24/06/2026

BIZ & FINANCE WEDNESDAY | JUNE 24, 2026

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Eurozone business activity shrinks at slower pace in June

Associate Director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said: “Overall business activity growth across Japan picked up for the first time since the outbreak of war in the Middle East ... while this suggests a strong Q2 performance overall, it is important to note that the current period of growth is partly being driven by stock-piling efforts amid the war in the Middle East, and these efforts are likely to fade in the months ahead.” – Reutres US solar group seeks probe of cell imports from S. Korea LOS ANGELES: Three solar panel makers urged US officials to investigate cell imports from South Korea, saying firms including Hanwha’s Qcells were using them to evade tariffs on Chinese products, according to a petition seen by Reuters. The petition was filed with the Department of Commerce on June 18 on behalf of a manufacturing joint venture of Canadian Solar, SEG and Heliene, which all operate solar panel factories in the United States. The group, calling itself American Manufacturers for Energy Resilience, is seeking an anti-circumvention probe, accusing Qcells of shifting cell production to South Korea from China to avoid U.S. tariffs. Cells are the building blocks of modules, or panels, that convert sunlight into electricity. Under US trade law, tariffs can be extended to goods routed through third countries when processing there is minor. An attorney for the group said it was seeking fairness. “It is time that companies like Hanwha Qcells, that have been allowed to game both sides of US trade law for far too long, are held accountable,” attorney John Anwesen said. “The AMER coalition is focused on leveling the playing field to allow fair competition across American solar manufacturers, and this circumvention inquiry request is a step towards that goal,” Anwesen said in a statement. Qcells has two solar factories in the US state of Georgia and has a goal to manufacture all the key components that go into a silicon based solar panel onUS soil. Qcells, which has invested billions into its US manufacturing operations, has been a driving force behind recent US trade petitions targeting solar imports from countries in Southeast Asia. Some of those imports supplied factories owned by Canadian Solar, SEG and Heliene. “Qcells has led the effort to reshore solar manufacturing in the United States, and we have a decade-long record of supporting strong trade enforcement, not evading it,” Qcells spokesperson Marta Stoepker said in an emailed statement. “We’ve reviewed this filing and are confident the evidence will show its claims are without merit.” – Reuters

o S&P Global PMI continues to contract but overall picture appears better than in previous months

BRUSSELS: Business activity in the eurozone continued to contract in June but at a slower pace, a key survey showed yesterday, thanks to easing price pressures linked to the Middle East war. The eurozone purchasing managers’ index (PMI) published by S&P Global, an important gauge of the economy’s overall health,

the services downturn deepened. The Composite Flash Purchasing Managers’ Index for Germany, compiled by S&P Global, fell to 48.0 in June from 48.8 in May, below the expectations of analysts polled by Reuters that it would be at 49.6. The 50-mark separates growth from contraction. “The bad news is that business activity has fallen for a third month running and at the quickest rate in this sequence, thereby further increasing the likelihood of the economy having slipped back into contraction in the second quarter,” said Phil Smith, economics associate director at S&P Global Market Intelligence. The flash services PMI fell to 46.8 from 48.1, its lowest since November 2022. “The service sector continues to act as a notable drag on the economy, seeing rates of decline in both business activity and new work gather pace in June,” Smith said. Meanwhile, the manufacturing PMI edged down to 50.0 from 50.1. New business declined for a fourth straight month and at the fastest rate since December 2024. “The good news is that inflationary pressures have started to ease off,” Smith said. Input cost inflation eased to a four-month low, while firms’ output price inflation slowed to its weakest pace in three months. Business expectations for the coming 12 months weakened slightly overall and remained below the long-run trend, the survey showed. – AFP, Reuters

registered a reading of 49.5 this month – a three-month high – after 48.5 in May. A reading above 50 indicates growth while a figure below 50 signals contraction. “The eurozone economy is showing enough resilience to just about stay out of recession,” S&P chief business economist Chris Williamson said in a note. “The flash PMI registered only a slight drop in business activity in June, meaning the survey is indicative of unchanged GDP over the second quarter,” he said. After a preliminary peace deal between Iran and the United States, the tourism industry hopes for a rebound with more visitors expected to return later in the year to the Middle East and countries nearby like Cyprus and Turkey. “There is welcome news of an easing in the recent downturn in services activity, with tourism and leisure related industries seeing signs of recovering demand after the initial disruptions from the war in the Middle East,” he added. That fledgling recovery was, however, accompanied by “sus tained falls” in new business, the survey found. Manufacturing activity con tinued to grow, recording a figure of 51.3 in June, below the 51.6 recorded last month. The overall picture appeared better than in previous months after the war in the Middle East triggered a surge in energy costs worldwide. Meanwhile, Germany’s private sector activity contracted at its fastest pace in 18 months in June as

German Energy and Economy Minister Katherina Reiche speaking at the annual Day of Industry of Federation of German Industries in Berlin yesterday. – REUTERSPIC

China Resources IPO draws 6.4 trillion yuan in retail bids SINGAPORE: China Resources New Energy’s Shenzhen initial public offering (IPO) drew about 6.4 trillion yuan (RM3.6 trillion) in bids from retail investors, a filing showed yesterday, as demand for the public tranche topped 1,000 times the shares first on offer. The strong retail demand high surpassing Yihai Kerry Arawana’s 13.9 billion yuan listing in 2020, according to LSEG data as of last week. It would also be China’s largest domestic IPO since the Beijing Shanghai High-Speed Railway raised 30.7 billion yuan in Shanghai in 2009. Heavy retail demand triggered a clawback mechanism reshuffling that allocation, lifting the final retail tranche to 930.7 million shares, or 67.95% of the shares left after the strategic placement, assuming the overallotment option is fully exercised. After the reallocation, the retail tranche was subscribed 683.4 times, the filing showed. The company and its under Momenta is planning to launch its Hong Kong initial public offering as early as next Monday, said a person with knowledge of the matter. The company, which has obtained approval from China’s securities regulator and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, could raise about US$900 million (RM3.7 billion) from the offering, valuing it at about US$9 billion, said the person and a second source with knowledge of its plans.

Retail investors placed valid bids for 636 billion shares, yesterday’s filing showed, worth about 6.4 trillion yuan at the IPO price. The IPO initially set aside half the shares for strategic investors, with 70% of the balance allocated to institutional investors and 30% to retail buyers.

lights appetite for one of China’s largest recent listings. The China Resources Power unit priced the IPO at 10.11 yuan a share, putting it on course to raise up to 24.5 billion yuan if an overallotment option is fully used. That would make the deal Shenzhen’s biggest IPO on record,

writers held the share allocation draw yesterday and will publish the results today, the filing showed. The filing did not give a debut trading date. In another development, Chinese autonomous driving developer

Momenta plans to price the offering on July 3 and debut on July 8, said the first source, though the timetable is tentative and subject to change. – Reuters

Japan manufacturing picks up steam as new orders surge TOKYO: Japan’s manufacturing

increased at the fastest pace in more than eight years in June. The services sector rebounded after a pause in May, with the flash Japan services PMI rising to 51.8 from 50.0, supported by improved domestic conditions while foreign demand shrank faster. The flash Japan composite PMI, which combines manufacturing and services, rose to 52.5 in June from 51.1 in May. Annabel Fiddes, Economics

stemming from the Iran war, according to the survey. The growth of new export orders slightly slowed from May, when it was at the fastest pace in five years. Manufacturers’ input and output inflation eased but still hovered near their highest since late 2022, as the conflict in the Middle East pushed up expenses for energy, fuel and raw materials. Employment in manufacturing

April’s 55.1 that marked the strongest expansion since January 2022. PMI readings above 50.0 indicate growth in activity, while those below that level point to a contraction. Factory output rose at a slightly quicker rate, while new orders accelerated to their fastest pace in more than four years. This was partly driven by stock-building among customers concerned about supply disruptions and future price increases

sector sustained robust growth in June, with new orders surging to their fastest pace in more than four years, though cost pressures continued to intensify due to the repercussions from the Iran war, a survey showed yesterday. The S&P Global flash Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) edged up to 54.9 in June from 54.5 in May, rebounding closer to