75 million in sales, with EV inventories rising to 850,000 units from 660,000 at year-end. Following a sharp rally, BYD appeared due for a pullback, though the 50-day moving average may act as support. Hong Kong saw relative strength in air freight, coal, beverages, restaurants, and oil and gas, while banks, Tencent, Alibaba, Meituan, and BYD weighed on the indices. In Mainland China, healthcare, precious metals, oil, coal, and transportation/ air freight outperformed. The Mainland China fund industry reached assets under management of RMB 33.12 trillion after an increase of RMB 900 billion in April. Most flows went into money market funds (RMB 664 billion), followed by fixed income (RMB 140 billion) and stock funds (RMB 112 billion), reflecting a lack of risk appetite. A Reuters article yesterday highlighted that 'Chinese savers decry falling deposit rates but still won't spend more,' noting that 'at the end of March, total household deposits surpassed 160 trillion yuan ($22.3 trillion), up 10.3% from a year before, and equivalent to 118% of last year's gross domestic product (GDP).' The ongoing decline in real estate prices and the absence of a social safety net remain key issues. The summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, and China concluded a joint summit in Kuala Lumpur overnight. While there may be headlines about China waiving visas, the joint statement focused on economic integration, connectivity, energy security, sustainability, digital transformation, innovation, agriculture, and people-to-people exchange. As I observed during my recent travels in Asia, there is a big world out there conducting business with one another, largely unconcerned with developments in Washington, DC. Upcoming Live Webinar Join us Friday, May 30, at 11 am EDT for:Innovation In Hedged Equity - With Hedgeye's CEO Keith McCullough Please click here to register New Content Read our latest article: New Drivers For China Healthcare: AI Med-Tech Innovation, Cancer Treatment, & Favorable Balance of Trade Please click here to read Chart1 KraneShares Chart2 KraneShares Chart3 KraneShares Chart4 KraneShares Chart5 KraneShares Chart6 KraneShares
Forbes
16-05-2025
- Automotive
- Forbes
China Market Update: Markets Lower Ahead Of Economic Release, NetEase Gains On Strong Earnings, Week In Review
CLN KraneShares Asian equities were mixed but mostly lower overnight as Indonesia and Australia outperformed while Vietnam and Mainland China underperformed. Stock Connect volumes were light overnight and for the week. Mainland investors were net sellers of $1.1 billion worth of Hong Kong-listed stocks and ETFs, taking profits from strong moves on the 90-day tariff reduction and a potential US-China comprehensive deal. China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) stated overnight that it will make efforts to curb 'rat race competition' among domestic companies. It was referring to solar and E-Commerce companies. Alibaba, Meituan, and JD have all begun to fiercely compete for instant commerce wallet share. Instant commerce refers to food delivery or the delivery of general goods in 30 to 50 minutes. These companies are using massive consumer subsidies to drive adoption along with technology, as Meituan has rolled out drone delivery in multiple cities. The SAMR statement could cause some of them to tap the brakes, though the lower prices ultimately benefit the consumer, so intervention here is likely to be light. The instant commerce race has also caused geographic expansion into faster-growing markets in Western and rural China. Some reports are saying that E-Commerce grew +30% in Western China in 2024. Related to the instant commerce race, express delivery company ZTO will become part of the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong. NetEase continued substantial gains from yesterday on its stellar Q4 earnings. The electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem was mostly higher overnight. CATL has released a battery that can reach a full charge in about 5 minutes. The fast charge should drive EV adoption, and it is far from what is available here in the US. Alibaba fell less in Hong Kong overnight than its US shares yesterday on a challenging earnings release. Alibaba may not have benefited as much as its peers, especially from trade-in subsidies. Although Alibaba continues to reward its shareholders, buying back $11.9 billion worth of shares in the past year, directing capital toward shareholders and away from investments in technology for growth may have dented its top-line growth. Nonetheless, cloud growth accelerated significantly to 18%, driven by strong adoption of AI models, especially Alibaba's industry-leading Q-wen. Alibaba may, in future quarters, devote more capital to R&D and investment in growth than in previous quarters, which should benefit its earnings overall. We had some subscribers write in about our report on Alibaba's earnings from yesterday, in which we highlighted growth in key segments despite the thorough earnings miss. We did not mean to write off the miss, only to say that the company's focus on shareholder returns and AI was not fully appreciated. Also weighing on Alibaba was Ant Group's profit decline of -31%. The decline was driven by the fintech's investments in AI and other initiatives. KE Holdings' Q1 revenue was RMB 23.3B ($3.2B) versus expectations of RMB 22.5B ($3.1B) for Q1. Yesterday, we quoted the annual figure. Mea culpa! Please click here to view the revised post. fell -1.5% before its earnings release on Monday. Meanwhile, China retail sales, industrial production, and real estate sales are expected to be released this weekend. Bond yields continued to fall on China's rate cuts and US economic data pointing to rate cuts later this year from the US Fed. The humanoid robot ecosystem was higher overnight on Elon Musk's comments that there could be tens of billions of the robots in the future. New Content Read our latest article: New Drivers For China Healthcare: AI Med-Tech Innovation, Cancer Treatment, & Favorable Balance of Trade Please click here to read Chart1 KraneShares Chart2 KraneShares Chart3 KraneShares Chart4 KraneShares Chart5 KraneShares CNY per USD 7.21 versus 7.21 yesterday CNY per EUR 8.07 versus 8.06 yesterday Yield on 10-Year Government Bond 1.68% versus 1.68% yesterday Yield on 10-Year China Development Bank Bond 1.72% versus 1.71% yesterday Copper Price -0.32% Steel Price -1.15%
