Chinese EV stocks on a rollercoaster ride, thanks to rising oil prices and inflation

Opening Bell 🔔 is Tech in Asia’s free newsletter, which brings you the biggest news and latest trends around publicly listed Asian tech companies. [Read from your browser]( Opening Bell 🔔 Welcome to the Opening Bell! Delivered every Monday via email and through the Tech in Asia website, this free newsletter breaks down the biggest stories and latest trends on Asia’s publicly listed tech companies. If you’re not a subscriber, get access by [registering here](. Hello {NAME} The wild ride experienced by Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers last week perfectly encapsulates the soaring highs and shattering lows of volatile stock markets. Amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, oil prices are at its [highest since July 2008](. This has hastened efforts to transition from fossil fuels to more sustainable energy sources and, therefore, creating a more optimistic market sentiment in the EV space. Additionally, China’s passenger vehicle sales rose 4.7% in February, helped by a staggering [180% growth]( in deliveries of new-energy vehicles. Investors of China’s EV firms cheered when the US imposed a [ban]( on Russian oil imports. These sanctions will likely push oil prices [further up]( which saw shares of EV makers Nio Inc (NIO, NYSE), Xpeng Inc (XPEV, NYSE), and Li Auto (LI, NDAQ) rise between 10% and 14% on Wednesday. However, just a day later, the rally was abruptly cut short after inflationary pressures rose. The US posted a 7.9% year-on-year [increase in consumer prices]( for February - the sharpest annual spike in four decades. With prices of key EV-related metals, such as [nickel]( surging and consumer sentiment dampening under heightened inflation, shares of Nio, Xpeng, and Li Auto reversed course. They ended the topsy-turvy week down roughly 14%, 22%, and 19%, respectively. Image credit: Timmy Loen Staying with China’s battered and beleaguered tech giants, JD.com (JD, NDAQ) came in for no respite after posting a [massive quarterly loss]( and its weakest revenue growth in six quarters. The ecommerce firm’s shares fell about 16% following the disappointing earnings report. JD.com’s rival, Alibaba (BABA, NYSE), also reported [uninspiring quarterly earnings]( last month as it posted its slowest quarterly revenue growth since going public in 2014. In dire need to boost revenues amid rising challenges in its home turf, Alibaba could potentially unlock vast amounts of value by accelerating its ecommerce ambitions in Southeast Asia through a public listing of its subsidiary, Lazada, as my colleague Huong reports in [this premium story](. Despite all the clamor around China shaving trillions of value off its big tech firms through regulatory crackdowns, companies such as JD, Alibaba, and Tencent (0700, HKG) remain behemoths of the tech world. Their sheer size comes to the fore in [this premium story]( that explores the differences between India’s and China’s tech titans and the underlying factors behind the gap between the countries’ respective tech ecosystems. -- Shravanth 4 STOCKS TO WATCH Hot stocks, earnings reports, restructuring, activist investor pressure, and more. We also feature the stocks that are likely to make big moves this week. Image credit: Timmy Leon 🇨🇳 Pinduoduo (PDD, NDAQ) Investors of China’s ecommerce giants will be hoping the third time's the charm. After peers Alibaba and JD.com failed to quell investor anxiety, Pinduoduo now steps up to the firing line as it is set to report its quarterly earnings [later this week](. China’s increasingly crowded ecommerce space has fallen victim to the slowdown in the world's second-largest economy, which has led to consumers cutting back on discretionary spending. Will Pinduoduo spring a surprise and buck the industry trend? 🇸🇬 Singtel (Z74, SGX) NCS, the information and communications technology services arm of Singtel, made its [largest acquisition]( last week when it splashed S$325 million (US$239 million) to buy Australian IT services major The Dialog Group. The deal will further scale NCS’ presence in Australia as it strengthens the support to its public sector and enterprise clients in the country. NCS’ Dialog purchase follows two previous acquisitions in Australia, namely those of Riley and Eighty20 Solutions. 🇯🇵 SoftBank Group Corp (9984, TYO) Not one to shy away from the spotlight, SoftBank seems to be never too far from its next scandal. After the [acrimonious exit]( of Marcelo Claure, ex-COO and a close confidant of CEO Masayoshi Son, SoftBank now [faces questions]( over its bookkeeping at the French unit that designed its Pepper robot. SoftBank founder and CEO Masayoshi Son with Pepper, his company's emotionally intelligent robot. / Photo credit: SoftBank A French auditor, Cabinet Boisseau, is questioning the Japanese tech conglomerate's decision to treat its Paris-based robotics business, SoftBank Robotics Europe, as having a high level of autonomy for accounting purposes. The 196-page report says this is "clearly debatable," citing the French unit's "extremely limited" ability to make its own decisions. 🇮🇩 Bank Jago (ARTO, IDX) This Indonesia-based digital bank reported its [first year of profitability]( after posting an 86 billion rupiah (around US$6 million) net gain after tax in 2021. It had recorded annual losses for the past six years - well before the new management, backed by regional super app Gojek, took over in 2019. However, the profit was largely due to accounting for deferred income tax, which inflated the post-tax numbers by around US$5.4 million. Meanwhile, the net profit before tax for 2021 - which in this case is a better reflection of the digibank’s operating performance - stood at US$630,000. 3 MARKET WHISPERS Actually, a lot more reliable than a whisper, we highlight engaging source-based reporting from reputable news outlets around the globe. Photo credit: Timmy Loen 1️⃣ Buckle up for India’s IPO thrill ride Current market conditions have deterred many companies from making market debuts, but it hasn’t curbed enthusiasm for IPOs. A raft of high-profile listings of Indian unicorns seem to be in the works. Food delivery firm Swiggy has taken the first steps toward a blockbuster public debut after it [hired]( JP Morgan (JPM, NYSE) and ICICI Securities (ISEC, NSE) to handle its US$1 billion listing. Meanwhile, social commerce platform Meesho is targeting an [IPO in early 2023]( and is evaluating both Indian and US exchanges. Navi Technologies, founded by former Flipkart CEO Sachin Bansal, is also set to [file its draft papers]( with the market regulator for an over US$500 million public listing. 2️⃣ Flexing for finance Grab (GRAB, NDAQ) finds itself in the thick of a race with Japanese lenders Mitsubishi UFJ (8306, TYO), Mizuho (8411, TYO), and Sumitomo Mitsui (8316, TYO) to buy consumer lender Home Credit’s [assets]( in Southeast Asia and India. The owner is seeking between US$2 billion and US$2.5 billion through the sale. As it attempts to strengthen its financial services segment, Grab has also set foot into live commerce after it [announced a pilot]( of a live shopping feature with Singapore-based BeLive Technology. The super app can only hope the expansions will help halt the mighty tumble in its share price, which has lost nearly 80% since its market debut in December 2021. 3️⃣ TikTok’s oracle ByteDance’s TikTok has turned to Oracle Corp (ORCL, NYSE) to help address US regulatory concerns over data integrity on the popular short video app. TikTok is [nearing a deal]( with Oracle to store its US users' information without its Chinese parent ByteDance having access to the data. The agreement would come a year and a half after a US national security panel ordered ByteDance to divest TikTok because of fears that US user data could be passed on to the Chinese government. 2 EYE-POPPING FACTS Tech in Asia scours the internet to bring you the head-turning numbers from the world of business. Photo credit: Blinkit - [1,600]( - These are the number of staff laid off by quick commerce firm Blinkit, which is backed by India-based Zomato (ZOMATO, NSE). The food delivery platform also extended [US$100 million]( through convertible notes to rescue the cash-strapped Blinkit, which could pave the way for an [eventual acquisition](. - [US$50 billion]( - This is the valuation that Israel-based EV maker Mobileye is seeking to fetch through an IPO. Mobileye is Intel’s (INTC, NDAQ) autonomous vehicle unit that the US chipmaker acquired for about $15 billion in 2017. Intel expects to retain majority ownership after the listing. Mobileye already has a promising business model that generates not only revenue but that ever-elusive financial metric in the EV space: profit. THE 1 YOU DIDN'T SEE COMING We spotlight the unusual, not-your-everyday kind of story that has got everyone talking and social media buzzing over the past week. Photo credit: Timmy Leon A Women’s Day marketing blunder In a week where the NFT mania showed [signs of cooling]( and China’s Tsingshan Holding faced billions of dollars in [trading losses]( due to nickel’s unprecedented price surge, it was Walmart (WMT, NYSE)-backed Flipkart Group’s International Women’s Day marketing [blunder]( that dominated headlines for all the wrong reasons. The India-based ecommerce giant decided to give a discount on kitchen appliances, which many dubbed as sexist. “Dear Customer, This Women’s Day, let’s celebrate You. Get Kitchen Appliances from ₹299,” read a promotional text message from the company. In response to the backlash, Flipkart issued [an apology](. In other news, human Alexas are taking a stand to [reclaim]( their name from Amazon (AMZN, NDAQ). They say sharing their name with Amazon’s virtual assistant has led to bullying and forced name changes. That’s it for this edition - we hope you liked it! Not your cup of tea? 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