Trade alert

  • Ammonium Sulfate: Mexico continues to suspend anti-dumping duties. Recently, the Mexican Ministry of Economy issued an announcement that in view of the current inflation and the decline in the consumption level of Mexican residents, it has decided to continue to suspend the collection of ammonium sulfate originating in or imported from China and the United States, as well as ammonium sulfate mixtures originating in or imported from China. Anti-dumping duties for a period of one year, until November 24, 2023.

Trade

  • Vietnam: Tuna export growth slows down. Exports were worth about $76 million in November, up just 4% from the same period in 2021. The amount of tuna imported from Vietnam by the United States, Egypt, Mexico, the Philippines, Chile and other countries has declined.
  • Uzbekistan: Extending the period of zero-tariff preferential treatment for some imported foods. In order to protect the daily needs of residents, curb price rises, and reduce the impact of inflation, Uzbekistan President Mirziyoyev recently signed a presidential decree, including meat, fish, dairy products, The zero-tariff preferential period for 22 types of imported food such as fruits and vegetable oils is extended to July 1, 2023, and imports of wheat flour and rye flour are exempted from tariffs.
  • Nepal: IMF asks Nepal to review import ban. According to the “Kathmandu Post” report, currently, Nepal still implements an import ban on cars, mobile phones, alcohol and motorcycles, and the ban will last until December 15. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said the ban would not have any positive impact on the economy and asked Nigeria to take other monetary measures as soon as possible to deal with its foreign exchange reserves. Nepal has begun a review of its seven-month-old import ban.

Industry China

  • CAICT: In September, 20.922 million mobile phones were shipped in the domestic market, a year-on-year decrease of 2.4%. Among them, 5G mobile phones were 15.104 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 0.1%, accounting for 72.2% of mobile phone shipments in the same period. From January to September, the total mobile phone shipments in the domestic market totaled 196 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 21.1%. Among them, 5G mobile phone shipments were 153 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 16.4%, accounting for 78.2% of mobile phone shipments in the same period.(CAICT=China Academy of Information and Communications Technology)
  • TrendForce: In October, notebook panel shipments were 13.5 million units, a monthly decrease of 16.1% and a yearly decrease of 45%, setting a new low for the same period since 2011. Affected by global economic uncertainty and high inventory in the overall supply chain in the fourth quarter, notebook panel shipments will continue to slump. It is estimated that notebook panel shipments in the first quarter of 2023 will increase by 3.5% quarter-on-quarter, reaching 43.2 million units, and the supply-demand ratio is about 13%.
  • Economic Information Daily: In 2021, China’s virtual reality investment and financing scale will increase by more than 100%, and the number of related companies will exceed 10,000.
  • The CAGR of cross-border e-commerce transactions in China reached 16.2%. According to the “Research Report on China’s Cross-Border E-commerce Industry in 2022”, the CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of China’s transaction scale in the past five years has reached 16.2%. An important force in foreign trade.

Company

  • Pilbara: Plans to build a plant in Western Australia to refine metals for automotive batteries. The plant will be a joint venture with Australia’s Calix Ltd., using the latter’s patented “calcination” technology. It is part of Australia’s efforts to boost the development of its own lithium refining industry. Australia is the world’s largest producer of lithium metal, but currently does not export refined lithium chemicals(精炼锂化学品).
  • Pinduoduo: Revenue in the third quarter was 35.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 65.1%; net profit was 10.59 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 546%. Research and development expenses increased by 11.4% year-on-year to 2.70 billion yuan, a record high.
  • Shorts, a YouTube short video platform, will add a shopping function. According to foreign media news, Google’s YouTube is stepping up its efforts to enter e-commerce and introducing shopping features on the short video platform Shorts, aiming to diversify its revenue sources as digital advertising growth slows. Shorts launched in 2020 to compete with TikTok.
  • CMA CGM announced its results, and its net profit increased by 25.1% year-on-year. Recently, CMA CGM released its results for the third quarter of 2022. Realized total revenue of US$19.91 billion, a year-on-year increase of 30%, and a month-on-month increase of 2.2%; net profit reached US$7.04 billion, a year-on-year increase of 25.1%, and a month-on-month decrease of 7.4%.
  • J&T Express(极兔快递) officially announced that Messi has become the global brand spokesperson. Up to now, J&T’s express delivery network has covered 13 countries including Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, Singapore, China, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Mexico, Brazil, and Egypt.
  • HP announced results, net revenue fell 11.2% year-on-year. Recently, Hewlett-Packard (HP) released its financial report for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2022. Net revenue was US$14.801 billion, a decrease of 11.2% compared with US$16.675 billion in the same period last year; net loss was US$2 million, compared with a net profit of US$3.099 billion in the same period last year.

World

  • On November 28, the President of South Korea announced the roadmap for the future space economy, announcing that it will successfully land on the moon and exploit lunar resources by 2032, and independently realize Mars landing by 2045.
  • The head of the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Mexico is ready to accept investment from South Korean and Chilean companies in 2023, and will cooperate with the United States to start producing lithium-ion batteries for cars in Mexico, hoping to start the project in the third or fourth quarter of next year.
  • United Kingdom: “Brexit” has exacerbated the shortage of doctors in the UK, leading to an estimated shortage of 4,000 doctors in four major specialties.
  • United States: U.S. business activity contracted for the fifth straight month in November. The valuation of the S&P Global Composite Purchasing Managers Index slipped to 46.3 in November, below 50, indicating a contraction in business activity.
  • Iran: Parliament passes bill to join SCO(Shanghai Cooperation Organization, more about the SCO>>).
  • South Sudan: The first SSCEM  (Chamber of Commerce of Energy and Minerals,能源和矿产商会), a non-governmental and not-for-profit organization established to advocate for the efficient use of the country’s natural resources, was established. More recently, the Chamber has been active in supporting initiatives to increase local share and environmental audits in the oil industry.