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August 21st - Promoting the "long-term investment" of pension funds is both important and urgent. Pension funds correspond to payment needs decades into the future and, theoretically, can withstand higher equity volatility and obtain long-term equity premiums. The key is to "change the benchmark." Accelerate the improvement of long-term performance evaluation mechanisms, incorporating cross-cycle returns and risk control into the evaluation system. Improve relevant supporting measures. Steadily expand investment scale and channels. Continuously promote the expansion of pension fund investment scale in various regions, scientifically optimize asset structure while strictly adhering to the upper limit of equity investment ratio, and strive to improve the level of equity asset allocation, especially increasing investment in national strategic emerging industries. Guide pension funds to actively participate in listed company governance and private placements, promote the improvement of dividend mechanisms, and deeply share the benefits of real economy growth.The Nikkei 225 index opened down 639.56 points, or 0.97%, at 65,577.23 on Friday, August 21.August 21 – Key Japanese inflation indicators accelerated for the second consecutive month, raising hopes that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) will raise interest rates again soon. Market expectations for action by the BOJ as early as September have strengthened further. Japans core CPI rose 1.8% year-on-year in July, up from 1.6% in June and in line with economists median forecast. Core inflation, excluding fresh food and energy prices – a measure of underlying inflation closely watched by the BOJ – rose 1.9% year-on-year. Overall CPI also rose 1.9%. This acceleration in inflation was partly driven by energy prices. Energy costs rose 0.6% year-on-year in July, reversing a slight decline in June. Weeks ago, BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda hinted that policymakers might accelerate the pace of monetary policy normalization. With the weak yen continuing to pose upside risks to inflation, investors are increasingly convinced that the BOJ will act next month. This assessment remains unchanged even after US and Japanese officials took rare coordinated intervention in the foreign exchange market at the end of July.On August 21st, it was reported that on August 20th, Wang Xingxing, Chairman, General Manager, and Chief Technology Officer of Unitree Robotics, stated at the 2026 World Robot Conference that Unitree Robotics continues to invest in the field of AI models, which is currently the area where Unitree invests the most funds and human resources. At the conference, Wang Xingxing publicly explained for the first time Unitree Robotics exploration of the concept of "self-evolution of physical AI robots." He stated that while AI has been widely applied to programming and various development processes in recent years, its application in the robotics field remains insufficient. Therefore, Unitree Robotics is promoting the construction of a self-evolution system for physical AI robot models: relying on cutting-edge large-scale models, setting corresponding rules, empirical constraints, and tool boundaries, allowing the model to autonomously search for cutting-edge papers, high-quality research results, and open-source solutions, and automatically generate robot control code.Japans national CPI rose 2% year-on-year in July, below the expected 1.90% and the previous reading of 1.60%.

Grab anticipates no major layoffs despite a weak market

Aria Thomas

Sep 26, 2022 11:04

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Grab, the largest ride-hailing and food delivery startup in Southeast Asia, does not expect to implement mass layoffs, as have some competitors, and is selectively hiring while curbing its financial service ambitions.


Earlier in the year, according to Chief Operating Officer Alex Hungate, Grab was concerned about a global recession and was "very cautious and conservative with any hiring." As a result, there was no "desperate" hiring freeze or mass layoffs.


In his first interview since joining Grab Holdings Ltd in January, Hungate, 56, told Reuters that the company did not engage in mass layoffs.


According to him, the company was hiring for roles in data science, mapping technology, and other specialist sectors, but the number of applicants for each position was far greater than in the past.


"You wish to guarantee that we are capital-effective. Unquestionably, the hiring standards have been raised."


Grab, which has been a household name in Southeast Asia for over a decade, will have over 8,800 employees by the end of 2021. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company has benefited from an increase in food services, similar to its competitors, but ride-hailing has suffered.


The need for food delivery is falling as economies improve, although the ride-hailing business has yet to fully recover. New threats have emerged, including inflation, sluggish growth, and rising interest rates, as well as a sudden decrease in IT valuations.


In recent weeks, Shopee, the largest e-commerce company in Southeast Asia, has laid off employees in various countries and shut down some foreign operations after its parent company, Sea, announced growing losses and scrapped its annual e-commerce forecast.


Hungate, a veteran of the financial services, logistics, and food industries, has championed a shift away from low-margin business areas as Grab works to become profitable.


The loss for the second quarter reduced from $801 million a year ago to $572 million. Last month, the company lowered its gross merchandise volume forecast for the year, blaming a strong euro and a fall in demand for meal delivery.


Grab announced the closure of dozens of so-called "black stores" - distribution hubs for on-demand food - and paused the implementation of its "cloud kitchen" centralized delivery facilities last month.


"Another area where we've tightened our strategic focus is in financial services, where we've built off-platform and on-platform payments, wallets, and non-bank financial loans," Hungate continued.


This year, Grab revamped its fintech section to focus on more profitable industries, and Reuters reported the departure of a number of senior employees.

'HIGHER MARGINS'

Grab is primarily focused on providing its financial products and insurance on its platform to merchants and drivers, who usually repay from their platform-derived earnings.


"As we make this adjustment, the business mix will become more profitable," Hungate said.


Grab operates in 480 sites in eight countries and has over five million registered drivers and over two million merchants on its network.


After a lengthy five-year battle, in 2018 it attracted global attention by acquiring Uber's (NYSE:UBER) Southeast Asian subsidiary.


Grab is betting on the rise of financial services by supplying banking and other goods in key nations in conjunction with Singapore Telecommunications.


In December, following a record $40 billion merger with a business with a blank check, the company went public on the Nasdaq.


Hungate ruled it "acceptable" for the company to reassess its spending habits in light of the increased scrutiny of finances and the obligation to respond to shareholders.


"Perhaps we were fortunate in that the discipline of being a public company arrived at precisely the right time," he continued, noting that Grab's $7.7 billion cash liquidity made it one of the most well-capitalized industry players in Southeast Asia.


This year, Grab's market value has plummeted by around 60%, to $10.6 billion.


Reuters reported last month that Grab's competitor in Indonesia, GoTo, wanted to raise about $1 billion through a convertible bond sale.


According to Hungate, Grab's progress toward profitability and other indications would be presented during its inaugural investor day on Tuesday.

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