Ant founder Jack Ma is relinquishing control of his fintech giant, sending shares of affiliate Alibaba up 7%. Any excuse to reevaluate China’s beat-down internet sector will do, says mak_robyn
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen speaks at a news conference on new measures to reinforce the island's civil defence amid the rising China military threat in Taipei, Taiwan, December 27, 2022. REUTERS/Ann Wang
HONG KONG, Jan 9 - The self-governed island, claimed by Beijing, is courting investors as it is preparing tosatellite network. The idea is to emulate the support Elon Musk’s SpaceX unit Starlink is providing Ukraine to help in its battle with Russia. Ordinarily reliant on U.S. technology for defence, Taipei has reasonable concerns about the Tesla boss’ relationship with Beijing, given the mainland market’s importance to the company. China accounts for roughly one quarter of its revenue.
The move is part of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen’s plan to smarten up defence spending, which has previously focused on trophy hardware like tanks, to the frustration of Pentagon advisors. In addition to facilitating the sort of internet-enabled resistance Ukraine has given Russia, there are commercial applications, so it could be smart business. Japan, South Korea and Vietnam have similar concerns about China and about Musk, so there may be scope for a broader Asian system.
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