International Companies
China plans 'rectification' drive to divide Alibaba's empire - report
Beijing is reportedly accelerating plans to bring Jack Ma’s Ant Group more closely under its control as part of a “rectification” drive that would make it difficult for one of China’s richest men to fully rebuild his online empire.
China's Sinopharm seeks Covid vaccine approval at 79% effectiveness
Chinese Covid-19 vaccine developer Sinopharm said it will seek approval from regulators after final stage trials showed a 79% efficacy rate.
China launches antitrust investigation into Alibaba
Chinese regulators have launched an anti-monopoly investigation into technology giant Alibaba and will also look into its online finance spinoff, Ant Group.
Daimler preparing to list truck division - report
German luxury carmaker Daimler is preparing a stock market listing of its trucks division, business paper Handelsblatt reported late on Tuesday.
UK's Octopus Energy valued at $2bn after Japan supply agreement
Octopus Energy is set to expand into Japan after striking a supply deal with utility group Tokyo Gas that values the UK company at more than $2bn (£1. 5bn).
Toyota set to close UK, French plants due to Covid border closures
Japanese carmaker Toyota said it would be closing down its British and French plants for the holiday season sooner than expected due to the border chaos caused by the new strain of Covid-19 found in the UK.
Fiat Chrysler, PSA win EU approval for $38bn merger
Fiat Chrysler and PSA have received approval for their $38bn merger, the European Commission said on Monday.
Agios Pharmaceuticals to sell cancer portfolio to Servier
Agios Pharmaceuticals said on Monday that it has agreed to sell its commercial, clinical and research-stage oncology portfolio to independent global pharmaceutical company Servier for as much as $2bn.
Thoma Bravo to buy US data analytics provider RealPage
Private equity firm Thoma Bravo has agreed to buy US software and data analytics provider RealPage in an all-cash deal that values the company at around $10. 2bn.
'Clean slate' for Credit Suisse next year, says CEO
Credit Suisse chief Thomas Gottstein told the Financial Times on Monday that 2021 would be a new era for the bank, which will start the year with a "clean slate".
Alibaba 'dismayed' by its ethnicity profiling algorithm
Alibaba said it was “dismayed” after learning that Alibaba Cloud had developed facial recognition technology to identify ethnicity and thus profile “Uyghur” muslims.
Sony pulls Cyberpunk 2077 from PlayStation store after complaints
Sony announced on Friday it would be pulling CD Projekt's much-hyped Cyberpunk 2077 computer game from the PlayStation Store after customers complained about glitches and compatibility issues.
US to blacklist Chinese companies including SMIC - report
The US is ready to add dozens of Chinese companies including chipmaker SMIC to a trade blacklist on Friday, according to a report.
Novozymes buys US probiotics company Microbiome Labs
Danish biotechnology group Novozymes announced the acquisition on Friday of US probiotics company Microbiome Labs for DKK780m (£95m).
Philips to buy US remote cardiac diagnostics provider BioTelemetry
Royal Philips NV has agreed to buy BioTelemetry, a US provider of remote cardiac diagnostics and monitoring, in a deal valued at $2. 8bn.
WHO sends investigators to China to find Covid-19 origin
Beijing will welcome investigators from the World Health Organization to start an investigation into the origins of the Covid-19 virus in January.
New car sales tumble across European Union
New car registrations tumbled across the European Union in November, industry data showed on Thursday, as fresh restrictions to contain Covid-19 dented demand.
Novartis to buy US-based Cadent Therapeutics for up to $770m
Novartis has agreed to buy Massachusetts-based neuroscience company Cadent Therapeutics for up to $770m.
Facebook to take UK users out of EU privacy laws in 2021
Facebook is set to shift all its UK users into privacy agreements with its corporate headquarters in California and thus out of the stricter EU laws which are binding on its Irish unit.
Reig Jofre to manufacture J&J coronavirus vaccine in Barcelona
Spanish pharma company Reig Jofre said on Tuesday it had struck a deal with US Johnson & Johnson to manufacture the Covid-19 vaccine in Barcelona.