đ Hello and welcome to this week's edition of Business Beyond Borders, brought to you by Bluente, where we highlight the most important cross-border news every week
đ° News flash around the world
Indonesia opens âWhooshâ high-speed railway (a $7.3B project), backed by China under its Belt and Road initiative (BBC)
ASEAN Customs Administrations Sign AEO Program Mutual Recognition Agreement (AAMRA) to Boost Intra-ASEAN Trade Efficiency and Reduce Regulatory Burdens (Link)
Certification standards for Authorized Economic Operators (AEOs) to be harmonized, aiming to expedite cargo clearance and prioritize inspections for goods traded within ASEAN
India Passes Landmark Gender Quota Bill for Political Representation, With Implementation Delayed Until 2029 (ABC News)
The Indian legislature approves a historic bill mandating one-third of parliamentary seats for women, promising increased gender diversity in politics
UK & Germany sign hydrogen energy collaboration agreement, to support new fuel for both countries and also for international trade purposes (Reuters)
US, China talks gain momentum, paving way for Xi-Biden Summit (WSJ)
Central Banks successfully test cross-border trading of wholesale CBDC using DeFi (Coindesk)
The Bank for International Settlements alongside the central banks of France, Singapore, and Switzerland tested out using wholesale CBDC.
đ Business Expansion Updates
Starbucks invests $220 million in expanding its presence in China's coffee market to open its largest intelligent coffee production and logistics base in the country, which is its second-largest market globally. (TechNode)
XPeng, the Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer, is commencing its market expansion into the Israeli market through its local partner, Freesbe. (Seeking Alpha)
Toyota, plans to build a third car plant in India, expanding its production capacity to boost domestic volumes (RT)
Intel opens its latest manufacturing facility with a âŹ17B investment in Ireland to create âAI PCsâ as well as a new line of mainstream laptop chips. (II)
Coca-Cola Europacific partners announced investments of $37M in its Wakefield manufacturing site to expand its production in the UK (FBA)
đ€ Deal Highlights - Notable M&A / finance transactions
Ant Groupâs consumer finance affiliate is raising $616M from investors to revive growth (BBG)
HSBC will acquire Citigroupâs China consumer wealth management business, which manages over $3B in assets (RT)
Aviva to acquire AIGâs UK protection business for consideration of ÂŁ460 million (RT)
Cisco buys cybersecurity firm Splunk for $28 billion, bolstering defenses as use of AI widens (ABC News)
Kayne Anderson Real Estate bought a loan portfolio from Synovus Bank for $1.3 billion. (PR Newswire)
Learn new terms this week
Metrics: ææ (zhÇ biÄo)
Sustainability: ćŻæç»æ§ (kÄ chĂxĂč xĂŹng)
Investment Risks: æè”éŁé© (tĂłuzÄ« fÄngxiÇn)
Let us know what topics and language interest you here!