Trade alert

  • United States: A 200% import tariff will be imposed on aluminum and aluminum products imported from Russia from March 10. The US trade department has also expanded the list of high-value commodities prohibited from exporting to Russia and Belarus. The current list has reached 276 items.

Trade

  • Thailand’s Ministry of Commerce: Thailand’s rice export volume in January was 805,500 tons, an increase of 75.2% year-on-year; the export value increased by 78.76% year-on-year to 14.28 billion baht.
  • Kazakhstan: In 2022, the total import and export volume of Kazakhstan’s foreign trade was 134.4 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 32.1%. Among them, the export value was US$84.4 billion, a year-on-year increase of 39.9%, and the export value of processed goods was US$26.5 billion, a year-on-year increase of 33.6%. Imports amounted to US$50 billion, achieving a trade surplus of US$34.4 billion.
  • The port of Bremen in Germany will be expanded at a cost of hundreds of millions of euros. Construction is planned to start likely in 2026 (with terminal operations continuing) with completion in the late 2030s.

Industry

  • IDC: It is predicted that the technology spending of global digital native enterprises will grow at a strong compound growth rate of 20.9% in the next five years, and will exceed US$500 billion in 2026.
  • Zhongtai Securities（中泰证券）: The content of antimony (锑ti) in the earth’s crust is very low, and the distribution is uneven. The antimony resource is about 2 million tons. Based on the annual consumption of 140,000 tons, the static recoverable life is only about 14 years. Due to the scarcity and strategic value of its resources, the Ministry of Land and Resources listed antimony as a key mineral resource in the 2016 “National Mineral Resources Plan (2016-2020)”. In addition, the United States, the European Union, and Japan also listed antimony as a key mineral resource. In terms of resource distribution, antimony is mainly distributed in China (24%), Russia (18%), Bolivia (16%), Kyrgyzstan (13%), Myanmar (7%), Australia (5%) and other regions; output In terms of distribution, China accounted for 55%, Russia accounted for 23%, Tajikistan accounted for 12%, and Australia accounted for 3%.
  • Mobile World Congress 2023: On February 27, local time, it kicked off in Barcelona, Spain. The exhibition lasts for 4 days. The exhibition revolves around the themes of “5G new power, beyond reality, open network, financial technology and digital everything”（5G新动力，超越现实，开放网络，金融科技和数字万物）, 6G, WiFi-7, satellite communication, folding screen, etc.（6G、WiFi-7、卫星通信、折叠屏） have become the highlights of the conference.

Industry China

  • Securities Times: Ehi car rental data shows that since February, the order volume has increased by about 40% year-on-year, and the multi-day order volume ranks among the top five in history. This is the first time that the market has experienced an off-season market atmosphere. According to data from Ctrip, the number of domestic car rental orders since the Spring Festival has increased by 192% compared with the same period after the 2019 holiday.
  • Quna去哪网: In February, the number of international air ticket bookings doubled compared with December last year, and the number of visa searches increased by 6 times.
  • Economic Information Daily（经济参考报）: At the beginning of 2023, China’s new energy vehicle exports have shown a strong momentum, with a year-on-year increase of 48.2% in January.
  • Domestic commodity futures国内商品期货: As of the close on the afternoon of February 27, most of them closed down. Ferrosilicon, iron ore, Shanghai zinc, Shanghai tin, hogs, urea, international copper （硅铁、铁矿石、沪锌、沪锡、生猪、尿素、国际铜）fell by more than 2%, Shanghai copper, Shanghai nickel, short fiber, benzene Ethylene, stainless steel, Shanghai silver, and No. 20 rubber（沪铜、沪镍、短纤、苯乙烯、不锈钢、沪银、20号胶） fell more than 1%. Coking coal rose by more than 1%, while apples, crude oil, fuel oil, and peanuts rose slightly.
  • Securities Times: As of February 24, the average price of 1# antimony in the Yangtze River Nonferrous Market was 86,800 yuan/ton, which has exceeded the high point of 86,000 yuan/ton in February 2012, and the price hit a new high in nearly 11 years.
  • CITIC Construction Investment 中信建投: As an important “industrial monosodium glutamate”, antimony（锑） is basically difficult to replace in military, aerospace, printing, flame retardant and other application fields, and it has been included in the list of minerals in short supply at home and abroad.

China

  • The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council: issued the “Overall Layout Plan for the Construction of Digital China数字中国建设整体布局规划”. To fully empower economic and social development. Make the digital economy stronger and better. Cultivate and strengthen the core industries of the digital economy, study and formulate measures to promote the high-quality development of the digital industry, and create an internationally competitive digital industry cluster. Promote the deep integration of digital technology and the real economy, and accelerate the innovative application of digital technology in key areas such as agriculture, industry, finance, education, medical care, transportation, and energy.
  • The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council: issued the “Overall Layout Plan for the Construction of Digital China”. It is necessary to lay a solid foundation for the construction of a digital China. Accelerate the coordinated construction of 5G networks and Gigabit optical networks, further promote the large-scale deployment and application of IPv6, promote the comprehensive development of the mobile Internet of Things, and vigorously promote the large-scale application of Beidou. The system optimizes the layout of computing power infrastructure, promotes efficient complementarity and collaborative linkage of computing power between the east and the west, and guides the rational echelon layout of general data centers, supercomputing centers, intelligent computing centers, and edge data centers. Improve the level of application infrastructure as a whole, and strengthen the digitalization and intelligent transformation of traditional infrastructure.
  • Ministry of Finance: In January, 625.8 billion yuan of new bonds were issued nationwide, including 134.6 billion yuan of general bonds and 491.2 billion yuan of special bonds. A total of 17.7 billion yuan of refinancing bonds were issued across the country, including 10.3 billion yuan of general bonds and 7.4 billion yuan of special bonds. In total, 643.5 billion yuan of local government bonds were issued across the country, including 144.9 billion yuan of general bonds and 498.6 billion yuan of special bonds.
  • Energy Bureau: A number of policy documents will be issued, including the “Administrative Measures for Deep Sea Offshore Wind Power深远海海上风电管理办法” and “Administrative Measures for Wind Farm Renovation, Upgrading and Decommissioning风电场改造升级和退役管理办法”, which will adapt to the new situation and promote the revision of the Renewable Energy Law.
  • Zhang Jianchun, Deputy Director of the Central Propaganda Department: We must give full play to the important role of copyright in safeguarding national security, further do a good job in the legalization of software, and promote the high-quality development of the domestic software industry.
  • Chinanewscom: The accumulative power generation of the Jinping Hydropower Plant affiliated to the Yalong River Basin Hydropower Development Co., Ltd., （雅砻江流域水电开发有限公司）the largest power generation company in Sichuan Province, has exceeded the 400 billion kWh mark. 400 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity can be used by a megacity with a population of more than 20 million for more than 2 years, and can create a GDP of more than 8.6 trillion yuan. Green electricity can replace and save more than 160 million tons of coal.
  • Supply and Marketing Cooperatives: Released a list of 180 key enterprises in the 2023 national supply and marketing cooperative system for ensuring agricultural supplies. The companies selected this time cover 31 provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the central government and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. The selected enterprises will give full play to their demonstration and leading role, further improve the production and supply service level of agricultural materials, accelerate the entry of agricultural materials into villages and stores, and effectively strengthen the guarantee of agricultural material supply.
  • The National Development and Reform Commission and other departments recently issued the “Guiding Opinions on Coordinating Energy Conservation, Carbon Reduction and Recycling to Accelerate the Renovation and Transformation of Product Equipment in Key Areas（关于统筹节能降碳和回收利用 加快重点领域产品设备更新改造的指导意见）”. Improve the market share of high-efficiency energy-saving products and equipment.
  • Ministry of Science and Technology: In 2022, the R&D expenditure of the whole society exceed 3 trillion yuan for the first time, the R&D investment intensity will exceed 2.5% for the first time, and the proportion of basic research investment exceeded 6% for 4 consecutive years.
  • Ministry of Commerce: By the end of 2022, the State Council has successively established 165 cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zones in seven batches, covering 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, basically forming a development pattern of linkage between land and overseas, and two-way mutual aid between east and west.

Company

  • Daqo Energy大全能源: In 2022, the operating income was 30.94 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 185.64%, and the net profit was 19.12 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 234.05%. In 2023, the overall demand for photovoltaic products in the world will remain strong, and the overall supply of high-purity polysilicon materials will still be in short supply, causing the price of silicon materials to continue to rise.
  • JinkoSolar: In 2022, revenue was 83.075 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 104.77%; net profit was 2.947 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 158.21%. Mainly due to the substantial increase in the company’s photovoltaic module shipments.
  • GEM: Signed a memorandum of understanding with Mercedes-Benz China, Ningde Times, and Bangpu to build a battery closed-loop recycling project. At the same time, all parties will carry out extensive and in-depth exploration and cooperation around battery recycling technology and recycling business models.
  • Pulutong普路通: It plans to jointly invest and establish a holding subsidiary Puna Times New Energy Co., Ltd. with Nayi New Energy. The research and development of the core technology of sodium-ion batteries will continue, and the construction of the production line will be started as soon as possible. The design capacity of the pilot line will be 100MWh in 2023, and the design capacity of the battery mass production line will be gradually expanded to 3GWh in 2024.
  • LONGi Green Energy: With the increase in the supply of raw materials, the company has increased the operating rate of silicon wafers to about 90% and the operating rate of modules to more than 80% according to changes in orders. In terms of shipments, shipments of silicon wafers and components are expected to achieve year-on-year growth.
  • Tencent has established the HunyuanAide project team for ChatGPT-like conversational products.
  • Ideal Auto: Revenue in the fourth quarter of 2022 was 17.65 billion yuan, compared with 10.62 billion yuan in the same period last year; net profit was 265 million yuan, compared with 296 million yuan in the same period last year. The net loss in 2022 was 2.032 billion yuan, and the net loss in 2021 was be 320 million yuan. It is estimated that the total revenue in the first quarter of 2023 will be 17.45 billion to 18.45 billion yuan, and the vehicle delivery volume will be 52,000-55,000 vehicles.
  • The Paper: We learned from BYD dealers that starting from 2023, hybrid models in Shanghai will no longer enjoy exclusive licenses for new energy vehicles, so the discounts for hybrid models will be slightly higher than those for pure electric models. The pure electric version of the sedan model Han and the SUV models Tang and Song under Dynasty.com have thousands of yuan reductions, while the entry-level SUV models have no discount.
  • Canalys: In the fourth quarter of 2022, global shipments of smart wearable wristband devices reached 50 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 18.6%. The top five manufacturers have experienced varying degrees of decline. Despite a 17 percent decline, Apple still topped the list with a 28 percent market share.
  • Amazon acquired One Medical for $3.49 billion. Amazon recently announced the completion of its $3.49 billion acquisition of 1Life Healthcare, the operator of the One Medical family of primary health clinics. One Medical operates more than 200 medical offices in 26 U.S. markets, and customers pay subscription fees for its doctors and digital health services.
  • ContextLogic, the parent company of the e-commerce platform Wish, announced its results. As of December 31, 2022, Wish’s platform revenue in the fourth quarter was US$123 million, down 2% from the previous quarter, and tended to be stable; the core market revenue in the fourth quarter was US$36 million, and logistics revenue was US$77 million, respectively. decreased by 74%, and 37%.
  • Greek dry bulk shipping company Diana Shipping has announced its financial results for 2022. For the whole year of 2022, operating income will be US$290 million, a year-on-year increase of 35.4%; operating profit will be US$143 million, a year-on-year increase of 124.7%; net profit will be US$119 million, a year-on-year increase of 107.4%.
  • Nokia: Replaced with a new Logo, for the first time in nearly 60 years.

World

  • Bank of Korea: By the end of 2022, the average debt of each household in South Korea was 86.5 million won, the first reduction in 19 years. However, due to the decline in the total population after peaking in 2020, the per capita debt is on the rise, reaching 36.16 million won.
  • Japan’s Kyodo News: In March, the number of calls at Japan’s 42 major ports is expected to rebound to close to 2019 levels. A total of 89 calls have been made at 23 ports in 22 prefectures. Negotiations are also under way at other ports to accommodate cruise ships, possibly moving closer to the actual number of calls in March 2019 (125 at 42 ports).
  • Malta: Announced the cancellation of the epidemic prevention requirements for people entering from China.
  • U.S. chipmaker Broadcom is set to receive an antitrust warning from the European Union in the coming weeks, warning that its proposed $61 billion acquisition of cloud computing company VMware could have antitrust effects.
  • Mexico: Nationalize lithium reserves and consolidate this valuable raw material as “national property”. Nationalizing lithium means it cannot be mined by foreigners, he stressed. The state-owned National Lithium Corporation of Mexico will be responsible for carrying out research on the exploration, refining and production of lithium mines in Mexico, the report said.
  • Eurozone: The economic sentiment index in February was 99.7, expected to be 101, and the previous value was 99.9. The industrial sentiment index in the euro zone in February was 0.5, which was expected to be 2, and the previous value was 1.3. The service industry sentiment index in the euro zone in February was 9.5, expected to be 12.4, and the previous value was 10.7.
  • Brazil’s National Institute of Geography and Statistics: In January, Brazil’s official inflation index IPCA rose by 0.53% month-on-month, which was lower than market expectations and decreased from the 0.62% increase in December. The cumulative inflation rate over the past 12 months was 5.77%. It was the lowest level since February 2021. Food and beverage prices led the rise, up 0.59% month-on-month.
  • South Korea: Manufacturing facilities with 5 or more workers have a total of 131,984 vacant jobs in the second half of 2022, more than double the 58,521 in 2019. Manufacturing vacancies could reach 300,000 by 2030.