Live news: VinFast valuation overtakes Ford and GM as EV group’s shares soar on debut
What to watch in Asia today
Events: Thailand’s Constitutional Court is expected to rule on an appeal by the Move Forward party against parliament’s refusal to permit leader Pita Limjaroenrat to become prime minister. The five-day Asia Pacific Orchid Conference opens at Singapore Expo.
Indicators: The Reserve Bank of New Zealand makes an interest rates decision: Bank of America analysts expect the official cash rate to remain at 5.5 per cent. China publishes July house price data. Japan National Tourism Organization releases data on the number of foreign visitors arriving in July.
Companies: China’s JD.com and Tencent Music present quarterly earnings. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing and Australian drinks and leisure retailer Endeavour Group also report.
Shares of Singapore’s Sea sink as cost-cutting campaign ends
Shares in Singapore-based tech group Sea sank on Tuesday after it reported revenue numbers below analysts’ forecasts and signalled an end to a cost-cutting drive that began last year.
The Nasdaq-listed company’s stock fell 28.7 per cent on Tuesday, following a pre-market earnings release. It notched $3.1bn in revenue in the quarter, about 3.2 per cent below estimates.
While its $510mn net income exceeded forecasts by 15 per cent, the company said it would “ramp up our investments” in its ecommerce business.
The announcement signals an end to a cost-cutting campaign that started in 2022. The company’s Tuesday closing price was 88 per cent below its October 2021 high.
Occidental doubles down on carbon business with $1.1bn deal
US oil and gas giant Occidental Petroleum deepened its push into carbon capture on Tuesday with a $1.1bn deal to buy technology group Carbon Engineering.
The purchase is the latest sign that Occidental, commonly known by its ticker Oxy, is betting on a boom in the business of carbon management — capturing emissions and storing or reusing them — as the energy transition gains momentum.
The company is already working with Carbon Engineering to develop “Direct Air Capture,” a nascent technology that seeks to strip emissions directly from the atmosphere. A DAC project being developed by Oxy in Texas was one of two that received generous cash grants from the federal government last week.
Restaurant chain Cava reports profit in its first quarter since IPO
Cava, one of the most prominent companies to list on US stock exchanges this year, surprised Wall Street with a profit in its first quarter as a public company.
The Mediterranean-inspired fast casual restaurant chain earned 23 cents a share in the three months ended July 9, surprising analysts that forecast a loss per share of 2 cents, according to a Refinitiv poll. Revenue of $173mn also topped estimates.
Shares rose 5.8 per cent in extended trading and have more than doubled from their listing price in June, with investors showing enthusiasm for the chain, which has nearly 300 outlets in the US.
VinFast valuation overtakes Ford and GM as EV group’s shares soar on debut
Vietnamese electric vehicle start-up VinFast’s valuation has overtaken those of Detroit’s “Big Three” carmakers after shares of the lossmaking company soared following their Nasdaq debut.
VinFast closed at $37.06 on Tuesday, well above the $10 price agreed upon when the carmaker merged with a special purpose acquisition company to make its public market debut.
Its market capitalisation topped $85bn at Wall Street’s closing bell, clearing the individual valuations of Ford, General Motors and Fiat-Chrysler owner Stellantis by at least $27bn.
VinFast’s billionaire founder Pham Nhat Vuong owns about 99 per cent of its shares. The low float of VinFast’s public shares make it prone to large price swings.
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