BIZ

China overtakes Japan as world’s top car exporter

Published

11 months ago

May 19, 2023

editor

China says it has become the world’s biggest exporter of cars after overtaking Japan in the first three months of the year.

Official figures released in the last week show China exported 1.07 million vehicles in the period, up 58% compared to the first quarter of 2022.

At the same time Japan’s vehicle exports stood at 954,185, after edging up 6% from a year earlier.

China’s exports were boosted by demand for electric cars and sales to Russia.

Last year, China overtook Germany to become the world’s second largest car exporter.

According to China’s General Administration of Customs, China exported 3.2 million vehicles in 2022, compared to Germany’s 2.6 million vehicle exports.

The shift away from fossil fuels has helped fuel the rise of China’s motor industry.

First quarter exports of new energy vehicles (NEVs), which includes electric cars, rose by more than 90%, compared to a year earlier.

Tesla’s China arm, SAIC – the owner of the MG brand – and BYD, which is backed by veteran US investor Warren Buffett, are among China’s top exporters of NEVs.

Elon Musk’s electric carmaker has a huge manufacturing plant in Shanghai which exports to regions including Japan and Europe.

Tesla’s ‘Gigafactory’ is currently capable of producing 1.25 million vehicles a year, and the company is planning to further increase capacity.

Last month, it started making Model Y sport utility vehicles for export to Canada.

China has also seen exports to Russia surge since the start of the Ukraine war, as Western countries imposed trade sanctions on Moscow.

Last, year, Chinese carmakers – including Geely, Chery and Great Wall – saw their market share in Russia jump after rivals including Volkswagen and Toyota quit the country following the invasion of Ukraine.

(BBC News)

BIZ

WhatsApp makes it easier to find chats

Published

20 hours ago

April 17, 2024

editor

WhatsApp is making it easier to find chats by introducing new features, US technology news website ‘The Verge’ has reported.

Meta is launching new filters that will appear at the top of your chat list: All (the default view), Unread (just messages marked as unread), and Groups (group chats and Community subgroups), it notes.

The filters start rolling out from Tuesday (16) and will become available to all WhatsApp users “in the coming weeks.”

BIZ

Indigo launches Mumbai-Colombo direct flights

Published

6 days ago

April 12, 2024

nipuni

Indigo has expanded its connectivity to Sri Lanka adding Mumbai-Colombo direct flights from today (12), Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) (Pvt) Limited said.

Accordingly, Indigo will operate flights three times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

At present, Indigo operates to three destinations in India from Colombo (Chennai twice daily, Bengaluru once daily and Hyderabad six days per week). With this new route expansion, this will increase to four destinations, and it will contribute immensely to the development of travel, trade and tourism between Sri Lanka and India.

With the new addition, Indigo will operate 30 weekly flights to Colombo from four main cities in India.

“AASL recently had successful negotiations with Indigo to commence flight operations between Jaffna and Chennai, India. Accordingly, Indigo will commence direct flight operations between Jaffna and Chennai from June 1, 2024 onwards with daily flight operations. This connectivity will boost travel and trade in the Northern Province, strengthening the cultural and religious bonds between the two nations”, Eng. Athula Galketiya, Chairman of Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) (Pvt) Limited (AASL) said.

BIZ

Questions raised on investing in the Ceylon Dollar Bond

Published

1 week ago

April 10, 2024

editor

Personal Foreign Currency Accounts (PFCs) and Business Foreign Currency Accounts (BFCAs) cannot be invested in the Ceylon Dollar Bond Fund, says a spokesman of the Foreign Exchange Department at the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.

He said that banks are well aware of this.

The spokesman was responding to ‘Sri Lanka Mirror’ on queries raised on social media promotions being done by Ceylon Asset Management Co. Ltd, with regard to such investments.

Ceylon Asset Management Co. Ltd. is also a company that is registered with the CSE.

The spokesman further notes that the CBSL has only permitted them to invest in ISBs.

However, promotions done by the company have indicated that dollar investments can also be done through PFCs, and that the investors can expect around a 24% dollar returns.

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Experts state that expecting such high profits in ISB investments, is questionable.

Upon contacting the DG of Ceylon Asset Management Co. Ltd, – Dulindra Fernando, he briefly stated that the CBSL has permitted their company to do such foreign fund transfers while some banks have refused to do so.

However, he urged to submit a formal request via email for further details.