24/03/2025

BIZ & FINANCE MONDAY | MAR 24, 2025

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try Li urges countries to open up markets amid ‘instability’ o China Development Forum attended by US senator and dozens of foreign CEOs The Trump administration is set to conclude a review of Beijing’s compliance with the “phase one” US-China trade deal struck in his first term by April 1. Trump imposed 20% tariffs on Chinese exports this month, prompting China to retaliate with additional duties on American agricultural products.

AI startup Perplexity confirms interest to buy TikTok SAN FRANCISCO: Artificial intelligence (AI) startup Perplexity last week expressed its interest in buying TikTok, which faces a deadline to divest from its Chinese owner or be banned in the United States. Perplexity in a blog post laid out a vision for integrating its AI-powered internet search capabilities with the popular video-snippet sharing app. “Combining Perplexity’s answer engine with TikTok’s extensive video library would allow us to build the best search experience in the world,” the San Francisco-based firm reasoned. “Perplexity is singularly positioned to rebuild the TikTok algorithm without creating a monopoly, combining world-class technical capabilities with Little Tech independence.” President Donald Trump earlier this month said the United States was in talks with four groups interested in acquiring TikTok, with the Chinese-owned app facing an uncertain future in the country. “Any acquisition by a consortium of investors could in effect keep ByteDance in control of the algorithm, while any acquisition by a competitor would likely create a monopoly in the short form video and information space,” Perplexity contended in the post. “All of society benefits when content feeds are liberated from the manipulations of foreign governments and globalist monopolists.” Perplexity said it would build infrastructure for TikTok at data centres in the US and maintain it with US oversight. The AI startup also proposed rebuilding TikTok’s winning algorithm “from the ground up”, making the app’s“ForYou”recommendation feed open-source. Perplexity also vowed to enable TikTok users to cross-reference information as they watch videos to check their veracity. – AFP Accepting the carmaker’s reasoning would allow importers to suppress vital information and then claim that the time limit for the tax authority to conduct a probe had passed, the authority said in its March 10 filing, which was not public and is being reported for the first time. This would have “catastrophic consequences”, they said in the filing. The case will be heard today. – Reuters India says quashing Volkswagen’s US$1.4b tax bill would be ‘catastrophic’ NEW DELHI: India’s government has told a court in Mumbai that agreeing to Volkswagen’s demand to quash a US$1.4 billion (RM6.2 billion) tax bill would have “catastrophic consequences” and encourage companies to withhold information and delay inquiries, court documents show. India’s highest-ever demand for back taxes related to import duties came after scrutiny of 12 years of Volkswagen shipments and has rekindled foreign investors’ fears over lengthy investigations. The automaker has described the case as a “matter of life and death”for its India business, and is fighting the tax authority in the high court in Mumbai. Volkswagen unit, Skoda Auto Volkswagen India, faces allegations that it misclassified component imports of some Audi, VW and Skoda cars to evade higher tariffs. Its key argument to quash the tax demand is the “inaction and tardiness”of tax officials in delaying shipment reviews. The Indian tax authority told the high court in a 78-page rebuttal that Volkswagen caused the delays by withholding crucial information and data about its imports.

policymakers domestic consumption to offset fresh US tariff headwinds. “We will focus on combining policy intensification with stimulating market forces,” Li said according to a Xinhua report, without elaborating on specific stimulus measures. “We will implement more active and promising macroeconomic policies, further intensify counter-cyclical adjustments, and introduce new incremental policies when necessary.” Li added that he hoped entrepreneurs will be “staunch defenders and promoters of globalisation ... (and) resist unilateralism and protectionism”. There were fewer American CEOs attending the summit than last year due to heightened geopolitical tensions between Beijing and Washington, according to one source. A closed-door meeting between Li and foreign business executives will not take place for the second year in a row, according to the agenda. Senator Daines of Montana, a strong supporter of US President Donald Trump, met with Vice-Premier He Lifeng in Beijing on Saturday and with Li yesterday, in the first visit to China by a US politician since Trump took office in January. Trump previously announced a wave of fresh “reciprocal” tariffs on April 2 targeting countries with trade barriers on US products, which could potentially include China. to boost

In recent weeks, Chinese Commerce Ministry officials have met with at least a dozen executives from foreign firms including Brazilian mining giant Vale, Airbus , PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, Honeywell and Swire. These meetings came as official data showed foreign direct investment last year plummeted the most since the 2008 global financial crisis. China’s State Council unveiled an action plan to boost foreign investment last week, which promised measures such as further opening up in China’s telecommunications and healthcare sectors and smoothing cross-border data transfers. As China concluded its annual parliamentary session this month, the government vowed to “vigorously boost” consumption in an economy facing sluggish consumer demand and a protracted property crisis. However, analysts have said policymakers need to launch greater stimulus efforts if Beijing is caught up in a spiralling trade war with Washington this year. – Reuters

BEIJING: Chinese Premier Li Qiang urged countries to open up their markets to combat “rising instability and uncertainty” at a business forum in Beijing yesterday, as China braces for further US tariff headwinds. “In today’s increasingly fragmented world with rising instability and uncertainty, it is more necessary for countries to open up their markets and enterprises ... to resist risks and challenges,” Li told dozens of foreign CEOs and visiting US Republican Senator Steve Daines at the China Development Forum, state media reported. Foreign CEOs including Tim Cook of Apple, Cristiano Amon of Qualcomm, Pascal Soriot of AstraZeneca and Amin Nasser of Saudi Aramco are attending the China Development Forum yesterday and today, and some are expected to meet President Xi Jinping on Friday, sources previously told Reuters. Beijing is keen to attract foreign investment at a time of heightened geopolitical tensions, as

Li speaking during the opening

ceremony of the forum at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing. – AFPPIC

Australia budget to dole out energy bill relief

SYDNEY: Australia’s government said yesterday that a federal budget this week would include an A$1.8 billion extension to a scheme to reduce energy bills, ahead of what is expected to be a closely-fought general election due by May. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s centre-left Labor government has already handed out A$3.5 billion in energy bill relief in a bid to tackle inflation, as it grapples with rising living costs in the nation of around 27 million. Yesterday, ahead of handing down tomorrow its final budget before the election, Albanese said Australian households and around one million small businesses would get another A$150 “in

rebates automatically applied to their electricity bills in quarterly instalments”. “Treasury estimates this will directly reduce headline inflation by around half of a percentage point in 2025,” Albanese said in a statement, which costed the measure at A$1.8 billion. The government’s main political opposition, the conservative Liberal-National coalition, said it would not oppose the scheme’s extension, after the country’s energy regulator last week warned that power prices in some eastern regions could surge by nearly 9% from July. As announced on Saturday, the budget will also expand a scheme to help would-be home buyers get on the property ladder, as housing,

the largest contributor to the rising cost of living in Australia, shapes up as a key election issue. The budget pledges come after a widely watched poll in February showed most Australian voters wanted the Labor government out of office. In the poll, Albanese’s approval rating hit its lowest point since he was elected to office in May 2022. The government, which has not yet officially called the election, is working to lift support via a slew of measures aimed at pleasing families and businesses grappling with high living costs. Australia’s central bank, which in February cut rates for the first time in more than four years, warned at the time that it was too early to declare victory over inflation. – Reuters