In 2021 Chinese mainland sales of electric vehicles account for half of global sales. BMW increased its stake in Brilliance's joint venture in China to 75%. China will remain the world's largest semiconductor market in 2021. AMD announces the completion of its acquisition of Xilinx. Ctrip announced the implementation or gradual implementation of 1-2 days of hybrid office.
According to research firm Canalys, global electric vehicle (EV) sales will be 6.5 million in 2021, up 109% from 2020 and accounting for 9% of all passenger car sales. In 2021, Chinese mainland will sell half of global EV sales, with a total of 3.2 million EVs sold, accounting for 15% of all new car sales. Europe sold 2.3 million electric vehicles, accounting for 19% of new car sales. But only 4 percent of new cars sold in the U.S. are electric, or about 535,000. Tesla leads the global electric vehicle market with a 14% share, Volkswagen ranks second with a 12% share, SAIC-GM-Wuling ranks third with an 11% share, and BYD ranks fourth with a 9% share.
According to the latest sales data released by the Association, retail sales in the passenger car market in January 2022 were 2.092 million units, down 4.4% year-on-year. Due to the Spring Festival holiday, production and sales began on January 26 in a semi-stop state, and the market only showed a slight decline. In January, Tesla's wholesale sales in China were 59,845 units (including 40,499 exports), AND's full range of models sold 95,000 units, an increase of 126.1% year-on-year, of which EV models sold 46,400 units, an increase of 220.7% year-on-year.
BMW Motor Co., Ltd. will increase its stake in the joint venture with Brilliance China in China. Previously, the joint venture had obtained relevant business licenses from the relevant Chinese authorities. In the joint venture, called BMW Brilliance Automotive Co., Ltd., BMW's shareholding will increase from 50% to 75%, which will be fully incorporated into BMW's financial statements on February 11. BMW expects to complete the acquisition payment by February 22. BMW said its Chinese-funded partner Brilliance China will retain the remaining 25 percent stake. The two companies initially agreed in 2018 on a change of ownership and an extension of the joint venture contract until 2040.
According to data released by the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), global semiconductor sales in 2021 were $555.9 billion, a record high, up 26.2% year-on-year. Among them, the Sales of the Chinese Market was US$192.5 billion, still the world's largest semiconductor market, an increase of 27.1% year-on-year. A total of 1.15 trillion chips were sold worldwide in 2021, of which the fastest growing was "automotive-grade" chips. Sales of chips in this segment increased 34% year-over-year to $26.4 billion.
AMD announced the completion of its all-share acquisition of Xilinx. On February 11, AMD Corporation announced that it had obtained all necessary approvals for the acquisition of Xilinx, including all necessary government clearances. On October 27, 2020, AMD announced a $35 billion acquisition of Xilinx. After the merger, AMD will own a 74 percent stake in Xilinx.
Cisco Systems has proposed more than $20 billion worth of acquisitions to software developer Splunk, which, if completed, would be the web giant's largest ever acquisition. The proposed acquisition was made recently, and the two companies are not actively negotiating. If the deal closes, it would be well above the roughly $7 billion That Cisco paid in 2005 to acquire Scientific Atlanta. One of the company's most recent deals of some size is the acquisition of Acacia Communications for nearly $5 billion in 2021.
Samsung Electronics has moved some of its smartphone production line in Vietnam to a Plant in Gumi, South Korea. This is a special measure taken by its major plants in Vietnam and other countries after experiencing production setbacks affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. At present, Samsung Electronics' annual production of smartphones is about 300 million units. Two factories in Vietnam account for about 60 percent of Samsung's total smartphone production. At the same time, due to the need to improve the supervision and production level of high-end smartphones, Samsung Electronics even moved the production line to the Gumi factory at the expense of manufacturing. Most of the flagship smartphone Galaxy S22 series, which will be officially released on The 25th, will be produced at the Gumi plant.
Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway reported to the SEC on Monday that the company opened a long position in the fourth quarter of Activision Blizzard, holding 14.7 million shares, holding a market value of $975.2 million, accounting for 1.88% of Activision Blizzard's outstanding shares. Berkshire's total market capitalization in the fourth quarter increased to $330,953 million, compared to $293,023 million in the previous quarter. Apple remains Berkshire's number one heavy stock, with the top five heavy stocks still being Apple, Bank of America, American Express, Coca-Cola and Kraft Heinz. Berkshire reduced its holdings in 8 stocks in the fourth quarter, including AbbVie, Visa, MasterCard and Royalty Pharma.
Apollo Global Management is close to a deal to acquire the point-of-sale terminal business of European payments company Worldline for nearly $2.3 billion, the latest bet on the growth prospects of digital payments, and the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the shift from cash payments to digital payments for consumers and businesses.
Saudi Arabia transferred about $80 billion worth of shares of oil giant Saudi Aramco to the country's wealth fund, a move the country has taken to diversify its oil economy. The Saudi government said on Sunday that the transfer of a 4 percent stake in saudi aramco, a state-owned company, would give support to plans by the Public Investment Fund, which plans to grow its assets under management from about $480 billion to more than $1 trillion by 2025.
U.S. military giant Lockheed Martin announced On Sunday that it would abandon its $4.4 billion deal to buy rocket engine maker Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed a lawsuit to block the deal on the grounds that it would hurt competition among defense contractors. Lockheed Martin had previously hoped to use Aerojet's know-how in its own business of building rocket engines for missiles and space systems.
British aero-engine group Rolls-Royce said on Monday it expects commercial use of small electric aircraft within 3 to 5 years. This will be the first commercial application of the P-Volt, a battery-powered system developed by Rolls-Royce, which will have about 600 kWh of electricity, be able to carry 6 to 8 people and fly up to 80 nautical miles (about 148 kilometers). With the development of battery technology, this flight distance will continue to increase, and it may eventually be able to fly 400 kilometers by the 2030s.
U.S. biotech company Moderna is in late-stage negotiations with the government on investing in UK R&D and production, as well as working with the UK's National Health Service (NHS) on clinical trials. The Boston-based startup — which rose to fame for its mRNA vaccine — is about to strike a major investment deal.
Some of the world's largest consumer brands warn that they are passing on rising input costs to consumers to protect their profits as soaring inflation drives up household spending. Companies including PepsiCo, McDonald's and breakfast cereal maker Kellogg all pointed to the impact of rising labor, transportation and commodity costs, as well as the disruption of supply chains and labor from the pandemic, in the recent corporate earnings season.
Crown Resorts Australia said on Monday it had agreed to an acquisition proposal by U.S. investment firm Blackstone, which valued an interest in Crown Resorts at $8.9 billion ($6.3 billion). The transaction is still subject to a number of conditions and approvals, including a shareholder vote scheduled for the second quarter of 2022. Blackstone has been seeking to acquire Crown Resorts for nearly a year, initially sending a bid to the company in March 2021. Since then, Blackstone has raised its offer several times.
Ctrip announced that starting from March 1, every Wednesday and Friday, the company's business units and functional departments can implement or gradually implement 1-2 days of mixed office according to actual management needs. Ctrip's 2021 mixed office trial data shows that there is no obvious impact on performance, with 60% of employees strongly supporting and a one-third drop in turnover. Liang Jianzhang, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ctrip Group, said that the promotion of the hybrid office system is a win-win situation for enterprises, employees and society. It is also conducive to reducing traffic congestion, environmental protection, alleviating high housing prices and regional differences, and contributing to family harmony, women's career development and increased fertility.