Liontown Plunges; Huang in China; Sony Drops Merger

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Liontown Plunges on Lithium Price Drop

The share price of Liontown Resources [LINRF] dropped by more than 20% following a collapse in the price of spodumene, the raw ingredient for lithium. The Australian miner said it would scale down a A$760m debt package it had previously arranged to fund its operations. Elsewhere, Panasonic’s [PCRFY] Group CEO Yuki Kusumi told Reuters that the firm may pause plans to build a third battery plant in the US, amid cooling demand for electric vehicles (EVs).

What Was Jensen Huang Doing in China?

News has emerged that Nvidia [NVDA] co-founder Jensen Huang visited China earlier this month for the first time in four years, visiting Nvidia offices in Shenzhen, Shanghai and Beijing. It is not clear if he held any formal meetings. Huang’s trip came as concerns mount with regard to the effects of US export curbs. In 2023, China spent $40bn on chip-making equipment, a 14% year-on-year jump.

BYD Goes (Way) Upmarket

In a bid to consolidate its newly acquired lead over Tesla [TSLA] as the world’s biggest seller of EVs, BYD [BYDDY] is expanding into the luxury market, the Wall Street Journal reported, in a significant departure from its core business of selling affordable EVs. Under a new brand called Yangwang, BYD will produce vehicles including a $150,000 supercar which resembles a Lamborghini, and an SUV that rotates 360 degrees and floats in water.

Sony Pulls Plug on India Merger

After two years of negotiations and deliberations, Sony [SONY] has formally called off a $10bn merger in India with Zee Entertainment Enterprises [ZEEL:NS]. Sony sent a termination letter to Zee on Monday, saying the Indian company did not meet merger agreement conditions. It is asking for $90m in compensation. For its part, Zee “categorically” denies that it failed to meet the conditions.

Sale Possibility Pushes Up Axiata Share Price

Indonesian internet provider PT Link Net [LINK:JK] — a unit of Axiata Group [AXXTF], Malaysia’s biggest wireless carrier — is weighing a sale of its fibre business, with a view to raising up to $500m, Bloomberg reported. A representative for Axiata said the capital is to accelerate Link Net’s “fibre build”, but emphasised that the firm is only considering the sale, and may not move forward. Nevertheless, Axiata Group’s shares rose 3.5% on the news, to a five-month high.