13/09/2025

BIZ & FINANCE SATURDAY | SEPT 13, 2025

13

UK announces £400m Google Cloud classified info contract

India has narrow path to victory in US-China trade war

LONDON: The UK government said Thursday it had agreed a £400 million (RM2.3 billion) contract with Google Cloud that would allow London to share classified information with the US, days before President Donald Trump’s visit. The deal “will strengthen secure communication links between the UK and US, in addition to the extensive intelligence and security partnership our two countries already share”, Britain’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) said. It added Google Cloud’s latest technology including “AI, data analytics, and cyber security”, would be used by defence intelligence and national security specialists to boost cooperation. The ministry touted millions of pounds of inward investment from Google Cloud, noting the US tech giant will recruit a specialist UK team to manage the programme. Defence Secretary John Healey said the tech had “strict data sovereignty and security controls” which ensured “critical data remains under direct UK control”. Tara Brady, Google Cloud’s EMEA president, said the contract would help the UK government “develop a robust and resilient infrastructure and harness the latest technology innovations”.

HONG KONG: India currently finds itself caught between the world’s two global superpowers. The Asian economic titan faces 50% tariffs on the majority of its exports to the US, yet it also has to contend with a severely unbalanced trade relationship with China. Navigating this path will prove tricky, but the upshot could be a stronger Indian industrial base. The tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump’s administration were a shock to India, not only because of the prohibitively high rate, but also because most other trading partners got off relatively lightly, with only 15% to 20% duties. Many of those nations compete with India in the US market, and thus will now have a significant competitive advantage. The industries that could suffer most include textiles, apparel, leather goods, gems and jewellery. India’s main competitors in these areas – Bangladesh and Vietnam in textiles and garments, and Turkey, Thailand and Vietnam in gems and jewellery – all face far lower tariffs. While exports from these now heavily tariffed industries may only represent about 1.4% of the country’s GDP, these sectors account for a

multiple and ratcheted up scrutiny of Chinese direct investments. However, these restrictions are now gradually being lifted. Not only have visa issuances resumed, but New Delhi is also considering a plan to allow Chinese entities to take 20% to 25% stakes in Indian manufacturing, renewable energy and auto component firms. With India now publicly aligning itself more with Beijing, this thaw could accelerate. India will have to tread carefully though. The key challenge remains balancing national security concerns and the need to boost economic growth. Additionally, trade relations continue to be heavily imbalanced in favour of China, as Beijing’s trade surplus rose steadily during the two nations’ frosty period. India has little room to maneuver here, however, given that China plays a key role in India’s most important supply chains. For example, India relies on China for imports of industrial machinery, electronic components for manufacturing smartphones and the active pharmaceutical ingredients needed to produce generic drugs. Cut these off and India’s tariff-free exports of smartphones and generic took, it’s taken us this long.” The planemaker needs to increase production of its cash-cow 737 MAX to get back to positive cash flow. However, the company will not increase the rate until it is ready, if not, “We’ll wait a month,“ he said. “A month will not matter in the big scheme of things, and losing stability will matter.” Rushed rate increases in previous years roiled Boeing’s production system and supply chains, costing the Chinese apps

disproportionately high percentage of India’s labour market. In fact, these sectors employ about 55 million workers, almost a fifth of India’s urban workforce, according to the government’s Press Information Bureau and the India Brand Equity Foundation. It is, of course, still early days in the tariff turmoil, but some large Indian employers are already painting a disquieting picture, noting US order cancellations and possible worker retrenchments. These tariffs could therefore pack a big economic punch, especially at a time when urban consumption is already weak. Amid India’s escalating tensions with the US, it has sought to stabilise its relationship with China. On the surface, it may appear counterintuitive to shift focus from the world’s biggest consumer to the world’s biggest manufacturer, but it makes more sense when considering India’s industrial ambitions. The relationship between India and China had soured in recent years, particularly after the military clash in Galwan in June 2020. Flights between the two countries and the issuance of tourist visas were both stopped, while India banned to 42 aircraft per month by the end of the year, up from the current federally imposed cap of 38, Ortberg said. The company still has to decrease how much work has to be redone on the 737 programme before Boeing can increase output, he noted. Boeing has made good progress on design changes needed to certify the 737 MAX 7 and MAX 10, the aircraft’s smallest and largest models, Ortberg said, adding that “it’s frustrating that it

medicine to the US could quickly dry up. To curtail Chinese imports, India would need to bring more of these supply chains onshore and thereby add more value to its exported merchandise. That’s happening, but possibly not fast enough. A recent study pegged India’s domestic value addition in smartphone manufacturing at 23% in 2022–23. The government is seeking to boost this to 40% by 2030. India’s supply chain ambitions will, therefore, necessitate large foreign direct investment, and the companies most well-suited to provide that happen to be Chinese, as they have the proven manufacturing capabilities and giant scale. That means India’s pivot to China could be coming at a fortuitous time, but to take full advantage, India would need to pursue a strategy based on encouraging Chinese foreign direct investment, importing Chinese production skills and, eventually, facilitating technology transfer. The views expressed here are those of Manishi Raychaudhuri, founder and CEO of Emmer Capital Partners Ltd and the former head of Asia-Pacific equity research at BNP Paribas Securities. company billions and straining relations with customers and suppliers. Paying down debt is a top priority when the company returns to profitability, Ortberg said, noting that the company took on too much debt dealing with its crises in recent years. The company recently raised the 787 production rate from five a month to seven, and it plans to go to eight a month in the near future, he said. – Reuters

“This partnership will enable the MoD to accelerate its digital modernisation efforts while maintaining the highest levels of security and data sovereignty,“ he added. – AFP Boeing falling behind on certifying its 777X, CEO says

SEATTLE: Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said on Thursday that the planemaker is behind schedule on certifying the 777-9, its newest widebody jet. The company expects to deliver the first 777X jet in 2026, six years later than anticipated when the programme was launched in 2013. A “mountain of work” remains to certify the plane, but no new technical problems have been identified, Ortberg said while speaking at the

Morgan Stanley Laguna Conference. But “even a minor schedule delay on the 777 programme has a pretty big financial impact” for the company, which has already lost several billion dollars on the programme, he noted. Inflationary pressure across Boeing’s supply chain is affecting airplane pricing, he said. However, he does not expect any supply chain problems to prevent the company from increasing production of its best-selling 737 MAX

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