Headlines

A long road strewn with potential political pitfalls lies ahead for countries seeking to end a race to the bottom on international corporate tax, even though 130 of them have agreed to overhaul the way multinationals are taxed, Reuters reported. Nearly all 139 countries involved in talks at the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) last week backed plans for new rules on where companies' profits are taxed, and a rate of at least 15%.

China issued a sweeping warning to its biggest companies, vowing to tighten oversight of data security and overseas listings just days after Didi Global Inc.’s contentious decision to go public in the U.S., Bloomberg News reported. While the statement from China’s State Council on Tuesday was thin on details, it suggests Beijing is preparing to intensify a crackdown on its corporate sector that has spanned everything from property debt and fintech to antitrust issues and now cybersecurity.

Didi Global Inc. shares fell as much as 25% in early U.S. trading on Tuesday in the first session since Chinese regulators ordered the company's app to be taken down days after its $4.4 billion listing on the New York Stock Exchange, Reuters reported. The ride-hailing giant's app was ordered to be removed from mobile app stores in China on Sunday by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), which had said it was investigating Didi's handling of customer data.

Apollo Global Management Inc. said Monday that it is considering making a bid for U.K. grocery chain Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC, setting up a potential three-way bidding war with SoftBank Group Corp.’s Fortress Investment Group LLC and U.S. private-equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, the Wall Street Journal reported. New York-based Apollo said that it hasn’t yet approached the board of the British grocer and there can be no certainty that any offer will be made.

The European Union proposed a swathe of new rules to bring the world of finance in line with its ambitious goal to make the region carbon neutral by the middle of the century, Bloomberg News reported. The European Commission wants tighter measures on banks and credit rating agencies to better reflect the risks climate change poses to the financial system. The bloc also set out its green bond standard, a voluntary rulebook that issuers of sustainable debt will have to abide by should they want the EU stamp of approval.

After more than a year of home working, property investors are betting that demand for office space in Europe will rise as COVID-19 vaccinations are rolled out and people return to work, Reuters reported. Global office real estate leasing volumes dropped 31% in the first quarter compared with a year ago, according to real estate broker JLL, although Europe proved more resilient than the United States. "The perception that the office is over is complete nonsense," said Keith Breslauer, managing partner of European property investor Patron Capital.

Many small and medium-sized enterprises, the backbone of Thailand’s economy, are struggling with crushing debt loads that could force them out of business as the latest wave of Covid infections dims the prospects for an economic recovery, Bloomberg News reported. “This round is much worse than last year, and millions of operators are suffering,” said Sangchai Theerakulwanich, chairman of the Federation of Thai SME, who submitted a proposal last month for the government to boost support to smaller businesses.

Five years ago, India came up with a legal answer to its perennial economic challenge of rescuing the money stuck in zombie firms, according to a Bloomberg News commentary. Unlike China, which has the cushion of high savings, India’s inefficient use of limited domestic capital has meant a chronic inability to put its swelling ranks of youth to work. After toying with the idea for more than a decade, the solution New Delhi hit upon was a modern bankruptcy code. The numbers have been a mixed bag.

Until last year, Kyoto basked in the glow of being ranked as one of the best, if not the best, places in the world to visit, the Japan Times reported. Polls like one by the U.S. travel magazine Conde Nast in 2020 called Japan’s ancient capital the world’s best city. One estimate showed that the city went from about 30,000 available rooms at hotels and traditional inns in 2015 to over 53,000 last year.

Japan's household spending rose at a double-digit rate in May as consumers bought cars and mobile phones, though the pace of growth slowed from the prior month as a new wave of COVID-19 infections weighed on consumer confidence, Reuters reported. Japan's economy is struggling to shake off the drag from the coronavirus pandemic after the government put in place "quasi-emergency" measures in Tokyo and other major areas to curb a resurgence of infections. Household spending grew 11.6% year-on-year in May, the third month of gains, after a 13.0% rise in April, government data showed on Tuesday.