BBC Business News Articles

image copyrightGetty ImagesBP returned to profit in the third quarter, but the global coronavirus crisis continued to hit demand for oil.BP said underlying replacement cost profit, its definition of net income, was $86m (£66m) from July to September. That was down from $2.2bn a year earlier, but a big improvement on its massive second-quarter loss of $6.7bn.Chief executive Bernard Looney said that despite a “challenging environment”, the firm was “performing while transforming”.He added that despite financial pressures, BP would continue to pay a dividend to shareholders.In February, BP said it planned to sharply cut carbon emissions by 2050.The company wants to be “net zero” by 2050 – that is, it wants the greenhouse gas emissions from its operations, and from the oil and gas it produces, to make no addition to the amount of greenhouse gases in the world’s atmosphere by that date.It also wants to halve the amount of carbon in its products by 2050.BP to cut 10,000 jobs as virus hits demand for oilBP faces hit of up to $17.5bn as it forecasts lower oil pricesBP boss plans to ‘reinvent’ oil giant for green eraIn June, BP announced plans to cut 10,000 jobs after a slump in demand for oil due to Covid-19.It also forecast lower oil prices for decades to come as governments speed up plans to cut carbon emissions in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.That same month, it announced it was selling off its petrochemicals business to Ineos as part of its efforts to become a lower carbon firm.BP said the $5bn deal remained on track and, subject to approvals, was expected to complete by the end of the year.”Having set out our new strategy in detail, our priority is execution and, despite a challenging environment, we are doing just that – performing while transforming,” Mr Looney said.”Major projects are coming online, our consumer-facing businesses are really delivering and we remain firmly focused on cost and capital discipline. “Importantly, net debt continues to fall. We are firmly committed to our updated financial frame, including the dividend – the first call on our funds.”

image copyrightGetty ImagesThe UK’s mobile networks are to be forbidden from selling phones locked to their services from December 2021.Regulator Ofcom said unlocking handsets could often be a complicated process, and this was discouraging owners from switching providers at the end of their contracts.The networks have previously suggested that locking devices helps deter theft and fraud.But the watchdog noted some companies had already abandoned the practice.Among those companies affected are:BT and its EE mobile divisionVodafoneTesco MobileO2, Sky, Three and Virgin already only sell unlocked handsets.”[It] will save people time, money and effort – and help them unlock better deals,” said Ofcom’s connectivity director Selina Chadha.Vodafone has already responded: “We stand ready to implement these changes when they come into force.”EE added: “We’ll work with Ofcom to comply with its guidelines.”Lost serviceIt typically costs about £10 to get a smartphone unlocked to let it work on any network.However, according to a study by Ofcom, about half of all those who try to do so experience difficulties.These can include facing a long wait to receive the code needed to trigger the process, as well as then finding that the code does not work.image copyrightGetty ImagesThe regulator added that some owners do not realise their devices are locked in the first place, causing them to suffer a loss of service when they try to switch.The ban means the UK remains compliant with wider European rules, but Ofcom noted that it was already looking into the problem before the EU introduced the regulations in 2018.The UK government has said it will adhere to the European Electronic Communications Code, despite planning to complete the Brexit transition period this year.Broadband consultationThe locked handsets ban is one of several new measures that telecoms providers will have to follow.Others include:an obligation to provide communications in accessible formats – such as braille – when requested. This must also be done by December 2021giving customers a stronger right to leave if changes are made to deals that they were not told about before signing. This will come into force in June 2022a requirement that customers be shown a clear summary of a contract’s key parts before joining. This must happen by June 2022In addition, the regulator plans to make it easier to switch broadband providers by December 2022.image copyrightGetty ImagesAt present, if customers switch from one provider reliant on BT Openreach’s network to another – for instance from Sky to TalkTalk – all they need to do is contact the new supplier, which makes all the arrangements.But if they want to move to another broadband network – for example from BT to Virgin Media or CityFibre – they have to manage it themselves.Ofcom had asked the industry to come up with a process to end this discrepancy.But after it failed to do so, officials are now working on their own solution, although they say they will consult the public and the companies involved first.

image copyrightGetty ImagesHSBC has said it will accelerate its restructuring plan, slashing costs further than previously suggested. The bank made the announcement as it reported a quarterly pre-tax profit of $3.1bn (£2.3bn) – down 35% from the same period last year. The bank’s revenues were also down 11% to $11.9bn, with $3.2bn coming from its business in Asia. HSBC has not yet said if its plan to accelerate its restructuring will mean more jobs will go. The bank says it will provide a detailed plan with its full-year results in February next year.HSBC first announced plans to cut 35,000 jobs in February, but put the plan on hold amid the pandemic.But after a 65% drop in pre-tax profits for the first half of the year, the bank said in August that it would accelerate the plan. It said this quarter’s revenues fell mainly because of the impact of lower interest rates, and a lower share of profit from its Saudi subsidiary.’Results still promising’However, the bank’s chief executive Noel Quinn said that there were some bright spots. “These were promising results against a backdrop of the continuing impacts of Covid-19 on the global economy,” he said.”I’m pleased with the significantly lower credit losses in the quarter, and we are moving at pace to adapt our business model to a protracted low interest rate environment.”HSBC had set aside between $8bn and $13bn for bad loans as it expects more people and businesses to default on their repayments because of the Covid-19 pandemic.The bank now says its expenses are trending to the lower end of that range. HSBC’s shares dive to lowest level since 1995HSBC glitch led to thousands of small business loans in the wrong nameHSBC and StanChart back China security laws for HKIn September, HSBC’s share price fell to its lowest level since 1995 amid allegations that the bank had allowed fraudsters to transfer millions of dollars around the world, even after learning of the scam. The bank has also faced recent criticism from the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for supporting China’s controversial security legislation in Hong Kong. Even before the Covid-19 pandemic hit, HSBC was restructuring with a plan to cut $4.5bn (£3.6bn) in cost cuts by 2022.At its peak, the bank employed more than 300,000 people, but since the global financial crisis, the bank has trimmed its operations significantly.

image copyrightGetty ImagesDisabled workers could face a “jobs crisis” amid the coronavirus pandemic, a leading charity has warned.About 7 in 10 disabled people surveyed by Leonard Cheshire had seen a hit to their income, been furloughed or feared redundancy due to Covid-19.A spokeswoman for the charity urged the government to “make our recovery from downturn an inclusive one”.A government spokesperson said it was “committed” to supporting a safe return to work for disabled people.The Leonard Cheshire charity also suggests that employers seem to be discouraged from hiring disabled people due to the coronavirus crisis.In a survey of 1,171 working age disabled people and 502 employers, two in five hiring managers said that a barrier from hiring disabled staff was “being able to support them properly” during the coronavirus pandemic. Disabled people fear losing their jobCoronavirus patient unable to work six months onFears for extra needs pupils entering jobs marketOne-fifth of employers admitted they were less likely to hire a disabled candidate overall.Of the 7.7 million disabled people of working age in the UK, 53.6% are currently in work, in comparison with 81.7% of those who are not disabled, according to the Office for National Statistics.More than half (57%) of disabled 18-24 year olds surveyed by the charity said they felt that the pandemic had affected their ability to work. The majority also felt that it had hit their future earnings potential.’Bosses need to be more open-minded’Emma Dobson, 23, who has cerebral palsy and uses an electric wheelchair, has been job-hunting since completing her Masters degree at Birmingham University this summer.She has been applying for a range of roles – from research assistant roles related to her academic studies, to support worker jobs or those in retail. Despite submitting an estimated 40 applications since July, she has had little success.”I’m at the point now where I have to draw a line between the jobs I want to do, or the ones where I need to just apply for the money,” Emma says.”Also, because I live by myself and like lots of people, I haven’t done much socialising recently… I’m desperate to find something.”Although she has relevant work experience in support work and office-based roles following work placements during her undergraduate degree, she says she hasn’t got beyond a first interview, which she describes as “soul-destroying”.She urges employers to do whatever they can to support disabled candidates in the application process, and at work.”Covid has shown us that a lot of the things that disabled employees have been asking for, such as flexible hours, remote working, hosting meetings online – are all very doable. “Lots of bosses managed to bring in these new measures at the drop of a hat – so there’s no excuse for not fixing any roadblocks to hiring a disabled person, or maintaining those new ways of working, as we’ve been asking for them for years.”Leonard Cheshire described the findings of its survey as “stark”.”But we should see them not as gloomy forecasts for policymakers but as motivators for immediate, wide-ranging action,” its head of policy, Gemma Hope said.The charity is calling on the government to take a number of actions, such as extending the furlough scheme for working people who are shielding and making all staff entitled to statutory sick pay on day one of employment.In September, charity Scope also said that disabled people had been “hardest-hit” by the pandemic. In an open letter, addressed to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, it pointed to “a looming recession and disabled people at the sharp end of poverty”.It called for the government to prioritise the publication of the National Disability Strategy, ensuring “it provides a clear plan to mitigate existing inequalities the pandemic has further magnified”.The government committed to publishing the strategy – which aims to improve disabled people’s access to opportunities – in the last Queen’s Speech.A government spokesperson said: “We understand this has been a very challenging time for many disabled people and we remain committed to supporting their safe return to work. “We are working to support and protect disabled people with one of the most comprehensive economic responses in the world,” they said, citing the creation of the Kickstart jobs scheme offering six-month paid placements for young people and tailored support for unemployed people as the number of work coaches in job centres are doubled.”In addition, we have boosted welfare support by £9.3 billion to help those who need it most,” they added.

image copyrightGetty ImagesThe future of the UK’s £34bn aerospace sector is at risk if ministers do not reach a deal with the European Union over the mutual recognition of parts, the aviation trade body ADS says. It said a deal would not form part of any post-Brexit trade deal, despite the sector employing 110,000 people. Currently the UK is the world’s second largest aerospace manufacturer.But ADS said that without agreement, customers would “go elsewhere or UK-based businesses choose to relocate”.The warning comes as global aircraft orders slowed to nearly zero in September due to a slump in demand caused by the pandemic. Just 13 aircraft were ordered in the three months from July to September, according to data from ADS. ADS says ministers have not prioritised an agreement over the certification of aerospace components in their trade negotiations with the European Union (EU), preferring to focus on issues such as fishing rights. UK will leave EU aviation safety regulatorGovernment ‘overseeing the demise of UK aviation’However, it said that without mutual recognition, manufacturers could face added cost and complexity at a time when they are already reeling from coronavirus. “Even with a deal we are facing significant additional costs,” ADS chief executive Paul Everitt told the BBC. “It gets worse if there’s no deal.”‘Political issues’At the moment, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certifies all aerospace parts made within the EU, and it has mutual recognition agreements with regulators around the world. But from 1 January, all UK-designed parts for aircraft will automatically become invalid in the EU.The UK’s own Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) will take over the function of certification, but experts fear it does not yet have the competence to do the job.”In a nutshell, we definitely need a deal. If there is no deal then we would need some temporary measures put in place by the EU to recognise UK-approved design changes,” Mr Everitt said.Big manufacturers such as Rolls-Royce have already moved design teams out of the UK to try to avoid extra costs. Some UK companies are also arranging for EASA – responsible for certifying the airworthiness of planes across the EU – to oversee some activities to make sure they can supply companies such as Airbus with parts.Mr Everitt said if no deal was struck, the UK’s dominant position in global aerospace would be hit as innovation slowed down. He said EASA and the CAA were themselves keen to find a solution “a suitable outcome” but that politics was getting in the way.”Because there are bigger political issues between the UK and the EU, they are not free to do the sensible deal that is there to be done.”A government spokesperson said: “Intensified talks are continuing in London this week, and for the first time we are negotiating on legal texts and across all areas at the same time. “Aviation and aerospace are critical industries to both the UK and the EU, and we have a common interest in ensuring that they continue to thrive.”

image copyrightGetty ImagesFormer Uber drivers have accused the taxi app firm of using automated “robo-firing” algorithms to dismiss them.British drivers want courts in the Netherlands – where Uber’s data is based – to overrule the algorithm that they say caused them to be fired.Experts say the legal challenge is the first of its kind to test the protections of GDPR Article 22.Uber told the BBC that drivers’ accounts were only deactivated following manual review by humans.”Uber provides requested personal data and information that individuals are entitled to,” said a spokeswoman for Uber. “We will give explanations when we cannot provide certain data, such as when it doesn’t exist or disclosing it would infringe on the rights of another person under GDPR.”The European Union’s (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which came into force in 2018, imposes obligations on companies who collect people’s personal information, no matter where they are located in the world, if that data is related to EU consumers.”As part of our regular processes, the drivers in this case were only deactivated after manual reviews by our specialist team,” the spokeswoman added.The algorithms that make big decisions about your lifeUber spared from London ban despite ‘historical failings’The man who taught Uber how to say sorryThe App Drivers & Couriers Union (ADCU), which is bringing the legal challenge, says that since 2018, it has seen well over 1,000 individual cases where drivers have allegedly been wrongly accused of fraudulent activity and immediately had their accounts terminated without a right of appeal.”For any private hire operator in London, if they fire someone, there is a requirement where they have to report the driver to Transport for London (TfL),” James Farrar, the ADCU’s general secretary told the BBC. “This is putting drivers in a Kafkaesque situation where they may be called in by TfL, they’re given 14 days to explain the situation and why they should keep their licence. Our drivers are in a terrible position because they don’t know what the issue is, Uber hasn’t told them.”Mr Farrar further claims that when TfL asked for additional details, Uber told TfL that it could not provide them, because it would compromise Uber’s security.ADCU adds that none of the drivers represented by it in this lawsuit have been reported to the police by Uber after having their accounts terminated. ‘I pleaded with Uber to tell me what I had done’image copyrightGetty ImagesA former Uber driver with ADCU, who has asked not to be named, told the BBC that he had been driving with Uber for about two years and had a customer rating of 4.94 when he was suddenly terminated from the app.”The day it happened, I went to work and on my app, it said I wasn’t allowed to log in. The app said to call customer support,” he said.”I rang customer support and I was told that my account was deactivated because I had been engaging in fraudulent activities.”He said that he contacted Uber more than 50 times over a year and a half via the phone and email, but claims he was never told what he had done that was “fraudulent”.When he called customer support, he was told that a “specialised team” was dealing with the issue, and that they would call him back. They never called, he says.”I was pleading with them in my emails repeatedly. I even asked if I could have a face-to-face meeting with the specialised team. I was willing to travel to another country to meet them,” he said.”I have a family to feed. I’m not a fraudster or a criminal.”After being terminated, the driver was reported to TfL by Uber. But the taxi app firm did not report him to the police. TfL wrote to the driver to ask him to answer the allegations in writing. When the driver explained, TfL dropped the matter and did not revoke his licence.Anton Ekker is a privacy lawyer based in Amsterdam who is representing the British former Uber drivers.”We know for sure that Uber is using algorithms for decisions about fraud and deactivation of drivers. This is happening everywhere,” he said.image copyrightAnton EkkerOn Uber’s claims that its termination decisions are made by humans, Mr Ekker said: “If it is automated decision-making, then the GDPR says they must have legal grounds to use such technology, and they must give drivers the possibility to object to an automated decision, which they clearly did not do.”Mr Ekker added that on Twitter he had seen thousands of complaints from Uber drivers all over the world, saying they had been automatically terminated for committing fraud without an explanation.His intention is to seek a ruling from the Dutch courts, which, if successful, would then make it possible to bring a class action lawsuit against Uber.According to Prof Lilian Edwards, chair of Law, Innovation and Society at Newcastle University, ADCU’s legal challenge could set a precedent with the European Court of Justice. “This is probably the biggest case we’ve had so far on Article 22 of the GDPR that’s ever gotten to the courts,” she told the BBC.In 2017, Prof Edwards, together with Dr Michael Veale of University College London, published an academic paper exploring the challenges relating to transparency and fairness when it comes to the use of computer algorithms to make decisions that affect people’s lives.”Article 22 is really important because this is the provision that arguably gives you the right to an explanation about why an automated decision was made about you,” she explained.”There’s been huge debate for years about whether the law could give people some rights over it, and this is a way for us to get some control over it and to be able to challenge it if it’s wrong. “So this is really big news,” she says.

image copyrightGetty ImagesUS stock markets are set for their sharpest drop in weeks as concerns about the economic impact of surging coronavirus cases sent shares tumbling.The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down about 2.5% in mid afternoon trade in New York, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both dropped roughly 2%.Stocks in Europe, where major cities such as Paris have announced new restrictions, also declined.Shares in travel firms took some of the heaviest losses.Cruise lines Royal Caribbean Group and Norwegian both dropped more than 8%, while British Airways owner IAG closed 7.6% lower.US President Donald Trump has vowed to avoid widespread restrictions on activity, like the lockdowns this spring, saying such limits are not worth the economic cost. But in the US such decisions are typically handled by local leaders, some of whom, such as the mayors of El Paso, Texas and Newark, New Jersey, tightened rules on Monday.State of the virusOver the last week, the number of new virus cases reported daily in the US has repeatedly passed 80,000, sending the seven day average to a new high of nearly 69,000 – roughly double what it was in September. The number of hospitalisations has jumped 40% in the past month and death rates are also rising, though more slowly.On a per capita basis, the number of new cases in the US over the past seven days remains lower than some other countries, including the UK, Spain and France, where new restrictions have also been imposed recently.On Monday, France’s CAC 40 ended 1.9% lower, while Germany’s Dax index dropped 3.7%. In the UK, the FTSE 100 fell nearly 1.2%.In the US, investors are also worried about the impasse in Washington over the need to fund additional coronavirus economic relief, and trying to gauge risks related to the upcoming presidential election.On Monday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who has been trying to broker a deal for the White House, said the two sides remained far apart. Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, who leads Democrats in the House of Representatives made similar comments.

Tesco was “simply wrong” to tell a woman she could not buy period products during lockdown, Health Minister Vaughan Gething has said.The supermarket apologised after saying it could not sell sanitary towels and tampons from a store in Cardiff.The Welsh Government has banned the sale of non-essential items in supermarkets during a 17-day lockdown.Opposition parties have called that “absolute madness” and said better communication was needed with shops.The Welsh Government said revised guidance will be published on Tuesday.Mr Gething told the Welsh Government briefing that supermarkets would now be able to use their “discretion”.image copyrightTwitter/@nicholasmith6They have been told to close parts of their stores that sell items such as clothes, bedding and toys during Wales’ firebreak lockdown.Under Welsh Government guidance, shops which have been allowed to remain open are not allowed to sell goods classed as “non-essential” during the 17 days, which would normally be sold by businesses that have been made to close.This includes homeware, electrical goods, telephones, clothes, toys and games, and garden products.The policy has been criticised in a petition signed by more than 60,000 people.image copyrightGetty ImagesOne customer wrote on Twitter she was “raging and in tears” after not being able to buy period products at Tesco’s St Mellons store in Cardiff, after the aisle was blocked off.In a tweet that was later deleted, Tesco responded to the complaint by saying it had been told not to sell the items during the lockdown.”This is wrong – period products are essential,” the Welsh Government tweeted in response.The supermarket later issued a statement saying the area had been closed off following a break-in at the store, which the police were investigating.South Wales Police confirmed it was investigating a burglary which happened between 02:30 GMT and 04:30 on Monday when an estimated “£20,000 worth of beauty products were stolen”.Tesco said the reply to the customer, which had implied sanitary towels were non-essential, “was sent by mistake”.In Tesco in Penarth shelves containing smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors were covered in plastic sheeting, with the store putting up a sign saying they were “non essential”.But under the Welsh Government guidelines shops can sell products you can normally buy from food and drink stores, newsagents, pharmacies and DIY and hardware stores – as they remain open.Wales national lockdown in new year ‘likely”Think of others during firebreak,’ says archbishopOn Monday, Health Minister Vaughan Gething said meetings would be held with the supermarkets to make clear they could use “some discretion” to sell non-essentials to those in “genuine need”.Speaking at the Welsh Government’s coronavirus briefing he said he was “very sorry” a woman had been incorrectly told she could not buy sanitary products.Mr Gething said shoppers and retailers should use “common sense” and there would be a “very small number” of cases where there would be a genuine need to buy a non-essential item in a supermarket.”For the great majority of us though of course, we will be able to manage for the next two weeks – with the hardship, with the interruption that causes, yes –  but to avoid the much greater hardship and much greater interruption to people’s lives and their ability to still see family and friends in the future,” he said.image copyrightGetty ImagesThe Welsh Government has come under pressure to abandon the measure and a petition against the ban is now the largest ever submitted to the Senedd. Secretary of State for Wales Simon Hart has urged Mr Drakeford to “scrap the policy” while Welsh Conservative leader Paul Davies called for Members of the Senedd to be recalled “virtually” to debate the matter. “This is absolute madness by the Welsh Government, preventing people from buying the products which they want to buy,” he said.Plaid Cymru’s leader Adam Price called on ministers to admit they had sent out confused messaging about a policy, and the public health message had got “lost”.”If they’d had the conversations with the retail sector earlier, so we heard from the minister that they had a meeting on Thursday, I would suggest that was too late,” he said.”That has eroded public trust over the weekend and obviously that is concerning because it’s the public support, the public health message is ultimately the one thing that keeps us all safe.”To the folks @asda, @Tesco, @sainsburys, @AldiUK, @LidlGB & co ahead of your meeting this afternoon with the Welsh Labour Government. In the absence of any common sense emerging at the top of government, please do take a stand for your customers. Wales is behind you.— Andrew RT Davies (@AndrewRTDavies) October 26, 2020
Tim Batcup, who has had to close his Swansea book shop during the lockdown, said the Welsh Government had made the “right call”.But he said that while some supermarkets had stopped selling books, others were still selling them, and the messaging was a “bit mixed”.”I don’t really understand the fuss… I don’t know why people can’t go a couple of weeks without a pair or pants or a candle,” he told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.”I think it’s a sincere attempt at levelling up, how effective it will be I don’t know. It might drive people towards the online giants, but they all seem to clean up anyway.”image copyrightGetty ImagesNicky Small, who has had to close her craft shop in Llandudno, said she believed wool and other craft items were essential as the hobbies were helping many through the pandemic.”I think there’s a balance, what is one person’s non-essential could be another person’s essential,” she said.”The difficulty is anybody trying to dictate what essential is, because that will depend on who you are, what you are needing to get, if you have been waiting for payday.”Head of the Welsh Retail Consortium, Sara Jones, said the rules were confusing, and banning people from buying certain items set a dangerous precedent. “I think this policy is the wrong way to go about it, because rather than levelling the playing field, it’s just creating winners and losers, it’s pushing people online,” she said.She said allowing an element of discretion would go against the purpose of the policy, as people would have to approach staff for items and spend more time in store.”It’s distorting competition, which I think is setting a bit of a dangerous precedent,” she said.

image copyrightGetty ImagesChinese financial technology giant Ant Group looks set to make the world’s largest stock market debut.Ant, backed by Jack Ma, billionaire founder of e-commerce platform Alibaba, is to sell shares worth about $34.4bn (£26.5bn) on the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock markets.Advisers to Ant set the share price on Monday amid reports of very strong demand from major investors.The previous largest debut was Saudi Aramco’s $29.4bn float last December.Ant, an online payments business, is only selling about 11% of its shares. But the pricing values the whole business at about $313bn. Mr Ma’s Ant shares are reportedly worth about $17bn, taking his net worth to close to $80bn and confirming him as China’s richest man.Ant runs Alipay, the dominant online payment system in China, where cash, cheques and credit cards have long been eclipsed by e-payment devices and apps. As well as owning Alipay, which is estimated to have more than one billion users, Ant also offers wealth management, insurance and money transfer services.The company is expected to make its dual listing in Shanghai and Hong Kong next week, underlining the latter exchange’s growing importance as a financing hub.Hong Kong will stay a key financial hub say expertsThe Trump administration has threatened to limit Chinese firms’ access to US capital markets, a move that is part of the long-running trade row between Washington and Beijing. In response, China called on its flagship tech giants to list on domestic stock markets.Chinese tech firms, including NetEase and JD.Com, have already raised billions by selling their shares via the Hong Kong stock market.image copyrightGetty ImagesAccording to the Bloomberg news agency, Mr Ma told a conference in China on Saturday that the flotation would be of huge significance for Shanghai and Hong Kong. “This was the first time such a big listing, the largest in human history, was priced outside New York City,” he told the Bund Summit. “We wouldn’t have dared to think about it five years, or even three years ago,” said Mr Ma.Major investors to have signed up to the share offering ahead of flotation, scheduled for 5 November, include Singapore state investor Temasek Holding and Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth funds GIC and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.Analysts said the flotation offered investors a chance to secure a slice of Asia’s fast-growing tech sector.”Digital commerce and infrastructure platforms in Asia provide an unprecedented opportunity for Asian and global investors to be part of the next wave of value creation in Asia,” said Varun Mittal, an emerging markets expert at consultancy EY, in Singapore.”Earlier this year, India saw a rush of international investors keen to invest in infrastructure and platforms ecosystem, which is being replicated in the Chinese ecosystem now.”

image copyrightGetty ImagesToymakers are expecting strong global sales during the critical end-of-year festive season, after a surge of pandemic-fuelled demand for items such as Barbies and board games.Hasbro, maker of Monopoly and Jenga, told investors on Monday it was poised for a “good holiday season”.The forecast followed rival Mattel’s report last week of its biggest sales jump in a decade.The firm’s Barbie dolls hit their highest quarterly sales since 2003.The gains have come as families buy toys and games in an attempt to fend off boredom amid the pandemic lockdowns.”The toy industry as a whole grew meaningfully and continues to demonstrate its resilience in challenging economic times,” said Mattel chief executive Ynon Kreiz.In the first nine months of the year, Hasbro sales grew 13% from 2019 – bucking the wider plunge in consumer spending around the world. At Mattel, sales are down 2% from 2019 – but some brands, such as Barbie, are having their strongest run in years.Is Barbie’s makeover working?The firm said gross sales of the doll grew 15% year-on-year in the first nine months of 2020. In the most recent quarter, they rose 29% to more than $532m.Mattel told investors last week it was predicting holiday season sales growth of roughly 5% from last year – greater than many wider forecasts of festive season spending.However, analysts have warned that the pandemic may throw some surprises at toymakers in the upcoming months, as family budgets increasingly feel strains and concerns about coronavirus infection change holiday shopping dynamics.”Not only am I concerned that paycheque spending may be limited, but I’m concerned that we will not see that last minute rush into the stores due to fears of Covid-19,” Juli Lennett, vice president at market research firm NPD Group, wrote recently.But she said toymakers might still manage to see some gains.”As we’ve seen in previous economically challenged times, parents will sometimes forego their own needs to make their children happy. In this crazy, stressful year, parents might just go overboard and splurge on their kids -if they have money,” she said.