Temasek to buy a 5% stake in Italian luxury group Ermenegildo Zegna
The shares will come from the company's treasury shares, and, combined with Temasek's share purchases on the open market, will bring Temasek's stake to 10 per cent after the transaction is completed on Jul 30.
The cash consideration will add to Ermenegildo Zegna's balance sheet and enable the company to seize selected opportunities for organic growth of its brand portfolio.
Ermenegildo 'Gildo' Zegna, chairman and chief executive officer of the luxury fashion brand, said: 'This investment is a strong endorsement of our vision and long-term growth potential, while firmly recognising the global significance of the Italian luxury sector.'
Nagi Hamiyeh, head of Europe, Middle East and Africa for Temasek, is expected to join Ermenegildo Zegna's board of directors in June 2026.
The customer base of the fashion house comprises high-net-worth individuals (HNWI) who have been more resilient in their spending. A BCG report noted that this segment spends more than 50,000 euros (S$74,380) a year on luxury brands; the wealthiest top-tier clients comprise just 1 per cent of the personal luxury goods market, but generate 22 per cent of the value.
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Aspiration consumers, which make up 60 per cent of the market, have faltered in recent years, but the big spenders have consistently grown their expenditure. The segment is set to grow from about 940,000 HNWIs, holding about 68 trillion in wealth in 2024, to about 1.4 million HNWIs in 2030, with about 100 trillion in wealth.
This group is also growing in confidence. Half of them say they expect to increase spending by between 5 and 25 per cent over the next 18 months.
Temasek will bring its experience in the luxury sector and knowledge of the Asian market to Ermenegildo Zegna under this deal. The state investor will also support expansion in key geographies where the company's presence is underdeveloped.
Hamiyeh said: 'Our investment in them underscores our ongoing commitment to support leading European businesses with strong track records and global potential.'
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Asia News Network
3 hours ago
- Asia News Network
China's autonomous driving tech forges inroads into global markets
August 5, 2025 BEIJING – Commercial application of China's cutting-edge autonomous driving technology is spreading globally as Chinese enterprises speed up efforts to expand their presence in overseas markets and deploy robotaxi fleets. Residents in some Middle East cities, for example, will be able to hail robotaxis developed by Chinese companies via ride-hailing apps on their mobile phones before year's end. Utilizing the technology will help build safer, more efficient and convenient intelligent transport systems, industry experts said. China is at the forefront of autonomous driving development, and Chinese companies have vast experience in a wide variety of road tests and operational scenarios — ranging from densely populated urban centers to suburban areas — which has laid the foundation for their overseas expansion, they said. Traffic conditions and urban environments vary in different countries, and governments around the world are working to build road infrastructure and establish legislative and regulatory frameworks to enable the safe and stable operations of robotaxis. 'Chinese self-driving enterprises are adopting different strategies based on the different regional conditions of overseas destinations,' said Duan Yuwan, deputy director of the School of International Trade and Economics at the Central University of Finance and Economics. 'Southeast Asia and the Middle East have become the frontiers for Chinese firms' overseas expansion due to their open policies and clear application scenarios, while European countries pay more attention to the deployment and implementation of the Level 4, or highly autonomous driving technologies,' she said. Apollo Go takes off Tech heavyweight Baidu Inc has stepped up the pace of its global expansion. The company recently signed a multi-year strategic partnership with United States-based ride-hailing service Uber Technologies to deploy thousands of its Apollo Go autonomous vehicles on Uber's platform. The agreement covers multiple markets outside the US and the Chinese mainland. The collaboration focus is on increasing the supply of affordable and reliable ride-sharing options by bringing Baidu's autonomous vehicles to Uber's extensive network. The first deployments are expected in Asia and the Middle East later this year. Robin Li, co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Baidu, said 2025 will be a pivotal year for the growth of its autonomous ride-hailing platform Apollo Go, with plans to expand fleet size and ride volume faster than ever. 'Looking ahead, we will deepen our presence in existing markets while strategically entering new ones, capturing broader growth opportunities worldwide,' Li said. He sees a clear path to profitability for robotaxis as hardware costs continue to come down, and the growth in operational scale results in greater efficiency. Currently, Apollo Go deploys a fleet of more than 1,000 fully driverless vehicles globally. Its global footprint spans 15 cities, including Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. The company has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority to launch autonomous driving tests and services in the city. Apollo Go will deploy 100 fully autonomous vehicles in Dubai by the end of 2025, with plans to expand the fleet to no fewer than 1,000 by 2028, as the city aims to make 25 percent of all transportation trips autonomous by 2030. It has also teamed up with Auto-Go, a UAE-based autonomous mobility solutions company, with the goal of deploying the largest fully driverless fleet in Abu Dhabi. Initial trials of dozens of autonomous vehicles will be conducted in select areas of the city, with phased expansion ahead of full commercial operations by 2026. 'China is taking the lead in the R&D and application of self-driving technology, and the accelerated expansion of Chinese self-driving companies abroad will propel the commercialization of the state-of-the-art technology on a global scale,' said Zhang Xiang, a visiting professor at the engineering department at Huanghe Science and Technology University. Zhang said authorities in the Middle East and some European countries have a relatively open attitude toward autonomous driving and are promoting the testing and use of robotaxis thanks to technological advancements and cost reductions. 'Chinese self-driving enterprises have strong technical prowess and have accumulated extensive testing and operational experience in the domestic market, so they are eager to play a bigger role in the international autonomous driving sector by leveraging their technological advantages,' he said, adding there is an increasing demand for self-driving vehicles in overseas markets. Emphasizing that ensuring the safety and stability of self-driving vehicles remains a top priority, Zhang called for efforts to improve testing and application scenarios overseas, continuously optimize algorithms, strengthen road infrastructure construction, and reduce the manufacturing costs of driverless vehicle components. New frontiers Chinese self-driving company is poised to increase its global robotaxi fleet to thousands of vehicles over the next two years, with 2025 earmarked as the first year of large-scale commercial deployment. The company recently started road testing its robotaxis in Luxembourg in cooperation with Emile Weber, the country's leading mobility solutions provider, to deploy electric autonomous vehicles in Luxembourg, and accelerate robotaxi application in Europe. James Peng, co-founder and CEO of said the testing marks the beginning of collaboration, innovation, and the advancement of autonomous mobility in both Luxembourg and the continent. announced in April that it had obtained a testing permit for Level 4 autonomous driving from Luxembourg authorities. The authorization expands its global testing footprint, building on existing permits in China, the United States, and South Korea. The company earlier chose Luxembourg as its European hub for research, development, and the deployment of autonomous driving technology. Autonomous driving is categorized from Level 0 to Level 5. The higher the level, the more intelligent the technology and the less the involvement of humans. Level 4 vehicles can intervene if there is a system failure and do not require human assistance in most circumstances. However, a manual override option is still available. Earlier last month, inked a strategic partnership with the Roads and Transport Authority of Dubai, to integrate self-driving technology into Dubai's multi-modal transportation network. Autonomous driving technology will be introduced in a multi-phase rollout, with supervised robotaxi trials set to launch this year, followed by fully driverless operations in 2026. Founded in 2016, has amassed over 45 million kilometers in global autonomous testing, and offers fully driverless ride-hailing services in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangdong province's Guangzhou and Shenzhen. In South Korea, the company has set up a joint venture with a local tech company and started road testing in Seoul. It is also looking to introduce robotaxis in Singapore by starting trials with a local transport operator. The company established a strategic partnership with Uber in May. The first service is expected to be launched in a key Middle East market before deployment in other international markets. Chinese self-driving startup WeRide is another company accelerating its global expansion, with the Middle East seen as a strategic priority for autonomous driving growth and innovation. It is cooperating with Dubai authorities and Uber under an agreement, pilot operations of autonomous vehicles will commence later this year via the Uber app in Dubai. In the initial phase, the vehicles will operate with a safety driver on board, paving the way for the full-scale commercial rollout of driverless services in 2026. In May, the company and Uber further expanded their partnership to roll out robotaxis in 15 additional major global cities over the next five years, including some in Europe. It has launched fully driverless robotaxi testing in Abu Dhabi, and other cities in the Middle East are being explored for testing. The company is expanding into Saudi Arabia and has rolled out testing or deployment of its robotaxis in cities including Riyadh, setting the stage for commercial rollout and wider operations across the Middle East's largest economy. WeRide's robotaxis support Saudi Arabia's push to develop a smart, sustainable transportation infrastructure for both residents and the rising influx of visitors. Open to innovation The scale of the global robotaxi market is expected to reach $45.7 billion by 2030, rapidly expanding at a compound annual growth rate of 91.8 percent from 2023 to 2030, data from research company MarketsandMarkets shows. The growth of the robotaxi market is influenced by rising demand for ride-hailing services, high R&D investment and government focus on reducing emissions, infrastructure development, and growth of electric vehicles, according to the consultancy. The need for robotaxis is also being fueled by the growing emphasis on sustainability, requirements for effective urban transit, and increased safety as a result of the abolition of human mistakes, it added. At present, governments around the world are continuously introducing favorable policies to support the development of autonomous driving technology — including test permits and infrastructure construction — which is conducive to accelerating the application and popularization of the technology, according to WeRide. Zhu Keli, founding director of the China Institute of New Economy, said the open, innovative environment and supportive policy measures for autonomous driving technology in some countries, especially the UAE and Luxembourg, provide Chinese self-driving companies with ideal testing sites and a broad development space. 'Their accelerated global expansion will bolster the maturity of autonomous driving technology, propel the deeper integration of global industrial chains, optimize resource allocation and inject fresh impetus into the development of the self-driving sector worldwide,' Zhu said. The accelerated international push of Chinese self-driving companies is inevitable in the face of increasingly fierce competition, said Duan from the School of International Trade and Economics at the Central University of Finance and Economics. By cooperating with leading overseas companies, they can receive funding and policy support abroad and enhance their competitiveness in the global intelligent automotive sector. This will in turn drive the development of domestic companies involved in the autonomous driving industrial chain, she added. 'Self-driving technology is expected to become an important field for China to share its development dividends with the world,' Duan said. Market consulting firm McKinsey& Company has forecast that China will become the world's largest market for self-driving vehicles, with revenue from such vehicles and mobility services exceeding $500 billion by 2030. China has caught up with the US in developing autonomous driving, said Lyu Jinghong, an intelligent mobility analyst at research company BloombergNEF. Lyu said ongoing testing on public roads, regulatory backing and cost reductions in autonomous vehicle manufacturing, will help accelerate the deployment and commercialization of self-driving cars. However, Chinese self-driving companies' greater presence abroad may encounter some challenges, such as differences in culture, laws and regulations, she said. Lyu called for greater efforts to conduct testing based on different road conditions abroad, and improving knowledge about the usage habits of local consumers, as well as strengthening compliance and personal privacy protection. Li Xinbo, an automotive industry analyst at China Auto Information Technology (Tianjin) Co, said as the operating costs and compliance risks in overseas markets are relatively high, Chinese enterprises need to carefully assess and formulate strategic plans, speed up localization efforts and launch services that cater to local requirements, when carrying forward their globalization push.
Straits Times
4 hours ago
- Straits Times
Trump's sharp India criticism on tariffs, Russia oil corner Modi as rift deepens
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox - Any expectation of the camaraderie that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi enjoyed with US President Donald Trump during the latter's first term in office – united in part over the common threat of China – has all but evaporated. India underestimated just how transactional Mr Trump would be in his second term in power, as he has made little distinction between friends and adversaries. Ties have unpredictably and quickly gone south as Mr Trump has torn into India over its long-standing ties with Russia and the slow pace of negotiations for an India-US trade deal. The strain in US-India ties is a challenge for Mr Modi, who also faces domestic calls not to cave into Mr Trump's demands on trade and oil imports from Russia. India has benefitted from cheap Russian energy imports, which the US leader claims is helping to fund Russia's invasion of Ukraine . Mr Trump's vow to 'substantially raise' tariffs on Indian exports to the US from the already substantial 25 per cent because of New Delhi's Russian oil imports, is an indication of his administration's priorities in achieving broader geopolitical goals, say analysts. 'This (oil sanctions) is obviously a pressure tactic the US is using on Russia to get an outcome of its choice in the Ukraine war. We are collateral damage,' Mr Ashok Malik, a partner at the Asia Group business consultancy, told The Straits Times. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore More train rides taken in first half-year, but overall public transport use stays below 2019 levels Singapore BlueSG needs time to develop software, refresh fleet, say ex-insiders after winding-down news Asia Cambodia-Thailand border clash a setback for Asean: Vivian Balakrishnan Singapore 'She had a whole life ahead of her': Boyfriend mourns Yishun fatal crash victim Singapore Doctor hounded ex-girlfriend, threatened to share her intimate photos, abducted her off street Asia Trump's transactional foreign policy fuels 'US scepticism' in Taiwan Business Women on corporate boards give firms a competitive advantage, says Australian Governor-General Singapore CEO of sports car distributor accused of offences including multiple counts of false trading 'I think things are very challenging at this juncture. It is the most challenging in a long, long time,' Mr Malik said. Mr Trump came into power promising he would end the war in Ukraine on his first day in office. But a long-term ceasefire has not materialised, and Russia has instead intensified its strikes on Ukraine, much to Mr Trump's frustration. India-Russia-US nexus 'India is not only buying massive amounts of Russian Oil, they are then, for much of the Oil purchased, selling it on the Open Market for big profits,' Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Aug 4. 'They don't care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine. Because of this, I will be substantially raising the Tariff paid by India to the USA.' Mr Trump has lumped Russia and India together, calling them 'dead economies' in another Truth Social post on July 31, despite the fact that India is the world's fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP after the US, China and Germany. India has a longstanding relationship with Russia dating ba ck to the Cold War, and is the among the largest importer of Russian oil along with China . It imported about 1.75 million barrels a day from January to June 2025, up 1 per cent from a year ago, according to Reuters. On Aug 4, the Ministry of External Affairs called the US President and European Union 's targeting of India for buying Russian oil 'unjustified and unreasonable.' 'India began importing from Russia because traditional supplies were diverted to Europe after the outbreak of the conflict. The United States at that time actively encouraged such imports by India for strengthening global energy markets stability,' the MEA said in a statement. 'India's imports are meant to ensure predictable and affordable energy costs to the Indian consumer. They are a necessity compelled by the global market situation. However, it is revealing that the very nations criticizing India are themselves indulging in trade with Russia. ' The European Union had imposed sanctions on Russian-backed Indian refiner Nayara and banned the import of refined oil made from Russian crude. In particular, New Delhi called out the United States for its continual imports from Russia of 'uranium hexafluoride for its nuclear industry, palladium for its EV industry, fertilisers as well as chemicals.' Mr Trump is not the first US president to disapprove of India's ties with Iran and Russia. But previous US leaders like Mr Joe Biden and Mr Barack Obama chose to look the other way due to the strategic calculation of India's importance as a fast-growing economy a nd as a counter to China in America's Indo-Pacific strategy. In any case, India's ties with Russia are also not what they were once, as Russia has drawn closer to China and Pakistan, while India has grown closer to the West. The South Asian giant has also been diversifying its defence weapon purchases to include products from the US and Israel. But that doesn't mean India can walk away from the Russia relationship as desired by Mr Trump, according to Mr Nandan Unnikrishnan, a Distinguished Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation, a New Delhi-based think tank. 'We need warm relations. India is a growing economy; it is going to consume natural resources and Russia is a country that has every element in huge abundance. We will end up buying a lot of resources,' he said. US-India tariff negotiations Mr Trump is also frustrated that a trade deal with India to his liking has so far not materialised. He has used tariffs to force countries that have a trade surplus with the US into what he claims is a more reciprocal bilateral trade relationship. The US is India's largest export market, with exports reaching US$86.51 billion (S$111.37 billion) from April 2024 to March 2025. India's imports from the US were US$45.33 billion for the same period, according to Indian government figures . While both countries are still locked in negotiations, New Delhi has refused to grant the concessions that the Trump administration is seeking, including the opening up of heavily protected agriculture and dairy sectors to US imports. More than 60 per cent of the Indian population depends on these two sectors for their livelihoods in some form or another. Farmers have opposed opening up of the agriculture and dairy sectors , arguing they would not be able to withstand competition from US agriculture. Unlike US farms, India's farms are small, fragmented and hardly mechanised . In another post on Truth Social on July 30 , Mr Trump criticised India for imposing the most 'strenuous and obnoxious' tariffs in the world. India's refusal to give in to Trump for now may also be seen as a recognition that it is not just trade interests which are at stake. 'Trump has not only unleashed a trade war but is also deploying commercial instruments for geopolitical ends,' India's former foreign secretary Shyam Saran wrote in The Indian Express newspaper on Aug 4. 'These actions threaten India's core interests and its ability to follow a policy of strategic autonomy, which every government, irrespective of its political colour, has remained wedded to since Independence,' he said. 'We should not treat the current disruption in India-US relations as just a trade dispute. It is much more than that.' Mr Modi's response to Mr Trump's belligerent language, which has pushed the Indian prime minister into a corner domestically, took a nationalistic tone. 'The world economy is facing instability and uncertainty. In such times, countries are focusing solely on their own interests. India, too, is on the path to becoming the world's third-largest economy and must remain alert to its own economic priorities,' Mr Modi said in his constituency of Varanasi on Aug 2, even before Mr Trump's latest escalation. 'At a time when the world is going through uncertainty, let us take a pledge to sell only Swadeshi (made in India) goods from our shops and markets. Promoting made-in-India goods will be the truest service to the country.' Political watchers noted that it would be very difficult for the Indian Prime Minister to give any large concessions in the trade deal, given the growing anger within India towards Mr Trump. Even the right-wing Hindu nationalist ecosystem, which has been very supportive of the US president, is angry at what it perceives as a series of other slights to India. This includes Mr Trump's statements on how he engineered the ceasefire between India and Pakistan, after the neighbours were embroiled in a military conflict over a terror attack in Kashmir, and Mr Trump's subsequent hosting of Pakistan's Army chief Asim Muneer in the White House. 'Mr Modi doesn't have much space to manoeuvre on the trade deal. The economic and political costs of accepting US demand are something this government will find difficult to swallow,' said Dr Biswajit Dhar, a trade expert and former professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University. 'We have to wait and watch. What the Trump administration has done is push India into a corner.'
CNA
5 hours ago
- CNA
Trump says he will meet China's Xi if a trade deal is struck
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said on Tuesday (Aug 5) the US was close to a trade deal with China and that he would meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping before the end of the year if an agreement is struck. "He asked for a meeting, and I'll end up having a meeting before the end of the year most likely, if we make a deal. If we don't make a deal, I'm not going to have a meeting," Trump told CNBC in an interview referring to China's Xi. "We're getting very close to a deal. We're getting along with China very well," Trump said. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said last week he believed the US had the "makings of a deal" with China after officials from the two countries met in Stockholm in a bid to resolve economic disputes aimed at extending their truce on a trade war by three months. China is facing an Aug 12 deadline to reach a durable tariff agreement with the US administration, after Beijing and Washington reached preliminary deals in May and June to end escalating tit-for-tat tariffs and a cut-off of rare earth minerals. Without a deal, global supply chains could face renewed turmoil from US duties snapping back to triple-digit levels that would amount to a bilateral trade embargo.
