WSJ : Chery Seeks to Raise Up to $1.2 Billion in Hong Kong IPO

Chery Seeks to Raise Up to $1.2 Billion in Hong Kong IPO
The Chinese automaker plans to start trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange on Sept. 25

  • Chery Automobile intends to raise up to $1.2 billion through an initial public offering in Hong Kong.
  • The offering price is set between HK$27.75 and HK$30.75 a share, with trading starting on September 25.
  • Chery plans to use the IPO proceeds to expand its vehicle portfolio and grow in overseas markets.

Chery Automobile plans to raise up to US$1.2 billion through an initial public offering, joining a wave of companies rushing to list in what is shaping up to be one of the busiest years for Hong Kong’s stock exchange.

The Anhui, China-based automaker plans to raise as much as 9.145 billion Hong Kong dollars by issuing 297.4 million shares, it said in an exchange filing Wednesday.

Chery set its offering price in a range between HK$27.75 and HK$30.75 a share. The final offer price will be determined on Sept. 23 and shares will start trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange on Sept. 25.

The IPO could be the largest by a car company in the city this year as IPO activity in the financial hub regains momentum, making it the top destination for listings globally so far this year.

Founded in 1997, Chery was the second-largest automobile manufacturer in China in 2024, only behind rival BYD, in terms of sales volume of passenger vehicles.

Selling both traditional ICE-powered vehicles and electric vehicles, its revenue rose 65% to 269.90 billion yuan in 2024, equivalent to US$37.94 billion, after rolling out new models and expanding into overseas markets.

The company plans to use the proceeds to expand its passenger vehicle portfolio, grow overseas markets and upgrade its production facilities.

FT : US lawmakers release more Jeffrey Epstein files amid scrutiny over Donald T

US lawmakers release more Jeffrey Epstein files amid scrutiny over Donald Trump links
Disclosures come as president arrives in UK during furore over Lord Peter Mandelson’s ties to paedophile

A US congressional panel has released what appears to be Jeffrey Epstein’s contact book and another page of his “birthday book”, reigniting a political firestorm over the late paedophile’s ties to Donald Trump.

The documents from Epstein’s estate were among a new batch of disclosures from the House oversight committee on Tuesday, just as the US president arrived in London, where UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer last week sacked Lord Peter Mandelson as British ambassador to Washington over his friendship with Epstein.

The documents offered limited new insights about Epstein’s ties to Trump, Mandelson or other figures, including former president Bill Clinton, who have faced growing criticism over their links to the disgraced financier.

But lawmakers on the Republican-controlled House committee signalled they would continue to press for more disclosures in the weeks to come amid growing calls for more government transparency.

FBI chief Kash Patel told a Senate committee on Tuesday there was no “credible information” that Epstein trafficked people to anyone other than himself, as he sought to quell complaints about the Trump administration’s handling of the affair. “If there were, I would bring the case yesterday,” he said.

The documents released by the committee included the transcript of closed-door testimony from William Barr, US attorney-general in Trump’s first administration, in which he said he was not aware of any incriminating evidence linking the president and Epstein, who died in prison in 2019.

In one exchange with a Democratic Congress member, Barr said he was “never told by [federal prosecutors in] the Southern District [of New York] that they had evidence to support any claim like that”.

But a spokesperson for Democrats on the committee said the transcript showed Barr “could not exonerate President Trump of wrongdoing”.

The documents also included a letter from the committee’s chair, Kentucky Republican James Comer, asking Epstein’s estate for unredacted versions of cash ledgers, message logs, calendars and flight logs.

The latest disclosures come one week after another tranche of documents released by the committee ignited political controversy on both sides of the Atlantic.

Starmer has come under fire in Britain for appointing Mandelson as the UK ambassador to the US, despite the Labour peer’s friendship with Epstein.

The White House has faced criticism for not releasing more information about federal investigations into the paedophile despite the president’s vow in last year’s election campaign to release the so-called Epstein files.

Parts of his Maga base reacted angrily after the justice department and FBI in July issued a memo concluding there was no “client list” or “credible evidence” that Epstein “blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions”.

The committee last week released a 238-page book compiled for Epstein’s 50th birthday by his ex-girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, including a letter allegedly sent by Trump to the financier, as well as contributions from figures including Clinton and Mandelson.

Trump said he ended his friendship with Epstein decades ago and has denied the birthday letter came from him. He has also sued The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the letter’s existence.

The additional page from the book released on Tuesday addressed Epstein as “Degenerate One” and was signed by someone who identified themselves as “Degenerate II (aka Coco Brown)”.

The committee also published what appeared to be a contact book belonging to Epstein, although there was no suggestion this was a list of people involved in his crimes.

The release of the latest tranche of documents suggests lawmakers will continue their efforts to publish information about the investigations into Epstein’s activities.

In a letter dated Tuesday and addressed to Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, Comer said members of Congress still intended to interview Maxwell and publish the transcript of any deposition, as well as interview other justice department officials.

The committee has also sought testimony from former FBI director James Comey, Bill and Hillary Clinton and Alex Acosta, Trump’s former labour secretary who negotiated a controversial 2008 federal plea deal with Epstein as a US attorney.

Alberto Gonzales, who was attorney-general under former president George W Bush, wrote in a letter published by the committee that he had “no present memory of decisions or conversations relating to the investigation and prosecution” of Epstein during his time running the justice department.

Jeff Sessions, who preceded Barr as Trump’s attorney-general from 2017 to 2018, wrote in another letter that he was willing to “co-operate fully” with the committee’s investigation, but said he did not “possess knowledge and information relevant” to the probe.

FT : China trials its first advanced tools for AI chipmaking

China trials its first advanced tools for AI chipmaking
SMIC tests domestically made machinery as Beijing seeks to rival US-made processors

China’s leading chip producer is running trials on the country’s first domestically produced advanced chipmaking equipment in an effort to challenge western rivals in producing artificial intelligence processors.

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) is testing a deep-ultraviolet (DUV) lithography machine made by Yuliangsheng, a Shanghai-based start-up, said two people with knowledge of the development.

The ability to produce advanced DUV machines would represent a big victory in China’s ability to overcome US controls on chip export, reduce reliance on western technology and increase the production capacity of advanced AI processors.

Lin Qingyuan, semiconductor analyst at Bernstein, said: “If successful, it would represent an important step for Chinese companies, which could build on this breakthrough for more advanced machinery.”

To date, SMIC and Chinese chipmakers have relied on devices built by ASML, the dominant Dutch maker of advanced lithographic equipment, but access to new machines has been limited by US export controls over recent years. Chinese chip equipment maker Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment makes less-advanced DUV machines.

China also continues to lack access to the best available chipmaking tools — extreme ultraviolet photolithography machines (EUV) used to make the most cutting-edge chips for companies such as Nvidia. ASML is banned from selling EUV equipment to China.

China’s DUV effort has challenges to overcome. While the majority of its components in Yuliangsheng’s machine are made domestically, some parts are sourced from abroad, said those with knowledge of the effort. But they added the company is making efforts to make all parts in the country soon.

While early results from the SMIC trial are promising, it remains unclear if and when the machine can be used for mass chip production, one of the people said.

It typically takes at least a year for new DUV tools to be adjusted many times in order to reach the stability and yields — the percentage of functional chips made on its manufacturing line — that make them viable for use in production.

The machines being tested use so-called immersion technology, similar to that employed by ASML, said people with knowledge of the effort.

Chinese chipmakers rely on ASML’s DUV machines, most of them bought before the US-led export controls or second hand from other countries, to produce the country’s most advanced processors such as Huawei’s Ascend series.

SMIC is testing a 28 nanometre (nm) Chinese-made DUV lithography machine and then utilising so-called “multi-patterning techniques” to produce 7nm chips, said two people with knowledge of the development. In industry parlance, “nanometres” refer to each new generation of chip, rather than a semiconductor’s physical dimensions.

Machines such as the ones SMIC is trialling could also be pushed to produce 5nm processors at a lower yield, but not any more advanced products.

By contrast, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (TSMC) will start mass-producing cutting-edge 2nm chips using ASML’s latest EUV equipment later this year.

EUV remains the more challenging bottleneck to overcome in order to produce the chips that can take on market leader Nvidia.

Shenzhen-based SiCarrier, listed as Yuliangsheng’s shareholder on company registry, is among companies dedicating resources to making EUV machines, but these efforts remains in the early stages, according to the people.

SiCarrier, founded in 2021, unveiled a large fleet of advanced chip manufacturing equipment to challenge companies such as Tokyo Electron and Applied Materials, at the Shanghai Semicon Conference in March. Its equipment lines are named after China’s biggest mountains such as Wuyi and Emei.

The EUV project has an internal code name of “Mount Everest”, people with knowledge of their efforts said.

Chinese chipmakers, led by SMIC, are seeking to triple their output in 2026, the FT reported last month. Most of this capacity increase will still use earlier stocked up DUV machines from ASML, while the domestic tools are being tested to start mass production as early as 2027, the people said.

“It is one thing to have a prototype of a lithography machine, it is another thing to put it into volume production and make it compete with ASML.,” said Bernstein’s Lin. “This could take another few years.”

SMIC and SiCarrier did not respond to requests for comment.

FT : Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash

Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Show is over for many nightlife venues as some Saudis recoil at what they see as the seedy side of kingdom’s liberalisation

As patrons in the dimly lit venue took their seats and inhaled their hookahs, the Egyptian singer — a former talent show contestant dressed in a black off-the-shoulder gown — took to the stage for the late-night show.

Against a glittering backdrop, she grabbed a microphone and began to sing, asking the audience of middle-aged men and women to clap along to a medley of contemporary Saudi and Egyptian songs.

Such was the scene on a recent night at one of Saudi Arabia’s so-called lounges, music venues that have proliferated since the conservative kingdom embarked on its ambitious liberalisation programme.

Lounges, where both male and female customers can typically come to enjoy live music and smoke shisha, offer affordable entertainment to Saudis and foreign workers alike in a kingdom where concerts were long banned and gender segregation strictly enforced.

But for many lounges, the show is over: authorities in Riyadh and Jeddah have in recent weeks closed at least two dozen such venues.

Though officials have cited “serious violations” to public health and hygiene codes, some see the campaign as evidence of a backlash against lounges, which conservative Saudis consider seedy institutions whose dark rooms offer discreet places for men and women to consort, drink illicit alcohol or even take drugs.

“Look at these women going into the lounge, just across the street from men’s houses in a residential neighbourhood,” Falah al-Masrede, a conservative singer, complained of one lounge near his apartment in eastern Riyadh in a viral Snapchat video last month.

“I went to the police, they sent me to municipality. I went to the municipality, they sent me to the oversight authority,” he said. “I want my voice to be heard. I’m tired.”

The very existence of the lounges underscores the stark contrast between the Saudi Arabia of today and a decade ago, when the feared religious police enforced a conservative interpretation of Muslim values that barred unrelated men and women from mixing in public and outlawed cinemas and other forms of entertainment.

Shisha cafés were not allowed in populated areas, pushed instead to the periphery of cities to assuage parents who feared they would attract teenage sons.

All this changed radically following the ascent of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who — after stripping the religious police of its powers in 2016 — eased curbs on women’s liberties and opened the kingdom to concerts, sports competitions and even raves.

Authorities in the capital built Riyadh Boulevard, a complex of restaurants, music halls and other attractions, which in turn encouraged the growth of more entertainment venues.

To their patrons, lounges offer an honest and affordable means of entertainment for lower-paid Saudis and expats to smoke shisha. Though alcohol is still banned in the kingdom, lounges are among the rare places where smoking is allowed indoors.

A typical cover charge of SR80 ($21) includes shisha and a juice or soft drink. Payment is only required from men, while women and mixed couples enter for free. Some families even bring their children with them, while others are styled like high-end discos: one venue in the capital’s diplomatic quarter describes itself as “Riyadh’s first ever nightclub”.

Those who visit lounges “would find them to be beautiful places to spend quality time away from the stresses of daily life”, columnist Akl al-Akl wrote recently in the Okaz daily newspaper. “The existence of these ‘lounges’ contributes to quality of life in all cities of the world.”

But their ubiquitous presence along the streets of big Saudi cities has also turned them into a source of unease for those uncomfortable with the rapid top-down modernisation.

“Some of these lounges seem seedy and shady so I wouldn’t want to be seen there,” said one father of two in Jeddah, “but they seem pretty popular”.

In closing down some lounges, authorities appear to be seeking to strike a balance between continuing to open up — which is seen as essential for economic growth — and dealing with the tensions and unintended consequences of such changes.

The interior ministry this year set up a unit to police “immoral acts”, arresting dozens of suspects for crimes such as prostitution and begging, which some saw as an attempt to revive the religious police.

To critics, many of them religious or social conservatives, the lounges represent the rapid decay of social norms.

But Andrew Leber, of the Carnegie Middle East Program, said the spread of lounges ultimately represented “what Saudi society is demanding” — particularly for those who want to enjoy newfound liberties but cannot afford large music concerts or Formula 1 races.

“It’s capitalism . . . People just want to go hang out in a club somewhere and smoke,” he said. “They don’t necessarily want to go to Riyadh Boulevard because they don’t have hundreds of riyals to spend.”

FT : Novo Nordisk’s new boss wins cautious backing after sweeping cuts

Novo Nordisk’s new boss wins cautious backing after sweeping cuts
Maziar Mike Doustdar has an onerous in-tray to stop the company falling behind in the lucrative US obesity market

Maziar Mike Doustdar thought he would just be doing the photocopying for a few months when he first took a summer job in the mailroom at Novo Nordisk, aged 21. More than 30 years later, he is in the top job at the Danish drugmaker after his predecessor was ousted in May. 

His appointment was overshadowed by Novo’s announcement of steep cuts to sales and profit forecasts on the same day. Now, he has an onerous in-tray: to stop the company falling further behind in the lucrative American obesity medicines market, to tackle the problem of cheap US copycats of its drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, and to make cuts after years of ballooning costs. 

His first major move was to announce plans to cut 11 per cent of jobs — employee numbers have increased almost 75 per cent in the past five years — for an estimated saving of $1.3bn a year. The resulting restructuring charges meant a further cut to its forecast for operating profit growth.

Markets gave a cautious welcome to his plan, with shares in Novo rising 3.7 per cent on the day Doustdar announced the restructuring.

Grégoire Biollaz, a senior investment manager at Novo shareholder Pictet, said it was “rational and well explained, rather than just a pure cost-cutting exercise simply to support the margins”. 

Evan Seigerman, an analyst at BMO Capital Markets, said: “We applaud this bold restructuring.” But he added: “Still this is one step, we need to ultimately see concrete results.” Novo’s shares are still down more than 60 per cent in the past year.

Michael Novod, an analyst at Nordea Equities, said Doustdar was in a position to know how to reallocate money to spur growth. “When you hire 30,000 people in three and a half years, there may be a way forward to say OK, in certain areas we have too much fat, and reinvest it into more commercial operations.”

The choice of Doustdar surprised some investors, who had hoped Novo would bring in an outsider and someone with more experience in the crucial American market. Doustdar had been running commercial operations in all Novo’s markets outside the US.

Emily Field, an analyst at Barclays, said the choice was a “huge disappointment”. “The thing people wanted the most was somebody with US commercial experience, particularly on the consumer side.”

Despite an early lead, Novo Nordisk has lost market share to rival Eli Lilly’s Zepbound and Mounjaro in the US, which was quicker to launch sales directly to consumers. Lilly also has a more promising obesity drug pipeline. 

Biollaz said an internal candidate would have been welcome a few years ago. “But if you fast forward, the company has struggled. It is a bit behind in the pipeline versus Lilly, [and has] issues with its cost base. I know his track record is positive. But you could see the reason for an external CEO.” 

But others think the board has made the right decision. Sébastien Malafosse, co-manager of a $400mn healthcare fund at Edmond de Rothschild, said he had sold down his position in Novo as the stock soared but has bought back in at the new, much lower valuation. 

“The change of the CEO acknowledges that [Novo] had some problems to address. I like the fact that they wanted some sense of continuity. That they’re not completely lost,” he said. 

The US market would be Doustdar’s biggest challenge, he added, saying it was “probably where Novo has the most to gain”.

“Novo underestimated the lifestyle opportunity in the market.” 

One person close to Novo’s decision-making process said that knowing the organisation well would be a huge advantage in trying to overhaul it. They added that choosing an insider also allowed the restructuring to start quickly, avoiding the months of waiting an external candidate could have required.

While Doustdar does not have US experience, he was a “100 per cent commercial animal”, the person said. He has spent his entire career in sales, unlike predecessor Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, who started as a health economist and led corporate development and technology before taking over as chief executive in 2017.

“The big issue today is obviously existing competition and future competition, so we really need someone with commercial nous and his background is very much that,” they added. 

Novod said Doustdar had a more commercial mindset than his predecessor, having been in a sales role for “more or less his entire life”.

“Securing a growth rebound in the US is a huge priority for him and the US leadership team,” he added. But he also thinks it is important for Novo to build on the strong growth it has already achieved in “massively underpenetrated” international markets.

Field said that one “silver lining” could be that Doustdar had experience in many markets where patients primarily pay cash. In the US and Europe, patients have traditionally relied on healthcare systems or insurers for their medication. With obesity drugs, people are increasingly prepared to buy direct and pay from their own pockets. 

In a video posted on the day of his appointment, Doustdar said Novo Nordisk needed to throw out “yesterday’s game plan”.

“No one wants to finish the race second,” he said.

FT : Europe turns to Ukrainian tech for ‘drone wall’ against Russia

Europe turns to Ukrainian tech for ‘drone wall’ against Russia
Billions available for governments to purchase battle-tested technology to fill Nato’s security gap, says Brussels

The EU is rushing to spend billions on setting up a “drone wall” with technology that has been battle-tested in Ukraine, after Russia’s recent forays into Nato’s airspace.

Last week’s response to the Russian aerial incursions into Poland and Romania showed Nato relies on expensive technology to intercept relatively cheap drones — a glaring vulnerability Moscow can exploit further. To fill the gap, Brussels has encouraged capitals to use EU funds and jointly purchase systems that have worked in Ukraine.

Hours after Nato jets shot down a few of the estimated 19 drones that entered Poland’s airspace, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said Europe had to “build a drone wall” on its eastern border. She said this would be “a European capability developed together, deployed together, and sustained together, that can respond in real time”.

The EU will also set up a “drone alliance” with Kyiv, backed by €6bn in financing to “transform Ukrainian ingenuity into battlefield advantage and into joint industrialisation”, von der Leyen said.

Poland, the Baltic states and Finland — the EU states bordering Russia — have all announced plans to reinforce their frontiers, but officials warn the approach will only be effective if it is unified and built on common and fully-integrated technologies.

One of the EU officials said: “Europe’s defence posture is too fragmented, but this particular area is where we really need to see much more co-ordination.”

“You can’t have one [frontline] state doing one thing on their border and another doing something different,” the official added. “Russia will just tailor their approach to our weaknesses.”

Nato’s eastern flank members are set to receive nearly €100bn in defence-related loans, out of a total of €150bn raised against the EU’s shared budget.

The Security Action for Europe loans “will help” with the drone wall initiative, commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said on Tuesday, “if member states want to have a common approach to protect the EU”.

Daniela Hildenbrand, head of anti-drone solutions at the German defence contractor Hensoldt, said the region was getting “a bit more creative in contractual arrangements to make sure we have an overall protective shield for Europe and Nato”.

“This means exploring how member states can have multinational frameworks or help each other out with capability,” she said.

To plug the gap while new defence systems are acquired, Nato has launched an air defence mission — Eastern Sentry — that involves fighter jets, ships and reconnaissance systems deployed along the eastern flank, from Finland to Bulgaria.

“We’re not ready,” said Max Enders, head of business development at the Munich-based start up Tytan, which makes drone interceptors that are in use on Ukraine’s frontline. “There’s a whole category of threats that Europe is currently struggling to defend itself against.”

Enders described the conflict with Russia as a “war of iteration”, in which both sides perfect their unmanned aerial vehicles and interceptors capable to shoot them down.

Ukraine has innovated in air defence from the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022. While Kyiv relies on western partners for air defence systems to shoot down missiles, it has pioneered cost-effective ways of dealing with Russian attack drones.

With standard radar unable to detect small, low-flying Shahed attack drones, Ukrainian tech companies developed a nationwide system of acoustic sensors that could identify them by their sound signature. That intelligence is then fed to hundreds of mobile teams equipped with anti-aircraft cannon and heavy machine guns — a far cheaper solution than using missile interceptors.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week offered Poland training on how to combat Russian drones, particularly Iran-made Shaheds. Warsaw’s defence ministry said “advanced discussions are under way between specialists from both countries concerning deepened co-operation in the area of drone and anti-drone systems”.

Karolis Aleksa, Lithuania’s vice-minister for defence, told the Financial Times the Baltic country was emulating the Ukrainian practice of using mobile combat teams to shoot down drones detected by the acoustic detection system.

It was too costly to use “expensive weaponry such as fighters and missiles. That’s why we’re pushing cheaper and smarter solutions,” he said.

A similar acoustic system is being implemented in Latvia, while Romania is exploring how Ukrainian experience could be factored into their Safe spending.

“The whole concept of drone war has changed the nature of modern armed conflict,” said Brigadier General Markku Viitasaari, director of Finland’s National Defence Unit.

“There certainly is a need to develop new countermeasures especially against unmanned systems. Some options already exist and are in use but new technologies and methods are needed.”

>>> US After Hours Summary: NFE +35% jumps following supply deal with Puerto Ric

After Hours Summary: NFE +35% jumps following supply deal with Puerto Rico; AIR +5.3% higher on Cebu Pacific deal; JPM +0.1% increases dividend

After Hours Gainers:

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: None.

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to news: NFE +35% (reaches long-term gas supply deal with Puerto Rico), AIR +5.3% (signs multi-year support services agreement with Cebu Pacific), CYTK +3% ($550 mln convertible notes offering), TPC +2.1% (awarded $41.9 mln utility systems repair project), COHU +1% (secures additional Neon orders, raises 2025 HBM revenue forecast), NBIX +0.8% (to present new data from Phase 2 study of Osavampator), SMLR +0.8% (DOJ settlement agreement, provides revenue guidance), RTX +0.7% (awarded $670 mln modification to previously awarded Navy contract), BKR +0.5% (signs deal with Halfaya Gas to advance Flare Reduction Project in Iraq), BWXT +0.4% (awarded $1.5 bln DoE contract), WFRD +0.4% (awarded tubular running services contract from Petrobras), LSAK +0.2% (to delay 10-K filing), THTX +0.2% (receives final court approval to be acquired), JPM +0.1% (increases dividend), NVDA +0.1% (outlines plans to build AI infrastructure in UK)

After Hours Losers:

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: None.

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to news: DEC -8.4% (stock offering by selling shareholders), RICK -3.6% (responds to NY AG charges), ARW -3.2% (CEO steps down), KURA -1% (highlights preclinical data for Farnesyl Transferase Inhibitors), AZ -1% (stock offering), PEB -0.3% (launches $350 mln convertible senior notes offering), COHR -0.2% (demonstrates WGP for integration into optical isolators)

TechCrunch : Figure reaches $39B valuation in latest funding round

Figure reaches $39B valuation in latest funding round

Humanoid robotics company Figure raised its largest round of funding yet, a sign of growing investor interest in robots designed to work alongside humans in warehouses, factories, and other settings.

San Jose, California-based Figure announced on Tuesday that it raised a Series C funding round that values the company at $39 billion. The round, which “exceeded $1 billion,” said Figure, was led by Parkway Venture Capital with participation from Brookfield Asset Management, Nvidia, and Intel Capital, among others.

Figure said the funding will be used to scale the company’s fleet of humanoid robots, build the necessary infrastructure to accelerate robot training, and launch advanced data collection efforts.

The company has raised nearly $2 billion in funding since its 2022 founding.

Earlier this year, Figure CEO Brett Adcock claimed that Figure was the most “sought-after” stock on the private market. But the company has also been sending cease-and-desist letters to multiple secondary stock market brokers, telling TechCrunch in April that it sends such letters when a broker isn’t authorized to sell its shares.

TechCrunch has reached out to Figure for comment.

FT : Thyssenkrupp’s struggling steel unit receives surprise bid from Indian bill

Thyssenkrupp’s struggling steel unit receives surprise bid from Indian billionaire
Naveen Jindal’s offer potentially opens door for German industrial conglomerate to offload the business

Indian billionaire Naveen Jindal has made a surprise bid to buy Thyssenkrupp’s struggling steel unit, opening the door for the German industrial conglomerate to offload the business.

Jindal Steel, part of the magnate’s industrial group, said on Tuesday that it would enter into discussions with Thyssenkrupp over a potential purchase. The German company said it would “carefully review” the offer, whose value was not disclosed.

The Essen-based conglomerate is in the middle of a drawn-out restructuring process aimed at spinning off its five core divisions into separate businesses and converting Thyssenkrupp into a holding company.

The German group has been exploring a deal to sell half of the steel unit to Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský. Křetínský’s EP Corporate Group took a 20 per cent stake in the steel business last year and has been in discussions with Thyssenkrupp about raising its share by another 30 per cent.

Thyssenkrupp’s steel operations have had to contend with low demand in its key markets, high energy costs and a flood of cheap imports from Asia. The struggles forced the company to write down the value of the unit by €1bn last year, following another impairment of €2.1bn in 2023.

Workers at Thyssenkrupp’s steelworks in Germany earlier this month agreed to cut their hours and bonuses in a drive to cut costs. The deal is part of a turnaround plan for the unit that will slash capacity and cut 11,000 jobs.

Thyssenkrupp has also been fighting to cover the costs of decarbonising its steel production. The company is the recipient of a €2bn subsidy from the German government to install a direct reduction furnace, which produces fewer emissions when powered with green hydrogen at its plant in Duisburg.

Narendra Misra, Jindal Steel’s head of European operations, said the Indian company was committed to the “future of green steel production in Germany and Europe”.

No financial details of the offer were released. Jindal Steel said it planned to complete the direct induction furnace in Duisburg and would commit more than €2bn to install another low-carbon electric furnace.

The Indian billionaire’s steel company had previously been interested in Italy’s ailing Ilva steelworks. Hailing from a leading industrial family, Naveen Jindal runs a wing of a sprawling group with a presence across Africa, Australia, India and Oman. He is also a parliamentarian with the country’s ruling Bharatiya Janata party under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Thyssenkrupp said it would examine the “economic viability” of Jindal’s offer as well as the “continuation of the green transformation” and employment guarantees.

IG Metall, the union that represents Thyssenkrupp workers, welcomed Jindal’s bid, saying it would “constructively” follow the talks. Employee representatives hold half of the seats on Thyssenkrupp’s supervisory board.

Thyssenkrupp’s shares closed up 4 per cent.

FT : UK set to announce closer co-operation with US on cryptocurrencies

UK set to announce closer co-operation with US on cryptocurrencies
Chancellor Rachel Reeves hopes greater regulatory alignment will allow better access to America’s deep capital markets

The UK and US are set to announce deeper co-operation on digital assets such as cryptocurrencies, according to people familiar with the matter, bringing Britain closer to the US after Donald Trump embraced the industry.

The drive to build closer transatlantic co-ordination in digital assets and capital markets was discussed on Tuesday between chancellor Rachel Reeves and US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent, the people said.

The idea was debated at a meeting whose attendees included crypto companies Coinbase, Circle and Ripple and banks Citi, Bank of America, and Barclays. 

The agreement was organised “last minute”, one of the people said. Talks were arranged after crypto industry groups wrote to the UK government last Thursday, ahead of Trump’s state visit this week, urging Britain to include digital assets and blockchain in any new deal with the US. Any deal is expected specifically to include stablecoins — crypto tokens pegged in value to traditional currencies.

British officials said Reeves hoped a closer alignment of rules would increase British companies’ access to the world’s deepest and most liquid financial markets, as well as attract greater American investment into the UK. 

The push follows a period of intense political anxiety over an exodus of London-listed companies to the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, as businesses seek higher valuations on the other side of the Atlantic.

Under President Trump, the US has enthusiastically embraced digital assets, while British regulators have been more cautious, concerned about systemic risks and volatile prices. UK cryptocurrency companies have expressed concern that regulators’ stance is leaving them lagging behind US rivals.

The meeting on Tuesday involved significant amounts of discussion around the regulatory alignment of digital assets, according to one person familiar with the matter.

It was notable how much of the conversation focused on digital assets, the person added.

Another person said the feeling was that there was a “huge opportunity for the UK in digital assets” and that the Trump administration’s embrace of the industry meant closer UK-US co-operation would be “vital to unlocking adoption” in Britain. 

Reeves discussed the idea of aligning capital markets — including the regulation of digital assets — over dinner with the US ambassador to London, Warren Stephens, last week. It was viewed as a potential area to explore during Trump’s state visit.

British officials have said they expect that the idea of aligning UK and US capital markets will form one of the announcements to accompany political talks between Trump and Britain’s Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer on Thursday.

George Osborne, a former Conservative chancellor and now a member of Coinbase’s global advisory council, wrote in the Financial Times last month that Britain was falling far behind the US in its approach to cryptocurrency.

He wrote: “On crypto and stablecoins, as on too many other things, the hard truth is this: we’re being completely left behind. It’s time to catch up.”

The Treasury declined to comment on the details of the proposals. Reeves, writing on X, welcomed Bessent to Downing Street and said: “Together we are delivering investment and opportunity for both our countries.”

British officials said work was also being done with the US over developing digital securities sandboxes, in which companies using blockchain in financial services can test the technology. 

Last year, Securities and Exchange commissioner Hester Peirce proposed that the UK and US create a joint digital sandbox, which would give regulators the ability to see more data in different contexts. Companies involved could serve both US and UK markets. 

In her Mansion House speech in July, the chancellor emphasised the need for the UK’s capital markets to remain globally competitive. Reeves also mentioned Peirce, saying the SEC commissioner was “driving forward proposals” for collaboration on digital topics between the UK and US.