The following is a round-up of a selection of news from the last seven days:
Private equity firm EQT invests into tech education firm Compass
Compass, a leading K-12 vertical SaaS software company, has signed an agreement with EQT, where EQl invest in the firm to support its ongoing growth, product development and innovation.
Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, Compass is a cloud-based school management platform for the K-12 education market.
Compass is used by more than 3,000 schools and over four million parents, teachers, and students, and has recently expanded in Ireland and the UK. Compass offers a range of tools for individual state schools, private independent schools, enterprise education dioceses and state and territory education departments.
A spokesperson for EQT declined to provide any more details about the size of the transaction.
Private equity firm Advent invested A$60 million ($40.1 million) into Compass in 2018 for a minority stake, and is exiting the business, connected to the EQT deal.
EQT also announced two acquisitions in Asia last week of Singapore-headquartered PropertyGroup Guru and Korean recycling firm KJ Environment.
HKEX’s H1 2024 results
The Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, operator of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX), recorded revenue of HK$10.6 billion ($1.36 billion) in the first half of 2024 (up to June 30, 2024), which was similar to the same period last year. While net profit was HK$6.1 billion, 3% down from the H1 2023, in Q2, the figures were a record, with net profit climbing 9% to HK$3.16 billion.
Issuers raised a total of HK$13.4 billion from initial public offerings (IPOs) on the Hong Kong bourse across 30 deals during the six month period, down 25% from the previous year. Consulting firm KPMG earlier downgraded its 2024 projection of Hong Kong IPO fundraising from HK$100 billion to $60 billion.
HKEX chief executive Bonnie Chan said that the team remains cautiously optimistic about the outlook for the rest of 2024 as macro uncertainties persist. An interest rate cut from the US Fed could also help.
Iron ore slowdown sees BHP increase investment in copper mines
Announcing the firm’s full year results (FY 2024), mining giant BHPs chief executive Mike Henry said that the firm will continue to ramp up copper production , which climbed 9% to the year ending June 30, 2024.
Overall ‘attributable profit’ declined 39% to $7.9 billion from $12.9 billion in FY 2023 on one-off charges as it had a $2.7 billion writedown on its Australian nickel opeations. Underlying profit was up 2% to $13.7 billion.
The FTSE 100 company said it has increased capital investment in copper, with projects under development in Chile and Australia, and potash, by $1.5 billion and that it expects its medium-term capital to be allocated to these commodities.
One of the reasons for the investment is a slowdown in demand for iron ore from China as the country sees a property downturn and wants local governments and property firms to offload thousands of finished and unfinished flats. Henry said he expects the situation in China to gradually improve over the next 12 months.
Canada to impose tariffs on Chinese EVs, steel and aluminium
Canada said this week that it will impose a 100% tariff on the import of Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), which will also go alongside a 25% tariff on imported steel and aluminium from China.
Canada’s prime minister Justin Trudeau said the move counter what he called China's policy of over-capacity.
The tax will start on October 1, on top of the existing duty of 6.1% and target Chinese EVs, and some hybrid vehicles, including cars, trucks, buses and vans. The tariff on steel and aluminium will come into force from October 15.
The move follows the US increasing tariffs for many Chinese goods, including EVs, and the EU imposing tariffs on Chinese-made EVs earlier this year.
HKIC invests in Thailand green tech
In its maiden overseas investment, the $8 billion Hong Kong Investment Corporation (HKIC), a government investment entity, is backing a Hong Kong-based electric vehicle charging venture that will power up Thailand's green tech drive.
The wealth fund will invest in Spark EV, a joint venture between Hong Kong’s Cornerstone Technologies and Thai firms, to roll out a network of 1,000 EV charging stations across Thailand within five years.
Spark has inked a long-term agreement with Thai state-owned energy conglomerate Bangchak Corporation Public (BCP) to install and operate the EV charging infrastructure in its petrol stations.
“With [this] collaboration, Spark aspires to become one of the top three major EV charging brands in Thailand by 2026,” said Clara Chan, HKIC’s chief executive officer at the partnership’s launch ceremony on August 22.
This story first appeared in FinanceAsia's sister title AsianInvestor.
IBM cuts 1,000 jobs in China: reports
There have been numerous reports in media about IBM cutting around 1,000 staff in China at two research units called the China Development Lab and China Systems Lab; some staff were given the option to relocate to other countries according to the reports.
It has been reported in the Financial Times that staff were informed about the cuts by IBM executive Jack Hergenrother on Monday, August 26.
The firm saw falling sales in 2023 in China, and trade tensions have been ramping up between US and China over recent years, especially around access to senstive technology, with tariffs placed on China for electric vehicles by the Biden administration.
IBM hadn’t replied to a request for comment by publication time.
