News

H&M Group has published its financial results for the three months ending 29 February 2024, revealing that the company's net sales amounted to £4 billion (SEK 53.699 billion). The group’s sales in the period 1-25 March 2024 increased by 2% in local currencies, compared with the same period in the previous year. H&M said it is "fully focused on driving profitable growth going forward". It aims to do this by refurbishing around 250 stores globally in 2024, including those in London, New York, Berlin and Stockholm.   Source : https://www.theindustry.fashion/hm-sales-rise-as-it-focuses-on-driving-profitable-growth-and-sustainability/

Nissan is targeting an additional 1 million vehicle sales over the next three years and a 30% reduction in electric vehicle production costs by 2030. In a new medium-term business plan, Nissan also said it would launch 30 new models by fiscal year 2026, with 16 of these electrified. It’s aiming for EV and combustion engine costs to reach parity by 2030. “This plan will enable us to go further and faster in driving value and competitiveness,” Nissan President and CEO Makoto Uchida said in a statement.   Source : https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/25/nissan-targets-1-million-extra-vehicle-sales-aims-to-cut-ev-costs.html

Competition in Indonesia's automotive market has intensified with the entry of Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer, BYD, earlier this year. Astra International, a key player in the country's automotive industry, is embracing this challenge with optimism. Earlier this year, Chief Economic Affairs Minister Airlangga Hartarto unveiled BYD’s intentions to invest $1.3 billion in a manufacturing plant in Indonesia, boasting an annual production capacity of 150,000 units.   Source : https://jakartaglobe.id/business/astra-embraces-competition-with-chinas-byd

The battery unit of Tsingshan Holding Group, the world’s top nickel producer, plans to build a plant in Indonesia, the latest in a series of Chinese investments that will help the South-east Asian nation step up from commodities production to more lucrative processing and manufacturing. Rept Battero Energy’s first overseas battery factory will be housed alongside Tsingshan’s existing operations in Weda Bay and could begin operating as soon as next year China is one of Indonesia’s top investors, spending more than US$7 billion there last year, with much of the cash deployed on building out processing facilities for the nation’s abundant reserves of raw materials.    Source : https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/international/asean/tsingshan-unit-plans-indonesian-battery-plant-trade-frictions-mount

Orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods fell by the most in nearly four years in January amid a sharp drop in bookings for commercial aircraft, while the outlook for business investment on equipment was mixed. The report from the Commerce Department on Tuesday added to a series of data this month, including retail sales, housing starts and manufacturing production in suggesting the economy lost momentum at the start of the year.   Source : https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/us-durable-goods-orders-fall-more-than-expected-january-2024-02-27/

Golden Heaven Group Holdings Ltd. (GDHG) manages and operates six properties consisting of amusement parks, water parks, and complementary recreational facilities. On February 29th, GDHG announced that it has entered into a Strategic Cooperation Letter of Intent with PT Bestar Jaya, a prominent Indonesian trading company known for its extensive network servicing over a hundred large-scale supermarkets nationwide, to launch a total of 30 to 50 indoor amusement parks in Indonesia.

TikTok and GoTo (Gojek-Tokopedia), the largest digital ecosystem in Indonesia, announced the formation of a strategic partnership in Indonesia. With this deal, GoTo’s eCommerce company Tokopedia and TikTok Shop Indonesia have combined under the PT Tokopedia entity that is now jointly owned by GoTo and TikTok.   Source : https://www.pymnts.com/news/ecommerce/2024/tiktok-and-goto-combine-ecommerce-businesses-in-indonesia/

The Thai economy expanded 1.9% in 2023, slowing from a revised 2.5% growth the previous year due to weak exports, official data released on Monday showed. The gross domestic product for the October-December quarter grew 1.7% from a year earlier, stronger than the 1.5% growth in the July-September quarter due to robust tourism and rising consumption, according to the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC), a government agency. But  the  annual  and  quarterly  figures  fell  short  of  market  expectations.  A  recent  economist  poll  by  Reuters  had projected 2.4% growth for the full year and 2.5% for the fourth quarter. In November, the NESDC projected 2.5% growth for the full year.   Source : https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/Thailand-s-2023-GDP-growth-slows-to-1.9-on-weak-exports