Category: 3. Business

Artificial intelligence (AI) start-up Perplexity has made a surprise $34.5bn (£25.6bn) takeover offer for Google’s Chrome internet browser.

Moving Chrome to an independent operator committed to user safety would benefit the public, Perplexity said in a letter to Sundar Pichai, the boss of Google’s owner Alphabet.

Google’s dominance of the search engine and online advertising market has come under intense scrutiny, with the technology giant facing a years-long antitrust case brought by the US Department of Justice.

The BBC has contacted Google for comment. The firm has not announced any plans to sell Chrome – the world’s most popular web browser with an estimated three billion-plus users.

A US federal judge is expected to issue a ruling this month that could see Google being ordered to break up its search business.

But some analysts have said the bid is unlikely to be successful as it is still unclear whether or not Google will be forced to sell Chrome.

Venture capitalist Tomasz Tunguz from Theory Ventures also told the BBC that the offer is a lot lower than the browser is worth “given the value of Chrome is likely significantly higher – maybe ten times more valuable than the bid or more.”

The company has said it would appeal such a ruling, saying the idea of spinning off Chrome was an “unprecedented proposal” that would harm consumers and security.

Perplexity’s app is among the rising players in the generative AI race, alongside more well-known platforms like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini.

Last month, Perplexity launched an AI-powered browser called Comet.

The bid marks an “important commitment to the open web, user choice, and continuity for everyone who has chosen Chrome,” a spokesman for Perplexity told the BBC.

As part of the proposed takeover, Perplexity said it would continue to have Google as the default search engine within Chrome, though users could adjust their settings.

The firm said it would also maintain and support Chromium, a widely-used open-source platform that supports Chrome and other browsers including Microsoft Edge and Opera.

Perplexity did not respond to queries on how the proposed deal would be funded. In July, it had an estimated value of $18bn.

The company made headlines earlier this year after offering to buy the American version of TikTok, which faces a deadline in September to be sold by its Chinese owner or be banned in the US.

Perplexity has reportedly drawn interest from technology giants including Apple and Facebook-owner Meta.

Driven by strategic, economic, and geopolitical factors, multinational companies are increasingly viewing expansion opportunities in the Middle East.

As one of the world’s most open and rapidly expanding economies, the region is a vital hub for global business, trade, and finance. Diversifying beyond oil and gas exports, the Middle East is now thriving across sectors such as construction and infrastructure, tourism, financial services, and technology.

While the region presents opportunities for growth, entering the market requires a nuanced understanding of its complex legal and regulatory frameworks. Companies new to the region must make critical decisions early on—such as selecting the optimal corporate structure, choosing between onshore and offshore entities, and evaluating the benefits and limitations of operating in one of the many free zones.

A solid understanding of things like the corporate tax frameworks, the factors at play when determining how to structure local presence, physical presence obligations, local national hiring requirements, workweek norms, local laws and regulations related to employee equity and benefit plans, and more will help companies to succeed in the Middle East.

Join us for a webinar on September 9 as Baker McKenzie lawyers from the United States, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates provide practical tips from a corporate, tax, employment, and compensation perspective to navigate the evolving legal and business landscape in the Middle East.

Topics will include:

• Corporate considerations: best practices and key points for establishing an entity in the region.
   
• The corporate tax landscape: pointers for understanding the tax and regulatory environment to develop a strategy for long-term tax efficiency.
   
• Engaging talent: engagement options for hiring local talent, as well as significant recent developments in local labor and employment regulations.
   
• Compensation matters: tax, compliance and regulatory issues related to structuring incentive compensation programs for employees.

Hong Kong
AP
 — 

The severely indebted real estate developer China Evergrande, already in the process of liquidation, said on Tuesday it will be delisted from Hong Kong’s stock exchange on Aug. 25, another setback to mainland China’s property sector.

Evergrande was the world’s most heavily indebted real estate developer, with over $300 billion owed to banks and bondholders, when the court handed down a liquidation order in January 2024. The court had ruled that the company had failed to provide a viable restructuring plan for its debts, which fueled fears about China’s rising debt burden, and trading of its shares has been halted since the ruling.

The city’s rules stipulate that the listing of companies may be canceled if trading in their securities has remained suspended for 18 months consecutively.

China Evergrande Group received a letter Aug. 8 from the city’s stock exchange notifying the firm of its decision to cancel the listing as trading had not resumed by Jul. 28. The last day of the listing will be Aug. 22 and Evergrande will not apply for a review of the decision, the company said in a statement.

“All shareholders, investors and potential investors of the company should note that after the last listing date, whilst the share certificates of the shares will remain valid, the shares will not be listed on, and will not be tradeable on the Stock Exchange,” the statement said.

Evergrande is among scores of developers that defaulted on debts after Chinese regulators cracked down on excessive borrowing in the property industry in 2020. Unable to obtain financing, their vast obligations to creditors and customers became unsustainable.

The crackdown also tipped the property industry into crisis, dragging down the world’s second-largest economy and rattling financial systems in and outside China. Once among the nation’s strongest growth engines, the industry is struggling to exit a prolonged downturn. Home prices in China have continued to fall even after the introduction of supportive measures by policymakers.

The Hong Kong court system has been dealing with liquidation petitions against some Chinese property developers, including one of the largest Chinese real estate companies, Country Garden, which is expected to have another hearing in January.

China South City Holdings, a smaller property developer, was also ordered to liquidate on Monday.

Evergrande, founded in the mid-1990s by Hui Ka Yan, also known as Xu Jiayin, had over 90% of its assets on the Chinese mainland, according to the 2024 ruling. The firm was listed in Hong Kong in 2009 as “Evergrande Real Estate Group” and suspended its share trading on Jan. 29, 2024, at 0.16 Hong Kong dollars ($0.02).

Its liquidators said in a progress report that they received debt claims totalling $45 billion as of Jul. 31, much higher than the some $27.5 billion of liabilities disclosed in December 2022, and that the new figure was not final.

The liquidators said they have assumed control of over 100 companies within the group and entities under their direct management control with collective assets valued at $3.5 billion as of Jan. 29, 2024. They said an estimate of the amounts that may ultimately be realized from these entities wasn’t available yet.

About $255 million worth of assets have been sold, the liquidators said, calling the realization “modest.” Of this amount, $244 million was derived from subsidiaries’ assets, and not all of them will be available to the company, given the complex ownership structures of the assets.

“The liquidators believe that a holistic restructuring will prove out of reach, but they will, of course, explore any credible possibilities in this regard that may present themselves,” they said.

Hui, Evergrande’s founder, was detained in China in September 2023 on suspicion of committing crimes, adding to the company’s woes.

In 2024, the China Securities Regulatory Commission issued a fine of 4.2 billion yuan (about $584 million) against the firm’s subsidiary, Hengda Real Estate Group Company, over violations including falsifying financial records. Hui was fined 47 million yuan ($6.5 million) and barred from China’s securities markets for life. Some other executives were also penalised.

Chinese authorities in September 2024 banned the accounting firm PwC for six months and fined the company more than 400 million yuan ($56.4 million) over its involvement in the audit of the collapsed property developer.

Singapore – On a weekday afternoon in the heart of the central business district, the BYD showroom on Robinson Road is a picture of futuristic cool.

Inside, sleek electric cars gleam under bright white lights as young professionals drift through the space.

Just a short walk away, diners mingle in a BYD-branded restaurant over craft beer and bar bites in a chic, members’ club-like setting – one of several lifestyle ventures the Chinese electric vehicle giant has rolled out across Singapore.

It is a scene that reflects a larger shift.

Once seen as cheap and functional at best, Chinese brands are fast becoming desirable – even aspirational – among Singapore’s middle class.

Shenzhen-based BYD was by far the top-selling carmaker in the city-state in the first half of 2025.

The EV maker sold almost 4,670 cars – about 20 percent of total vehicle sales – during the period, according to government data, compared with about 3,460 vehicles sold by second-ranked Toyota.

Many other Chinese brands have also made major inroads, from the tea chain Chagee to toymaker Pop Mart and electronics maker Xiaomi, shaping how Singaporeans work, rest and play.

Singapore and Malaysia had the biggest concentration of Chinese food and beverage brands in Southeast Asia last year, according to the research firm Momentum Works, with 32 China-based firms operating 184 outlets in the city-state as of June 2024.

At the same time, Chinese tech firms, including ByteDance, Alibaba Cloud and Tencent, have chosen Singapore for their regional bases.

Healthcare worker Thahirah Silva, 28, said she used to be wary of the “Made in China” label, but shifted her perspective after a visit to the country last year.

“They’re very self-sufficient. They have their own products and don’t need to rely on international brands, and the quality was surprisingly reliable,” Silva told Al Jazeera.

These days, Silva regularly samples Chinese food brands, often after seeing particular dishes or snacks taking off on social media.

Compared with Japanese or Korean brands, she said, Chinese chains are “creative, quick to innovate and set food trends”, though she admits it sometimes feels like they are “taking over” from local brands.

“Somehow, it made me feel there won’t be much difference visiting China, since so many of their brands are already here”, she said.

For younger Singaporeans, the old stigmas around products “made in China” are fading, said Samer Elhajjar, senior lecturer at the marketing department of the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Business School.

“Many of these brands are now perceived as cool, modern and emotionally in tune with what young consumers want. They feel local and global at the same time,” Elhajjar told Al Jazeera.

“You can walk into a Chagee and feel like you are part of a new kind of aesthetic culture: clean design, soft lighting, calming music. It is not selling a product. It is selling a feeling.”

Moulded by China’s hyper-competitive e-commerce landscape, Chinese companies have been especially adept at rolling out digitally savvy marketing strategies, Elhajjar said.

“These brands are now playing the same emotional game that legacy Western brands have mastered for decades,” he said.

Singapore, where about three-quarters of the population is ethnic Chinese, is an especially attractive testbed for Chinese brands looking to expand overseas, according to analysts.

Doris Ho, who led a brand consultancy in Greater China from 2010 to 2022, said that Chinese brands have been able to succeed in Singapore with a bold, creative approach to innovation that appeals to local sensibilities.

This “new China edge”, Ho said, shows up in BYD features, such as built-in fridges and spacious, fold-flat interiors that can be used for sleeping, and hotpot chain Haidilao’s extravagant hospitality, which sees customers treated to live music performances, shoeshines, hand massages and manicures.

“When they innovate, they don’t follow the same lines you’d expect. It’s their way of looking at something and coming out with a completely surprising answer,” Ho told Al Jazeera.

For Chinese brands, Singapore offers “a sandbox with real stakes” as a compact, ethically diverse and globally-connected market, Elhajjar said.

Because Singapore is seen as sophisticated, efficient and forward-looking, success in the city-state “sends a powerful message”, he said.

The rise of Chinese brands has coincided with Singapore’s growing reliance on China’s economy.

China has been Singapore’s largest trading partner since 2013, with bilateral trade in goods last year reaching $170.2bn.

As Western firms scaled back or paused expansion, Chinese brands moved in, with many effectively propping up Singapore’s property sector and entrenching themselves in the country, said Alan Chong, senior fellow at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS).

Singapore’s government has also actively courted Chinese firms amid the uncertainty from US President Donald Trump’s arrival on the geopolitical scene, Chong said.

“You see the positive image of the United States slipping quite consistently,” Chong told Al Jazeera.

“The US has acted in a miserly, resentful sort of way with ongoing trade tariffs, whereas China remains a factory of the world – seen as an economic benefactor – so there will be a swing in terms of looking at China favourably.”

Chong said that Singapore has also become a virtual second home for some middle-class Chinese nationals, many of whom own property in the city-state.

Singaporean universities have also made a concerted effort to attract Chinese students, with some even introducing programmes taught in Mandarin Chinese.

In a report released earlier this year by China’s Ministry of Education and the Beijing-based Center for China and Globalization, Singapore was ranked the second-most popular destination for Chinese students after the United Kingdom.

Some analysts have observed the rise of “born-again Chinese” (BAC) – people of Chinese descent outside China, especially in Singapore and Malaysia, who embrace a strong pro-China identity, despite limited cultural or linguistic ties.

Donald Low, a lecturer at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, has defined so-called BACs as those who adopt an “idealised, romanticised” idea of a China that is “inevitably rising” and “stands heroically against a hegemonic West”.

The success of Chinese brands in Singapore has not been without some pushback.

Some Singapore residents have felt alienated by stores that operate mainly in Mandarin Chinese, Elhajjar said, given that the city-state has one of the world’s largest immigrant populations, as well as large minorities of native-born Malays and Indians.

There have also been concerns raised about homegrown brands being priced out of the market by the arrival of large firms with deep pockets.

Rising rents resulted in the closure of 3,000 F&B businesses in 2024, the highest number since 2005, Channel NewsAsia reported in January.

In a recent white paper, the Singapore Tenants United for Fairness, a cooperative representing more than 700 business owners, called for curbs on “new and foreign players”.

Leong Chan-Hoong, the head of the RSIS Social Cohesion Research programme, cautioned against blaming Chinese enterprises for social tensions or rising rents, describing the inroads made by some brands as part of the natural cycle of a market-driven economy.

“As a global city-state, we are always at the forefront of such transitions,” Leong told Al Jazeera.

Indeed, for many residents in Singapore, the growing presence of Chinese brands is simply an unremarkable part of daily life.

Ly Nguyen, a 29-year-old Vietnamese migrant working in tech sales, said she started collecting Labubu, the globally popular gremlin-like toys created by Pop Mart, after being captivated by their “ugly but fun” aesthetic.

“Labubu represents independent creativity and a newfound confidence in Chinese-designed memorabilia,” Nguyen told Al Jazeera.

For Nguyen, the popularity of Labubu dolls, which have been spotted with celebrities such as Rihanna and BLACKPINK’s Lisa, points to a generational shift in how Chinese cultural exports are viewed.

“The more familiar people become with these brands, the more likely younger generations will have a new, much more favourable perception towards China as a cultural power,” she said.

Farmers will begin to consider management decisions for the 2026 crop year as fall approaches and the 2025 growing season winds down. A near term decision will be pricing and purchasing nitrogen fertilizer for fall nitrogen applications. Today’s article provides an update on average fertilizer prices for Illinois and discusses strategies farmers can and do use to price their nitrogen fertilizer.

Nitrogen Fertilizer Prices in Illinois

Average Illinois prices for three common nitrogen fertilizer products – anhydrous ammonia (82% N), Urea (46% N) and liquid nitrogen (28% N) – are shown in Figure 1 from January 4^th 2020 through August 8^th 2025. These prices are provided in the bi-weekly Illinois Production Cost Report from USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (USDA-AMS).

Prices in the first week of August averaged $786/ton for anhydrous, $594/ton for urea, and $431/ton for liquid nitrogen.  These prices are 6%, 10%, and 20% higher than those reported for the first week of August in 2024.

Current prices are well below the historical highs reached in the late spring of 2022 but remain high relative to longer run averages. For example, anhydrous ammonia averaged just under $650 per ton from September of 2008 (the beginning of the available AMS data series history) through 2020.  Urea and liquid nitrogen prices averaged around $440 and $300 per ton, respectively, over that same time period.

Relative fertilizer prices provide another important perspective.  The ratio of anhydrous to monthly national cash prices for corn reported by the USDA is also included in Figure 1 (right axis). In calculating the ratio, the anhydrous price is converted to dollars per pound of nitrogen based on the average N content of 82%.  For example, the latest anhydrous price of $786 per ton is equivalent to $0.48 per pound of nitrogen ($786/(2000*0.82) = $0.48).

The relative price measure (anhydrous to corn price ratio) has followed a similar path to fertilizer price levels since the start of 2020.  Relative nitrogen prices peaked at the end of 2021 with a ratio of 0.17.  Since the fall of 2023 the ratio has varied around the current level of 0.11.  Also similar to absolute prices, the relative price of fertilizer in the past few years has been above longer run averages (average ratio of 0.09 from September 2008 through 2020).

Pricing and Purchase Strategies

Farmers utilize a range of strategies to manage price risks for inputs.  Figure 2 provides results from a fall 2024 farmdoc survey of corn farmers that was part of a research project supported by the Illinois Corn Growers’ Association.  The survey included a question focused on the strategies used by farmers when pricing nitrogen.  Strategies included forward purchases, volume discounts, bundling their fertilizer purchases with other products/services, timing adjustments (purchases and applications), and an “other” option with farmers able to select all that applied.  A total of 271 corn farmers from multiple states in the U.S. responded to this question.  Other aspects of the survey were discussed in the farmdoc daily article of October 11, 2022).

Forward purchases are very common, with 82% of respondents indicating they normally use this strategy.  Forward purchases or pre-paying can reduce price risk by locking in current price offers.  In some cases forward purchases may require the farmer to take delivery, implying the need for fertilizer storage capabilities on the farm. Many retailers also offer options to set prices for future delivery or application, typically with some portion of the total purchase amount due at the time of price determination.

Volume discounts were used by 39% of respondents.  Bundling fertilizer purchases with other products   or services and timing adjustment strategies were used by 19% and 14% of respondents. Timing adjustments include both timing of fertilizer purchases and timing of applications. In addition, many farmers indicated using multiple strategies with the combination of forward pricing and volume discounts being the most common with roughly one-third (33%) saying they use both strategies.

Varying purchases and application timing can spread price risk across multiple application windows, increasing the likelihood that purchases are made at the average price for the season.  Farmers commonly apply portions of their total nitrogen needs at multiple times including in the fall as well as either prior to, at/during, or after planting (see farmdoc daily article from July 22, 2025).

As prices can vary across retailers, farmers often collect pricing information from multiple sources (see Figure 3). Survey results indicated most farmers solicit price quotes from more than 1 retailer, with 76% saying they solicit prices from at least 2 retailers: 44% from 2 sources, 24% from 3, 8% from 4 or more.  In contrast, purchasing from a single retailer is the most common but not a majority strategy, accounting for 43% of farmers. Those purchasing from fewer sources than they solicit prices from are likely checking pricing from multiple sources to negotiate a lower purchase price.

Farmers are also advised to consider and compare crop and fertilizer prices and use available resources, such as the Maximum Return to Nitrogen (MRTN) calculator, to determine the amount of nitrogen that should be applied to maximize expected returns. The MRTN calculator would suggest total application rates of 180 lbs of N per acre in northern and central Illinois, and 200 lbs of N per acre in southern Illinois, with anhydrous prices around $800/ton and corn prices around $4 per bushel.  These prices are consistent with current price levels.

Discussion

Recent price averages for nitrogen products in Illinois have been 6% to 20% higher than the same time last year. A statistical approach to forecasting anhydrous ammonia prices based on corn and natural gas futures prices would suggest anhydrous prices are expected to remain in the $750 to $800 per ton range through this fall (see farmdoc daily from June 18, 2024). Fertilizer has historically been one of the most volatile input cost categories for farmers with recent spikes driven by supply chain concerns associated with the Russia-Ukraine conflict.  While fertilizer prices have come down from 2022 highs, they remain high relative to longer-term historical levels in terms of both absolute price levels and prices relative to corn.

Forward pricing, volume discounts, and varying the timing of purchases and applications are strategies that can be used by farmers to control costs and the risks associated with fertilizer price risk. Farmers are advised to collect pricing information from multiple sources and consider their application rates given the ongoing cost-price squeeze.

References

Oil was steady after dropping in thin trading on Tuesday, with investors looking to talks between the US and Russian leaders on Friday for fresh impetus.

Global benchmark Brent traded above $66 a barrel after slipping 0.8% in the previous session while West Texas Intermediate was near $63. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov to prepare for the summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, even as he reiterated the meeting may not lead to a breakthrough in the Ukraine conflict.

Japan will auction five-year government bonds Wednesday against the backdrop of renewed concerns over poor liquidity and volatility in the nation’s debt market.

The benchmark 10-year bond wasn’t traded at all on Tuesday, the first such instance in more than two years, before seeing transactions on Wednesday, according to data from an institutional brokerage. That lack of liquidity comes against the backdrop of choppy trading in global debt markets.

People sitting their driving theory test will soon need to swot up on life-saving cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) skills, the UK’s Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has decided.

All road users are being encouraged to learn the basics and know how to use a defibrillator in an emergency.

It’s hoped the questions, which will be added to the car and motorcycle theory test in early 2026, could prevent avoidable deaths.

Drivers are often first on the scene when someone suffers a cardiac arrest, says the DVSA.

Adding the information into the official learning materials means that the 2.4 million learner drivers who take their theory test each year will have a better understanding of the skills to use in an emergency, it says.

Learning materials have already been updated with the new content, including questions such as “Who can use a public access defibrillator?” – the answer being “everyone”.

A defibrillator gives a jolt of energy to the heart, which can help get it beating normally.

The devices are designed to be user-friendly, with clear instructions.

If CPR is given and a defibrillator used within the first minutes of collapse, survival rates could be as high as 70%, evidence suggests. Without it, fewer than one in 10 survive.

If someone is unconscious and not breathing normally, call 999 and start CPR straight away.

This can be “hands-only” CPR to deliver timely chest compressions to get blood pumping.

One of the new theory test questions is about the correct depth to push down.

James Cant, chief executive of Resuscitation Council UK, said: “We’re delighted to be working with the DVSA and other partners to introduce CPR and defibrillator awareness into the driving theory test.

“By embedding these life-saving skills into such a widely taken assessment, we can help ensure that more people, from all communities, gain the knowledge and confidence to act during a cardiac arrest.”