Tesla's dependence on China advances
April 28, 2021 (Wednesday) Sunny then cloudy From the West the sound of rain, rights dividends drop
- In Japan, a movement to utilize online medical consultations for home-treated COVID-19 patients is finally beginning to spread.
Abroad, aiming to relieve bed shortages for severe cases, successors are moving to promote home care while ensuring thorough remote medical support through telemedicine.
In Japan, some municipalities are promoting utilization, but the number of registered telemedicine medical facilities was only 15% as of March.
- Kawasaki Heavy Industries <7012> [Closing price 2,563 yen] begins robotic COVID-19 PCR testing services.
Developed a system capable of handling 2,500 tests per day per unit; by March 2022, expect up to about 50 units operating in entertainment districts, airports, etc.
At full capacity, processing exceeds 120,000 tests per day, surpassing the current nationwide PCR testing numbers.
This will lead to a substantial uplift in domestic testing.
The new system was developed by Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Sysmex <6869> [Closing price 11,395 yen] plus two other companies. Charges around 10,000 yen per test.
- Nomura Holdings <8604> [Closing price 582.9 yen] on the 27th,
announced that it would recognize about $2.87 billion (about 310 billion yen) in losses tied to the dealings with the U.S. investment firm Archegos Capital Management.
On the same day, Swiss financial giant UBS Group also revealed it would book about 93 billion yen in losses related to Archegos.
Losses identified among U.S., Japanese, and European financial institutions amount to about 1.1 trillion yen.
- Governor Tatsuji Sugimoto of Fukui Prefecture on the 27th expressed a positive stance toward restarting three nuclear plants operated by Kansai Electric Power <9503> [Closing price 1,085.5 yen] that have been in operation for over 40 years.
Restarting after more than 40 years would be the first domestically. Nuclear power is essential to achieve a 46% reduction in greenhouse gases by fiscal 2030 compared with FY2013 levels.
- JR Central <9022> [Closing price 16,160 yen] is in a slump. On the 27th, for the fiscal year ending March 2021, the consolidated net loss was 201.5 billion yen (compared to a 397.8 billion yen profit in the previous year).
The net loss marks the first time since the company was established during the privatization of Japanese National Railways.
Construction of the Linear Chuo Shinkansen has seen more difficult works, increasing total project cost to 7 trillion yen, up by 1.5 trillion yen.
- The utilization rate of beds accepting COVID-19 patients has surged, centered in the Kansai region.
Not only in Osaka Prefecture and Hyogo Prefecture where a state of emergency was declared, but also in Wakayama and Tokushima, bed occupancy has reached over 50%, equivalent to Stage 4 of the infection situation being the most severe.
- Japan, Australia, and India’s finance ministers agreed on the 27th to cooperate to strengthen supply chains.
They will promote diversification of production and procurement sources and digital management of logistics information.
- On the 26th, U.S. tech giant Apple began distributing a new OS for iPhone and other devices.
From a privacy protection standpoint, consumers can choose whether to provide personal data for digital advertising.
It is predicted that 30-40% will approve. The era for targeted advertising, which has driven online ads, has reached a turning point.
Facebook, which relies heavily on advertising revenue in the U.S., has criticized Apple’s policy change for potentially harming small businesses.
In particular, small app developers who have earned revenue mainly from app ads will be hit hard.
- JR Central <9022> [Closing price 16,160 yen] on the 27th announced that total construction costs for the Linear Central Shinkansen have risen by 1.5 trillion yen to 7 trillion yen.
Extra costs are due to dealing with difficult construction, earthquake measures, and disposal of excess soil generated during tunneling.
The earlier view that a 2027 opening would be difficult remains.
- In India, where daily new infections exceed 320,000, the infected country is watching the mutated 'Indian strain' of COVID-19 with heightened vigilance.
Strict vaccination and infection-prevention measures are needed to curb the spread of the virus.
- On the 27th, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga instructed Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi to set up large vaccination centers by the Self-Defense Forces.
The Self-Defense Forces are under the Prime Minister’s command, and include doctors and nurses within its ranks.
To catch up with advanced countries in vaccination systems, this will be a leverage to accelerate the process.
- The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will start a registration system in fiscal 2021 for intermediaries that handle M&A (mergers and acquisitions) for small and medium-sized enterprises.
This will help SMEs choose reliable operators and facilitate smooth business succession.
SMEs will receive subsidies covering fees and asset appraisal up to 2.5 million yen.
- On the 27th, the government released a report mandating disclosure of information to major online advertisers such as Google.
With Apple imposing limits on personalized ad targeting in its new OS, the major players’ dominance in the advertising market is strengthening.
- Okasan Securities Group <8609> [Closing price 450 yen] will make domestic and international cash stock trading and mutual fund fees effectively free for customers 25 years old and younger.
This will be the first for an equity broker targeting in-person customers, aiming to attract younger clients. The program will start around mid-June.
- U.S. electric vehicle maker Tesla’s dependence on China is increasing.
Mass production at its Shanghai plant, launched at the end of 2019, has gained momentum, and EV sales in China for January–March 2021 are nearly on par with the United States.
On the other hand, it faces domestic criticism over quality control issues and the risk of getting caught up in U.S.-China tensions.
- On the 27th, the Bank of Korea reported that real GDP for the first quarter rose 1.6% quarter-on-quarter.
It has returned to pre-COVID-19 levels.
The driving force is exports and capital expenditure by global companies such as Samsung Electronics.
However, due to the prolonged pandemic, the condition of small businesses and sole proprietors worsens, and public sentiment diverges from actual conditions.
- As of 4:00 PM on April 27, worldwide new COVID-19 infections (deaths) according to Johns Hopkins University: World total 147.88 million (114,450 deaths)
USA 32,125,083 (474) India 17,636,186 (2,771) Brazil 14,369,423 (1,139) France 5,565,080 (398) Russia 4,717,321 (349) Turkey 4,667,281 (353)
UK 4,422,562 (7) Italy 3,971,114 (301) Spain 3,488,489 (147) Germany 3,314,676 (339) Argentina 2,879,677 (443) Colombia 2,787,303 (448)
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