Industry

  • As of October 8, the price of cobalt inventory in China has risen from a low of less than 240,000 yuan/ton in April last year to more than 380,000 yuan/ton, an increase of nearly 60%. It is estimated that by 2040, the demand for cobalt will increase by about 20 times compared with 2020. The shortage of cobalt may become an important constraint on the production of power batteries in the future.
  • Recently, the energy shortage in Europe and the consequent increase in energy prices have continued to adversely affect the production and life of various countries. In the UK, energy-intensive manufacturers, including producers of steel, glass, ceramics and paper, have warned the government that they may be forced to suspend production if they still do not take measures against the soaring wholesale prices of natural gas.
  • Japanese and American companies ranked first in silicon carbide semiconductor patents: According to statistics from Japan’s Patent Result, American Cree ranked first in technology patents involved in silicon carbide semiconductor substrates, and Japanese companies ranked second to fifth. In the first place, American Cree has advantages in silicon carbide substrates and crystallization patents.
  • Africa: Google will invest US$1 billion to build an Internet network to support digital transformation in Africa.
  • Air India: The Government of India announced on October 8 that the Tata parent company of India will acquire Air India for 180 billion rupees. This move will complete Air India’s return to privatization from a state-owned enterprise.

Trade & Shipment

  • Aluminum hydroxide: South Korea terminated its anti-dumping investigation. The Korean tax code of the product involved is 2818.30.9000.
  • Semi-finished spectacle lenses: India initiated an anti-dumping investigation involving products under the Indian customs code 9001.5000.
  • Shopee: On Oct.10 Super Brand Festival officially kicked off for three weeks.
  • South Korea’s shipbuilding industry has taken over Russian Arctic project orders. Russian energy giant Novatek recently announced that it has placed an order for the latest four 174,000 cubic meters of LNG ships to South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries. So far, the Korean shipbuilding industry has “contracted” the construction of all 29 LNG ships of Novatek’s Arctic LNG 2 project.
  • Coca-Cola: have to rent a bulk carrier to transport 60,000 tons of raw materials to the manufacturer to ensure the normal operation of its production lines around the world.
  • United Kingdom: The export of deboned beef under 30 months of age to China is suspended.
  • Haiti: The export of pigs, wild boars and boars’ related products to China has been suspended.
  • Cambodia: Foreign trade continued to grow substantially in the first half of the year. On October 8, the Cambodian government announced the macroeconomic situation in the first half of 2021 and lowered its economic growth rate forecast for 2021 to 2.5%. The report pointed out that in the first half of this year, Cambodia’s tourism industry dropped sharply, foreign direct investment increased sharply, and foreign trade continued to increase sharply.

China

  • Shanghai Economic and Information Technology Commission: By 2025, the express service industry will continue to expand the scope of service manufacturing, deeply integrate into Shanghai’s key industries such as electronic information, life and health, automobiles, high-end equipment, advanced materials, fashion consumer goods, etc., and cultivate 10 in-depth integration typical projects and In one or two deep integrated development demonstration zones, the coverage rate of express service outlets in the industrial park will exceed 80%.

World

  • Bloomberg: As of June 2021, the proportion of the American middle class in the country’s total wealth has fallen to 26.6%, a record low in the past 30 years. At the same time, the total wealth of the top 1% of the super rich is as high as 27% of the society as a whole, surpassing the entire middle class for the first time.
  • British “Guardian”: The head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Agency stated that Iran has accumulated more than 120 kilograms of enriched uranium with an abundance of 20%, which is much higher than the level of agreements reached with world powers in 2015.
  • OECD: In August, the CPI of its member countries rose by 4.3% year-on-year, and the average CPI has risen for eight consecutive months since December last year. The increase in CPI in August was largely affected by the 18% surge in energy prices, which was the highest increase in nearly 13 years since September 2008. (CPI=consumer price index)
  • OECD: 136 countries and jurisdictions have reached an international tax reform agreement that will levy at least 15% corporate tax on large multinational companies from 2023.

Money

  • China: As of the end of September 2021, China’s foreign exchange reserves amounted to US$3200.6 billion, a decrease of US$31.5 billion from the end of August, or 0.97%.
  • South Korea: In September, South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves increased by another 40 million U.S. dollars, eventually reaching 463.97 billion U.S. dollars, which once again set a record high in South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves. From a global perspective, South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves in September ranked 8th in the world.
  • Venezuela’s currency denomination has plummeted due to severe inflation. Severe inflation in Venezuela reduced the denomination of the currency Bolivar by 6 zeros. This is the third time that the local government has deleted zeros in 13 years. The official exchange rate of the Bolivar has changed from 4.18 million to 1 U.S. dollar overnight to 4.18 yuan to 1 U.S. dollar.