Chagee valued at $6.2bn on debut...Tencent offers 28,000 internships...US rare earth miner halts exports to China
Chagee valued at $6.2bn on debut
Chinese tea chain Chagee secured a valuation of $6.2 billion after its shares gained 21% in their Nasdaq debut on Thursday, defying volatility stemming from the United States' trade war with Beijing, reports Reuters. The company's American depositary shares opened at $33.75 apiece, compared with the initial public offering price of $28.
Chagee sold 14.7 million ADS at the top of its marketed range of $26 to $28 per share to raise $411 million, in the biggest listing for a Chinese consumer company since vaping firm RLX Technology's $1.4 billion IPO in January 2021, according to Dealogic data.
The market reaction underscores sustained investor confidence in Beijing's promises to boost domestic consumption and support capital markets, as confidence sours among businesses and consumers from an all-out economic war between the two largest world economies.
Tencent offers 28,000 internships
Chinese technology giant Tencent Holdings announced a significant campus recruitment initiative on Thursday, offering 28,000 internships over the next three years as the country’s 12 million fresh graduates face challenges in securing employment, reports the South China Morning Post. The Shenzhen-based company said it would strive to retain more interns as permanent employees, although it did not specify the proportion. This year alone, Tencent plans to hire 10,000 interns who are graduating in summer or later.
Among these positions, 6,000 will be related to fields such as artificial intelligence (AI), big data, cloud computing and video gaming engines, the company said in a post on WeChat.
As of the end of March, Tencent reported an over 55,000-strong workforce. Including staff from subsidiaries, the company had 110,558 employees at the end of last year, up from 105,417 the previous year, according to its annual report. Tencent’s headcount peaked in 2021 at 112,771.
US rare earth miner halts exports to China
A US producer of rare earth metals stopped shipments to China after Beijing placed export controls on similar materials crucial for defense and technology manufacturing, reports Bloomberg. MP Materials Corp., which operates a mine and processing facility in California, said Thursday it would halt sales of its rare earth elements to China as part of an effort to “reindustrialize” the minerals supply chain in the US.
The move follows Chinese restrictions announced earlier this month that are expected to have broad impacts on companies making optical lasers, radar devices and high-powered magnets used in wind turbines, jet engine coatings and other advanced technologies. China is the world’s dominant supplier of rare earths, while the US produces and refines little of its own.
“Selling our valuable critical materials under 125% tariffs is neither commercially rational nor aligned with America’s national interest,” the company said in a statement. “Manufacturers across critical industries have urgently reached out in search of a secure, resilient source of materials and magnets. We are uniquely positioned to answer that call.”
Nvidia chief holds meeting with Chinese official
Jensen Huang, the CEO of Nvidia, met with the head of China’s trade promotion agency in Beijing on Thursday, reaffirming the company's commitment to the Chinese market despite escalating US export restrictions on AI chips, reports Caixin. Huang’s meeting with Ren Hongbin, chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), marked a rare meeting between the top executive of the U.S. chip giant and Chinese authorities. The meeting was held at the invitation of the CCPIT.
“China is an extremely important market for Nvidia,” Huang said, according to Chinese state media. He added that Nvidia remains committed to collaborating with Chinese partners and will continue to optimize its product offerings to comply with export regulations.
When asked about the impact of the indefinite U.S. export controls on Nvidia’s H20 chip, Huang acknowledged the significant blow to the company’s business. “Nvidia and the Chinese market have grown together and benefited each other,” he said. “We will continue to serve China unwaveringly.”
Trump admin to impose fees on Chinese ships
The Trump administration will begin to impose fees on Chinese-built ships docking in US ports as it tries to spur US shipbuilding in a move likely to escalate trade tensions between Washington and Beijing, reports the Financial Times. The US presented plans in a filing late on Thursday to phase in steep charges on Chinese owned or built ships carrying cargo to US ports over several years.
The fees are part of an effort to increase the pressure on China over what Washington argues are unfair trade practices, while boosting the domestic manufacturing of ships. However, they have caused alarm among US exporters.
US farmers have expressed dismay that an overly-punitive fee structure would harm their ability to export goods by forcing ships to visit fewer American ports in an attempt to reduce the fees they have to pay.