Hello, this is Kenji and I’d like to introduce you to this edition of the #Techasia newsletter in Tokyo.
This major Japanese automaker is busy dealing with a variety of issues as the age of electrification and intelligent cars slows down traditional competitiveness.
Last weekend, Nissan Motor was in the spotlight. Nikkei knew the sick carmaker was considering closing two plants in Mexico. Two more facilities in Kanagawa, a prefecture adjacent to Tokyo, could also be found in the chopping block.
There is no denying that one of Japan’s oldest homemade car manufacturers is struggling with history in the 1910s. Last week, after recording a net loss of 670 billion yen ($4.6 billion) per year, Nissan said it would cut the number of assembly plants from 17 to 10, cutting 20,000 jobs worldwide. The magnitude of the losses and the scale of the restructuring are reminiscent of the 1999 Nissan Revival Plan and are introduced and implemented under the currently in place Carlos Ghosn. However, it remains to be seen whether the comebacks created in the 2000s can be repeated.
Meanwhile, Honda Motor, another iconic Japanese manufacturer of cars and motorcycles, announced on Tuesday that it will cut its investment plans significantly.
Just a year ago, the company said it would spend 10°10.10° until March 2031. That figure fell 30% to 7tn, marking a major setback from the electrification strategy originally intended to be the main engine of conversion drives.
“Given market conditions, policy trends and environmental regulations, our initial electrification strategy cannot be implemented as planned,” Honda President Toshihiro Mibe told reporters Tuesday.
Merger talks between these two troubled automakers collapsed in February.
Just as Honda announced it was taking a step back from electrification, the world’s largest EV battery manufacturer was making a splash in the Hong Kong market. China’s modern Amperex Technology Co, better known as CATL, began trading in the city on Tuesday. Deep Shenzhen dual listings.
After the stock price rose 16% from the offer price on the first trading day, the overall options were fully exercised, boosting the total amount of funds raised to HK$41 billion ($5.3 billion).
CATL plans a new facility in Hungary, further highlighting the resolve of Chinese players to acquire considerable ammunition for the War Chest and conquer the global EV market. However, while the double listing in Hong Kong was a self-help act, the company also enjoys a large amount of financial support from the government.
generous help
According to Nikkei Asia’s Kenji Kawase, CATL, which provided the largest global stock worldwide on Tuesday, is also one of the biggest recipients of government fundraising.
The major EV battery manufacturers have stopped releasing figures on full-year state subsidies for 2024, but the amount previously disclosed in RMB3.84bn in the first half was sufficient to place it in second place among all mainland registered companies after only the state-run oil major Sinopec.
By linking some points to official disclosure, there are hints as to how much CATL has received from the government from the whole year. The company and its independent external auditors did not respond to questions from Nikkei Asia at the time of publication.
Apart from the CATL disclosure issues, the overall ranking of government subsidies is very much indication of where Beijing will focus on policy. Sinopec, along with Petrocina, has traditionally been a strategic target for support from an energy security perspective, but the emergence of BYD, Great Wall Motors, SAIC Motors, Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC) and CATL clearly demonstrate the importance of the EV industry.
It’s close to action
Nvidia is planning a research and development center in Shanghai, showing its continued commitment to China despite its disrupting sales due to strict US export controls.
Chief Executive Jensen Huang discussed the plan with the mayor of Shanghai, people with knowledge of the issue told FT.
While core intellectual property and production remain outside of China, the proposed centre will focus on better understanding the needs of local customers and navigating complex US regulations.
There are also teams working on areas such as chip design verification and autonomous driving. Nvidia is also trying to leverage the Chinese AI talent pool to maintain its foothold in the market.
The move is because Nvidia is working on a limited, sophisticated chip-related approach, offering a lower specification alternative, like the L20 processor, which Chinese tech giants are hesitant to adopt.
The company is trying to balance its ambitions in China. It is against the backdrop of US-China technical rivalry and competition with local players like Huawei.
Computex’s Best
Nikkei Asia’s technology correspondents Cheng Ting-Fang and Lauly Li were busy this week covering Computex Taipei, one of the most important tech industry events of the year.
On the eve of the official opening, they reported that Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang had revealed plans for his company to build a Taiwanese AI supercomputer along with Foxconn, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.
The duo then caught MediaTek CEO Rick Tsai’s keynote speech on Tuesday, revealing that Taiwanese chip designers will begin using TSMC’s cutting-edge 2-nanometer chip making technology in September to keep them competitive in the AI era.
Chen and Lee once again covered Nvidia’s Huang on Wednesday as the American chip company revealed that they lost a significant market share in China. That was 95% at the start of the Biden administration, but fell to about 50% under the second Trump administration.
“We lost a lot of income,” fans said. He argues that the restrictions only motivated homemade players like Huawei to grab a larger slice of the Chinese market.
Court AI
AI-powered legal technology startups have emerged in Korea and Japan, shaking the legal industry in both markets. Kim Jae-won and Ryotaro Sato, reporters from both countries in both countries, report on how this new kind of high-tech company can provide a wide range of legal services from client road-diel matching apps to AI-based legal analytics tools at a more affordable price.
But not everyone in the legal profession in either country is happy with the latest wave of tech-driven innovation. In Korea, the country’s older and more established lawyers are being pushed back, especially the younger generations who have graduated from recently introduced law schools and passed the new national exams, are more open to change.
Emphasizing this tension, the national bar association accused legal startups of acting as “illegal brokers” and running business without a lawyer’s license.
Suggested Reading
Half of Japan’s new chip fabs are still shy to mass-produce (Japan Asia)
Thailand’s bumps and CP will be transformed into Japanese “deep technology” (Japan Asia) for sustainability
Baiont’s Feng Ji: Quant Managers that do not employ AI will be eliminated by the market (FT)
Panasonic’s US US battery plant opens after “the most severe” delay (Nicki Asia)
AI for Teachers: 30% of Korean schools wield digital textbooks (Nichi-Sai Asia)
Nvidia Chief Announces Taiwan’s Major Chip Investment (FT)
Global Supply Chain (FT) Threatened by China’s Rare Earth Shortage
Rio Tinto will boost lithium bets with a $900 million investment in Chilean JV (Nickey Asia)
Openai participates in US-UAE plan to build a vast data center in Abu Dhabi (FT)
Japan opposes foreign cyberattacks under new laws (FT)
#Techasia is coded at Katherine Creel, Nikkei Asia in Tokyo, with support from FT Tech Desk in London.
Sign up with Nikkei Asia to receive your #Techasia weekly here. The editorial team can be contacted at techasia@nex.nikkei.co.jp
