Financial Times Europe - 04 12 2020

2020·7.14 MB·English

WORLD BUSINESS NEWSPAPER
FRIDAY 4 DECEMBER 2020 EUROPE
Taking up Slack The ‘G’ word is back Same old story
Cloud computing approaches a Globalisation is on the rebound, and America’s new normal holds familiar
defining moment it’s here to stay problems
— INSIDE TECH, PAGE 6 — GILLIAN TETT, PAGE 21 — EDWARD LUCE, PAGE 3
End in sight
Briefing
Crunch time
i Cerberus tried to remove Deutsche chair
for Brexit talks Cerberus, one of Deutsche Bank’s top shareholders,
tried to install ex-Morgan Stanley president Colm
Kelleher as chairman, amid deep discontent over the
lender’s incumbent, Paul Achleitner.
— PAGE 6
Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotia-
tor, strides to a conference centre in cen- i France launches probe into mosques
tral London yesterday as talks creep Following a series of terrorist attacks, France has
towards the finishing line on a trade deal announced a crackdown on 76 mosques “suspected
between the bloc and the UK. of separatism” that will be investigated and then
However, with less than a month to go closed if suspicions are confirmed.
— PAGE 2
before the UK and EU part ways perma-
nently, a senior member of Mr Barnier’s i Opec and Russia to increase oil supply
team warned that “significant diver- The oil cartel and Russia have
gences” remained and the outcome of struck a cautious deal to boost
talks was uncertain. supply from January, as they
EU negotiators are still searching for seek to release more barrels into
ways to satisfy France and other con- the market despite new virus
cerned European nations that their waves hitting demand.
— PAGE 12
businesses will be protected from unfair
British competition after hitting i US Covid stimulus deal ‘within reach’
staunch UK resistance to demands. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell has
‘Significant divergences’ page 2 signalled a willingness to agree a deal with
Fight over Union’s values page 19 Democrats over a second round of Covid relief funds,
breaking the long-running stalement.
Tolga Akmen/AFP — PAGE 3
i Dyal and Owl Rock seek listing via Spac
Boeing clinches first Max jet order
Asset manager Dyal is in talks to merge with Owl
Rock and go public via a special purpose acquisition
company, or Spac, in a complex deal that will value
the two managers at a combined $13bn.
— PAGE 12
since fatal crashes 20 months ago i EY criticises German audit watchdog
EY has hit out at Germany’s audit regulator for
prematurely reporting suspected criminal
misconduct to prosecutors in a battle over its audit
work at defunct payments group Wirecard.
— PAGE 8
i Tesla rise and Wirecard fall lift Coatue
3 Ryanair buys 75 planes 3 Big discounts on $8bn list price likely 3 US group’s shares rise
Philippe Laffont’s Coatue hedge fund has notched up
a 52 per cent gain this year thanks to bets on electric-
car maker Tesla and against Wirecard, the collapsed
Peggy Hollinger and last month declared the jet safe to fly for up to $22bn, a small discount is a lot shifted following news of a coronavirus German payments group.— PAGE 6
Philip Georgiadis — London and other regulators are expected to fol- of money.” vaccine. The timeline to recovery was “a
Claire Bushey — Chicago
low suit in the coming weeks. But Scott Hamilton of consultancy little more aggressive” than its earlier
Boeing has clinched its first firm order Michael O’Leary, chief executive of Leeham said he thought Mr O’Leary had three to five-year forecast.
Datawatch
for the troubled 737 Max since it was Ryanair, which was already one of Boe- probably got “a really screaming good Ryanair’s decision to commit to fleet
grounded 20 months ago, with a multi- ing’s biggest Max customers, said that deal” rather than simply a modest one. expansion during one of the industry’s
Plenty of fish?
billion-dollar deal for 75 aircraft from he was “confident that our customers The price could have been mitigated More than 1,000 deepest downturns also signals its deter-
Ryanair marking the beginning of will love these new aircraft”. by relief on downpayments, on the cost orders for the mination to cement a cost advantage Vessels’ catches in British waters
efforts to rehabilitate both the plane and At list prices, the order is worth close of EU tariffs imposed on Boeing aircraft US aerospace over emerging rivals such as Wizz Air. by nationality, 2018 (%) In British waters
the US aerospace maker’s reputation. to $8bn, but analysts expect the Ryanair in the battle over subsidies, and “lots of group’s troubled Fleet data specialist Cirium noted that other EU vessels
UK 29 Norway
After two fatal crashes within five boss to have negotiated a steep discount. flexibility on delivery slots”, said Rob Max 737 jet had more than 1,000 Max orders had been catch more fish
24
months left 346 people dead, investiga- Normally, aircraft are sold at discounts Stallard, analyst at Vertical Research. been cancelled cancelled or judged by Boeing to be at than their UK
tions revealed Boeing had concealed of about 50 per cent to catalogue prices Boeing chief executive Dave Calhoun this year risk of cancellation this year alone. counterparts, with
EU 44 71 per cent of fish
design flaws from pilots and regulators but the reduction is likely to have been said that he had “always had faith the For Boeing, the hope is that the order
caught by non-UK
in a race to get the aircraft certified. The even greater in the current climate. order books would begin to fill” once will spark confidence in the Max, which
boats in 2018. The
faulty anti-stall system, deemed a criti- Mr O’Leary told the Financial Times regulators approved the aircraft as safe even before the crisis was lagging
fishing industry
cal factor in the accidents, has been that there had been a “modest” to fly and the industry recovered. behind rival Airbus’s A320 family in net Other 3
makes up 0.04 per
redesigned and pilots will go through improvement in the pricing, adding: He also said Boeing’s expectations of orders. Investors appeared to agree yes- Source: NAFC Marine Centre — cent of Britain’s
more extensive training programmes. “It’s not huge. But every modest reduc- how long it would take the industry to terday, sending Boeing’s share price 7.7 University of Highlands & Islands economic output.
The Federal Aviation Administration tion you can get when placing an order bounce back from the pandemic had per cent higher by midday in New York.
Europe’s banks are ‘all over the place’
on bad loan preparations, ECB warns
Martin Arnold — Frankfurt warned. The ECB ordered eurozone expected to be announced by the ECB
Matthew Vincent — London banks to stop all dividends and share today.
Europe’s top banking supervisor is buybacks to conserve €30bn of capital The ECB has warned that under a
writing to the region’s biggest lenders in March, shortly after the pandemic severe scenario it modelled recently,
to warn that many of them are failing to arrived in Europe. Since then, the sector banks could face an extra €1.4tn of non-
Pipeline scheme siphoned do enough to prepare for a potential has been lobbying hard for stronger performing loans, more than in the
millions to Kazakh tycoon jump in bad loans in the fallout from banks to be allowed to resume capital 2008 crisis.
the coronavirus pandemic. distributions early next year. Mr Enria said there was the risk of a
Analysis i PAGE 10 Mr Enria said “there is genuinely an “cliff edge” for banks that did not take
Andrea Enria, president of the Euro- intensive debate” at the ECB over sufficient provisions being faced with a
pean Central Bank’s supervisory board, whether to allow some banks to resume surge in bad loans, which he said could
said that banks’ preparations for a likely payouts to shareholders. He said the “clog their balance sheets and make
Austria €3.90 Malta €3.70
Bahrain Din1.8 Morocco Dh45 rise in delinquent loans was one factor macroeconomic outlook would also them unable to actually support the
Belgium €3.90 Netherlands €3.90
Bulgaria Lev7.50 Norway NKr40 to be considered in its decision on influence its decision, which is due to be recovery”.
Croatia Kn29 Oman OR1.60 whether to allow them to resume divi- announced after the ECB publishes its The ECB’s financial stability report
Cyprus €3.70 Pakistan Rupee350
Czech Rep Kc105 Poland Zl 20 dend payments and share buybacks. new 2023 forecasts on December 10. published this week noted that provi-
Denmark DKr38 Portugal €3.70
Egypt E£45 Qatar QR15 Speaking at the Financial Times Glob­- “We will actually come out with what sioning by eurozone banks “remains
Finland €4.70 Romania Ron17 al Banking Summit yesterday, Mr Enria we call a ‘Dear CEO’ letter to the banks below levels observed during previous
France €3.90 Russia €5.00
Germany €3.90 Serbia NewD420 said some of the 117 banks it oversees under our supervision in which we will crises and those in other jurisdictions,
Gibraltar £2.90 Slovak Rep €3.70
Greece €3.70 Slovenia €3.70 were “all over the place” on provisioning highlight some issues we want them to notably the US”.
Hungary Ft1200 Spain €3.70 for a rise in non-performing loans. This address in terms of their approach to Markets Insight page 13
India Rup220 Sweden SKr39
Italy €3.70 Switzerland SFr6.20 was “a concern” for supervisors, he credit risk,” he said. The move is Editorial Comment page 20
Lithuania €4.30 Tunisia Din7.50
Luxembourg €3.90 Turkey TL19
North Macedonia Den220 UAE Dh20.00
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DECEMBER 4 2020 Section:FrontBack Time: 3/12/2020 - 19:04 User: nick.miller Page Name: 1FRONT USA, Part,Page,Edition: EUR, 1, 1
2 ★ † FINANCIAL TIMES Friday 4 December 2020
INTERNATIONAL
Islamist crackdown Transition deadline
France probes mosques in ‘separatism’ drive EU warns of
‘significant
divergences’
Interior minister acts showed caricatures of the Prophet phobia and of “stigmatising” Mus- istry document of November 27 on The document counts 2,623 mosques
against 76 sites deemed Mohammed to a class during a lesson on lims by some foreign Muslim leaders “Muslim separatist places of worship”. and prayer halls in France — home to an in Brexit
freedom of speech. and French activists, but supported by According to the document, the 76 estimated 5.7m Muslims, according to
to be fostering extremism “On my instructions, the authorities many French voters, especially on the mosques include 18 priority targets, of Pew Research Center — the largest Mus-
trade talks
will launch a massive and unprece- right — wants to reimpose French secu- which eight are in the Paris area. lim population in western Europe.
dented action against separatism,” Mr lar republican values in districts heavily Three of those are in the Seine-Saint- Many mosques are affiliated to
Victor Mallet — Paris
Darmanin said on Twitter. Denis department just north of the capi- Islamic traditions in north Africa and
Gérald Darmanin, France’s interior He said 76 mosques “are today sus- ‘These places of worship tal: one was closed by a local mayor but Turkey, but 41 per cent are said to be
minister, has announced a crackdown pected of separatism. In the coming stayed open, a second was officially without affiliation, “a little understood Jim Brunsden and Sam Fleming
will be inspected. If the
on 76 mosques “suspected of separa- days, these places of worship will be closed in 2019 but continued to organise category that could hide places of wor- Brussels
Peter Foster — Brighton
tism” that will be investigated and then inspected. If the suspicions are con- suspicions are confirmed, prayers, and the third was seen as a ship that are deliberately trying not to
George Parker — London
closed if the government’s suspicions firmed, I will request their closure.” security risk. be noticed”.
are confirmed. In early October, President I will request their closure’ “Until now, the state focused on radi- Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz Brussels has warned that substantial
The move against Muslim places of Emmanuel Macron announced his gov- calisation and terrorism,” Le Figaro condemned “political Islam” after a gaps remain to be bridged in the Brexit
worship deemed to be fostering extrem- ernment would draft a law this year to populated by Arab and African Muslim quoted Mr Darmanin as saying. rampage in Vienna by an Islamist talks as European capitals step up the
ism follows a series of Islamist terror tackle radical Islamist “separatism” and immigrants regarded as having escaped “Now we’re also going to attack the extremist. His government plans to pressure on chief negotiator Michel
attacks in France, including the killing said there would be strict new controls the control of the state. breeding grounds of terrorism, where introduce legislation that would ban Barnier to secure guarantees that Brit-
of three people in a church in Nice and on religious, cultural and sporting asso- Mr Darmanin spoke out after the people create the intellectual and cul- membership of designated “Islamist” ain will stick to its word.
the beheading by a Chechen refugee of ciations and a ban on home schooling. plans were leaked to the newspaper Le tural space for secession and imposing groups as well as give the police more Negotiations continued yesterday in the
schoolteacher Samuel Paty after he The government — accused of Islamo- Figaro, which obtained an interior min- their values.” powers to close mosques. underground conference centre in Brit-
ain’s business department, with EU dip-
lomats predicting that a deal could
come as soon as this weekend.
Environment. Emissions targets But Stefaan De Rynck, a senior mem-
ber of Mr Barnier’s team, cautioned that
“significant divergences remain” and
Paris hopes Biden backs EU-US carbon taxes
that the outcome of talks was uncertain.
“My feeling is that both sides are com-
mitted to finding a deal,” he said at a
European Policy Centre event.
The two sides are racing to resolve
outstanding disagreements on fishing
Minister expects more
rights in UK waters, “level playing field”
pressure on China concerning conditions for business, and how to
enforce whatever is agreed.
global warming pledges But the EU negotiating team is facing
firm calls from Paris and other capitals
not to cede too much ground.
Victor Mallet and David Keohane In a show of support for France’s fish-
Paris
ing fleet yesterday, Prime Minister Jean
Joe Biden’s arrival in the White House Castex visited Boulogne-sur-Mer, on the
next month will give the EU and US the country’s north coast, to promise that
chance to push for international carbon the country would not accept a deal
taxes and face down opposition to the where the sector was sacrificed as a
idea from China, according to French “bargaining chip”.
environment minister Barbara Pompili. He also pledged substantial financial
Outlining France’s ambitious plans support to a sector already hard hit by
for joint action to limit global warming the economic fallout from Covid-19.
now that Donald Trump is on his way Mr Barnier’s negotiating team is still
out, Ms Pompili welcomed Mr Biden’s searching for ways to satisfy Paris and
promise to rejoin the Paris accord and other worried EU capitals that their
contrasted the difficulty of tackling the businesses will be adequately protected
climate crisis with solutions for the Cov- from unfair British competition and
id-19 pandemic. “Unfortunately, there’s their fishermen’s rights safeguarded.
no vaccine for the climate,” she told the The concerned group also includes
Financial Times in an interview. the Netherlands, Denmark and Bel-
Both Mr Biden and French president gium, whose economies are closely
Emmanuel Macron — who once urged intertwined with Britain and whose
Americans to “make our planet great fishing fleets rely on its waters.
again” in an ironic allusion to Mr The EU’s chief negotiator briefed
Trump’s election slogan — regard per- ambassadors on Wednesday that the
suading China to fulfil its climate prom- bloc was still seeking to hammer out
ises as crucial to limit global warming. Smoke screen: France is pushing for the EU to adopt mate plan. The president-elect has said ments in renewable energy, is hoping Mr provisions with the UK that would pre-
Ms Pompili said of Mr Biden’s pro- a steel plant a carbon frontier tax so European indus- he will “stop China from subsidising coal Biden’s commitment to tackling climate vent either side gaining an unfair com-
nouncements on carbon pricing and causes pollution tries are not undercut by competitors exports and outsourcing carbon pollu- change can chivvy along countries petitive advantage through state aid.
border adjustment mechanisms: “This in Inner exporting cheaper products based on tion” and “will impose carbon adjust- reluctant to improve their climate Mr Barnier said any deal should pro-
is an area where we’ll be able to work Mongolia. Right, low-cost, high-carbon inputs such as ment fees or quotas on carbon-intensive pledges ahead of the next UN climate vide “definitions, principles and bind-
together, since we are pushing it at the Barbara Pompili energy that are not tightly regulated in goods from countries that are failing to summit in Glasgow next year. ing, workable and operational enforce-
European level and in dealings with has called for a their own markets. Ms Pompili said it meet their climate and environmental After rejoining the Paris accord, the ment”, according to one of the partici-
countries such as China, which make a green level would be “very ambitious” to expect an obligations”. US is set to announce a new climate tar- pants at the closed-door meeting.
certain number of pledges, but don’t playing field to EU deal next year, but France would China in September pledged to ‘We’re a get for 2030 and Ms Pompili hopes that Governments’ concerns have been
want to commit themselves to this type help businesses make it a priority when it took over the become “carbon neutral” by 2060, will force other countries that have been heightened by the fact Brussels has
long way
of mechanism.” Kevin Frayer/Getty EU presidency in the first half of 2022. while Mr Biden wants the US to get there dragging their heels to do the same. failed to overcome UK opposition to
She said there should be a “green level France’s push to impose a carbon tax by 2050. Research group Climate Action from the “Today, we have only 15 countries French-backed proposals for the level
playing field” so that “the efforts we has a striking echo in Mr Biden’s own cli- Tracker has calculated in a report this that have announced their contribu- playing field.
solution
demand of our businesses to lower their month that these and other pledges tion, which represents 5 per cent of glo- These included plans to require Brit-
carbon emissions and change their World fossil carbon dioxide emissions would help limit global warming to 2.1C and one bal greenhouse gas emissions,” she said. ain to create a regulator with powers to
practices are not all thwarted by cam- Million tonnes CO2 per year by 2100, above the Paris agreement’s “So we’re a long way from the solution police state aid to companies even
senses that
paigns from countries like China that 1.5C target but a better outcome than and one senses that there has been a bit before the money is handed out, and
China 12,000
would make our efforts pointless”. previously feared. there has of fatigue.” demands for “ratchet clauses” that
US
A co-ordinated push on carbon pric- EU 10,000 But the improvement will depend on been a bit of France and the EU plan to announce would force both sides to have environ-
ing and carbon taxes — which involve India countries implementing sometimes next week an increase in their target for mental and labour regulations that
Russia
setting limits on emissions by countries 8,000 drastic policy changes to deliver on their fatigue’ reducing emissions from 40 per cent by evolved in a similar way over time.
or industries and trading quotas or tax- promises. China relies on highly pollut- 2030 to 55 per cent. France warned Mr Barnier at a meet-
ing the excess — would mark a dramatic 6,000 ing fossil fuels to drive its industrial Mr Macron has pledged to increase ing of EU diplomats on Wednesday that
shift in the US-EU relationship over cli- recovery from the coronavirus pan- use of renewables and has committed any future-relationship deal must
4,000
mate change. demic, and this year the number of pro- almost a third of the country’s €100bn include “adequate, proportional reme-
In January, the Trump administration 2,000 posed new coal plants in the country has Covid-19 recovery plan to green invest- dies” and crucially also the right for
threatened the EU with sanctions over risen at the fastest rate in five years. ments. France is also set to become the European companies to haul the UK
plans for a carbon tax in European Com- 0 Ms Pompili, noting the “paradoxical” first country to make “ecocide” a crime, government before the British courts if
mission president Ursula von der 1970 80 90 2000 10 18 Chinese combination of a carbon- punishable by up to a €4.5m fine and 10 it violated its level-playing field com-
Leyen’s “green new deal” programme. Source: Burton-Taylor Consulting dependent economy and big invest- years in prison. mitments.
Parliamentary votes
MAKE A SMART INVESTMENT
Spanish PM secures approval of budget after two-year deadlock
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Daniel Dombey — Madrid Until yesterday’s votes, Mr Sánchez been formally agreed by the bloc — the deals with secessionist parties cast
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DECEMBER 4 2020 Section:World Time: 3/12/2020 - 18:44 User: keith.allen Page Name: WORLD1 USA, Part,Page,Edition: EUR, 2, 1
Friday 4 December 2020 ★ FINANCIAL TIMES 3
INTERNATIONAL
global insight
US recovery
washington
McConnell signals stimulus accord
Edward
Luce
Senate majority leader check Protection Program, which pro- and the $500bn counterproposal put ‘We know immediate bipartisan, bicameral nego-
vides relief for small businesses, and forward by Senate Republicans. tiations”.
shows willingness to funding for vaccine distribution, as well Mr McConnell has circulated his own where we On the Senate floor yesterday, Mr US president-elect
break stalemate on funds as extension of certain unemployment proposal similar to the Republican plan agree. We Schumer again expressed optimism
relief programmes and a clearer legal rolled out earlier this year. about a potential deal. braced for return to
can do this.
framework for university reopenings. Steven Mnuchin, US Treasury secre- “We believe that with good faith nego-
Courtney Weaver — Washington
“Compromise is within reach. We tary, told reporters on Wednesday the We need tiations, we could very well come to an
The top Republican in the US Senate know where we agree,” Mr McConnell administration would back Mr McCon- agreement. We are already much closer gridlock normality
to do this’
declared compromise was “within said. “We can do this. We need to do nell’s plan. “The president will sign the to an agreement, because of the biparti-
reach” on a bipartisan Covid relief pack- this.” Asked whether he would support a McConnell proposal he put forward yes- san talks . . . and we can build off their
Mitch
age, boosting hopes that Washington deal from Congress on Covid relief, Don- terday, and we look forward to making momentum,” Mr Schumer said.
McConnell
may finally agree a follow-up stimulus ald Trump said yesterday: “I will and I progress on that,” he said. The bipartisan proposal would allo-
package in the final weeks of the Trump think we are getting very close. I want it Democratic congressional leaders, cate an additional $288bn for small R ejoice,” say Donald Trump’s opponents, “Amer-
administration. to happen. And I believe we are getting meanwhile, have suggested they would business aid, an additional $180bn for ica is returning to normal.” Alas, normal is what
Speaking on the chamber floor yester- very close to a deal.” be willing to use the bipartisan Senate unemployment benefits and $160bn for saddled the US with the outgoing president in
day morning, Senate majority leader Mr McConnell’s comments came two proposal as the basis for a fresh round of state and local governments. the first place.
Mitch McConnell said it was “hearten- days after a bipartisan group of senators talks, which stalled before the presiden- Mr McConnell’s proposal would not The routine was established with Barack
ing to see a few hopeful signs in the past led by Democrat Mark Warner of Vir- tial election last month. provide any funding for state and local Obama. A Democrat runs the White House and Republi-
few days” and that there was “move- ginia and Republican Susan Collins of On Wednesday, House Speaker Nancy governments — a proposal many cans control Capitol Hill. Whatever the president pro-
ment in the right direction”. Maine unveiled a $908bn Covid relief Pelosi and Senate minority leader Republicans have characterised as a poses, Congress disposes. Regardless of the particulars,
He said there was “strong bipartisan bill that would attempt to bridge the dif- Chuck Schumer said in a statement the bailout for poorly-run Democratic cities Americans tend to blame whoever is president for Wash-
support” for a number of polices includ- ference between an earlier $2tn stimu- bipartisan package should in “the spirit and states — nor would it continue the ington’s gridlock. At the next election they vented their
ing another “targeted” round of the Pay- lus package passed by House Democrats of compromise” be used “as the basis for supplemental unemployment benefits. rage by electing Mr Trump. That playbook has worked for
Republicans at least once. Why not again?
There is little doubt the party will revert to this strategy
with Joe Biden. Hardline conservative senators, such as
US economy. Workers’ rights Tom Cotton of Arkansas, might be expected to echo Mr
Trump’s claims of a stolen election, a stance even ultra-
loyal attorney-general Bill Barr has dismissed. They are
Election result lifts unions at crucial time
authentic Trumpians. But it is another thing entirely when
Florida’s Marco Rubio starts raining on a new president’s
nominees before they have received a hearing.
Mr Rubio, who described Mr Biden’s foreign policy picks
as “orderly caretakers of America’s decline”, is a reliable
weathervane of where his party is heading. By that yard-
Membership may be falling
14.6 stick, the US is returning to a kind of normal that it detests.
m
In the divided Washington that Americans used to know,
but new administration will Number of union
members, or 10.3 nominees were treated as innocent until proven guilty. Mr
be receptive to labour voices per cent of wage Biden looks set to be the first president since Abraham Lin-
and salary coln where a large part of the country views him as illegiti-
workers in 2019. mate before he is sworn in.
James Politi — Washington
That compares
Republicans insist Democrats also treated Mr Trump as
with 17.7m, or
On Labor Day in early September, Rich- 20.1 per cent, of an imposter. On a cultural
ard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, the same level, there is truth to that Biden is set to be
America’s largest union group, joined category in 1983 charge. The Democratic
viewed by a large
Joe Biden for a Facebook Live event and grassroots instantly
gave him a glowing appraisal. 65% launched a “resistance” part of the US as
“I’ve known Joe Biden for 40 years. to his presidency. But the
Percentage who illegitimate before
He’s real,” Mr Trumka said of the then political comparison does
approve of labour
Democratic presidential nominee. “He unions in the US, not stand up. Mr Trump’s he is sworn in
loves his family. He loves our country. the highest figure opponent, Hillary Clin-
He loves workers. This is not a campaign since 2000 and ton, conceded defeat in
up from 48 per
posture. It is his life.” 2016 the day after the general election in spite of having
cent in 2010
Support from organised labour won almost 3m more votes. A month after the 2020 poll,
helped propel Mr Biden to victory in Mr Trump has still not uttered the words “I concede”.
November’s election over President Joe Biden, Advisers say he is thinking of declaring his candidacy for
Donald Trump, and having a friend in second right, the 2024 election on the same day Mr Biden is inaugurated
the White House comes at a pivotal time is embraced next month. Even if he is bluffing, this is not a good climate
for America’s unions. by Richard for the country to begin the “healing” Mr Biden desires.
Union membership has declined in Trumka in So how can the president-elect break the mould? His
recent years, down to 14.6m, or 10.3 per February. Left, immediate priority is to throw everything at the two Geor-
cent, of wage and salary workers in a strike in gia Senate run-offs in January. If Democrats win both, they
2019. That compares with 17.7m, or New England will regain the Senate. The odds are against them but Mr
20.1 per cent, of the same category in Carlos Barria/Reuters Trump is proving to be a helpful, if unwitting, ally. By
1983 when Mr Biden was a second-term declaring Georgia’s voting system fraudulent (a recount
senator from Delaware. last week upheld Mr Biden’s victory there), Mr Trump
But even as their ranks have thinned, and Pennsylvania, unlike his recent jobs in areas such as green energy. and Larry Summers, the former US may stifle Republican motivation to vote, even though he
unions have gained public support. A predecessors, Bill Clinton and Barack “I go back to the 1980s, and have Treasury secretary, wrote a paper in has urged supporters to turn out. Moreover, neither
Gallup poll in September found 65 per Obama. watched a lot of presidential elections March concluding declining worker Republican candidate is able to make their strongest case
cent of Americans approved of labour Thea Lee, president of the Economic and Democratic platforms being power was a big contributor to income — that they would act as a check on Mr Biden. They are
unions, the highest figure since 2000 Policy Institute, a left-leaning think- drafted, and this is head and shoulders inequality. having to play along with the fiction that Mr Trump was re-
and up from just 48 per cent as recently tank close to unions, said previous Dem- above them,” said Bill Samuel, the direc- There are still questions about elected and cannot admit Mr Biden will be president.
as 2010. ocratic presidents saw labour groups as tor of government affairs at the AFL- whether Mr Biden can deliver some of Failing a Democratic upset in Georgia, Mr Biden’s main
Analysts say the union movement has the “crazy uncle” that one would invite CIO. “It’s a platform that quite frankly his more politically ambitious promises weapon will be charm. Unlike Mr Obama, Mr Biden enjoys
benefited from growing unease about to a wedding and “pray to God he’s not we could have written.” to unions, with Congress likely to be befriending opponents, especially implacable ones. He
inequality in the years since the finan- going to give a toast”. After the election, Mr Biden held a divided. Jamal Brown, a Biden transi- endeavours to find the sweet spot where compromise can
cial crisis and concerns about worker With Mr Biden it was different. briefing on the economy with chief tion spokesman, suggested the presi- be struck. That may have worked in the 20th century,
health and safety during the pan- “There’s no question that Joe Biden is executives from General Motors, Micro- dent-elect was undeterred and would when Mr Biden could strike deals with Richard Lugar,
demic. unapologetically and full-throatedly soft, Target and Gap and five union lead- push for “buying American products, Indiana’s Republican senator who personified bipartisan-
“I think there’s more of a recogni- pro-union,” she said. ers, in which he emphasised the need to raising the minimum wage to $15, ship. But it is a different world when Ted Cruz of Texas is
tion of the positive side of unions in Sara Nelson, president of the Associa- bring more labour voices to the table. encouraging unionisation and strength- across the table. The party as a whole is Mr Trump’s.
this moment of inequality, and tion of Flight Attendants-CWA, said Mr “I made it clear to the corporate lead- ening collective bargaining rights for If charm does not work, Mr Biden will have to resort to
greater awareness of low-wage Biden “is deeply steeped in the princi- ers, I said, ‘I want you to know I’m a workers, and advancing racial equity to executive action. But that is a perilous road. Mr Trump
workers’ suffering,” said Molly ples of the labour movement” union guy’,” Mr Biden said. “Unions will promote a more inclusive economy”. used executive orders to divert Pentagon funds to the Mex-
Kinder, a fellow in the metro- and “can talk about the power of have increased power. They just nod- Unions have been pleased with Mr ico border wall, ban citizens from several Muslim coun-
politan policy programme at labour better than any other ded, they understand. It’s not anti-busi- Biden’s picks for top economic jobs, but tries from entering the US and gut environmental regula-
the Brookings Institution. president or president-elect I’ve ness. It’s about economic growth, creat- some have yet to emerge, including tions. Democrats rightly decried his abuse of presidential
“Unions have been out seen”. ing good-paying jobs.” labour secretary and US trade repre- powers. If Mr Biden follows that path — albeit to different
there fighting for their Mr Biden’s economic plat- But realising those plans would stoke sentative, which will both be closely ends — he will create precedents for the next Trump.
workers on issues that any- form, in turn, was backed tensions with corporate America, where watched. The chances are high that the heavily conservative
one can relate to as life and death.” enthusiastically by organised there is concern that higher corporate “We’re waiting to see both how the Supreme Court will strike down much of what Mr Biden
Union leaders have historically labour. It includes policies to taxes, minimum wage increases and cabinet shapes up, and how the first 100 wants to do, such as cutting carbon emissions, curbing gun
supported Democratic politicians boost unionisation and protect protectionism on trade could hurt the days shape up and what Joe Biden’s rela- rights and helping labour unions. That would further radi-
but many of their members were striking workers that have long economy. tionship will be with Congress,” said Ms calise the Democratic left. The US was drifting into consti-
drawn to Mr Trump’s America First been a priority for labour groups, The economic consensus among Lee of the Economic Policy Institute. “I tutional impasse before Mr Trump was elected. That is the
stance. Mr Biden’s pro-labour rhetoric and calls for large-scale govern- Democrats has also shifted in favour of think that’s going to be really important normal to which the country is reverting.
helped him win back northern indus- ment spending and investment, unions. Anna Stansbury, a PhD econom- and I don’t think it’s easy to predict.”
trial states such as Wisconsin, Michigan which unions hope will deliver more ics candidate at Harvard University, See Editorial Comment [email protected]
Obituary
Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, the former decade, losing to François Mitterrand in years in all, in 1962-66 and 1969-74. death of Pompidou in 1974, he announ­- 1978 call for more solid European mone-
French president who has died at 94 of 1981. As Giscard admitted when he was Charles de Gaulle never had any ced his candidacy for the presidency. tary co-operation.
French leader Covid-19, was one of the outstanding ousted at 56, he was probably elected to doubts about Giscard’s ability. But de The 48-year-old President Giscard In the end, they failed to persuade
political figures in postwar France and the presidency too young. However, his Gaulle also predicted: “One day he will brought in a new style and new reforms Britain to put sterling into the EMS that
on the wider European stage. place in the history of the EU is assured betray me.” In fact, de Gaulle was the portraying himself as the “citizen-presi- was set up in 1979. In his memoirs, Gis-
who helped
A liberaliser at home, where he by his creation with Helmut Schmidt, first to betray. In his search for someone dent”. More significant was social legis- card gave himself credit for the idea of a
became the Fifth Republic’s youngest then German chancellor, of the Euro- to blame for having had to go into a sec- lation, including laws liberalising con- European ERM, limited to countries in
drive European president, until Emmanuel Macron in pean Monetary System (EMS) in ond round of voting to win the 1965 traception and divorce, which upset the the currency grid, but within the con-
2017, he also played a significant part in 1978-79. He also championed Greece’s presidential election, he dismissed Gis- loyalties of Gaullists, who also believed text of a general EMS organisation, open
furthering European integration, nota- entry into the EU and helped push card, who reacted bitterly, refusing any Giscard’s move to lower the voting age to to all European Community countries
integration
bly by fostering the idea of the European through direct elections to the Euro- other post from Prime Minister Georges 18 from 21 was a gift to the Socialists. including non-ERM members like the
Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) and, pean Parliament. Pompidou and returning to the back- Giscard then chose Raymond Barre, a UK.
later, by campaigning for French accept- Valéry Marie René Georges Giscard benches to found his Federation of Inde- non-party technocrat. Devoting himself It was the increasing stability that the
ance in a referendum of the 1992 Maas- d’Estaing was born in 1926 in Koblenz, pendent Republicans in 1966. more to foreign policy, Giscard largely EMS gave European currencies over the
tricht treaty that helped create the euro. where his father, Edmond was civil serv- Back at the finance ministry under left the prime minister to get on with 1979-89 decade that enticed govern-
Valéry Giscard d’Estaing The EU’s subsequent draft constitu- ant before his family moved to the President Pompidou, Giscard served restoring an economy battered by oil ments to plan for complete monetary
tion finally found a home in the Lisbon Auvergne in central France, which was two prime ministers, and on the sudden price rises and the recession and infla- union in the Maastricht treaty.
Former French president
treaty of 2009. to become his political base. After serv- tion that came to be known as “stagfla- In 2002, at 76, he chaired a conven-
1926-2020
Elected as president of France in 1974 ing in the resistance in the second world tion”. In foreign policy, Giscard believed tion to draft a constitution for the EU,
at 48, Giscard put through landmark war and as a tank soldier, he studied at in the power of personal relationships. which was adopted by EU governments
social legislation during his seven-year the elite École Pol­ytechnique and the He instigated the regular summit meet- before it was voted down in 2005.
term in the Elysée. He also founded the École Nationale d’Administration. In ings of leaders of the European Commu- Giscard’s view of the voters’ verdict on
Republican party, which became the 1952, he married Anne-Aymone de nity and of the Group of Seven leading his EU constitution left no room for
core of the centre-right Union pour la Brantes, and the couple had two sons industrialised countries. compromise. In 2006, he said firmly:
Démocratie Française. He also launched and two daughters. His cultivation of Leonid Brezhnev “The rejection of the constitutional
major infrastructure projects, including In 1956, shortly before his 30th birth- did not prevent detente breaking down treaty by voters in France was a mistake
the TGV high-speed train system and day, he was elected to the Puy-de-Dôme and the Soviet Union invading Afghani- that should be corrected.”
nuclear power stations. constituency. Three years later, he stan. But Giscard found a soulmate in Small wonder that he was sometimes
He held presidential office after the oil served as junior finance minister and Schmidt, who was ready to override criticised as haughty and elitist.
shock of the early 1970s and later that then, at 35, finance minister for nine Bundesbank opposition to Giscard’s David Buchan
DECEMBER 4 2020 Section:World Time: 3/12/2020 - 18:39 User: john.conlon Page Name: WORLD2 USA, Part,Page,Edition: USA, 3, 1
4 ★ FINANCIAL TIMES Friday 4 December 2020
INTERNATIONAL
Turkey IBM report
Istanbul taps global markets to boost metro Covid-19
vaccine
supply chain
Opposition party mayor Istanbul’s debut issuance, which raised tramway, and is considering launching The country’s state banks have ref­- launch of a five-year eurobond, which
sells city’s first eurobond $580m to fund the construction of four further bonds next year. used to lend the municipality money, a carried a final yield of 6.6 per cent. targeted
metro lines. Mr Imamoglu gained control of Istan- problem the mayor said was “unfortu- “I hope it means that relations are
after banks refuse loans “This was a positive experiment for bul last year after an opposition alliance nately still continuing”, adding: “It’s improving,” Mr Imamoglu said. “Grant-
by hackers
us,” he said after the successful issue, won local elections, ending President clear that this is a political decision.” ing approval was the right thing for
which attracted $2.5bn of demand. Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s 25-year grip on In March this year, he and the mayor them to do, the natural thing. We are
Laura Pitel and Funja Guler
“We’re very happy we were successful in the city. In a sign of the political and eco- of Ankara announced fundraising cam- thankful.”
Ankara
the current global financial conditions.” nomic importance of the city, which had paigns to support those hit by the econo­- Yet relations with Mr Erdogan himself
Istanbul’s opposition party mayor will Mr Imamoglu said the city hoped to a budget of $3.3bn this year, Mr Erdogan mic fallout from the pandemic but cen- remain strained. Mr Imamoglu, who Hannah Kuchler — New York
continue tapping the international return to the international markets next forced a rerun of the March 2019 vote tral government declared them illegal. polls suggest could pose a serious threat Hannah Murphy — San Francisco
financial markets after a lack of funding year to raise funds to finance invest- that the opposition narrowly won. The Mr Imamoglu said 6.5m lira in public to the president if he ran against him in a Cyber attackers have targeted the cold
from Turkey’s state banks spurred the ments in transport, water and waste dis- move backfired when, three months donations were frozen in state bank national election, is a vocal critic of the supply chain needed to deliver Cov-
city into selling its first eurobond this posal as well as earthquake prepared- later, Mr Imamoglu won the second accounts. “This is wrong and should eat leader’s longstanding ambition of build- id-19 vaccines, according to a report
week. ness in the city of 17m, which sits on a election by a landslide. away at their conscience,” he said. ing a canal through western Istanbul. detailing a sophisticated operation
Ekrem Imamoglu, who runs the coun- major faultline. In the 18 months since taking office, Still, the country’s capital markets The interior ministry recently opened probably backed by a nation state.
try’s biggest metropolis and is its most The municipality has already sought Mr Imamoglu has complained of facing board and the Treasury and finance an investigation into Mr Imamoglu after
high-profile opposition figure, said he government approval to raise a further frequent attempts to block his efforts to ministry surprised some foreign inves- he launched a billboard campaign The hackers appeared to be trying to
was pleased with the strong demand for €360m to fund two metro lines and a govern the city. tors by granting permission for the against the project. disrupt or steal information about the
vital processes to keep vaccines cold as
they travel from factories to hospitals
and doctors’ offices.
Latin America. Leftism According to the report by IBM’s
threat intelligence task force, which
Uribe warns of advises companies and the public sector
on cyber security, they targeted organi-
sations associated with a cold chain plat-
Venezuela ‘tyranny’ form run by the Gavi vaccine alliance, a
public-private partnership for develop-
ing immunisation for poorer countries.
Many of the Covid-19 vaccines have to
be kept cold to keep them from spoiling.
said. “I see a very worrying future Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine must be
Colombia’s ex-president says
for Venezuela and a lot of risks for kept between minus 70C and minus
sanctions have failed to unseat Colombia.” 80C, while Moderna’s jab needs to be
Since leaving the presidency, Mr transported at minus 20C.
regime in neighbouring state Uribe has remained centre stage and The attackers pretended to be an
still dominates Colombia’s political executive at a Chinese supplier of ultra-
landscape with a personality that polar- cold refrigeration to mount a phishing
Gideon Long — BogotA ises the country. He led a successful ref- campaign trying to obtain usernames
Michael Stott — London erendum campaign against the 2016 and passwords, the report said.
During his two terms as president of peace agreement which his successor, Nick Rossmann, IBM’s global lead for
Colombia, Álvaro Uribe was the US’s Juan Manuel Santos, signed with the threat intelligence, said he believed the
closest ally in Latin America, railing Farc, saying it was too generous to the hackers were either looking to disrupt
against the revolutionary socialist gov- guerrillas. In 2018, he was instrumental the vaccine delivery process or steal
ernment in neighbouring Venezuela. in propelling Colombia’s current leader, intellectual property.
Now, with the Venezuelan opposition Iván Duque, to the presidency. “One side of it is cyber espionage: How
in disarray and its leader, Juan Guaidó, Malcolm Deas, a historian and expert do you get vaccines out? How is the
having failed to unseat Nicolás Maduro on Colombia who taught Mr Uribe at manufacturing process working for
as president, Mr Uribe said US sanctions Oxford university in the 1990s, said refrigeration? How are you managing
against Caracas had not worked, and he Colombian opinion was divided “over the entire logistics chain?” he said.
fears Venezuela is fast becoming the provisions of the peace accord, over “There’s also potential for disruption,
another Cuba. Duque, even over Uribe”. being able to launch attacks that disrupt
“Tyranny has established itself,” Mr “Uribe left office in 2010 with extraor- vaccines, and their distribution to
Uribe told the Financial Times. “When dinary ratings in the polls, of 70 per cent undermine trust in them around the
my generation was young, every year and above,” Mr Deas said. “Since then world.”
we’d say ‘this year the Cuban revolution his popularity has fallen . . . his reputa- He added that it was vital to treat the
will fall’ and it never fell,” said Mr Uribe, tion has suffered from the scandals vaccine supply chain as “a new type of
still Colombia’s most powerful politician inherent in eight years of government, global critical infrastructure” to help
his feud with President Santos and pro- them secure the products that could
‘While Russia and China longed legal vendettas.” help end the pandemic.
In 2022, Colombia will choose a new The news prompted the US cyber
are giving financial
president. Conservatives — along with agency on Wednesday to issue a formal
support it’s very difficult many foreign investors — fear that if the alert to other groups involved in the cold
Hong Kong
left wins it could turn the country into Jimmy Lai, the Hong Kong media secretary of state. Mr Lai has said he supply chain.
[to have change]’
the next Venezuela. mogul and one of the city’s most public feared a Joe Biden administration Claire Zaboeva, senior strategic cyber
That may seem unlikely: Colombians Beijing critic critics of the Chinese Communist party, would retreat from these tough tactics. threat analyst at IBM, said it could be
at the age of 68. “It stabilised and we’ve have witnessed Venezuela’s collapse at was denied bail on fraud charges Mr Lai’s reputation was damaged in the “tip of an iceberg” in a larger
lost three generations. It pains me to close quarters and suffered its conse- yesterday and will remain in custody the eyes of US liberals and Beijing, global campaign, as the hackers try to
Lai denied
think history might repeat itself in quences, including the arrival of nearly until at least April. however, after Mark Simon, his former find holes in security and jump
Venezuela.” 2m poor and hungry migrants. Some 93 The billionaire tycoon and pro- senior adviser, admitted to using his between companies and governments
Mr Uribe said that at one point he per cent of Colombians have an unfa- bail on fraud democracy campaigner appeared in money to fund a critical report into the involved in the mass vaccination pro-
believed Venezuela’s military might vourable view of Mr Maduro, one recent court a day after Joshua Wong, Agnes alleged business links of Hunter Biden, grammes.
abandon Mr Maduro and support Mr poll found. Chow and Ivan Lam, three of the the son of the US president-elect, to the “It was an extremely well-researched
charges
Guaidó. “But a lot of top people in the But radical leftist candidate Gustavo territory’s most high-profile activists, Chinese Communist party. Mr Lai and well-placed campaign. And that
armed forces have been bribed by the Petro is polling consistently well in a were jailed over their involvement in claimed he was unaware of the project does potentially point to a very compe-
government,” he said. country that has suffered from the wave last year’s anti-government protests. and Mr Simon resigned. tent person or team,” she said.
Mr Uribe said there were many rea- of discontent that swept through the The fraud charges against Mr Lai Mr Lai was charged yesterday The IBM report described a hacking
sons why the Maduro regime has proved Andean region late last year. relate to accusations that he did not use alongside two other executives from his campaign that spanned six countries,
so resilient, not least because “the eco- Mr Uribe warns the far-left could take a business premises as permitted Next Digital media group. They, aimed at the European Commission’s
nomic sanctions [imposed by the US] power and wreck Colombia’s economy under the terms of its lease. however, were both granted bail. customs and taxation unit, and organi-
haven’t worked”. which, before coronavirus, was among Mr Lai, 73, has been a longstanding Eric Cheung, a Hong Kong legal sations in energy, manufacturing and
“While Russia and China are giving the fastest growing in the region. target of Beijing and his Apple Daily scholar, said the decision to deny Mr technology.
financial support it’s very difficult [to “The extreme left doesn’t threaten tabloid is Hong Kong’s biggest pro- Lai bail was a surprise as the offence The campaign started in September
have change],” he added. expropriation,” he said. “But when they democracy newspaper. He was also a was not particularly serious and that it and the task force discovered the threat
US officials believe Venezuela’s lead- get into power, they either expropriate frequent presence at protests last year. was likely the tycoon would appeal. in October.
ers have diversified their sources of for- companies or they asphyxiate them He was arrested in August for Lam Cheuk-ting, a former opposition The IBM researchers do not know if
eign exchange to make up for the loss of with taxes and regulations.” allegedly “colluding with foreign politician, said he was “astonished” by the hackers were successful at gaining
dollars from oil exports, exporting ille- He acknowledged Colombia would forces” under the national security law, the decision and accused the court of entry to the networks.
gally mined gold to the Middle East and end this year “with worrying levels of a sweeping set of rules imposed by “political prosecution”. “Today’s report highlights the impor-
facilitating drug shipments to the US. debt, deficit, poverty and unemploy- China on the semi-autonomous Victor So, the magistrate who denied tance of cyber security diligence at each
The once wealthy economy, having cra- ment” and advocated modest tax rises territory. He has denied the allegations. Mr Lai bail, is from a pool of judges step in the vaccine supply chain,” said
tered over the past five years, has to raise money to help the poor. Jimmy Lai arrives at a Mr Lai backed President Donald selected by Carrie Lam, the territory’s Josh Corman, the Cybersecurity and
plunged to subsistence level for most of At the same time, he said, “the impor- reception centre yesterday Trump’s aggressive approach to Beijing chief executive, to preside over cases Infrastructure Security Agency’s chief
the population. tant thing is not to lose investment after being ordered to remain and has met Mike Pence, US vice- involving the national security law. strategist for healthcare.
“Unfortunately the dictatorship in grade status or the confidence of in custody president, and Mike Pompeo, US Primrose Riordan, Hong Kong Additional reporting by Kadhim Shubber in
— Anthony Wallace/AFP
Venezuela has stabilised,” Mr Uribe investors”. Washington
Growing tension Sexual harassment claim
WeChat censors post by Australia’s premier China #MeToo trial halted after no-show
Jamie Smyth — Sydney does not diminish our respect for and censorship of content deemed to under- Christian Shepherd — Beijing the closed-door hearing dragging on for “sexual harassment” were written into
Christian Shepherd — Beijing appreciation of the Chinese Australian mine China’s social stability or the more than 10 hours till after midnight China’s civil code, which was passed in
A landmark sexual harassment lawsuit
Chinese social media app WeChat has community, nor will it diminish our authority of the Communist party. without a verdict. It is unclear when the May and comes into force in January.
in China has reached an impasse after
censored a post by Australia’s prime friendship with the people of China,’’ Mr In August, Donald Trump issued an trial will resume. “There have been far too few of these
one of the country’s most prominent
minister in the middle of a diplomatic Morrison wrote on his personal WeChat executive order banning WeChat over Ms Zhou and her lawyers have kinds of cases. There basically is no
television personalities refused to face
feud, raising concerns about Beijing’s account on Tuesday. security concerns, although a California insisted that, when the trial eventually understanding of sexual assault within
his accuser in court.
ability to export censorship overseas But WeChat removed the post late on judge temporarily blocked the order a proceeds, the defendant be tried in an the national judicial organs or law
through technology groups. Wednesday and replaced it with the month later. The case is a rare instance in China of a open hearing in front of a jury. She also enforcement,” Ms Zhou said.
standard message: “Unable to view this Some Australian commentators said victim of alleged sexual misconduct tak- told her supporters outside the court- Regardless of the outcome, the case
The platform, which is owned by Chi- content because it violates regulations.” the censorship of Mr Morrison’s ing her harasser to court and promises house they had asked for new judges to will have historic significance because
nese technology group Tencent, The warning said the post was message to people living in Australia to set the stage for future #MeToo- try the case. “even if this is just an experiment, the
removed a post by Scott Morrison, pic- removed for “text, pictures, video, etc highlighted the need to regulate the inspired lawsuits in the country. “Today actually was [always] process of undertaking this experiment
tured, that contained a conciliatory that incite, mislead or are contrary to influence of Chinese tech groups in the In July 2018, Zhou Xiaoxuan, who unlikely to go smoothly,” she said. “But will reveal inadequacies and injustices
message for the Chinese Australian objective facts, inventing issues of social country. They also pointed out that commonly goes by her nickname being able to obtain an adjournment of current procedures”, she said.
community during a period of intense interest, distorting historical events, or Twitter had refused a request by Can- “Xianzi,” published an account accusing [means] we will still have another Neither Mr Zhu’s lawyer nor the
diplomatic tension between Can- confusing the public”. berra to take down the tweet by Zhao Zhu Jun, one of state broadcaster chance to raise our voices.” courthouse responded to requests for
berra and Beijing. WeChat is Tencent’s flagship Lijian, a Chinese foreign ministry CCTV’s best known hosts, of groping In an interview with the Financial comment.
The incident followed Aus- social media app with more spokesman. and attempting to kiss her when she was Times before the hearing, Ms Zhou said Video of scenes outside the Haidian
tralia’s furious reaction to a Twit- than 1bn users. “There are issues around these Chi- a 21-year-old intern at the outlet. she was demanding Mr Zhu appear in People’s Court in Beijing on Wednesday
ter post by a Chinese diplomat, It is the primary tool of nese companies controlling data, infor- Mr Zhu denied the account and sued court because she wanted her case to set showed supporters of Ms Zhou holding
which depicted an Australian sol- communication for many eth- mation and the political space and not Ms Zhou for defamation, but lost the an example for other sexual harassment banners bearing the slogan: “Together
dier holding a knife to the throat of nic Chinese people in Aus- allowing a level playing field for people case in October. On Wednesday, Ms lawsuits. we demand answers from history”.
an Afghan child, a reference to a tralia and the US. to have a contest of ideas,” said Fergus Zhou’s own charges, a civil suit for Chinese law until recently afforded In her account, Ms Zhou described
war crimes inquiry. “The The platform Hanson, a cyber security expert at the infringement of her personal dignity, scant protection to victims of harass- how Mr Zhu allegedly groped and tried
post of a false image of engages in Australian Strategic Policy Institute in went to court. ment and sexual abuse. After high- to kiss her when they were alone in a
an Australian soldier widespread Canberra. His failure to show up, however, led to profile accusations, protections against dressing room in 2014.
DECEMBER 4 2020 Section:World Time: 3/12/2020 - 18:31 User: john.conlon Page Name: WORLD3 USA, Part,Page,Edition: USA, 4, 1
Friday 4 December 2020 ★ FINANCIAL TIMES 5
DECEMBER 4 2020 Section:Ad Page Time: 3/12/2020 - 11:01 User: john.lee Page Name: AD LOMBARD, Part,Page,Edition: LON, 5, 1
6 ★ FINANCIAL TIMES Friday 4 December 2020
y
Huw van Steenis The winner-takes-most dynamic seen in digital markets is coming to banking, and fast
MARKETS INSIGHT, PAGE 13
Cerberus tried
Coatue wins
Eyes on the prize Flutter to raise FanDuel stake
big on Tesla
in $4bn scramble for bigger slice of betting pie
to oust chair at
boom and
Wirecard bust
Deutsche for
Robin Wigglesworth — Oslo
Philippe Laffont’s Coatue Management
own nominee has notched up a 52 per cent gain this
year thanks to bets on electric car-
maker Tesla and against Wirecard, the
fraudulent German payments group,
making it one of the best-performing
big hedge funds.
Coatue is one of the largest “long-short”
3 Bid to install ex-Morgan Stanley banker
funds, which means it places wagers on
some stocks doing well and on others
3 Buyout group critical of Achleitner
declining, and Mr Laffont is one of the
most prominent of the “Tiger cubs” who
cut their teeth at Julian Robertson’s
Laura Noonan — New York Schmittmann as chairman and Martin Tiger Management.
Olaf Storbeck — Frankfurt Zielke as chief executive. The fund’s focus on technology has
Stephen Morris — London
Mr Achleitner said last May he would served it well in the mayhem of 2020, as
One of Deutsche Bank’s top sharehold- step down when his second five-year tech stocks have dominated equity mar-
ers tried to install former Morgan term ends in 2022. That announcement, ket returns.
Stanley president Colm Kelleher as coupled with Deutsche’s improved Coatue’s main fund, which manages
chairman of Germany’s largest lender, financial performance this year, took more than $11bn, had returned 52 per
highlighting the depth of discontent some urgency out of replacing him. cent net of fees to the end of November,
over the incumbent, Paul Achleitner. Since Mr Sewing announced a strate- said people familiar with the matter.
It has emerged that Cerberus, the US gic rejig in July last year, shrinking the Weighted according to their size, the
private equity fund that is Deutsche’s investment bank and cutting 18,000 average hedge fund lost 4.5 per cent in
fifth-biggest shareholder, floated Mr jobs, Deutsche’s shares are up about 40 the year to the end of October,
Kelleher’s name in talks with regulators per cent. In the third quarter of this according to HFR, and equity-focused
and chief executive Christian Sewing, year, the bank returned to profit for the hedge funds have only returned 3 per
said people familiar with the matter. first time since early 2019. cent, despite stock markets climbing
Cerberus has been agitating for Mr The plan to install Mr Kelleher was more than 10 per cent.
Achleitner’s departure for more than a not widely known within Deutsche but Tech-focused hedge funds have
year and began courting Mr Kelleher some of the bank’s most senior execu- enjoyed a solid year, returning more
before the German bank’s annual inves- tives had heard of it. One of them than 17 per cent, but Coatue’s perform-
described it as a “very surprising” prop- ance dwarfs that average.
Cerberus floated the name osition, because Mr Kelleher does not The hedge fund industry had suffered
speak German and spent his career at a Better odds: the overturning of a US ban on sports betting prompted a rush into the sector net investor redemptions of more than
of Colm Kelleher in talks — Eduardo Munoz/Reuters
Wall Street institution very different to $100bn in the first 10 months of the
with regulators and chief the bank. Alice Hancock — London ing the remainder in Flutter shares. into the US gambling sector after the year, according to Eurekahedge, a data
Germany has a two-tier corporate Sara Germano — New York Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Corporation, Supreme Court overturned a federal provider, about half of which was pulled
executive Christian Sewing
gov­ernance structure, with a chairman Flutter, the gambling company which has a 2.6 per cent stake in Flut- law banning sports betting two years from long-short funds.
leading a supervisory board on which behind SkyBet and Paddy Power, ter following its £10bn merger with ago. Since then, 25 of the 50 states A person familiar with the matter said
tor meeting in May. One person said half the seats are held by workers repre- plans to spend $4.2bn increasing its Stars Group last year, will also invest have legalised sports wagers. Coatue’s large position in Elon Musk’s
Cerberus’s idea failed to win sufficient sentatives. It is not clear whether Cer- control of the daily fantasy sports in the deal through the share placing. Despite the widespread interrup- Tesla had been a big driver, given that
support from other investors and the berus’s idea had the support of other company FanDuel as it seeks to Flutter’s share price rose as much as tion to sport earlier in the year, gross the carmaker’s stock was up nearly 600
supervisory board’s nomination com- investors. extend its reach in the fast-growing 14 per cent in intraday trading. gaming revenues for US sports betting per cent this year. The hedge fund held
mittee, which instead nominated Theo Qatari investors, which own a 6 per US gambling market. The Dublin-based group initially rose 27 per cent in the first nine 3.1m shares at the end of the third quar-
Weimer, the Deutsche Börse chief exec- cent stake of the bank, are said to have invested in FanDuel for $158m, a months of 2020 to $677.8m, com- ter, which would now be worth $1.3bn.
utive, and Sigmar Gabriel, the former been unhappy with Mr Achleitner’s The group, which bought a majority week after a US federal ban on sports pared with the same period a year ago, Another boon was the implosion of
German foreign minister, as new board stewardship. A person advising the stake in FanDuel in 2018, intends to betting was lifted in May 2018, with an according to the American Gaming Wirecard, where Coatue had a big short
members. Qatari royal family on its investment in raise £1.1bn from shareholders to agreement to buy Fastball’s holding in Association. position. At the start of 2020, the shares
Mr Kelleher, who stepped down as Deutsche did not reply to requests for acquire the 37 per cent share owned two tranches in 2021 and 2023 — a The market is led by FanDuel and were trading at about €110, but they
Morgan Stanley’s number two in March comment. Other large investors — by Fastball Holdings, a consortium of deal that Peter Jackson, Flutter’s chief its fantasy sports rival DraftKings, now change hands at barely 50 cents.
2019, declined to comment, as did Cer- BlackRock, Capital Group and a fund investors led by the private equity executive, said had been “transfor- which went public in April through a Coatue will also have done well from
berus and Deutsche Bank. managed by former JPMorgan finance group KKR, Flutter said yesterday. mational” for the company. Spac merger and has a market capital- investments in PayPal — up nearly 100
Cerberus disclosed a 3 per cent stake director Doug Braunstein — declined to The remaining 5 per cent will con- He added that FanDuel would oper- isation of about $20bn. per cent this year — and in video confer-
in November 2017, which has since lost comment. tinue to be held by the casino com- ate in 14 US states covering a third of Fox’s involvement shows the imp­- encing business Zoom, as well as solar-
€400m of value. The fund is also one of Mr Kelleher hinted at an appointment pany Boyd Gaming, whose partner- the US population by autumn 2021, or­t­ance of media deals to US gambling panel maker Sunrun. A stake in Disney
the largest shareholders in Commerz- in a July interview with the Financial ship Flutter needs in order to operate with a market “equivalent to the size operators seeking customers through has been a rare mis-step.
bank, where it is sitting on paper losses Times, where he said he had “pretty in certain US states. of our businesses in Australia, the UK direct marketing on TV and radio. Mr Laffont and Coatue declined to
north of €300m. At Commerzbank, the much made my decision that I was going The transaction will be funded by and Ireland combined”. Fox has a 10-year option to buy 18.5 comment.
private equity group this summer suc- to do something which was very exciting roughly $2.1bn in cash to Fastball, The acceleration of Flutter’s acqui- per cent of FanDuel starting next year. Additional reporting by Ortenca Aliaj and
cessfully lobbied to replace Stefan for me”. with the private equity group receiv- sition reflects a rush of investment Additional reporting by Arash Massoudi Miles Kruppa
Salesforce deal for Slack looks like turning point for cloud software
different. In a world of open APIs, or acquisitions deeply into its other serv-
Inside Business
software interfaces, companies can eas- ices. But with Slack, Mr Benioff has a lot
ily tap into specialised services without to prove: Wall Street has wiped $36bn
Technology
buying a single bundle of software. The off his company’s market value since
reach of the internet has turned what news of the deal broke, reflecting con-
Richard were previously small software niches cerns over the cost.
into sizeable markets. This has given Of course, each period of consolida-
Waters start-ups the chance to scale up. Need a tion in tech looks different. Engaging
secure way to sign a contract virtually? employees more deeply and raising
DocuSign is worth $42bn, more than their productivity is a challenge for all
Ford. Okta, a way to make sure people companies — particularly in a post-
online are who they say they are, is val- pandemic world where those employees
M eet the new boss. Same as ued at nearly $32bn, about the same as may well be operating remotely.
the old boss. Those lyrics Hilton Hotels. Coupa, used for tracking Companies like Slack have shown new
from The Who nearly 50 business spending, is worth $22bn. ways to draw people more deeply into
years ago sum up the The “consumerisation” of IT has also their jobs.
sinking sense of inevita- shifted the power away from suites. As more work processes are auto-
bility that comes with each new round Small groups of workers have often mated, there is also a need for a different
of consolidation in tech. taken up free tools like Slack for them- set of tools, fitting software more pre-
Periods defined by their innovative selves, leading their employers later on cisely to each person’s job processes, or
start-ups and restless reinvention give to pay for more full-featured versions of workflow. The specialised nature of
way to phases when industry leaders the service for all many industries adds to the need for
buy up the most promising newcomers their employees. Periods defined by their more customised software. No com-
and either snuff out their ideas or bend In this new era of pany will be able to own all these work-
innovative start-ups and
them to their own ends. workplace soft- flows from end to end: Tying together
The cloud software business — also ware, Slack has restless reinvention give specialised services will be an inescapa-
known as software as a service, or SaaS played a unique ble part of the job for companies like
way to industry leaders
— may just have reached its moment of role. As well as Salesforce and Microsoft.
reckoning. This week’s $27.7bn acquisi- being a straightfor- buying up the newcomers There are signs that Salesforce may be
tion of workplace messaging company ward messaging adapting, giving product innovation
Slack by Salesforce looks like a turning tool, it acts as a digital backbone that con- more weight. In a telling change of per-
point — and not just because Slack has nects a range of work applications, giving sonnel, Keith Block, a former top Oracle
been emblematic of a wave of start-ups workers a window into the different soft- sales executive, quit as Mr Benioff’s co-
searching for new and more creative ware products they rely on. For other CEO earlier this year. The company’s
ways of working. SaaS companies, it has been an impor- new number two executive is a former
In the parlance of business software, tant open interface through which work- Google product manager, Bret Taylor,
the deal highlights the perennial tension ers can reach their own services. whose credits include creating Google
between “best of breed” products — That makes the Salesforce acquisition Maps. Slack’s well-regarded CEO, Stew-
standalone services that do one thing — the largest ever of a cloud company — art Butterfield, has also said he plans to
very well — and complete suites of soft- such a defining moment in the SaaS stay on.
ware which integrate a range of services. business. Marc Benioff, Salesforce’s Mr Benioff is under pressure to use
New generations of technology are usu- chief executive, is out to take on Micro- Slack to peddle more Salesforce soft-
ally characterised by the rise of the soft’s integrated suite of software tools, ware. But in the longer term, there is
former, followed by rounds of consoli- and that means using Slack as the glue to much about the future of work that still
dation that leave a handful of the latter. tie together his own company’s spread- needs to be invented.
For the last few years, it has almost ing range of software. Salesforce has
been possible to believe that SaaS will be not been known for integrating its [email protected]
DECEMBER 4 2020 Section:Companies Time: 3/12/2020 - 18:50 User: andy.puttnam Page Name: COMP&MKTS1, Part,Page,Edition: EUR, 6, 1
Friday 4 December 2020 ★ FINANCIAL TIMES 7
DECEMBER 4 2020 Section:Ad Page Time: 3/12/2020 - 11:01 User: john.lee Page Name: AD DEUTSCHE, Part,Page,Edition: EUR, 7, 1
8 ★ FINANCIAL TIMES Friday 4 December 2020
COMPANIES & MARKETS
Financial services Airlines
EY hits at Berlin watchdog over Wirecard Norwegian
launches plan
to downsize
Firm says Apas rushed to Apas, the German audit watchdog, Munich prosecutors are reviewing the just six working days later, pointing out commission, as it argued it had not been
conclusions in flagging told criminal prosecutors in late Sep- allegations raised by Apas and have not that its complex arguments could not properly released from confidentiality fleet and raise
tember that three current and former yet decided whether they will open a have been taken fully into account obligations.
suspected misconduct EY partners may have acted criminally. formal criminal investigation. The within such a short period of time. Two partners were fined €1,000 each
investor cash
It suspected that EY partners were potential misconduct that the watchdog Apas did not immediately respond to by the parliamentary committee and
aware of issuing a “factually inaccurate” flagged can be punished with up to three a request for comment. have this week appealed against that
Olaf Storbeck — Frankfurt
audit for Wirecard in 2017. years in jail, if proved. Cansel Kiziltepe, an MP for the Social decision at Germany’s highest court.
EY has lashed out at Germany’s audit EY yesterday accused Apas of rushing EY’s response to Apas marks the lat- Democratic party, accused EY of “fin- EY said this move was intended to
watchdog for prematurely reporting to conclusions. “In our opinion, we have est escalation of an increasingly acrimo- ger-pointing at others”. She said that deliver “a legally effective release from Philip Georgiadis
suspected criminal misconduct by its not been sufficiently granted the legal nious dispute among investors, politi- instead of “blaming Apas and present- [our] confidentiality obligations” as it
Norwegian Air Shuttle launched an
partners to prosecutors in an escalating right to be heard in this case so far,” EY cians and regulators. ing itself as a victim, EY should rather was “keen to contribute comprehen-
emergency rescue plan yesterday to
battle over the firm’s audit work at Germany said. “Up to this day, we have The Big Four firm argued that it filed a evaluate its own mistakes”. sively to the clarification of all facts”.
save the struggling low-cost airline,
defunct payments company Wirecard. not been able to comment.” 316-page document and more than EY is facing an avalanche of lawsuits Florian Toncar, an MP for the liberal
unveiling proposals to downsize
Wirecard collapsed into insolvency EY also stressed that the Apas letter to 3,000 pages of “supporting documents” from Wirecard shareholders who lost Free Democrats and a former lawyer at
its fleet and raise new money from
in June in one of Europe’s biggest prosecutors only provided a “prelimi- to Apas on September 17 in response to billions in the company’s collapse. Freshfields, stressed that EY’s view on
investors.
postwar accounting frauds after receiv- nary assessment” and “does not signify detailed questions it received in June. The firm last week came under fire confidentiality laws was highly contro-
ing “all clear” audits by EY for more a conclusion or confirmation of any EY has criticised the fact that the from German MPs for refusing to give versial and rejected by all members of It follows the filing for protection from
than a decade. offences”. watchdog sent its letter to prosecutors testimony to the parliamentary inquiry the parliamentary committee. creditors last month in Ireland under
that country’s equivalent of Chapter 11
as it became aviation’s largest casualty
of the pandemic.
Food & beverage Energy Norwegian’s fate was sealed when
the government refused to offer
Nestlé in €3bn
a second bailout, triggering the latest
proceedings.
push to cut The company used Ireland to seek
creditor protection as its subsidiaries
there hold most of its aircraft.
greenhouse
The company’s shares have declined
99 per cent in the past year, wiping out
gas emissions shareholders, as the stock was briefly
suspended.
Norwegian’s board proposed
“reconstructing” the airline’s balance
sheet by reducing the size of its fleet,
Judith Evans launching a new debt-for-equity swap
and a rights issue of up to NKr4bn
Nestlé, the largest foodmaker, is to
($453m) in the form of new stock or
spend €3bn in the next five years on
hybrid instruments.
measures to cut its greenhouse gas
The debt-for-equity swap, which
emissions, in the biggest financial com-
would be its second of the year,
mitment to net zero initiatives by a
would include aircraft financing
consumer goods group.
liabilities, supplier liabilities and bond
The Swiss company yesterday laid out obligations.
plans to meet a goal set last year to elim- As part of the proposals, Norwegian
inate all emissions from its operations said it could also only pay aircraft les-
and supply chain by 2050. These range
from changing the way its agricultural The carrier is operating
suppliers operate to cutting business
a skeleton service after
travel.
Mark Schneider, chief executive, said: a decline of 91% this year in
“It is particularly challenging to make
passenger numbers
good on this goal because the vast
majority of what we are talking about is
not within our own four walls — the vast sors when it used their planes to help it
majority [of emissions] sit in our supply conserve cash, a so-called “power by the
chain. hour” deal.
“To be effective we will need to influ- The company gave no details as to the
ence the behaviours of the many thou- possible scale of the debt-for-equity
sand farmers and suppliers that work swap, how many planes it could end up
with us. flying under the plan or how many jobs
“We need to change the way agricul- are at risk.
ture is done and we need to shift con- The proposals will be put forward
sumer preferences towards plant-based at an extraordinary meeting on
food and beverages. It’s truly a long- The Niederaussem power plant in Bergheim, Germany. The voluntary carbon arena is small and fragmented, with $300m in trades a year December 17.
— Federico Gambarini/DPA/AFP
term undertaking.” The board said the plan would aim to
Nestlé is one of a group of multina- “right-size” Norwegian’s operations at a
Carney backs calls for global carbon offset market
tionals that have adopted targets in line “level of proven profitability” and could
with scientists’ recommendations to attract new investors, including “poten-
limit global warming to 1.5C above tem- tially” new support from the state.
peratures before industrialisation “Even in examinership, Norwegian
began, which requires dropping to “net has lost none of its ambition,” analysts at
zero” emissions by 2050. Leslie Hook — London into it.” He added: “This needs to be a of millions of dollars from developed reflect different types of carbon offsets. Davy Research said. “The quantum of
A larger group of companies have Patrick Temple-West — New York $50-100bn per annum market.” countries to developing countries, often The Task Force on Scaling Voluntary assistance it is looking for is material
adopted less stringent targets aiming to Former Bank of England governor As the UN special envoy for climate into projects that later turned out to be Carbon Markets recently published a and, in particular, the request for addi-
limit warming to 2C. Mark Carney has thrown his weight finance, Mr Carney has advocated poli- spurious. report on what the new market might tional debt-to-equity conversion will
The maker of Kit Kat and Nespresso behind efforts to create a global carbon cies that will align capital markets with The present voluntary carbon market look like, and is gathering feedback as it test creditors’ patience.”
said it would fund the measures by offset market, calling it an “impera- climate change goals, such as more is small and fragmented, with about finalises the blueprint. A pilot trading Ministers in Oslo last month said they
charging a premium for some sustaina- tive” to help cut emissions. extensive climate risk disclosure for $300m in trades a year. “There are program is expected ahead of the next did not think it was a “sound use” of tax-
ble goods and by achieving “operational companies. issues with verification, and greenwash- UN climate change conference in payers’ money to prop up the airline.
and structural efficiencies”. A pilot market for voluntary carbon off- Demand for carbon offsets is ing potentially, as it stands [in the exist- November in Glasgow next year. The carrier went into the crisis as one
The group had revenues of SFr92.6bn sets would be up and running within a expected to grow as more companies “The demand for this is going to be of Europe’s weakest due to a high level of
in 2019. year, Mr Carney said, and London was a and countries strive to reach their huge, because we have this big shift. debt built up through an aggressive
The spending comes on top of up to likely location to host the new contract. net zero emissions targets, which Mark Carney, More and more companies — and it will expansion plan, including low-cost
former governor
$2bn the group has pledged to spend to Mr Carney, along with Standard Char- will require using offsets to compensate be a tsunami by Glasgow — will have net long-haul flights. It is operating only a
of the Bank of
increase recycled plastic in packaging. tered chief executive Bill Winters, for residual emissions they cannot zero emissions plans,” said Mr Carney. skeleton service in its home market,
England, is the
Mr Schneider said the changes would recently co-founded the Task Force on eliminate. UN’s special envoy “They will be looking to reduce using just six or seven of its planes fol-
be “earnings-neutral” and would not Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets, a But voluntary carbon offsets have for climate finance emissions . . . but for a period of lowing a 91 per cent fall in passenger
affect margins. “This is not a plan that private sector initiative backed by more been criticised by some environmental time, they will also need the ‘net’ in net numbers this year.
comes straight out of investors’ pock- than 40 companies and organisations, groups, which say the practice encour- ing market],” Mr Carney acknowledged. zero, and they can only get that from a Founded in 1992 by former fighter
ets,” he said. which is working on a blueprint for the ages ‘greenwashing’ by companies that However, he argued, there was an credible global market that needs to be pilot Bjorn Kjos, Norwegian grew over
It follows a commitment by Unilever new market. are not serious about cutting emissions urgent need for a new, credible global developed.” the past two decades to become a rival of
this year to spend €1bn over 10 years on “This is a necessary market in the and want to appear to be taking action. carbon market, one that had a liquid, Most countries have committed to Ryanair, easyJet and British Airways as
climate projects such as reforestation. transition to net zero,” Mr Carney told Previous efforts to create a global sys- exchange-traded contract at its core, establishing a market mechanism for it expanded from its Nordic base into
Nestlé aims to halve its 2018 emis- the FT Energy Transition Strategies tem for carbon offsetting have come to trading as spot and futures. That con- exchanging carbon credits but have low-cost travel in Europe and then with
sions, which amounted to 92m tonnes of Summit. “This is an imperative, which an unhappy end. The UN clean develop- tract would also form the basis for an been unable to agree on rules for how to flights serving the US and Asia regions
greenhouse gases, by 2030. is why we are putting so many resources ment mechanism channelled hundreds over-the-counter market that could do that. as well.
Automobiles
Daimler plans to curb suppliers and earmark cash for software development
Joe Miller — Frankfurt tric vehicles, wants to own more of the are looking to develop their own tech. wouldn’t and we won’t,” he said. “It
complex technology that powers mod- China bright spot fillip to German manufacturers who Volkswagen recently consolidated its would be unrealistic for us to do every-
Daimler will cut out traditional parts
makers in order to fund a software ern cars. Double-digit sales growth are struggling to pay for the software ambitions under a new organi- thing from scratch and everything our-
“We want to have one comprehensive development of electric cars. sation that will employ more than 5,000 selves, and that wouldn’t be economi-
development push that will involve hir- for sixth straight month
operating system that goes from our A Rival BMW, which counts China as people and has vowed not to work with cal.”
ing thousands of coders to build an
class to S class [cars],” Mr Kallenius its largest market, has benefited from Silicon Valley heavyweights. Daimler unveiled a new strategy in
operating system that rivals Tesla’s.
said, citing Apple’s iOS, which powers Daimler chief executive Ola Källenius a record boom that sent the group’s Unlike some rivals, Daimler, which October, vowing to “avoid non-core
The Mercedes-Benz owner would buy the iPhone, as inspiration. hailed a “remarkable” recovery in the third-quarter sales in the country up has built its own proprietary battery activities” as it aimed to cut a fifth of its
fewer electronic components and In an effort to offer customers a more Chinese market after the owner of 31 per cent from a year earlier. management software, is not opposed to fixed costs over the next four years.
“replace supplier development costs seamless experience, and own the data Mercedes-Benz notched up a sixth Sales at Volkswagen, which includes working with partners. Despite being on a software “hiring
with personnel, building and computing produced by connected cars, Daimler is straight month of double-digit sales brands such as Audi and Porsche, Mr Kallenius said the group had spree”, Mr Kallenius said he was confi-
costs”, Ola Kallenius, the company’s moving more software development in- growth in Asia’s largest economy. have dropped 9 per cent in China for “thrown everything into” a collabora- dent that target would be achieved.
chief executive, told the Financial house. China has been a rare bright spot the year to the end of October, tion with Nvidia, focused on developing While selling petrol and diesel cars
Times. Those plans add to fears over job for a sector bruised by the virus crisis. compared with a 25 per cent decline in an architecture that will enable autono- alongside electric vehicles, Daimler was
“Down the road, once we have gotten losses at the world’s biggest auto suppli- Daimler’s Mercedes brand sold a western Europe. mous driving. The group also works “kind of doing everything”, and costs
farther in this endeavour, I believe we ers, including Continental, Bosch and record 24 per cent more vehicles in “The V shaped recovery in China with Microsoft on cloud computing. were consequently at a peak, he added.
could actually operate at a lower fixed ZF, which sell electronic control units China in the quarter to the end of was remarkable,” Mr Källenius said. It He emphasised that Daimler would “We will significantly lower our spend
cost level,” the Swedish boss added. and software to large car manufacturers September than in the same period in helped Daimler record a pre-tax profit forge “several partnerships” as it accel- on the combustion engine side in the
“We will pay less money to suppliers and are collectively shedding tens of 2019, and had “double-digit growth” in of €3.1bn for the third quarter, and free erated its software push, especially in next five years.”
and then employ people in other thousands of jobs in a struggle to adapt the months since, Mr Källenius said. cash flow of more than €5bn. areas such as in-car navigation and Separately yesterday, Daimler
places.” to the battery vehicle age. With global car sales forecast to He said some of the rebound was entertainment, which external provid- announced it would propose BMW and
The German group, which is in the As well as having to write down the shrink by at least a fifth in 2020, the owing to pent-up demand from ers have perfected. VW veteran Bernd Pischetsrieder as
middle of a painful restructuring as it value of their combustion engine exper- rebound in China is a much-needed February and March. “Would it make sense for us to make head of its supervisory board, once
struggles to pay for a late foray into elec- tise, the largest clients of parts makers our own TripAdvisor? Of course, it Manfred Bischoff’s term ends next year.
DECEMBER 4 2020 Section:Companies Time: 3/12/2020 - 18:36 User: cathy.pryor Page Name: CONEWS1, Part,Page,Edition: USA, 8, 1
Friday 4 December 2020 ★ FINANCIAL TIMES 9
DECEMBER 4 2020 Section:Ad Page Time: 3/12/2020 - 11:01 User: john.lee Page Name: AD QUINN, Part,Page,Edition: EUR, 9, 1
10 ★ FINANCIAL TIMES Friday 4 December 2020
COMPANIES & MARKETS
Secret scheme aimed to siphon cash to tycoon
Gazprom director and Kazakh ex-president’s son-in-law was set to profit from central Asia pipelines, leaked emails indicate
Tom Burgis partner of Vladimir Putin, who was the
club’s honorary president.
A Gazprom director profited from a Despite never having constructed a
secret scheme linked to the construc- single factory, Mr Karmanov estab-
tion of a multibillion-dollar gas pipeline lished himself as one of the dominant
between central Asia and China, accord- figures in a highly lucrative market:
ing to documents seen by the Financial supplying the steel pipes for the pipe-
Times. lines that were in high demand during
The documents indicate that staff and Russia’s energy boom of the 2000s.
consultants working for Timur Kuli- The Asia Gas Pipeline project was a
bayev designed a scheme for the Kazakh chance for Mr Karmanov to conquer
billionaire to receive at least tens of mil- new markets, and conquer he did.
lions of dollars from contracts related to Emails seen by the FT contain commer-
the vast project. cial agreements indicating that between
Mr Kulibayev, who has served on the 2008 and 2012 his companies won steel
Russian energy giant’s board since 2011, pipe contracts for the project worth at
is the son-in-law of the former Kazakh least $370m and perhaps three times
president and has wide-ranging busi- that amount. They also won contracts
ness interests, from banking to mining worth at least $1.5bn to trade the oil and
and real estate. As one of the most pow- gas that Kazakhstan’s pipelines carry.
erful officials in the country, he oversaw One man towered over the Kazakh
the state companies that awarded con- energy industry in which Mr Karmanov
tracts to build the pipelines across Kaza- prospered. Timur Kulibayev had risen
khstan. through Kazakhstan’s state energy com-
Emails sent between 2008 and 2014 pany, then became first deputy chair-
and leaked by a whistleblower contain man and, in 2011, chairman of the
detailed descriptions of a set-up that it $80bn sovereign wealth fund that over-
appears would allow Mr Kulibayev to saw all the state’s business interests,
receive a share of the profits from pipe- including the Asia Gas Pipeline project.
line contracts granted to ETK, a com- By that time he was already a billionaire
pany owned by Russian businessman
Alexander Karmanov. Mr Kulibayev oversaw the
Under the scheme, ETK would buy
state companies that
pipes from plants in Ukraine and Rus-
sia. But first it would sell those same awarded contracts to
plants the steel to make the pipes — at a
build the pipelines
huge mark-up from the price it had paid
for the metal.
Contracts seen by the Financial Times Timur Kulibayev appears to have been the scheme’s beneficiary in an arrangement regarding income from contracts granted to ETK
— FT montage/Reuters
show that an ETK company in Singa- in his own right. So was his wife Dinara
pore agreed to buy steel produced by — daughter of the Kazakh dictator, Mr
Jiangsu Shagang group of China at $935 a ETK that would confer control over by his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao, Nazarbayev.
tonne and to sell steel to the Russian Relative’s revelations deaths of opponents. Aliyev’s lawyers company decisions. in the Kazakh capital Astana to Mr Kulibayev’s influence expanded
pipeline manufacturer TMK for $1,500 Autocrat’s troubled questioned the official explanation of In October 2012, an employee at ETK announce new pipelines that would beyond Kazakhstan. In addition to his
a tonne. TMK’s contract envisages a his death as suicide, as did Aisultan. emailed Mr Kulibayev’s representatives carry gas from central Asia, long mostly role at Gazprom, the Russian state gas
grandson laid out claims
total outlay of “approximately $200m”, Aisultan turned to drugs and to say that Mr Karmanov had personally sold to Europe, to China. company at the centre of Mr Putin’s
which equates to a gross profit of $75m alcohol. After a London incident when agreed to the proposal. Emails among Built jointly by Kazakhstan and power network, his father-in-law was a
for ETK. Details of the secret pipeline scheme he fled what he thought were pursuers Mr Kulibayev’s advisers reveal the name China, these pipelines, all since com- key ally of the Russian leader. Mr Kuli-
However, the documents seen by the have emerged in part because of sent by his family and assaulted a of the nominee as Murat Balapanov, a pleted, would stretch more than bayev came to western attention when
FT suggest that most of that money was attempts by a member of Kazakhstan’s police officer, he was fined and given a Kazakh businessman. 3,000km and be funded with Chinese he was revealed as the mystery buyer
not destined for Mr Karmanov’s com- most powerful family to reveal suspended 12-month sentence. He was Russian corporate records show that state loans. The first two lines would who in 2007 paid £3m over the list price
pany but for Mr Kulibayev. corruption that he suspected his admitted to The Priory. on December 21 2012, Mr Balapanov’s cost $7.5bn, with a third to follow for to buy Sunninghill Park, the royal estate
They reveal details of a corporate relatives of orchestrating. The following month he wrote name was recorded in public filings as a some $3bn and a fourth after that. the Queen had given Prince Andrew as a
structure designed to channel the prof- Aisultan Nazarbayev was the accounts on Facebook of what he said new shareholder in ETK. His share was Among the biggest winners in the wedding present. He has also faced
its from the steel mark-up through com- grandson of Nursultan Nazarbayev, was corruption from which members 0.00001 per cent of ETK’s equity. He bonanza of contracts related to the pipe- money-laundering allegations in a Swiss
panies in Singapore and the United Arab who last year passed the presidency to of his family profited. He said that he was also named president of the com- line was a Russian called Alexander case that was ultimately dropped.
Emirates and ultimately to Mr Kuli- an ally while retaining the title of had sought asylum in the UK, claiming pany. Mr Balapanov could not be Karmanov. Back in the 1990s, he was Mr Kulibayev left the Kazakh sover-
bayev himself. Emails and a PowerPoint Leader of the Nation and the his family wanted him killed. reached for comment. the proprietor of the Daydreams strip eign wealth fund following an outcry
presentation indicate Mr Kulibayev was chairmanship of the security council. Around this time, Aisultan had an Mr Kulibayev’s lawyers said that he club, popular with post-communist over the massacre of striking oil workers
to receive 70 per cent of the profits, a cut Aisultan lived between Kazakhstan initial discussion with the FT. He had “has never had any interest or stake in Moscow’s new rich. Accounts of his by security forces in December 2011. By
that would have made him $53m from and London. He was a Sandhurst conversations with a Kazakh any ETK entity, directly, indirectly or career since then provide few clues to then, Mr Karmanov’s ETK group had
this one transaction alone. graduate and in his youth a footballer, opposition figure where he described via any kind of nominee arrangement or how he has progressed to be listed by already won contracts to supply the first
In one email, a consultant sent bills to playing a season at Portsmouth. corruption schemes in the oil and gas similar scheme”. They added that Mr Forbes as one of Russia’s “king contrac- two phases of the Asia Gas Pipeline, an
Mr Kulibayev’s company for completing His father, Rakhat Aliyev, was found industry, identifying members of his Balapanov had not acted as Mr Kuli- tors”, those who have benefited most ETK planning document attached to
the work to set up the scheme. dead in 2015 in an Austrian prison. He own family and Kremlin figures. bayev’s nominee and claimed that Mr handsomely from government con- one of the leaked emails indicates. Con-
The emails appear to show that, to was awaiting an extradition decision On August 15 he was found dead in Balapanov had never held a stake in tracts. tracts relating to the subsequent phases
make sure that this arrangement could after a split with his father-in-law, the Green Park, London. A postmortem ETK, despite public records showing A person who knew Mr Karmanov came ETK’s way in 2012, while Mr Kuli-
not be changed without his agreement, Kazakh ruler, during which they traded gave the cause as cocaine toxicity. A that he has. when they both worked on contracts for bayev was still in his other government
Mr Kulibayev’s staff proposed that a allegations of corruption and ordering coroner is to hold an inquest. In response to questions from the FT Transneft, Russia’s state oil transport post as adviser to his father-in-law.
nominee of his be granted a stake in about the apparent scheme to divert group, described him as a “self-made ETK and Mr Karmanov did not
contract profits described in the leaked man” but one who “knows a huge respond to requests for comment.
emails, Mr Kulibayev’s lawyers said he number of people in the power struc- Separately, emails from another
“has never been involved in any of the tures”. Little information on these con- cache, leaked online in 2014, indicate
Legal Notices activities described”. They said the sug- nections has emerged, though he has that one of Mr Kulibayev’s private com-
gestion that “70 per cent of various prof- talked about his friendship panies may have benefited directly
its were funnelled back to an entity of with Arkady Rotenberg, from the pipeline project.
our client’s based in Singapore is false”. a fellow “king contrac- A company he owned called Petro-
In correspondence with the FT, his tor” who has been tar- leum LLP won a contract to transport
lawyers also claimed he was the target of geted for US sanctions 300,000 tonnes of steel for use in mak-
a disinformation campaign. However, on the Kremlin’s inner ing the pipelines, according to a 2011
the emails that outline the pipeline circle. Mr Karmanov email from the company’s boss. Petro-
scheme come from a substantial cache sponsored the St leum LLP was valued at about
leaked by a whistleblower. They contain Petersburg judo $220m shortly afterwards,
multiple documents that corroborate club founded by another email shows.
one another and are further supported Mr Rotenberg, a Mr Kulibayev’s lawyers
by corporate records from Russia, Sin- former sparring responded to questions on
gapore and the UK. The FT is publishing Petroleum LLP by saying
a selection of the documents. that the company “never
The Asia Gas Pipeline project was part received profits, directly
of a grand undertaking that accelerated Mr Kulibayev’s or indirectly, from any
a shift of economic power from west to father-in-law business” related to the
east. was an ally of Asia Gas Pipeline.
In August 2007, President Nursultan Russian leader Additional reporting by Max
Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan was joined Vladimir Putin Seddon in Moscow
Contracts & Tenders Travel & leisure
China signals easing of S Korea products ban
Song Jung-a — Seoul including tariffs on wine, as relations The popularity of Korean cultural
between the countries have soured. products from music to television dra-
China has approved the sale of a South
China’s approval of Summoners War mas has grown, making them a big
Businesses Korean video game for the first time in
came a week after foreign minister export driver. The value of these
nearly four years, raising hopes of a
Wang Yi met with his South Korean exports has risen roughly fourfold over
reopening for an export industry worth
For Sale counterpart Kang Kyung-wha in Seoul. the past decade, to $10.4bn in 2019.
billions of dollars a year following a
The decision sparked a rally in the China’s game market was worth about
diplomatic dispute.
shares of Korean game makers and Rmb230.8bn ($35.2bn) last year,
Regulators had issued a licence for entertainment companies. Shares of according to state-run Korea Creative
Summoners War, allowing Com2us to sell Com2us and Netmarble rose 8 per cent Content Agency.
its hit in the largest gaming market, the and 3.6 per cent respectively in Seoul South Korea’s game exports reached
company said yesterday. yesterday. K-pop music agencies such as $6.4bn in 2018, with China accounting
China banned sales of new South JYP Entertainment and YG Entertain- for about 30 per cent of the total, on
Korean games and other cultural prod- ment gained about 10 per cent. games authorised prior to the ban.
ucts from March 2017 as part of a back- The sector hopes the move heralds a Wi Jong-hyun, president of the Korea
lash against Seoul’s decision to host a US relaxation of Beijing’s embargo. “It is Game Society, was cautious, citing Bei-
missile defence system. The embargo certainly a positive signal for Korean jing’s strengthening regulations against
sent a chill through Korea’s cultural and game makers and entertainment firms, the gaming sector, with caps on the
Business for Sale, Business Opportunities, tourism sectors, as actors and pop stars as China is a very important market for number of new game releases and time
Business Services, found themselves unwelcome. Brands them,” said Lee Jin-man, an analyst at limits for children. “China currently
Business Wanted, Franchises
such as Samsung and Hyundai have lost SK Securities. “But it remains to be seen issues only one-tenth the video game
Runs Daily
............................................................................................................................. market share in China, while retailer whether China will begin to open its licences that it used to,” said Mr Wi in a
Classified Business Advertising Lotte was forced to exit the market. market for Korean cultural exports in Facebook post. “It would be naive to
UK: [phone] | Email: Beijing has imposed similar economic earnest, because their decision is closely think that a string of South Korean
[email protected] retaliation measures against Australia, linked to geopolitical issues.” games will now win licences.”
DECEMBER 4 2020 Section:Companies Time: 3/12/2020 - 18:22 User: cathy.pryor Page Name: CONEWS2, Part,Page,Edition: USA, 10, 1