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The Print
a day ago
- Politics
- The Print
Power play in Manipur again, 10 NDA MLAs meet governor, staking claim to form govt
The MLAs, who belong to the faction opposed to former chief minister N. Biren Singh, claim to have the support of 44 MLAs, including those known to be in the Biren camp, from among the 60 members in the Manipur assembly. Manipur has been under the President's Rule since 13 February this year. New Delhi: After a brief lull, politicking has started in Manipur again, with 10 National Democratic Alliance (NDA) MLAs meeting Governor Ajay Bhalla Wednesday and staking claim to form the government in the state, ThePrint has learnt. The list of 44 excludes 10 Kuki and five Congress MLAs. The 10 Kuki MLAs include seven MLAs from the BJP. While they have not withdrawn from the BJP, they, post the May 2023 ethnic conflict, have kept themselves aloof from any talks on government formation. BJP MLA Thockchom Radheshyam Singh was among the 10 MLAs who met the Governor. He told ThePrint that 44 MLAs agreed on supporting a popular government. 'We conveyed to the Governor that the MLAs are ready to stake claim. It is the public sentiment also,' Thockchom Radheshyam Singh said. However, an MLA from the Biren camp told ThePrint on condition of anonymity that he was unaware of any move to form the government. 'Nobody has reached out to me asking for my support,' the MLA said. The meeting of the 10 MLAs comes a day after Biren Singh met the Governor to request him to carry forward the steps taken by his government to detect, identify, and deport illegal immigrants. The six-month President's Rule will end 12 August this year. Under the President's Rule, the Manipur assembly was not dissolved but put in suspended animation. Currently, the 60-member assembly has 59 MLAs following the death of National People's Party (NPP) legislator N. Kayisii. The BJP MLAs, including the seven Kuki-Zo MLAs, hold 32 assembly seats. Additionally, five Janata Dal (United) MLAs joined the BJP after the 2022 state polls, taking the party's effective strength to 37. Of the remaining MLAs, five are from the Naga People's Front, a BJP ally. After Kayisii's death, six MLAs remained in the assembly from the Conrad Sangma-led NPP, which earlier supported the Biren Singh government. However, in November 2024, the NPP MLAs withdrew their support. Another former BJP ally, Kuki People's Alliance, has also sent two MLAs to the assembly. Besides, there are three Independent MLAs, five Congress MLAs, and a JD(U) MLA. A second MLA, also present in the morning meeting with Bhalla Wednesday, said, 'The MLAs do not want the assembly to be kept in suspended animation any longer when the BJP continues to have a majority. There is a growing clamour for installing a popular government at the earliest.' According to a senior state BJP leader, the Centre is under pressure from its party MLAs to end the President's Rule in Manipur. Last month, 21 MLAs, including 13 from the BJP, wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging the formation of the Manipur government. However, the Centre is yet to take a call on revoking the President's Rule before the expiry of six months and forming a government before expected. The senior state BJP leader quoted earlier said the Centre's reluctance could be on account of the continuing factionalism within the Manipur unit of the BJP. Of the two factions in the state, one supports Biren Singh and the other, led by Assembly Speaker Thokchom Satyabrata Singh, opposes the former chief minister. The latter, anti-Biren faction, is now claiming to have the support of 44 MLAs. Manipur has been in turmoil since the ethnic conflict first rocked the state in May 2023. No large-scale violence has happened since the imposition of the President's Rule. The state, however, is yet to return to normalcy. Manipur has now been divided on ethnic lines, with Kukis forced to leave the Valley and Meiteis gone from the hills. (Edited by Madhurita Goswami) Also Read: 3 months into President's Rule, Governor's airlift to Raj Bhawan shows Manipur is still volatile
Indian Express
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Day of marathon meetings as Sambit Patra lands in Manipur amid calls to form ‘popular govt'
Amidst renewed political rumblings in Manipur, the BJP's Northeast in-charge Sambit Patra arrived in the state on Monday and conducted marathon meetings, including with former chief minister N Biren Singh and Manipur Legislative Assembly Speaker Th. Satyabrata Singh. Patra was last in the state to oversee Biren's resignation in February and had met with MLAs across NDA parties in the valley during the interim period between his resignation and the imposition of President's Rule. The BJP 's formal position is that President's Rule was imposed because no one staked claim then to form government. This present visit comes less than a week after 21 NDA MLAs from the state wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah urging that a popular government be restored in the state. These MLAs did not include Biren and the circle of MLAs close to him. While Speaker Satyabrata was not one of the signatories of the letter, he is a key leader many of the signatories are rallying around for the formation of a new government. Patra landed in Imphal International Airport around 9 am on Monday and immediately flew to Churachandpur district on a chopper. There, he reportedly had a joint meeting with two Kuki-Zo MLAs, Vungzagin Valte and LM Khaute, and also met with leaders of civil society organisations. After returning from Churachandpur, Patra headed straight to Biren's residence and had a closed-door meeting which lasted for over an hour. Later, he visited the Yaiskul residence of Speaker Satyabrata and then met former minister Y Khemchand Singh. He also held a series of meetings with MLAs, including from other NDA parties. MLAs part of Biren's close circle publicly denied that the discussions were about installing a popular government in the state. Speaking to The Indian Express, BJP MLA Y Sushindro said, 'Some of the ruling MLAs met Sambit Patra and discussed matters confronting the state, particularly ensuring free movement along the national highways for all. We also requested him to make sure that groups in the hills give up their arms like we did in the valley. No talks about formation of government was in the agenda today.'
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Nvidia challenger Biren secures fresh funding from state-backed investor
Biren Technology, one of China's challengers to Nvidia, raised a new round of funding led by a state-owned fund in Shanghai, as the US-sanctioned artificial intelligence (AI) chip start-up gears up for an initial public offering (IPO) in the country. The company, valued at US$2.2 billion according to the 2024 Hurun Global Unicorn List, secured fresh funding from a private equity entity under Shanghai State-owned Capital Investment (SSCI), according to the investment fund. The latest fundraising also involved other investors, according to a Tuesday statement from the Shanghai SSCI Leading Private Equity (PE) Fund Management, but it did not elaborate on the size of the investments. Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. It was the first investment made by the AI industry "fund of funds" under SSCI's PE firm, and was considered an important contribution to the AI ecosystem, the investment firm said. Biren's BR100 AI chip. Photo: Handout alt=Biren's BR100 AI chip. Photo: Handout> The move showed Shanghai's determination to build a "fully domestically produced, independent and controllable" computing system, using made-in-China chips to "solidify the foundation of the country's AI industry and its global competitiveness", the SSCI fund said. Biren's backers from earlier rounds include Qiming Venture Partners, IDG Capital and Hillhouse Capital's early-stage venture capital arm GL Ventures. Shanghai-based Biren is seen as one of the country's best hopes for developing graphics processing units (GPUs) to replace advanced chips from Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices. Under US export controls, the two California-based companies are barred from selling their best GPUs to customers in China. The US Commerce Department added Biren and its Beijing-based rival, Moore Threads, to a trade blacklist in 2023, which prevent them from using the services of world-leading chip foundries, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Biren is seeking an IPO in China, having hired Shanghai's largest brokerage, Guotai Junan Securities, last September to coach company executives on listing-related issues. The tutoring process, which is mandatory for all IPO applicants in China before filing a listing plan, usually takes between three and 12 months. The AI sector has become an active field for investment from both private and government-backed investors in China, after Beijing made AI a national priority amid a heightened tech war between the world's two largest economies. China created a new AI investment fund with an initial capital of 60 billion yuan (US$8.2 billion) in January, days after Washington further tightened export controls for advanced semiconductors and placed more Chinese companies on its trade blacklist. Beijing-based start-up Zhipu AI, which was added to the US blacklist in January, secured 500 million yuan in funding from state-owned Huafa Group, according to an announcement by the Zhuhai-based investor on Thursday. The new financing came days after it raised 1 billion yuan, including funding from the municipal government of Hangzhou, capital of eastern Zhejiang province, where it has set up a subsidiary. This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2025 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2025. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Chinese AI Chipmaker Biren to Revisit $300 Million Hong Kong IPO Plan
(Bloomberg) -- Shanghai Biren Intelligent Technology Co. is considering an initial public offering in Hong Kong, people familiar with the matter said, reviving a listing plan after also looking at Shanghai. Trump Targets $128 Billion California High-Speed Rail Project Trump Asserts Power Over NYC, Proclaims 'Long Live the King' NYC's Congestion Pricing Pulls In $48.6 Million in First Month NYC to Shut Migrant Center in Former Hotel as Crisis Eases As Visitors Discover Ghent, the City Is Trying to Prevent a Tourism Takeover Biren could seek to raise about $300 million in the IPO, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information. The artificial intelligence chipmaker is working with China International Capital Corp., BOC International Holdings Ltd. and Ping An Securities Co. on the potential share sale, which could take place this year, the people said. Deliberations are ongoing and details such as size and timing may change, the people said. Biren could also decide against an IPO, they said. Representatives for Biren, CICC, BOCI and Ping An didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. Biren's renewed interest in an IPO coincides with a wave of investor enthusiasm for Chinese AI after the emergence of DeepSeek's latest lower-cost model, embraced as a potential industry game-changer. DeepSeek's breakthrough has prompted a rotation into Chinese stocks and fueled a rally in Hong Kong too. Tech firms have jumped on the opportunity to raise funds in Hong Kong, including chipmaker Black Sesame International Holding Ltd. Chinese President Xi Jinping hosting a tech summit last week has also lifted sentiment. Having initially considered Hong Kong for an IPO venue in 2023, Biren explored the possibility of a listing on Shanghai's STAR board in 2024 or 2025, Bloomberg News reported previously. That opportunity waned last year as China restricted first-time share sales on the mainland to prop up its sagging stock market. At the same time, the securities regulator has been encouraging companies to list in Hong Kong to bolster the city's status as an international financial center. Biren's backers include China Merchants Capital Management Co., IDG Capital and Ping An Insurance Group Co. Walmart Wants to Be Something for Everyone in a Divided America Meet Seven of America's Top Personal Finance Influencers Why Private Equity Is Eyeing Your Nest Egg Can Dr. Phil's Streaming Makeover Find an Audience in the MAGA Era? How Med Spas Conquered America ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Sign in to access your portfolio
