Aurelia Butler

PARIS (Reuters) – France beat out competition from Germany and the Netherlands for ProLogium’s first overseas car battery plant with lobbying from President Emmanuel Macron, deal sweeteners and competitive power prices, executives from the Taiwanese company said.After narrowing a list of countries down from 13 to three, ProLogium said it settled this week on the northern French port city of Dunkirk for its second gigafactory and first outside Taiwan.With production slated to begin 2026, the factory will be the fourth battery plant in a northern France, adding to an emerging specialised cluster central to Europe’s electric car industry.Europe currently largely depends on batteries made in Asia for electric cars, and national leaders are offering various incentives to kick start the industry.That has become more urgent since the United States last year passed its $430 billion Inflation Reduction Act, which includes major tax subsidies to cut carbon emissions while boosting domestic production and manufacturing. Macron, who personally met with ProLogium CEO Vincent Yang at the start of the vetting process, was due on Friday to officially announce in Dunkirk the 5.2 billion euro ($5.7 billion) investment.Gilles Normand, ProLogium executive vice-president, said that after Macron, a former investment banker, pitched Yang more than a year ago Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire followed up and helped make the company’s case with the European Commission for EU financial incentives.”There was then the realisation that there might be some interesting possibilities, which was maybe a little bit different from the clichés about France,” Normand told a small group of journalists.The timing of the investment is fortuitous for Macron, who is trying to turn the page on months of strikes and protests over his plans to raise the retirement age two years to 64 and show sceptical voters his pro-business push is bearing fruit.ProLogium expects the project to create 3,000 jobs directly and four times as much indirectly, a boon in a region where both the far right and far left score high after years of industrial decline.The emergence of an industrial cluster around the three battery plants already in the works was in itself an attraction, offering a critical mass of material suppliers and skilled workers, Normand said.Also playing in France’s favour was also its competitively priced zero-carbon electricity, produced by one of the biggest fleets of nuclear plants in the world but also increasingly by offshore wind farms and solar.Normand added that the government sweetened the deal with an incentives package, but could not give details while further subsidies were under review at the European Commission.Macron’s government is eager to use the recent relaxation of EU state aid rules to offer new tax breaks and other subsidies to encourage investment in green technologies.He announced on Thursday that the government would offer a new tax credit worth up to 40% of a company’s capital investment in wind, solar, heat-pump and battery projects. Meanwhile, the government also hopes to boost consumer demand for European-made electric cars by conditioning a 5,000 euro cash incentive to vehicles meeting demanding low-carbon standards in their production, effectively shutting out non-European cars.($1 = 0.9084 euros) More

Good morning. Relations between Washington and Beijing are at their lowest level since diplomatic ties were normalised in 1979. In an attempt to defuse the tensions, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan and China’s top diplomat Wang Yi have just completed two days of talks in Vienna.The White House said they held “candid, substantive and constructive” discussions on issues that included the US-China relationship, global security matters, Russia’s war against Ukraine and Taiwan. Efforts to kick-start high-level dialogue between the US had China earlier this year were largely unsuccessful. Secretary of state Antony Blinken cancelled a planned visit to China in February after a suspected Chinese spy balloon flew over North America. Blinken later met Wang at the Munich Security Conference but it was tense and unproductive. He is now trying to reschedule his visit, but the two sides have so far failed to reach an agreement, unless Sullivan negotiated one with Wang in Vienna. We also learnt that Beijing told Washington it was unwilling to schedule a meeting between its defence minister, and his US counterpart. And here’s what I’m keeping tabs on in the days ahead:Imran Khan in court: The former Pakistan prime minister will appear before the Islamabad supreme court today after his arrest was ruled illegal. Earnings: Allianz, Société Générale, Tata Motors, and Toshiba results are due.Elections: On Sunday, Turkey holds its presidential and parliamentary elections, Thailand has parliamentary elections and Italy and Albania both have local elections.Five more top stories1. Turkish presidential candidate Muharrem İnce has withdrawn from the contest, boosting the main opposition contender Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu’s chances of ousting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Sunday’s election. İnce said he would step out of the race for the good of the country after an alleged sex tape surfaced this week. 2. SoftBank Group has posted record annual investment losses of ¥5.3tn ($39bn) in its tech-heavy Vision funds and warned that the war in Ukraine and the US-China dispute continue to pose big market risks. With the poor performance, which was worse than analysts expected, SoftBank has turned to what founder Masayoshi Son has called “defence mode”.3. Elon Musk has hired a new Twitter chief executive to lead the social media platform. The billionaire did not name his successor but said that she will start in about six weeks. 4. The biggest US banks will be hit with nearly $16bn in extra fees over two years under a Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation plan to recover its losses associated with rescuing Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. Here’s more on which banks will be hit by the so-called “special assessment”. Exclusive: Blackstone is talking to large US regional banks about providing them with extra firepower to lend to companies amid signs of a coming credit crunch.5. US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen has called on G7 nations to co-ordinate action against Beijing’s economic coercion, as Washington finalises a new approach to outbound investment-screening aimed at China.How well did you keep up with the news this week? Take our quiz.Deep dive

Analysts say the close relationship between Gautam Adani, left, and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, both from the state of Gujarat, is now a political liability © FT montage/AFP/Getty Images/Bloomberg

Since short seller Hindenburg Research accused Indian tycoon Gautam Adani’s conglomerate of stock price manipulation and accounting fraud, the company has insisted that its profits prove its business is strong. But Adani has had to adapt in many ways since the short-seller attack. FT’s Chloe Cornish explains how things have changed.We’re also reading . . . Movie money: The seemingly trivial ¥100 increase in ticket prices at Japan’s biggest cinema chain has distinctly non-trivial implications, writes Leo Lewis.Better than gold: Copper has become a smuggler’s dream in South Africa, a cause to which many have risked their lives as crime syndicates flourish. Border ‘chaos’: The forthcoming expiration of pandemic-era US immigration restrictions threaten to exacerbate a crisis that could last weeks.Chart of the day

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One in five articles published in journals may contain faked data produced by unauthorised “paper mills” that are paid to fabricate scientific submissions, according to a study using new techniques to “red flag” problematic papers. It also backs up recent evidence that the majority of fake research comes from China.Take a break from the newsSir Elton John has described photography as his greatest passion outside music, though he is less enthusiastic about being in front of the lens. Yet at 76, several career-defining occasions have required chronicling — including this year, when the musician wraps up his last-ever tour after 50 years of performing.

Sir Elton John says photography is his greatest passion outside music © Chris Levine and Sphere9 Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2023

Additional contributions by Tee Zhuo and Emily Goldberg More

(Reuters) – A look at the day ahead in Asian markets from Jamie McGeever.Asian markets look poised to end the week on a nervous note on Friday, after soft U.S. and Chinese data stoked worries about the global economy and ensured a jittery day on world markets on Thursday.The main economic indicators in Asia on Friday are Q1 GDP from Malaysia and Hong Kong, and Indian CPI inflation for April. Japan’s full-year corporate earnings season rolls on, while G7 finance chiefs meet for a second day in Niigata, Japan.Thursday’s global market action was marked by a solid rise in the dollar, flattening U.S. yield curves, a weak day on Wall Street with U.S. regional banks falling again, and another rate hike from the Bank of England.Figures on Friday are expected to show that Malaysia’s economic growth slowed in the first quarter, hit by tepid consumption and declining exports. The consensus forecast in a Reuters poll of economists is for annual growth to have slowed to 4.8% from 7.0% in the preceding quarter.The range of forecasts is wide, however, underscoring the uncertain outlook for the trade-reliant economy.India’s consumer price inflation in April, meanwhile, is expected to have cooled to an 18-month low of 4.80% from 5.66% in March, keeping it below the Reserve Bank of India’s upper tolerance limit for the second consecutive month.With falling food inflation pushing overall inflation down, traders are pricing in almost 50 basis points of rate cuts from the Reserve Bank of India this year.Traders may also be anticipating some sort of policy easing from Chinese authorities after another shocker of an economic indicator on Thursday – not only did CPI inflation undershoot forecasts, it virtually evaporated all together. While most central banks are still fighting to bring inflation down, the world’s second largest economy is battling against disinflationary forces – annual producer price inflation in April sank to -3.6%, the weakest in three years.This follows the collapse of imports in April reported earlier this week, raising serious doubts about the strength of domestic demand and growth momentum across the wider economy. Chinese stocks on Thursday lost ground for the third day in a row and are on course for their third straight weekly loss. On a brighter note, U.S.-China relations have thawed a bit after the Biden administration’s top security adviser met with China’s top diplomat this week in Vienna, one of the few high-level meetings between the superpowers since the Chinese spy balloon saga in February.Here are three key developments that could provide more direction to markets on Friday:- G7 finance ministers meeting (Japan)- Japan corporate earnings (Full year)- India CPI inflation (April) (By Jamie McGeever) More

US national security adviser Jake Sullivan and China’s top diplomat Wang Yi have held talks in Vienna in an attempt to stabilise relations between the countries, which have hit their lowest level since diplomatic ties were normalised in 1979.The White House said they held two days of “candid, substantive and constructive” discussions on issues that included the US-China relationship, global security matters, Russia’s war against Ukraine and Taiwan.“The two sides agreed to maintain this important strategic channel of communication to advance these objectives, building on the engagement between President Joe Biden and President Xi in Bali, Indonesia, in November 2022,” the White House said.Wang and Sullivan met for more than eight hours over the two days, a senior US administration official said, calling the talks “candid, substantive and constructive”. Sullivan raised US concerns about China potentially supplying lethal aid to Russia and focused on how to manage tensions related to Taiwan.The official said the US is looking to move past tensions over a Chinese spy balloon, which led US secretary of state Antony Blinken to cancel a trip to Beijing. The official said the US expects more engagements with Chinese officials in the coming months.In Bali, on the sidelines of a G20 summit, the two leaders agreed they needed to set a “floor” under the relationship and to ensure competition between the powers did not “veer into conflict”, particularly as tensions remain high over Taiwan.Early efforts to kick-start high-level dialogue in the wake of the Bali meeting were derailed after a suspected Chinese spy balloon flew over North America before being shot down by the US off the coast of South Carolina in early February. Blinken cancelled a planned visit to China because of the episode.Blinken met Wang at the Munich Security Conference in February but it was a tense and unproductive meeting. He is now trying to reschedule his visit to China and Treasury secretary Janet Yellen and commerce secretary Gina Raimondo are also attempting to arrange trips to Beijing. But the two sides have failed to reach an agreement, unless Sullivan negotiated one with Wang in Vienna. The Financial Times reported last month that China was reluctant to agree to a visit from Blinken because it was concerned that the FBI planned to release a report about the Chinese balloon following its analysis of the debris salvaged off the coast of South Carolina.The FT on Thursday reported Beijing told Washington it was unwilling to schedule a meeting between Li Shangfu, its defence minister, and his US counterpart Lloyd Austin when the two officials attend the Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in Singapore in June. China wants the US to remove sanctions placed on Li in 2018 as a precondition to any meeting.The US has told Beijing that the curbs, imposed in connection with the Chinese purchase of Russian fighter jets and missiles, did not preclude a meeting in a third country. But Beijing believes it would be inappropriate to agree to the talks while their defence minister remains under sanctions. Several people familiar with the debate in the Biden administration said there was no intention to lift the Trump-era restrictions on Li.

Biden has also been trying to schedule a call with Xi to try to break the stalemate in relations. In the first two years of the administration, Sullivan met his then counterpart, Yang Jiechi, on several occasions in third countries, for talks that often paved the way for a call, video meeting, or in-person meeting of the leaders.In another sign that relations may be marginally improving, China’s foreign minister Qin Gang this week met US ambassador Nicholas Burns in Beijing. US trade representative Katherine Tai is also expected to meet the Chinese commerce minister Wang Wentao at an Apec trade meeting in Detroit this month.Several people familiar with the situation said Xie Feng, the incoming Chinese ambassador to the US, would arrive soon, possibly this month. The position has been vacant for months after Qin, his predecessor, departed Washington to become China’s foreign minister. More

Italy’s authorities have refrained from capping pasta prices and reassured consumers that the market will readjust after the cost of the staple food rose for two consecutive months at double the rate of inflation. Industry minister Adolfo Urso had called an emergency meeting on Thursday after the unexpected increase sparked public bewilderment and concern about market speculation hurting consumers.The price of pasta boxes rose 17.5 per cent in March and 16.5 per cent in April compared to the same period last year, according to Italy’s statistics agency Istat, double the national inflation rate which hit 8.8 per cent last month.The Thursday meeting included government officials, producers, distributors and consumer’s associations, some of whom had called for price caps or other interventionist measures. But the ministry held firm and said the market would soon correct itself, given that energy prices are dropping and the cost of raw materials such as durum wheat and semolina is also on a decreasing trend. “The latest price surveys are already showing the first, albeit weak, signs of price decrease, a sign that the cost of pasta may fall significantly in the coming months,” said a government statement published after the meeting. Urso said the ministry is doing everything possible to avoid speculations. “We don’t want to stir controversies but we need to be transparent for the benefit of consumers,” he added.The minister claims the sudden increase was because of producers and distributors selling pasta that was made when the costs of raw materials and energy were higher.“Companies say that current prices are due to the disposal of stocks, made when the cost of raw materials was higher,” Urso said.The government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who came to power last year after campaigning as a hard-right politician attuned to popular concerns, has set up a special unit within the industry ministry to oversee the cost of Italy’s goods and services. Benedetto Mineo, a public servant whose nickname has become Mr Prezzi (Italian for “prices”), has been appointed at the helm of that unit and he chaired the pasta meeting on Thursday.Pasta is one of Italians’ favourite and most consumed foods. Every year a citizen eats about 23 kilogrammes of pasta, according to consumer association Codacons.Consumers associations complained after the meeting. The national consumer union described it as a “flop”. According to local media, Assoutenti’s president Furio Truzzi threatened a boycott. He said he expects “a sharp drop in pasta prices soon, if not, consumers will leave it on the shelves. We won’t buy pasta for 15 days”.Codacons announced it filed a complaint with the competition authority “to ascertain possible illegalities on the trend of pasta’s retail prices”. More

The Fed said that borrowing via its discount window stood at $9.3 billion on Wednesday, from $5.3 billion on May 3, while its Bank Term Funding Program lending moved to $83.1 billion from $75.8 billion the prior week. Meanwhile, “other credit” the Fed has extended to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to wind down failed banks hit $212.5 billion, from May 3’s $228.2 billion. Collectively, borrowing at the three programs stood at $304.9 billion, from $309.3 billion the week before, and down from the $343.7 billion peak hit on March 22. More