what to see in asia today
Activity: Thailand’s Constitutional Court is expected to rule on the Kadima party’s appeal against parliament’s refusal to admit leader Pita Limjaroenrat as prime minister. The five-day Asia-Pacific Orchid Conference kicks off at the Singapore Expo.
index: RBNZ makes interest rate decision: Bank of America analysts expect official cash rate to remain at 5.5%. China releases house price data for July. The Japan National Tourism Organization released data on the number of foreign tourists arriving in July.
company: China’s JD.com and Tencent Music reported quarterly earnings. It was also reported by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing and Australian beverage and leisure retailer Endeavor Group.
Singapore Ocean shares fall as cost-cutting campaign ends
A video wall outside Sea’s Singapore office shows an advertisement for Shopee, Sea’s e-commerce unit. The group reported revenue figures that were below analysts’ forecasts © Edgar Su/Reuters
Shares in Singapore-based technology group Sea fell on Tuesday after the company reported revenue that fell short of analysts’ expectations and signaled that a cost-cutting campaign begun last year was over.
Shares of the Nasdaq-listed company fell 28.7% on Tuesday following its pre-market earnings report. Revenue for the quarter was $3.1 billion, about 3.2 percent below expectations.
Although its $510 million net profit beat estimates by 15%, the company said it would “increase investment in its e-commerce business.”
The announcement marks the end of a cost-cutting campaign that began in 2022. The company closed Tuesday 88% below its October 2021 high.
Occidental spends $1.1 billion to step up carbon business
US oil and gas major Occidental Petroleum on Tuesday bought technology group Carbon Engineering for $1.1 billion, further ramping up its carbon capture business.
The acquisition is the latest sign that Occidental, whose ticker symbol is “Oxy,” is betting that its carbon management business, which captures emissions and stores or reuses them, will thrive as the energy transition gains momentum.
The company has partnered with Carbon Engineering to develop “direct air capture,” an emerging technology designed to remove emissions directly from the atmosphere. Oxy’s DAC project in Texas was one of two that received a generous cash grant from the federal government last week.
Restaurant chain Cava posts profit in first quarter since IPO
Investors have shown enthusiasm for Cava, a Mediterranean fast-casual restaurant chain with nearly 300 locations in the US © Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Cava, one of the most prominent companies to list on U.S. stock exchanges this year, surprised Wall Street with a first-quarter profit as a public company.
The Mediterranean-style fast-food restaurant chain earned 23 cents a share for the three months ended July 9, beating analysts’ forecast for a loss of 2 cents a share, according to a Refinitiv poll. Revenue of $173 million also topped expectations.
Shares of the company rose 5.8% in after-hours trading, more than doubling from their June listing price, as investors showed enthusiasm for the chain, which has nearly 300 stores in the United States.
VinFast valuation tops Ford, GM as EV group shares soar in debut
Shares of Vietnamese electric vehicle startup VinFast have soared following its Nasdaq listing, valuing it more than Detroit’s “Big Three” automakers.
VinFast’s closing price on Tuesday was $37.06, well above the $10 price the automaker negotiated for its initial public offering when it merged with a special purpose acquisition company.
At Wall Street’s close, its market capitalization topped $85 billion, at least $27 billion more than the valuation of Stellantis, the parent of Ford, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler.
VinFast’s billionaire founder, Pham Nhat Vuong, owns about 99 percent of the company. The low float of VinFast’s public shares makes it susceptible to large price swings.
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