USA company - conglomerate

google

• http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1316598/exclusive-china-lift-ban-facebook-only-within-shanghai-free-trade-zone?page=all Beijing has made the landmark decision to lift a ban on internet access within the Shanghai Free-trade Zone to foreign websites considered politically sensitive by the Chinese government, including Facebook, Twitter and newspaper website The New York Times. Government sources informed of the decision told the South China Morning Post on condition of anonymity that the authority in charge of the Hong Kong-like free-trade zone in Shanghai, the first such zone on the mainland, would also welcome bids from foreign telecommunications companies for licences to provide internet services within the new special economic zone. The mainland’s three biggest telecommunications companies China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom, which are all state-owned enterprises, have already been informed of the decision to allow foreign companies to compete with them for business in the free-trade zone in Shanghai, said the sources. The Big Three didn’t raise complaints as they knew it was a decision endorsed by top Chinese leaders including Premier Li Keqiang, who is keen to make the free-trade zone a key proving ground for significant financial and economic reforms, the sources added.

• http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/epaper/2015-12/09/content_22672100.htm A previously unheralded shell company that Google Inc registered in Shanghai a year ago could become a key component in the United States search engine's possible reboot in China. The company, Pengji, is registered in a high-rise office building in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, a testing ground for the central government to try out economic reforms. According to information from the website of local authorities, the Shanghai Administration for Industry and Commerce, Google Ireland Holdings - a European subsidiary of the multinational - is listed as its sole-shareholder. It has 5 million yuan ($780,000) in registered capital, and the site also names William A. Farris to head the firm. Farris also works for Google's Beijing office as an attorney, according to the State Bar of California, where he is a member. He did not respond to calls and e-mails sent by China Daily seeking comment.

• http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/36cb35f8-3fe0-11e5-b98b-87c7270955cf.html Larry Page has been saying for some time: that Google has its main sights squarely set on giant tech growth markets, such as driverless cars, drones and biotech. Reorganising Google into a conglomerate — with search and other internet businesses just one operating arm among many — is a structure for the long term. If investors were in any doubt before, then this was a clear message that the cash pouring out of the company’s internet businesses is really there to support the most ambitious agenda in the tech world, as Mr Page looks to build the defining conglomerate of the 21st century.

- http://www.shanghai.gov.cn/shanghai/node27118/node27818/u22ai82787.html Google will open its first AdWords experience center in Shanghai soon. The center, about 1,500 square meters in space in the first phase, will be located in Lingang Songjiang High-Tech City. It will have rooms for product exhibition, user training, and meetings.  Google AdWords provides online advertising service that enables advertisers to display brief advertisements to viewers, partially based on predefined keywords, and might link the copy to the content of web pages.

• http://www.pressreader.com/china/china-daily/20160519/282119225770825 in qingdao

- http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-38999704 The Project Loon team, part of the company’s X research lab, said it was now able to use machine learning to predict weather systems. It means the firm has far greater control over where its balloons go, making it possible to focus on a specific region, rather than circumnavigating the globe. Clustering a small number of balloons greatly reduces the cost of the idea, Google’s “captain of moonshots”, Astro Teller, told reporters.  "We can now run an experiment and try to give service in a particular place in the world with ten, twenty or thirty balloons,” he said, rather than the hundreds needed previously.  “Real users” will be able to use the system in the “coming months”, he added - but he did not specify where the initial roll out would take place.
- Google DeepMind is a British artificial intelligence company founded in 2010 as DeepMind Technologies. It was renamed when it was acquiredby Google in 2014. The company has created a neural network that learns how to play video games in a similar fashion to humans,^[3] as well as a neural network that may be able to access an external memory like a conventional Turing machine, resulting in a computer that appears to possibly mimic the short-term memory of the human brain.^[4] The company made headlines in 2016 when its AlphaGo program beat a human professional Go player for the first time.
- data centre

• four data centres in europe https://www.ft.com/content/0ab10a40-9ee5-11e7-8cd4-932067fbf946

- biotech

• The life sciences division of Google’s parent company has made its biggest push into drug development by investing in a new fund that will buy stakes in European biotech groups, underscoring its growing interest in the pharmaceuticals industry. Verily Life Sciences, the healthcare division of Google owner Alphabet, will be one of the main investors in a $300m fund managed by Medicxi, the venture capital group. The vehicle will focus on biotech companies that need cash to pay for clinical trials of experimental drugs. https://www.ft.com/content/a7d73bc0-5113-11e7-a1f2-db19572361bb

- news search

•  Google is pursuing plans to end its controversial First Click Free program, which lets users read news articles without paying, according to News Corp chief executive Robert Thomson.
  The move follows a sustained industry campaign led by Mr Thomson to force Google to recognise the value of journalism. Mr Thomson has repeatedly pressed Google in public forums and closed-door meetings to introduce better terms for publishers in search results.
  Publishers are relying more on getting readers to pay because of the astonishing growth of Google and Facebook’s advertising businesses, which are driven by free content aggregated from publishers. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/news/google-said-to-be-pursuing-plans-to-scrap-first-click-free-program/news-story/969adeaa23aa9df9f1ae2b368522451d

- property

• Google will shell out more than $2 billion to buy the historic Chelsea Market building, part of an ambitious expansion plan that would link up several properties the company owns or leases in the neighborhood. The tech giant — which is already the largest tenant in the former Nabisco factory at 75 Ninth Ave. — is buying the 1.2-million-square-foot office-and-retail property from Jamestown, an Atlanta-based real-estate investment firm, insiders told The Post. https://nypost.com/2018/02/06/google-to-buy-chelsea-market-building-for-2b/
• 互聯網巨擘Google近年銳意擴展版圖，宣布在美國加州聖何塞市興建新的辦公園區，計劃備受關注。惟有組織指，市政府官員為Google簽署非法保密協議，在涉及六千七百萬美元（約五億二千萬港元）的賣地事宜上隱瞞公眾，周二入稟向市政府提訴，尋求法院下令公開相關文件及宣布該保密協議無效。http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20181115/00180_025.html

- canada

• http://business.financialpost.com/technology/the-android-of-cities-alphabets-smartphone-inspired-vision-for-torontos-waterfront
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/googles-first-urban-development-raises-data-concerns/2018/10/02/95fb3722-c655-11e8-9c0f-2ffaf6d422aa_story.html A unit of Google’s parent company Alphabet is proposing to turn a rundown part of Toronto’s waterfront into what may be the most wired community in history — to “fundamentally refine what urban life can be.” Sidewalk Labs has partnered with a government agency known as Waterfront Toronto with plans to erect mid-rise apartments, offices, shops and a school on a 12-acre (4.9-hectare) site — a first step toward what it hopes will eventually be a 800-acre (325-hectare) development.

- cuba

• In a move likely to spark controversy in Washington, Google and Cuba have agreed to allow direct connection between their internet networks, potentially paving the way for an undersea  ... ft 29mar19; 

- france

•  France’s largest food retailer Carrefour (CARR.PA) is teaming up with Google (GOOGL.O) to boost its online shopping business on its home turf, where rivals are also launching e-commerce offensives.https://www.reuters.com/article/us-carrefour-google/carrefour-takes-on-french-rivals-in-e-commerce-with-google-tie-up-idUSKBN1J7254?il=0

- ireland

• 有英國傳媒於周日揭發，Google位於愛爾蘭都柏林的公司有二百多名員工是外判聘請，時薪僅約十一歐元（約一百○七港元），甚至不足以維持生活所需。http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20180205/00180_024.html

- africa

• 美國科技巨擘Google近年在東京、蘇黎世、紐約及巴黎等大都市，設立人工智能(AI)研究實驗室，日前揭幕的最新一間則位於加納首都阿克拉，是非洲首間同類實驗室，旨在收窄非洲與西方國家在AI科技上的嚴重差距，協助非洲社會解決經濟、政治及環境問題。http://pdf.wenweipo.com/2019/04/14/a16-0414.pdf

- china

• http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20170330/00178_019.htmlGoogle昨在微博發文指，新版的Google翻譯手機應用程式App，優化了中國用戶體驗，中國使用手機的民眾不用再「翻牆」，便可使用該App。
•  https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-13/google-to-open-beijing-ai-center-in-latest-expansion-in-china
•  https://www.reuters.com/article/us-jd-com-google/google-to-invest-550-million-in-china-e-commerce-giant-jd-com-idUSKBN1JE079 Google will invest $550 million in Chinese e-commerce powerhouse JD.com, part of the U.S. internet company’s efforts to expand its presence in fast-growing Asian markets and battle rivals including Amazon.com.
• Alphabet Inc's Google is in talks with Tencent Holdings Ltd, Inspur Group and other Chinese companies to offer its cloud services in the mainland, Bloomberg reported here on Friday, citing people familiar with the discussions.The talks began in early 2018 and the internet giant narrowed partnership candidates to three firms in late March.https://www.reuters.com/article/us-alphabet-cloud-tencent/google-in-talks-with-tencent-others-for-cloud-services-in-china-bbg-idUSKBN1KO2K3

- taiwan

•  Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) Google said it would pay $1.1 billion for the division at Taiwan’s HTC Corp (2498.TW) that develops the U.S. firm’s Pixel smartphones - its second major foray into phone hardware after an earlier costly failure.The all-cash deal will see Google gain 2,000 HTC employees, roughly equivalent to one fifth of the Taiwanese firm’s total workforce. It will also acquire a non-exclusive license for HTC’s intellectual property and the two firms agreed to look at other areas of collaboration in the future.https://www.reuters.com/article/us-htc-m-a-google/google-bets-anew-on-smartphones-pays-1-1-billion-for-htcs-pixel-division-idUSKCN1BW06L

- name

• 原來，Google這名字是緣於一個美麗的誤會，Google原名為BackRub，以代表掃描「反向連結」（back links）的功能。創辦人布林和佩奇於一九九八年，決定為公司易名，以塑造全新形象。經商議後，二人打算將搜尋器名字改為Googol（意指10的100次方）。詎料在一次輸入時，錯誤地將Googol輸入成Google，就將錯就錯沿用至今。http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20170727/00180_034.html
• Alphabet Inc. is forming a new holding company designed to finalize its evolution from Google, the web search giant, into a corporate parent with distinct arms that protects individual businesses in far-flung fields like health care and self-driving cars. The new entity, called XXVI Holdings Inc., will own the equity of each Alphabet company, including Google. The new structure legally separates Google from other units such as Waymo, its self-driving car business, and Verily, a medical device and health data firm.XXVI, the name of the new holding entity, is the number of letters in the alphabet expressed in Roman numerals. The sums of the company’s two most recent share buybacks were both derived from math equations involving the number 26.

apple
- http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20151221/00178_011.html 內地建築物經常被外國人指為山寨貨，只是抄襲外國的著名建築物，近日內地網民熱議美國蘋果公司在建的新總部大樓，類似中國山東一軟件園大樓，有抄襲之嫌。有山東網民覺得，蘋果新總部外觀與早於二十年前已建成的山東齊魯軟件園非常相似。兩個建築群均是大圓環設計，圓環建築中間則是綠地公園，而公園中心都有一座湖；不同的是蘋果總部採用玻璃幕牆，齊魯軟件園則是象牙白色的實心牆。蘋果新總部涉山寨國產建築的傳言，在內地網民之間愈傳愈烈。有網民調侃指，喬布斯設計總部園區時，或參考過齊魯軟件園的造型；有網民就稱，兩幢大樓同樣抄襲福建圓形的客家土樓。不過有蘋果迷則不認同，並強調就算彼此都是大圓環設計，都未必是抄襲。
-http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-is-flying-a-pirate-flag-over-its-headquarters-today-heres-why-2016-4 Friday is the 40th anniversary of Apple's founding, and to celebrate, Apple flew a pirate flag over its headquarters. The pirate flag has a special place in Apple's history. During a 1983 meeting, CEO Steve Jobs told the Macintosh team:

1. "Real artists ship."
2. "It's better to be a pirate than join the navy."
3. "Mac in a book by 1986."

Based on those now iconic "sayings from Chairman Jobs," the Macintosh team members started to style themselves as pirates. In fact, the phrase "Pirates of Silicon Valley" later became the title of a 1999 Anthony Michael Hall biopic about the early days of Apple. ("Mac in a book" refers to the team's efforts to make a laptop. It shipped the 15-pound Mac Portable in 1989.) As it turns out, the Macintosh team was so inspired by Jobs that it asked designer Susan Kare, who created the icons on the original Macintosh, to create an adapted pirate flag.
- renewable energy

• http://www.chinadailyasia.com/business/2016-12/09/content_15539486.html Apple Inc has reached a deal with the world' largest wind turbine maker Goldwind Science & Technology Co Ltd, a further step toward the US tech giant reaching its renewable energy goal. The deal marks Apple's largest clean energy project and is the first of its kind in the wind power sector, said Lisa Jackson, vice-president of environment, policy and social initiatives at Apple. Goldwind's wholly owned subsidiary Beijing Tianrun New Energy Investment Co has agreed to transfer Apple its 30 percent equities in four subsidiary companies of Goldwind, the wind turbine maker based in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region said in a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Wednesday.

- tax

• https://www.icij.org/investigations/paradise-papers/apples-secret-offshore-island-hop-revealed-by-paradise-papers-leak-icij/

- china

• http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20160929/00178_029.html北京中關村園區管理委員會披露，近日蘋果研發（北京）有限公司在中關村朝陽園成立，為美國蘋果公司在中國第一家直接投資的研發中心。據悉，該中心註冊資本 一億元人民幣，投資總額三億元，共有員工大約五百人，將致力於軟硬件、通訊、音頻和視頻設備、消費電子產品技術及訊息技術等先進技術的研發。
•  http://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-shenzhen-idUSKCN12C0BZ Apple Inc (AAPL.O) will set up a research and development center in China's manufacturing metropolis Shenzhen, the U.S. tech giant said on Wednesday, as the firm looks to spur growth in the world's second largest economy amid growing competition. The Shenzhen hub follows a similar plan for a center in Beijing, and comes as Apple is looking to bounce back in China, where local rivals like Huawei Technologies [HWT.UL], OPPO and Vivo have been taking market share from its flagship iPhone.
• Apple is taking a risky – not to mention controversial – step to try to reverse its ailing fortunes in China. The American technology giant has effectively levied a 30 per cent tax on ‘tips’ paid to content creators via social media apps by grateful fans wanting to reward them for their work. Upsetting some of the country’s most influential people – internet celebrities such as live streamers and online writers – by taking such a hefty chunk of their revenues could make things a whole lot worse for Apple, whose own revenues from China have been eroded by the rise of domestic technology rivals.http://www.scmp.com/tech/apps-gaming/article/2097993/apple-imposes-30-cent-tax-chinas-digital-content-creators
• Apple accepts wechat pay in bid china daily 30aug17
• 日前，內蒙古烏蘭察布市與蘋果公司在呼和浩特舉行iCloud中國北方數據中心項目合作協議簽約儀式。 根據協議，蘋果公司將在烏蘭察布市投資建設iCloud中國北方數據中心，並註冊實體公司負責項目建設和運營。該項目是蘋果公司在中國北方建立的第一個數據中心，將100%使用可再生能源。項目計劃於2020年建成並投入運營，為中國蘋果用戶提供iCloud服務。http://pdf.wenweipo.com/2018/02/06/a14-0206.pdf

- medical

• 傳蘋果公司（Apple Inc.）亦計劃今年春天開始為員工提供醫療服務，該公司正刊登廣告，招聘醫生和健康教練等。Apple的基本醫療診所集團名為AC Wellness，初步只會為聖克拉拉縣，亦即其總部所在地的Apple員工提供服務。除一般涉及的職位外，Apple還在招聘「設計師」，協助推行預防疾病和推動健康行為的計劃。http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/finance/20180228/00202_014.html

- iphone supply chain http://paper.takungpao.com/resfile/PDF/20180919/PDF/a6_screen.pdf

• 日媒報道稱，中美貿易戰對內地經濟影響逐漸浮現。部分在華企業受關稅措施影響，計劃將生產線轉移到第三國。其中，內地電聲行業龍頭、蘋果配件主要供應商歌爾聲學股份有限公司（Goertek，下稱歌爾聲學），已確定將生產線轉移到越南。http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20181014/00178_001.html
• 美國蘋果公司早前宣布砍單，導致iPhone在內地的配件廠、代工廠紛紛裁員。內地網傳消息指，一間專門生產手機屏幕的大型港資公司，本月突然裁減八千名惠州廠區工人。被裁工人不滿賠償條件，上周五起一連多日發起抗議，圍堵工廠的出入口，政府一度派防暴警察戒備。http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20181116/00178_019.html
• goertek (makes apple ipods) heading south scmp 18nov18 asia weekly
• https://www.ft.com/content/2f93daa0-22a0-11e9-8ce6-5db4543da632
  Shares in Japan Display fell as much as 6 per cent on Monday after the supplier of mobile displays for Apple warned of a “harsh” earnings impact from the US-China trade war and a slowdown in the Chinese economy.  The statement came after the Yomiuri newspaper reported on Saturday that the Japanese company was expected to book a net loss of ¥10bn-¥20bn ($91m-$183m) for the year to the end of March, which would mark its fifth straight year of losses. Japan Display said it had not released the guidance. 

Facebook
- zuckerberg

• http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/talkingtech/2017/01/24/mark-zuckerberg-not-running-for-president/97007738/ Speculation of political ambitions ran amok after the famous tech billionaire set a personal goal of embarking on a listening tour in 2017 to the 30 states he has yet to visit.
• https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jan/26/mark-zuckerberg-reconsiders-forcing-hawaiians-to-sell-him-their-land

- http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/business/tech/2016-04/09/content_24394645.htm Oculus VR LLC, a virtual-reality company backed by Facebook Inc, is preparing toenter the Chinese mainland market, an achievement its parent company could notrealize. Less than a month after Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg visited Beijing to attend ahigh-profile business forum hosted by the government, a local newspaper reportedon Friday that Oculus will kick off a VR online store as soon as this year. "There's no obstacle for Oculus to launch an online store (on the Chinesemainland)," the 21st Century Business Herald reported, citing an unnamed sourceclose to the company. The California-based Oculus, acquired by Facebook in 2014 for $2 billion, did notrespond to e-mails from China Daily for comment. But there are too many signs its official launch on the Chinese mainland is aroundthe corner. In March, the Hong Kong arm of Oculus set up a $3.3 million subsidiary inShanghai. The registration information from the Shanghai Municipal Administrationfor Industry and Commerce shows the new company will conduct electronicsimport and export businesses.
- https://www.rte.ie/news/us/2017/0708/888780-facebook-houses-california/ The shortage of housing in California's Silicon Valley has gotten so severe that Facebook Inc has proposed taking home-building into its own hands for the first time with a plan to construct 1,500 units near its headquarters. The growth of Facebook, Alphabet Inc's Google and other tech companies has strained neighbourhoods in the San Francisco Bay area that were not prepared for an influx of tens of thousands of workers during the past decade. Home prices and commute times have risen. Tech companies have responded with measures such as internet-equipped buses for employees with long commutes. Facebook has offered at least $10,000 in incentives to workers who move closer to its offices.
- germany

• 德國聯邦競爭法辦公室（FCO）經過三年調查及討論，周四裁定社交網站Facebook透過第三方平台收集數據時，須先得用戶的特別同意。FCO又指Fb濫用其市場主導地位來收集個人資料，並套用相關活動數據進行廣告宣傳。Fb回應指當局裁決偏頗，表明會在一個月內上訴。http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20190208/00180_019.html

- china

• 社交網站Facebook雖在內地遭到屏蔽，惟有外媒透露Fb一直未放棄進入內地市場。據報，Fb除了不斷通過第三方在內地宣傳外，亦在上海尋找辦公地點。雖然設立辦公室的計劃仍屬試探性，將取決於內地政府的態度，然而一旦成功獲批，即代表Fb取得象徵性勝利。http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20170908/00178_015.html
• Facebook中國首席代表王黎去年底辭職，外媒分析指王黎在任期間職責是改善公司與中國關係，這顯示Fb公司進入中國市場的努力再次受挫。http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20180121/00178_014.html

- singapore

• https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-45432723 Facebook has chosen Singapore for the location of its new data centre, which is expected to open in 2022. The new facility will cost more than $1bn (£773m) and be located in the west of the country. It has been designed as an 11-floor structure, in an attempt to conserve space in the crowded nation, according to Facebook.

- taiwan & hk

• facebook 昨宣佈委任余怡慧為facebook台灣及香港總經理。http://pdf.wenweipo.com/2018/01/12/b02-0112.pdf

- news feed experiment

• Facebook has been criticised for the worrying impact on democracy of its “downright Orwellian” decision to run an experiment seeing professional media removed from the main news feed in six countries. The experiment, which began 19 October and is still ongoing, involves limiting the core element of Facebook’s social network to only personal posts and paid adverts. So-called public posts, such as those from media organisation Facebook pages, are being moved to a separate “explore” feed timeline. As a result, media organisations in the six countries containing 1% of the world’s population – Sri Lanka, Guatemala, Bolivia, Cambodia, Serbia and Slovakia – have had one of their most important publishing platforms removed overnight. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/oct/25/facebook-orwellian-journalists-democracy-guatemala-slovakia

Walmart

• a fresh take on keeping food safe http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2014-09/19/content_18626185.htm
• http://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1705423/wal-mart-creates-corporate-affairs-post-china-improve-reputation?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
• http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/82e7a6ae-0617-11e5-89c1-00144feabdc0.html Even as Walmart raced to open its first store in Kenya, there were snags. The retailer was forced to import the trademark bright magenta ink that adorns its brash price offers and doorway décor because nobody in the country could produce it. It was one of several obstacles the world’s largest retailer has run into in Kenya. The US retail giant has spent the past few years trying — and failing — to crack the east African hub, whose growth is fuelled by aspirational consumption.
• http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/10/us-walmart-buyamerican-insight-idUSKCN0PK28V20150710 Walmart's 2015 U.S. Manufacturing Summit was advertised as a chance for goods producers to pitch American-made products to the retail giant. They would also get advice from Walmart executives on how to take advantage of the company's recent efforts to support more U.S. manufacturing jobs and reverse the trends its purchasing strategies and demand for low prices have driven. But the event also highlighted the challenges facing companies trying to bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States. Cheaper energy and rising labor costs inChina have helped stabilize manufacturing employment in the U.S., but there are still roughly 5 million fewer Americans working in factories today than in 1990. Would-be Walmart vendors attending the summit had to establish that their so-called "Made in America" products are not just assembled domestically, but also made from component parts manufactured in the U.S. But some companies attending the summit said they have to rely on imported parts or materials because their one-time U.S.-based suppliers have been put out of business by foreign rivals. Walmart’s “Made in the USA” efforts go back to 2013, when the company came under increasing pressure from unions and other critics who said its drive for low cost goods was undermining American jobs. Walmart says it wants to spend $250 billion on American-made products by 2023, and says buying from U.S. producers is good business.

- new tech

• Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has opened a new front in its battle with Amazon.com Inc. The world’s largest retailer has applied for a U.S. patent for a floating warehouse that could make deliveries via drones, which would bring products from the aircraft down to shoppers’ homes.https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-18/wal-mart-s-amazon-war-takes-to-skies-with-floating-warehouses

- hk

• http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/entertainment/art/20170218/19932413 大劉劉鑾雄同甘比舊年結婚，同大劉相處12年嘅呂麗君，分手後轉為搞慈善。佢同Walmart集團繼承人Rob Walton，共同創立「呂．沃爾頓地球創新研究基金」，推動愛護大自然，美國時間昨日更舉行咗基金成立晚宴。

- china 

• 沃爾瑪集團昨日宣布，已從中國平安及1號店前董事 長于剛、前CEO劉俊嶺手中購買餘下49%的股權，全資擁 有1號店在內地電子商務業務。至此，沃爾瑪用五年時間 完成內地電商布局，分別是大賣場O2O（線上到線下）平 台速購、電商平台1號店和山姆會員店網上商城及APP，視 內地電商平台為新業務增長點。http://paper.takungpao.com/resfile/PDF/20150724/PDF/b4_screen.pdf
• http://www.reuters.com/article/us-walmart-yihaodian-jd-com-idUSKCN0Z61BW Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) has sold its Chinese online grocery store in return for a stake in the country's no. 2 e-commerce firm, ripping up its previous strategy in efforts to cure ailing sales in one of the world's toughest retail markets. The deal will see the U.S. grocery giant swap its Yihaodian platform for a 5 percent stake in JD.com Inc (JD.O), worth about $1.5 billion by the firm's latest market value. The move also gives Wal-Mart a ringside seat in JD.com's bitter rivalry with Chinese e-commerce leader Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA.N). The sell-off, announced on Monday, is a significant shift for Wal-Mart in China, where it operates more than 400 bricks-and-mortar stores. The firm has been shuttering underperforming outlets and grappling with soft online sales in the world's second-biggest economy since it bought full control of Yihaodian in July last year, saying the site would play a leading role in its China strategy.
• http://www.scmp.com/tech/e-commerce/article/2087120/walmart-partners-jdcom-launch-online-store-china-british-supermarket
• http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2017-04/21/content_29022141.htm Wal-Mart Stores Inc will continue to increase its investment in Guangdong province, as it plans to add more than 40 new stores and one fresh food distribution center in the province in the next five years. The US retail giant signed an agreement for strategic cooperation on its business expansion plan with Guangdong provincial government on Thursday.
• http://www.scmp.com/tech/e-commerce/article/2095649/us-retail-giant-walmart-launches-flagship-online-store-jdcom Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, is looking to provide same- and next-day deliveries to more than 600 million mainland Chinese consumers, with the opening of its own flagship online store on JD.com on Thursday. That launch comes nearly a year after Walmart and JD.com, China’s biggest online retail service provider by revenue, formed a strategic alliance and more than a month since Walmart’s British supermarket chain Asda opened a store on the same platform.
• 內地零售商家家悅於本月初公告，公司將全面接管華潤萬家在山東各地共七間超市，意味後者全面撤離該省。與此同時，全球三大零售商之一的沃爾瑪（Walmart）位於青島的超市周一關門，標誌該公司正式退出當地。https://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20190325/00178_007.html

Cargill
- http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/a946201e-602c-11e4-88d1-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3Hh3MmjKH Cargill, one of the largest private suppliers of food and grains across the world, is moving into base metal derivatives. The company has hired trader Michael Frawley from Jefferies to build a team in New York, according to a person familiar with the matter. The company will also apply for a higher category of membership with the London Metal Exchange that will allow it to buy and sell contracts on behalf of clients.
- http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/9513ca00-44f7-11e5-b3b2-1672f710807b.html The US-based company said on Monday it was buying EWOS of Norway for €1.35bn ($1.5bn) including debt. EWOS makes salmon feed, a mix of ingredients such as fish meal, soyabeans, wheat and pigments that fatten pink fish in pens. In 2014 farmed fish, also known as aquaculture, overtook wild fish in the seafood market for the first time, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation. It takes 1.4kg of feed to farm a single kilogramme of salmon. David MacLennan, Cargill chief executive, said: “This transaction, which is significant and the second aquaculture acquisition Cargill has announced in as many months, is a strategic investment in our long-term growth and evidence of our commitment to the growing aquaculture industry.” Cargill last month said it was building a $30mshrimp feed mill in Ecuador. Last year, itexpressed interest for Nutreco, a Dutch animal and fish feed group, but never made a firm offer. The acquisition will be Cargill’s largest after buying Provimi, an animal nutrient company, for $2bn in 2011. In early July Minnesota-based Cargill reached a deal to sell its US pork business to JBS of Brazil for $1.45bn.

- http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2017-03/16/content_28574073.htm Cargill Inc, the US-based agricultural and industrial conglomerate, partnering with HeiferInternational, has launched a program aimed at improving the lives of more than 450 smallholder farmers in Qingshen county in Southwest China's Sichuan province. Cargill donated 1.72 million yuan ($250,000) to Heifer, a US-based charity organization with afocus on easing hunger and poverty, to start the Qingshen Sustainable Livelihoods andCommunity Holistic Development Project.
- Cargill Beauty, Cargill’s personal care platform launched in April 2017

• https://www.cargill.com/2018/china-cosmetic-market-to-gain-access-to-cargills-nature-derived  Cargill is partnering with BioHope and Sanrise China, two leading distributors in cosmetic ingredients, to deliver nature-derived, label-friendly and highly functional ingredients to the Chinese personal care markets. BioHope, is a significant player in the South China personal care industry with over 25 years’ experience. “The formation of this strategic partnership will enable BioHope to better meet their customer’s needs by adding Cargill’s sustainable, label-friendly and nature-derived portfolio to our current services,” said Mr. Chen Fufang, Managing Director of BioHope. Sanrise is a leading trade partner in the Eastern China region working closely with multi-national personal care ingredient companies with a longstanding business reputation. Sanrise’s relationships with leading brand owners in the Eastern China region will further the ability to meet existing and future consumer needs for nature-derived and responsible cosmetics.

- china

• https://www.reuters.com/article/china-cargill/cargill-says-to-invest-112-mln-to-expand-china-corn-facility-idUSL3N22506M Grains trader Cargill Inc on Tuesday said it would invest $112 million to expand capacity at its corn processing facility in China’s northeastern province of Jilin. The plant in Songyuan city is part of a bigger project being jointly built with the local government called the Sino-U.S. Cargill Biotech Industrial Park, Cargill said in a statement on Tuesday.

Honeywell

• http://europe.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2014-12/16/content_19095910.htm Honeywell International Inc, the Fortune 100 diversified technology and manufacturing company, is targeting opportunities from the Chinese government's commitment to increasing energy efficiency and the safety of its workers, said Alex Ismail, the company's president and CEO of automation and control solutions. Speaking at the recent opening of Honeywell's new plant in Nantong, Jiangsu province, which will serve as Honeywell's global glove research and development center, Ismail said: "Our goal is to grow at two to three times China's GDP growth." He said the company will consider China its "second headquarters" for automation and control solutions activities, which will help it grow particularly in India, Russia, Turkey, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, South Africa, Brazil, Mexico and the Middle East.

Microsoft
- http://pdf.wenweipo.com/2014/12/30/a19-1230.pdf 微軟公司近日對中國分公司的業務進行了重新佈局。微軟中國公司向北京、東莞兩地工廠的員工通知了關閉工廠的決定，這兩地工廠將在 2015 年第一季度內正式關閉，生產製造環節將轉移至越南河內工廠，預計總數超過 3000員工失去工作。
- 中國電子科技集團 公司（簡稱「中國電科」）與微軟公司宣 佈，雙方將展開合作，為中國的政府機構 和關鍵基礎設施國有企業專業領域用戶， 提供全球領先的操作系統技術與服務。中 國電科與微軟將共同合作尋求如何在專業 領域用戶的計算機系統中配置、部署和維 護本土化的Windows 10。 據消息人士透露，自此，「微軟中 國」將更名為「中國微軟」。http://pdf.wenweipo.com/2015/09/25/a05-0925.pdf
- The man in charge of Microsoft Corp's China business thinks the recentlyannounced national strategies to boost the information technology sector, willprovide the company, the world's biggest software maker, with greateropportunities, despite a slowing economy. Ralph Haupter, chairman and chief executive of Microsoft Greater China, is alsoeyeing technologies like augmented reality or AR and virtual reality or VR for whichdemand is rising in China.http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2016-05/09/content_25153108.htm

- http://www.china.org.cn/business/2017-05/25/content_40886349.htmMicrosoft Corp has allowed government customers in China to use their own encryption algorithms in the especially-tailored Windows 10 Government Edition, with the aim of keeping all data in the nation, senior company executives said.The US technology company unveiled the first version of its operating system customized for China's government agencies and State-owned enterprises in Shanghai on Tuesday, which it said has passed security reviews and received feedback for improvement through trial runs.

"One of the discussions we had is that they (Chinese government customers) want to keep all data within the country. They had this desire to be able to add encryption capabilities," said Terry Myerson, executive vice-president of Windows and Devices Group at Microsoft. China Daily reported in March that Microsoft was developing the special build through C&M Information Technologies, its 49-51 joint venture with State-backed China Electronics Technology Group Corp. Three government customers are the first to pilot the government version operating system－at the national level with China Customs, at the regional level with Shanghai Commission of Economy and Informatization, and State-owned enterprise Westone Information Technology, said Beth Xu, chief executive officer of CMIT. According to Myerson, the China Government Edition is based on the Windows 10 Enterprise Edition, but has removed elements not necessarily needed by Chinese government employees, such as the cloud storage function OneDrive, and a number of entertainment features.

- people

• http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/finance/20160427/00269_001.html 微軟（Microsoft Corp.）現時12位最高領導層（Senior Leaders）中，全球執行副總裁沈向洋（Harry）是少數的華人。擁機器人學（Robotics）博士學位的他，在微軟工作20個年頭，是領導開發搜索引擎Bing的幕後功臣，當初無心插柳加入這間現時市值逾4,000億美元（約3.12萬億港元）的跨國巨企，成為他最成功的決定之一。

johnson & johnson

• http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/ceoroundtable/2015-07/17/content_21306506.htm ALEX GORSKY, the chairman and chief executiveofficer of Johnson&Johnson, a multinational manufacturer of consumer andhealthcare products, is convinced that there are hosts of opportunities and a brightfuture for MNCs, particularly in the research and development sector. Gorsky, theCEO of J&J since 2012, also believes that companies should reorient themselves tothe "new normal" of growth in China and readjust their expectations. The 55-year-old chief executive and industry veteran spoke at length recently to China Daily onhis vision for J&J and how he perceives the future for his company in China.

amazon
- http://www.cnbc.com/2015/10/01/amazon-google-move-into-on-demand-home-services.html Amazon and Google are vying to become the Uber for handymen and capitalize on the growth of the on-demand services industry. A recent Intuit survey estimates 7.6 million Americans will be working in the so-called "gig" economy by 2020, more than double the current total of 3.2 million people. "This is a multibillion-dollar market, and clearly the incumbents have not done an effective job in providing a seamless, safe and positive experience for users," said Mizuho Securities analyst Neil Doshi. "Just looking at stock prices of ANGI and YELP, there seems to be an opportunity for larger players or new start-ups to disrupt this space." Amazon is diving head-on into delivering on-demand services. The e-commerce giant launched Amazon Flex on Tuesday, enabling delivery drivers in Seattle to sign up for shifts through an app. In March, it rolled out Amazon Home Services, powered by service marketplace start-upTaskRabbit. "In less than 60 seconds, customers can browse, purchase and schedule tons of professional services from wall mounting a new TV to installing a new garbage disposal to house cleaning, directly on Amazon.com," said an Amazon spokesperson. Amazon also recently expanded Home Services, which offers more than 900 professional services, to 15 cities in the US. The company guarantees all purchases, so if customers are not satisfied, they get their money back. "People are always afraid that a plumber or contractor might rip them off, so the platform that can provide transparency in price and recourse for quality will be the winner. We like Amazon's approach this far. And Amazon has deep pockets and a lot of patience," said Doshi.

- http://www.reuters.com/article/us-amazon-com-freight-idUSKCN0US2YW Amazon.com Inc's China arm has registered as an ocean freight forwarder, according to the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission, a move that will give it more control over shipping products from Chinese factories to U.S. shoppers. The registration is the latest indication that Amazon plans to expand its logistics reach to cut costs for its retail business and potentially provide third-party logistics services to other industries. Its new status as a freight forwarder, or "non-vessel operating common carrier," gives Amazon, the world's largest online retailer, a foothold in the $350 billion a year ocean freight business. It will not operate ships but subcontract that work. Amazon is already negotiating a deal to lease 20 jets to start an air-delivery service in the United States, the Seattle Times reported last year. The retailer bought truck trailers to add shipping capacity and started a program last year that uses a fleet of on-demand drivers to deliver packages.
- http://www.reuters.com/article/us-air-transport-sr-amazon-com-idUSKCN0WB1LA Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) said on Wednesday it had signed a deal to lease 20 Boeing (BA.N) 767 widebody freighter aircraft to handle more of its own deliveries in the United States. The deal comes at a time when the world's biggest online retailer is offering ever-faster, and increasingly free, deliveries for millions of online orders.
Amazon, which relies on carriers like United Parcel Service Inc (UPS.N) and FedEx Corp (FDX.N) to deliver most of its packages, spent $11.5 billion on shipping last year.
- china

• elaine chang, president of amazon china china daily 26jun17
• http://www.chinadailyasia.com/business/2015-07/30/content_15297512.html United States-based e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc is planning to boost its investments to help more Chinese companies and brand owners go international. Amazon launched the “global selling” business in 2012 to help Chinese manufacturers sell their products to more than 200 million customers, mainly in the US, Europe and Japan, and build their brands in the world. Growth in the “global selling” business has accelerated sharply in the past year, with sales doubling year-on-year in the first half of 2015, the e-commerce giant said in Guangzhou on Wednesday. The surge was largely due to the higher investments made by the US firm to draw more Chinese businesses last year when it saw a “perfect storm” for the business expansion, said Sebastian Gunningham, the global senior vice-president of Amazon.
• https://www.ft.com/content/71f989c6-14ec-11e7-80f4-13e067d5072c
  Amazon has proven adept at growing businesses from scratch and by stealth. Now it is taking aim at the $8tn global logistics industry, by quietly nurturing a programme in China through which any wholesaler can use it to ship goods around the world by sea, land or air.
• 全球第二大互聯網企業美國亞馬遜旗下雲計算服務平台亞馬遜AWS，日前與西安市政府簽署合作備忘錄，未來雙方將在西安滻灞生態區共建亞馬遜AWS聯合創新中心。http://pdf.wenweipo.com/2017/09/30/b05-0930.pdf

Tesla
- http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/financeestate/art/20160222/19500774 唔講唔知，電動車生產商Tesla嘅網頁一直用唔到Tesla.com，事關呢個域名由矽谷一個工程師Stu Grossman擁有咗24年。直至最近，Tesla老闆馬斯克（Elon Musk）先至從對方手上攞番呢個域名，不過就冇人知道馬斯克係向對方收購，還是動之以情攞番嘞。其實Tesla喺2003年成立，而Stu Grossman早於1992年就擁有Tesla.com，所以Tesla一直都係用Teslamotors.com。雖然公司全名的確叫做Tesla Motors，但係佢嘅業務已經唔只賣電動車，亦涉及儲蓄電池；馬斯克亦成日想將公司名簡單改為Tesla，以反映公司業務多元化，只因域名問題而改唔到，攞番個名後，應該好快有動作喇。
- http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-06-20/shanghai-said-to-be-front-runner-for-tesla-china-production-site

• http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/tech/2016-06/22/content_25798610.htm The source, who asked not to be identified as the matter is very sensitive, said the location of the Tesla China factory is still at the evaluation stage. Tesla released a statement on Tuesday, saying that the company would not comment on rumors or speculation. Tesla plans to build a factory in China by the end of 2018. China became Tesla's second-largest market after the United States in the first quarter of 2016, with a more than 300 percent annual growth rate. The electric-car maker faces import duties of 25 percent. "Building a factory in Shanghai is not impossible, but the way of releasing the news violates the procedure," said Zeng Zhiling, managing director of LMC Automotive Consulting Co Ltd. Foreign electric-car makers are not allowed to establish wholly owned e-car factories in China. Zeng said Tesla has to partner with a Chinese carmaker or a Chinese company qualified to produce electric cars. According to Zeng, Jinqiao is just providing the land and is not qualified to produce electric cars, so there is an important third party missing.

- http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2016/08/16/is-dubai-first-stop-on-hyperloop.html Rob Lloyd, the CEO of Hyperloop One, recently told TechCrunch that the startup is in talks with with DP World, the third-largest supply chain and terminal operator in the world, to deploy the system online in Dubai's Jebel Ali Port. Hyperloop One is looking to develop the electric-propulsion-based high-speed system, which is the brainchild of Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. Lloyd's company recently tested its technology in the desert near Las Vegas.
- Elon Musk says he can build an electricity storage plant within 100 days to solve an energy dilemma in Australia. https://www.ft.com/content/c3dcbc40-07ae-11e7-97d1-5e720a26771b
The billionaire founder of Tesla and SpaceX has even pledged to install the 100 megawatt-hour battery system for free in South Australia — a wind energy-reliant state that has suffered blackouts following storms and heatwaves — if he misses the deadline.

• 美國Tesla汽車始創人馬斯克，今年三月向陷入電力荒的澳洲南澳省，提交建造世上最巨型儲電池的計劃，豪言在一百天內交付，許下「不成功，不收費」的承諾。事隔半年，馬斯克上周五宣布已與法國可再生能源公司Neon簽署協議，合作建造儲電池，意味百日豪言，正式倒數。http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20171001/00180_008.html

- Electric car maker Tesla will build Europe's largest charging station in Norway this year, public broadcaster NRK reported Saturday. The station, with 42 specially designed charging points, will be situated in Rygge, some 65 km south of Oslo, by the European route E6. Owners of other electric car types will be able to use other three charging points close to the Tesla station, NRK reported. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-10/29/c_136712240.htm
- http://www.reuters.com/article/us-tesla-stake-tencent-holdings-idUSKBN16Z1FJ China's Tencent Holdings Ltd (0700.HK) has bought a 5 percent stake in U.S. electric car maker Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) for $1.78 billion, the latest investment by a Chinese internet company in the potentially lucrative market for self-driving vehicles and related services. Tencent's investment, revealed in a U.S. regulatory filing, provides Tesla with a deep-pocketed ally as it prepares to launch its mass-market Model 3. Tesla's shares rose 2.7 percent to $277.45 on Tuesday, closing in on Ford Motor Co (F.N) as the second-most-valuable U.S. auto company behind General Motors Co (GM.N).
- 大約半年前又開賣每支售價500美元嘅「火燄噴射槍」（Flamethrower），短短四日就售罄，共賣出兩萬支，極速袋走約1,000萬美元（約7,800萬港元）收入。http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/finance/20180612/00202_023.html- chile

•  Chile is open to negotiating an additional quota of lithium for local miner SQM SQM_pb.SN to meet potential demand from U.S. electric car-maker Tesla, Eduardo Bitran, head of Chilean development agency Corfo, told Reuters on Monday.https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tesla-chile/chile-open-to-increasing-sqm-lithium-quota-to-satisfy-tesla-corfo-idUSKBN1FI2G7

- australia

• 新南威爾士省議員白金漢（Jeremy Buckingham）在社交網表示深受交通問題所困，並向馬斯克問道：「要建一條穿過藍山、開通西面的五十公里隧道，價格是多少？」馬斯克即日回覆指：「一條雙行高速道路每公里大約需要一千五百萬，因此整條約需七億五千萬，再加每個站口約需五千萬。」白金漢隨後道：「謝了，兄弟，聽起來像是優惠價格，我會向同僚及社區提出，再回覆你。」不過馬斯克未有說明價格是美元抑或是澳元。http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20190118/00180_026.html

- japan

• ft 12apr19 tesla pulls back panasonic battery plans

- china

• 電動汽車製造商特斯拉(Tesla)昨日已獲准在上海設立獨資公司，另外，國際投行摩根大通稱，已申請成立持股51%的證券公司。特斯拉汽車公司朝着在中國生產電動汽車邁進一步。據國家企業信用信息公示系統信息昨日顯示，特斯拉(上海)有限公司5月10日得到核准，註冊資本1億元人民幣，經營範圍包括從事電動汽車及零件、電池、儲能設備、光伏產品領域內的技術開發、服務等。公司類型為港澳台法人獨資，股東為Tesla Motors HK LTD(特斯拉汽車香港有限公司)，這將是特斯拉首次在美國境外設立電池超級工廠。http://pdf.wenweipo.com/2018/05/15/b04-0515.pdf
• China’s top producer of lithium, a metal used in electric-vehicle batteries, said it’s agreed a deal with Tesla Inc. to supply a fifth of its production to the vehicle maker, highlighting the push for supply pacts. Tesla will designate its battery suppliers to buy lithium-hydroxide products from Ganfeng Lithium Co. and its unit, the Jiangxi-based company said in a filing to the Shenzhen exchange on Friday. The agreement runs from 2018 to 2020 and could be extended by three years, Ganfeng said. Its shares jumped.https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-21/chinese-lithium-giant-agrees-three-year-pact-to-supply-tesla
• http://pdf.wenweipo.com/2019/02/25/b06-0225.pdf 黃河交通學院──特 斯拉培訓中心日前在河南省武 陟縣成立，成為特斯拉在內地 區域的第一家校企合作培訓中 心。
• 美國電動車生產商特斯拉（Tesla）繼日前因大降車價引起大批舊主抗議事件後，剛運抵中國的一千六百輛新車型Model 3，被指內部標籤內容不符合中國官方規定，遭上海海關暫扣，已通關放行的新車也不得銷售。中國海關同時要求各口岸海關要加強檢驗Tesla的其他車型。https://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20190307/00178_001.html

- hk

• https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-10-15/tesla-boosts-hong-kong-charging-points-after-sales-tumble

hyperloop
- 承建中國首條超級高鐵路線的美國科技公司HTT，成立於二○一三年，目前已發展成一個龐大的全球團隊。該公司擁有逾八百名工程師、技術人員及專家。據官網介紹，HTT希望以驚人的速度連接遙遠的城市及民眾，為旅行帶來革命性的變化。HTT早期的員工畢業於加州大學洛杉磯分校，以及來自波音、空中巴士及太空探索科技公司（Space X）的工程師。早期百多人的團隊以電郵來溝通協調、規模路線、設計傳輸艙及分析成本等。其營運模式十分另類，公司允諾向每個員工派發股票期權，但未派發前員工均是自願工作。由於Space X行政總裁兼始創人馬斯克曾提出超級高鐵計劃，令部分中國傳媒以為HTT是由馬斯克所擁有，事實上馬斯克並沒有參與HTT的運作。不過，HTT首席執行官阿爾博恩曾表示，馬斯克公開超級高鐵的概念，而HTT便是首個迎接挑戰的企業。http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20180722/00178_003.html

• 美國高速管道列車科技公司（HTT）周二在西班牙發布其超迴路列車（Hyperloop）的樣辦車，時速或可高達一千二百多公里，較目前的波音737飛機更快，待裝嵌完成和測試後，最快會在二○一九年面世。http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20181004/00180_031.html

KKR
- portfolio http://www.kkr.com/businesses/private-equity/kkr-portfolio

• cognita 

• Cognita, a subsidiary of Cognita Topco Limited registered in Jersey, is a private company which owns and operates independent schoolsthroughout the United Kingdom, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, Vietnam, Brazil and Chile and is expanding in Asia and Latin America.^[1][2] Based inMilton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, UK, Cognita currently has a portfolio of 66 schools, employs some 4,600 teachers and educates around 30,000 children in a variety schools, including nursery, pre-preparatory, preparatory and senior schools as well as all-through bilingual and international schools.^[3] The company posts losses annually. The total comprehensive loss in 2014 was £37 million growing by 11% in 2015 to a total comprehensive loss of £41 million.^[4] Moody's assigned a sub-prime^[5] B2 rating to Cognita in 2015 reflecting opening leverage of 7.6x in the year ending August 2015; large planned capital expenditure, mainly financed by the cash on balance sheet but also limiting free cash flow generation in the next two years.; reliance on its academic reputation and brand quality in a highly regulated environment and exposure to changes in the political and legal environment in emerging markets.^[6] In 2014 the company's principal founder, Chris Woodhead, resigned from the company along with four other key directors.^[7] In 2015 the company restructured its debts registering a new mortgage charge in favour of U.S. Bank Trustees Limited.^[8]
•  http://std.stheadline.com/yesterday/pro/0227ho06.html 名校網校舍用地備受外國學校垂青，早前以六億七千多萬元易手的何文田前新法書院校舍，新買家為首度來港辦學的英資國際學校Cognita Schools，該院校是次購入校舍乃作自用，並部署於暑假後正式投入運作。本報早前率先披露一志集團王氏家族，沽出新法書院最後一座校舍，該座位於文福道二十五號的物業，買家身分正式曝光。土地註冊處資料顯示，該校舍於本周以六億七千三百萬元成交，登記買家為福蘭教育有限公司(Flora Education Limited)，董事包括Rogove Brian Geoffrey及Jansen Christopher Trevor Peter等，均為英資

General electric
- http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2016-03/30/content_24174169.htm General Electric Co, a global diversified technology, services and manufacturingconglomerate, will further fuel its renewable energy business in China throughconsistent investment as the country is pushing hard for more shares ofrenewables in its overall energy mix. GE, which has already invested $15 billion in research and development of theglobal clean-energy market since 2005, plans to add another $10 billion ininvestment in renew-ables over the next few years. China, already the fifth top market for GE, will be a major part of the blueprint as thecountry aims to have 15 percent of its power generated from non-fossil energy,which is alternative sources of energy that don't rely on fossil fuels such as coal, oilor natural gas. Fifteen percent of the country's energy mix by 2020 will generate an additionalinvestment as large as 2.3 trillion yuan ($353 billion), according to an industrialdocument prepared for the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) by the country's energywatchdog－the National Energy Administration.

uber

• http://www.hkcd.com.hk/pdf/201509/0909/HZ22909CGSS.pdf plan to expand in courier sector
• http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/finance/20151223/00202_011.html 內地汽車市場競爭激烈，廣汽集團（02238）昨宣布與Uber展開合作，兩者將在股權投資及汽車市場互相補足。

- Transport for London’s shock decision to scrap Uber’s operating licence sparked a fierce debate on Friday as unions, politicians and rival services – hailing the move as a “historic” victory – clashed with the Silicon Valley giant, which in turn decried it as a sign that the capital is closed to innovation. In a damning statement, the transport authority said that its regulation of London's sprawling taxi and private hire market is designed to ensure passenger safety. Uber, it determined, "is not fit and proper to hold a private hire operator licence".http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/uber-london-ban-live-updates-tfl-ride-hailing-app-prive-hire-licence-not-renewed-expires-taxi-a7960856.html
- asia

• https://www.ft.com/content/7b415e82-3098-11e8-b5bf-23cb17fd1498
  Uber at the start of this week agreed to fold its business in south-east Asia into local rival Grab. In return, it will get 27.5 per cent in the enlarged business — roughly matching its estimated market share in the region — along with a board seat. The deal ends the rivalry between market-leading Grab and its nearest challenger across a region that includes Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Myanmar. It also replicates previous deals in which the US ride-hailing group has withdrawn from China, in return for a 20 per cent stake in market leader Didi Chuxing, and in Russia, where it folded into Yandex for a 37 per cent in an enlarged market leader.

sun microsystems

• http://www.scmp.com/tech/enterprises/article/1882325/sun-microsystems-co-founder-mcnealy-looking-team-weibo

csx

- CSX Corporation is an American holding company focused on real estate and railways in North America, among other industries. The company was formed in 1980 by the merger of Chessie System and Seaboard Coast Line Industries and eventually merged the various railroads owned by those predecessors into a single line that became known as CSX Transportation. CSX Corporation currently has a number of subsidiaries beyond CSX Transportation, including Fruit Growers Express, CSX Technology, CSX de Mexico, and CSX Real Property among others. Based in Richmond, Virginia, USA after the merger, in 2003 the CSX Corporation headquarters moved to Jacksonville, Florida.

general motors
- GM marks limit to global retreat with pullout from India and South Africa. Financial Times  2017-05-19

Catepillar
- http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2017-06/16/content_29767147.htm Global manufacturing giant Caterpillar Inc is expanding its operations in China. Bob De Lange, president of construction industries at the group, underlined that point when he expressed confidence in the market here.


The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney, is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate, headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California. It is the world's second largest media conglomerate in terms of revenue, after Comcast.^[3] Disney was founded on October 16, 1923 – by brothers Walt Disney and Roy O. Disney – as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, and established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into live-action film production, television, and theme parks. The company also operated under the names The Walt Disney Studio and then Walt Disney Productions. Taking on its current name in 1986, it expanded its existing operations and also started divisions focused upon theater, radio, music, publishing, and online media.In addition, Disney has since created corporate divisions in order to market more mature content than is typically associated with its flagship family-oriented brands. The company is best known for the products of its film studio, Walt Disney Studios, which is today one of the largest and best-known studios in American cinema. Disney's other three main divisions are Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Disney Media Networks, and Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media.^[4] Disney also owns and operates the ABC broadcast television network; cable television networks such as Disney Channel, ESPN, A+E Networks, and Freeform; publishing, merchandising, music, and theatre divisions; and owns and licenses 14 theme parks around the world. The company has been a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average since May 6, 1991. Mickey Mouse, an early and well-known cartoon creation of the company, is a primary symbol and mascot for Disney.
- ESPN (originally an acronym for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is a U.S.-based global cable and satellite sports television channel owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which operates the network) and the Hearst Corporation (which owns a 20% minority share).





The 3M Company, formerly known as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation operating in the fields of industry, worker safety, health care, and consumer goods.^[3] The company produces a variety of products, including adhesives, abrasives, laminates, passive fire protection, personal protective equipment, window films, paint protection films, dental and orthodontic products, electronic materials, medical products, car-care products,^[4] electronic circuits, healthcare software and optical films.^[5] It is based in Maplewood, Minnesota, a suburb of St. Paul.
- hk

• artchain.com.hk is an authorized distributor of digital print products (wallpaper made in japan)

Leucadia National Corporation is an American conglomerate and investment holding company based in New York City. The company has been called "baby Berkshire" since it models its investment strategy after that of Berkshire Hathaway.^[2] The company was named after the town of Leucadia, Encinitas, California after the founders, while trying to decide on a name for the company, saw the name of the town on a sign during a road trip.