15/07/2025

BIZ & FINANCE TUESDAY | JULY 15, 2025

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China exports beat forecasts in June, imports rebound

BHP inks deals with Chinese firms to explore battery use in mining, transport MELBOURNE: The world’s biggest listed miner BHP said yesterday it has signed preliminary deals with China battery giants CATL and BYD to explore battery opportunities for mining equipment and transport across its global operations. The companies will jointly research and develop battery solutions for heavy mining equipment and railway locomotives, which in BHP’s Western Australian operations haul millions of tons of iron ore long distances from mine sites to the coast. Studies with both firms will also include the potential use of fast-charging infrastructure and battery recycling. As well as the potential to cut BHP’s direct emissions, and potentially its power costs, the new products may provide a template to cut emissions across the mining industry. “This strategic relationship marks further progress in BHP’s work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from our operations and enable support for further developments within the global resources sector,” chief procurement officer Rashpal Bhatti said in a statement. With BYD unit FinDreams Battery, BHP will also explore options to develop electric vehicles for use at mine sites as it seeks to cut down its diesel use. High power costs for metals producers like BHP have become an increasingly urgent issue in recent years. BHP’s medium-term target is to cut its operational emissions by at least 30% by 2030 from 2020 levels as well as to support the development of technology capable of reducing emissions intensity by 30% by the end of the decade. – Reuters Beijing grants conditional nod for Synopsys to acquire Ansys BEIJING: China’s market regulator has conditionally approved the acquisition of simulation software company Ansys by US software firm Synopsys’ , the State Administration for Market Regulation said yesterday. The approval comes after the US lifted restrictions on exports to China for chip design software developers earlier this month, allowing companies, including Synopsys, to restore access to their software and technology for Chinese customers. The Chinese regulator said it approved the deal based on restrictive commitments submitted by the companies, requiring the merged entity to fulfil several obligations. The conditions require the firms to honour existing customer contracts, including pricing and service terms, and continue supplying electronic design automation products to China customers on fair and non-discriminatory terms. The firms will also be required to maintain existing interoperability agreements and renew them on request from Chinese customers. Synopsys, which makes EDA tools for chip design, announced the US$35 billion cash-and-stock deal for Ansys in early 2024. – Reuters

Economists had predicted a 1.3% rise. The upbeat set of data helped lift market sentiment with the blue-chip CSI300 up 0.2% at the midday trading break, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.4%, nearing its highest level since October. Analysts and exporters are watching to see whether a deal agreed in June between US and Chinese negotiators will hold, after an earlier agreement reached in May was strained by a series of export controls that disrupted global supply chains for key industries. Exports to the United States grew 32.4% month-on-month, with June the first full month of Chinese goods benefitting from reduced US tariffs, although year-on-year growth remained negative. Meanwhile, outbound shipments to the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations jumped 16.8%. China’s June trade surplus came

in at US$114.7 billion, up from US$103.22 billion in May. China’s rare earths exports rose 32% in June from the month before, the customs data showed, in a sign that agreements struck last month to free up the flow of the metals were possibly bearing fruit. But Chinese negotiators will struggle to talk the US into bringing tariffs down to levels that enable producers to turn a profit, analysts say, warning additional duties that exceed 35% will wipe out margins. “Tariffs are likely to remain high and Chinese manufacturers face growing constraints on their ability to rapidly expand global market share by slashing prices,” said Zichun Huang, China economist at Capital Economics. “We therefore expect export growth to slow over the coming quarters, weighing on economic growth.” Beijing faces an Aug 12 deadline to reach a durable deal with the White House. In the meantime, Trump continues to broaden his global trade offensive with new tariffs on other partners. Analysts warn those measures could indirectly hurt Beijing by pressuring third countries used heavily for transshipments of Chinese goods. Trump recently unveiled a 40% tariff on US-bound transshipments through Vietnam, a move that could undermine Chinese manufacturers looking to reroute shipments and avoid higher duties. The US president has also threatened a 10% charge on imports from BRICS countries, in which China is a founding member, raising further risks for Beijing. Backing its fellow BRICS member, China’s soybean imports in June hit a same-month record high, buoyed by a surge in purchases from top supplier Brazil to 9.73 million tons, which Trump has slapped with 50% tariffs. Imports of U.S. soybeans, meanwhile, were just 724,000 tons. China’s crude oil imports rebounded last month and reached the highest daily rate since August 2023, after refineries from Saudi Arabia and Iran increased operations. Iron ore imports climbed 8% from May. – Reuters bought of constituents in India’s Bank Nifty> index in the cash and futures markets to artificially support the index in morning trade, while simultaneously building large short positions in index options which were exercised or allowed to expire later in the day. The regulator, which tracked Jane Street’s trading patterns for more than two years, has also widened its investigation to include other indexes and exchanges, a source has previously said. – Reuters large quantities

o Exporters making most of truce ahead of Trump’s next big tariff deadline

BEIJING: China’s exports regained momentum in June as firms rushed out orders to capitalise on a fragile tariff truce between Beijing and Washington ahead of a looming deadline next month, with shipments to Southeast Asian transit hubs particularly strong. Businesses on both sides of the Pacific are waiting to see whether the world’s two largest economies can agree on a more durable deal or if global supply chains will again be upended by the reimposition of duties exceeding 100%. Chinese producers, facing weak demand at home and harsher conditions in the United States, where they sell more than US$400 billion (RM1.7 trillion) worth of goods annually, are also hedging their bets and racing to grab market

share in economies closer to home. Customs data yesterday showed outbound shipments from China rose 5.8% year-on-year in June, beating a forecast 5% increase in a Reuters poll and May’s 4.8% growth. “There are some signs that frontloading demand is beginning to wane gradually,” said Chim Lee, senior analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit. “While frontloading ahead of the August tariff pause deadline is likely to continue, freight rates for China-bound shipments to the US have started to decline.” “Trade diversion and rerouting appear to be continuing, which will attract the attention of policymakers in the US and other markets.” Imports rebounded 1.1%, following a 3.4% decline in May.

A container ship arrives at the China port in Lianyungang yesterday. – AFPPIC

Jane Street deposits US$567m so it can resume India trading

NEW DELHI: US high-frequency trading giant Jane Street, which has been accused of market manipulation by Indian authorities, has deposited US$567 million (RM2.4 billion) in an escrow account so that it can resume trading. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) barred the firm this month from buying and selling securities in the Indian market and put a freeze on US$567 million of its funds. It was only to be allowed to resume trading if an equivalent

contest the order and will send a formal response rebutting the allegations in coming weeks,” said the source with direct knowledge of the matter. It was not immediately clear when Jane Street might resume trading. The firm does not intend to trade in Indian options while the dispute is unresolved, said a separate source. The sources were not authorised to speak to media and declined to be identified. SEBI alleges that Jane Street

amount was deposited in an account that gives the regulator rights over the money until its investigation is complete. SEBI said in a statement yesterday that the money had been transferred and it was examining Jane Street’s request that restrictions placed on it be lifted. The company has told its staff it plans to contest SEBI’s allegations and that the practices in question were “basic index arbitrage trading”. “The money has been deposited in good faith. The firm continues to