U.S. Automakers Signal Progress After Stalemate
Negotiators for the United Auto Workers and Ford Motor (F.N) have narrowed their differences on pay increases after a new offer from the automaker amid “really active” talks, people familiar with the bargaining said yesterday.
SAS Slides By 95% As Airline Wipes Out Shareholders
SAS shares slumped by as much as 95% on Wednesday after the airline announced a financial restructuring the day before to prevent bankruptcy, bringing on board big new investors and wiping out the stakes of its more than 250,000 owners.
Rivian Hints On USD 1.5 Bln Convertible Bond Sale
Electric-vehicle maker Rivian Automotive (RIVN.O) on Wednesday said it plans to sell convertible green bonds worth USD 1.5 billion and forecast quarterly revenue to rise in line with estimates. Shares fell nearly 8% in after-hours trading.
Today’s News
Doosan Robotics Inc. more than doubled in its trading debut in Seoul after raising 421 billion won (USD 309 million) in South Korea’s largest initial public offering this year. The robot maker’s shares surged as much as 160% to 67,600 won in early trading yesterday. The company, with Seoul-listed Doosan Co. as its biggest shareholder, last month sold approximately 16.2 million shares at 26,000 won (USD 19.31) each, the top of the marketed price range.
The debut signals strong investor appetite for the sector in tech-savvy South Korea, which is the world’s top robot adopter, employing 10 manufacturing workers for every industrial robot. Shares in robotic makers are among the country’s most sought after this year as the government and local companies, including Samsung Electronics Co., stepped up investments.
Since Doosan Robotics announced its plan to go public, its parent company and peers such as Kosdaq-listed startup Rainbow Robotics have seen their stocks surge amid demand from domestic investors. “Shares could jump when it starts trading”, said Douglas Kim, an analyst who publishes on the SmartKarma platform, said before the trading debut.
Companies that raised at least USD 100 million in new share sales in South Korea over the past five years jumped by an average 57% in their first day of trade. Apart from Doosan Robotics, only one other company this year has raised more than that amount through an initial public offering in Seoul.
Other related news include:
Korea’s Biggest IPO Hits Record Demand
Doosan Robotics Inc. is the country’s largest maker of what are known as collaborative robots. While robots have long been used in industrial settings for repetitive tasks, Doosan Robotics specializes in robotic arms that work alongside humans on tasks beyond factory floors.
These collaborative machines have been deployed for everything from making coffee and deep-fried chicken to serving beer and handling luggage at an airport. Domestically, this has resulted in a surge in demand for the Suwon-based company.
Asian Stocks Hikes On After Bounce In U.S. Shares
Shares rose in Asia after stocks and bonds rallied on Wall Street, bringing some relief to financial markets after a series of punishing losses. Traders are now focusing on Friday’s U.S. jobs data.
Equity benchmarks in Australia, Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea all advanced as well, adding a bullish pulse to region after a gauge of Asian equities fell into a technical correction this past Wednesday. Oil ticked higher, paring losses from its steepest one-day drop in a year. The dollar weakened for a second day.
Early Estimates Suggest Japan Did Not Intervene
Japan likely refrained from intervening in foreign exchange markets to prop up the yen this past Tuesday, according to a calculation based on projected central bank figures and estimates by private money brokers.
Unlike last year’s massive yen buying operations in September, when there were noticeable discrepancies in the Bank of Japan’s current account figures compared with private sector estimates of government fund flows, the central bank’s initial projections for its balance ahead of a report yesterday indicated that they are in line with its projected forecasts.
