Zhimeitong | International Highlights

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[Amazon launches seller storage service to address supply chain issues] Amazon.com has announced the launch of a new service called Amazon Warehousing and Fulfillment (AWD). Sellers can use a pay-as-you-go service to store and distribute inventory within Amazon's fulfillment network. By 2023, the service is expected to expand beyond Amazon's platform. Earlier, Amazon said it had begun to slow down opening warehouses to control costs.

Amazon’s vice president of distribution and fulfillment solutions said in the blog post that Amazon warehousing and distribution “solves critical supply chain challenges, helping sellers grow and manage their businesses while dramatically cutting costs,” though he didn’t provide further details.

[Amazon closes or abandons building dozens of warehouses in the U.S.] Amazon has decided to cut back on its sprawling delivery operations amid slowing sales growth in the U.S. market. The consulting firm MWPVL International Inc., which closely tracks Amazon (property activity), found that Amazon has closed several existing warehouse facilities in the U.S. market and abandoned plans to open several new warehouses, bringing the total of these two types of facilities to 42. The usable area reaches 25 million square feet. In October, Amazon's Maryland facility with more than 300 workers will close.

01. North America

[Worries about the Fed and the European gas crisis weighed on the stock market] U.S. stocks fell, with major stock indexes falling for the third week in a row, after employment data released earlier did not change the market's view on the Fed's next policy move. In addition, the delay in the resumption of delivery of Nord Stream 1, a key natural gas pipeline to Europe, also weighed on sentiment in the U.S. market ahead of the weekend. A slew of reports this week have all confirmed the Fed's claim that the U.S. economy is strong enough to withstand more tightening. Risk assets have been under pressure since Fed Chairman Jerome Powell made it clear that the central bank would raise rates further and keep them high until price gains slowed. Markets are still pricing in a 75 basis point rate hike this month.

[The probability of the Fed raising interest rates by 75 basis points in September is 72%] The probability of the Fed raising interest rates by 50 basis points in September is 28%, and the probability of raising interest rates by 75 basis points is 72%; the cumulative rate hike by November is 75 basis points The probability is 2.7%, the probability of a cumulative rate hike of 100 basis points is 32.3%, and the probability of a cumulative rate hike of 125 basis points is 65%.

[Federal interest rate hikes may curb oil demand growth] In the 12 months ended August 30, the gap between the yields of U.S. 10-year and 2-year Treasury bonds narrowed by 145.2 basis points. The yield curve has flattened significantly, underscoring investor concerns about a faster pace of U.S. interest rate hikes to curb inflation. An increasingly hawkish Fed on interest rates could lead to a prolonged slowdown in economic growth and potentially lower commodity demand and prices. The change in the spread between 2-year and 10-year Treasury yields has traditionally been 12-24 months ahead of oil demand growth, pointing to slower growth in 2023-24. In 1978, 1988, 1997, 2004, 2010 and 2015, global oil demand declined in the 12-18 months after the spread between the 2-year and 10-year U.S. Treasury yields peaked and reversed momentum. If history is any guide, an across-the-board decline in the spread between 2-year and 10-year yields could point to a bottom in oil demand growth as early as the second quarter of 2023.

[The California wildfires have burned 1,620 hectares of land and about 100 houses and buildings have been burned] As of the morning of September 3, local time, the "Mill Fire" (Mill Fire), which has spread rapidly in Northern California, has burned about 100 1,620 hectares (4,000 acres) of land, prompting the evacuation of thousands of residents and injuries to many.

[Amazon pays college tuition for 750,000 U.S. employees] Amazon announced that in the U.S., more than 750,000 operational employees are eligible for fully-funded college tuition, including courses, books and fees. Amazon has expanded education and skills training benefits to U.S. workers, with a total investment of $1.2 billion by 2025.

“Amazon is now the largest job creator in America, and we know that investing in free skills training for our teams can have a huge impact on hundreds of thousands of households across the country,” said Dave Clark, former CEO of Amazon Global Consumer . "We launched the Career Choice program 10 years ago to help remove the biggest barriers to continuing education – time and money, and we are now expanding it further to cover full tuition and add several new field of study.

[Meta (Facebook parent company) and Qualcomm reach agreement on custom VR chips] Meta Platforms announced at the Consumer Electronics Conference in Berlin that it has signed an agreement with Qualcomm to produce custom chipsets for its VR headset Quest. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. A spokesperson for Meta (Facebook parent company) said that the chipset produced through the partnership will not be exclusive to Meta (Facebook parent company), but will be optimized specifically for the Quest's system specifications. In addition, the agreement only covers VR (virtual reality) devices, and Meta (Facebook parent company) will continue to work hard to develop its own new chip solutions.

02. EU region

[G7 finance ministers confirm plans to impose price caps on Russian natural gas] The G7 finance ministers confirmed plans to impose price caps on Russian natural gas in a joint statement. Targeted mitigation mechanisms will also be developed to ensure vulnerable and affected countries maintain access to energy markets, including Russia, the G7 finance ministers said.

[Many shopping malls in Germany have shut down escalators to save electricity, and more than 60% of Germans have reduced the number of baths. European leaders have been looking for alternative energy sources . Recently, power-saving and energy-saving measures have been taken frequently in European countries. In Germany, many large shopping malls stopped running escalators, and customers could only climb the stairs to browse the mall. German politician Kreichmann even suggested that people only heat one room in their home when it is cold, give up bathing with hot water, and it is better to wipe themselves with a wet towel instead of showering. And such advice has been echoed, with 62% of Germans already starting to take less baths. In addition to throttling, it is necessary to open source. Recently, President of the European Commission von der Leyen visited Azerbaijan in person, hoping that the other party could increase gas supply to Europe; on July 18, Italian Prime Minister Draghi visited Algeria and signed a series of cooperative energy agreements; on August 25, French President Emmanuel Macron Also visited Algeria to discuss energy cooperation.

[German government is said to announce about 40 billion euros of aid to help consumers cope with high electricity prices] German Chancellor Scholz's ruling coalition finalized an aid plan worth about 40 billion euros, suffering the most severe damage in Europe in decades Helping millions of households cope with soaring electricity prices during an energy crisis. The overall aid will be larger, taking into account contributions from local governments, the people said. Germany's federal government said earlier on Sunday that it would provide details of the plan at 11 a.m. local time.

[Italian Minister of Economy and Finance: The added value of energy imports in 2022 is equivalent to 3% of Italy's GDP] The Italian Minister of Economy and Finance said, "In 2022, Italy's expenditure on energy imports may move from 43 billion euros to 100 billion euros, An increase of 60 billion euros is equivalent to 3% of GDP. The outflow of resources from Italy is offsetting the surplus we have accumulated over the past few years.” In 2021, Italy will rely on imports for three-quarters of the energy it needs. Franco stressed that the government continues its efforts to wean itself off Russian gas supplies by 2024, and in fact, if possible, we are eager to achieve this earlier.

03. Other regions

[Google to allow external app payments in Japan and India] Google announced that its "third-party in-app payment system" pilot will expand to key markets such as India and Japan, allowing "non-game" app developers to offer third-party payments to users mechanism.

Google also said that in order to continue to support investment in Android and Google Play, it will charge a reasonable service fee for the use of third-party payment systems. At present, Google has not disclosed the specific details of this reasonable fee. Of course, users can also continue to choose to use Google Play's native payment system.

In this regard, a Google spokesperson said: "The pilot work of Google Play's third-party in-app payment system is now in the next phase, and all non-game app developers can pay for Australia, Japan, India, Indonesia and the European Economic Area. Users offer third-party payment options outside of Google Play.".

[India makes an anti-dumping interim review on Chinese aluminum alloy wheels] On August 31, 2022, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of India issued an announcement stating that forged aluminum alloy wheels or alloy wheels originating in or imported from China [Cast Aluminium Alloy Wheel or Alloy Road wheels (ARW)] made an affirmative final ruling on anti-dumping mid-term review, suggesting to amend the anti-dumping duties on the products involved, and raise the anti-dumping duties from US$0.08/kg to 5 manufacturers exported through the exporter CITIC Dicastal Group. USD 1.073/kg, please refer to the attached table (the final result of the mid-term review of India's anti-dumping aluminum alloy wheels against China). The products involved are forged aluminum alloy wheels or alloy road wheels (ARW) for motor vehicles with a diameter of 12 inches to 24 inches, with or without accessories, involving products under the Indian Customs Code 87087000.

On December 10, 2012, India launched an anti-dumping investigation on cast aluminum alloy wheels or alloy wheels originating in China, South Korea and Thailand. On June 9, 2014, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of India made an affirmative final ruling on the case. On May 22, 2015, the Ministry of Finance of India issued Circular No. 21/2015-Customs (ADD), deciding to impose anti-dumping duties on the products involved in the above-mentioned countries for a period of 5 years. USD/kg and Thailand $1.06/kg. On August 10, 2018, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of India conducted the first anti-dumping sunset review investigation on cast aluminum alloy wheels or alloy wheels originating in or imported from China, South Korea and Thailand. On April 9, 2019, the Ministry of Finance of India issued Circular No. 17/2019-Customs (ADD), deciding to impose anti-dumping duties on the products involved in the above-mentioned countries for a period of 5 years, which are 0.08-2.15 US dollars / kg in China and 1.18 in South Korea. USD/kg and Thailand $1.06/kg. On September 1, 2021, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of India initiated an anti-dumping interim review investigation on forged aluminum alloy wheels or alloy wheels originating in or imported from China.

[Lazada holds the 3rd LazMall Brands Future Forum] Lazada, the flagship e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia, held the 2022 LazMall Brands Future Forum (hereinafter referred to as "BFF") at Resorts World Sentosa, Singapore. The theme of the forum was "Empowering Connections Through eCommerce".

According to reports, LazMall is the largest online brand mall in Southeast Asia under Lazada. Among Forbes' most valuable consumer brands, more than 80% of international big names have settled in LazMall.

[Shopee parent company Sea is said to be laying off staff and closing some projects] Singapore-based internet giant Sea is halting its game live-streaming platform and shutting down projects in its development arm after reporting a quarterly loss of nearly $1 billion.

Staff at Booyah, the game-streaming and community app owned by Sea gaming unit Garena, have been told they will be fired and the app will no longer be updated, people familiar with the matter said. That means 30 to 40 jobs will be cut. Meanwhile, Sea Labs, Sea’s development arm, is closing some of its biggest experimental projects and laying off workers, including blockchain and public cloud projects.

Zhimeitong|Logistics highlights

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[The total value of international freight in the nine months since the opening of the China-Laos railway exceeded 10 billion yuan for the first time] Since the opening of the China-Laos railway nine months ago, the total value of international freight has exceeded 10 billion yuan, and the domestic shipping scope has covered 30 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) nationwide. Serving more than 1,500 domestic enterprises. The categories of goods have expanded from chemical fertilizers, rubber, and department stores in the early days of opening to nearly 2,000 types of commodities such as electronics, photovoltaics, communications, and flowers. Overseas, they have radiated to 8 countries including Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia through Laos.

[Baltic Dry Index records best one-day performance in 6 months] The Baltic Dry Index recorded its best one-day performance in nearly six months on Friday, while the Capesize Index hit a record in more than two years Best weekly performance. The Baltic Dry Index rose 84 points, or 8.38%, to 1,086; it was up 0.4% for the week after six straight weekly losses. The capesize index rose 264 points, or 56.3%, to 733 points; for the week, it rose 78%, the best weekly performance since June 19, 2020, breaking a six-week losing streak. Average daily earnings for capesize vessels rose $2,189 to $6,076. The panamax index rose 41 points, or 3.3%, to 1271, its best one-day performance in more than a month, and fell 7.4% for the week, its sixth straight weekly decline. Average daily earnings for panamax vessels rose $373 to $11,442. The Supramax index weakened for the sixth session in a row, falling 45 points to 1,514.

[DHL Express China launched the hydrogen fuel cell truck trial operation project] DHL Express China launched the hydrogen fuel cell long-distance freight truck trial operation project. This project aims to verify the performance of the hydrogen fuel technology used in heavy trucks in actual use, and to accumulate practical experience for promoting the application of hydrogen fuel cell heavy trucks in the field of logistics.

[ZIM, China-US route, $1 billion contract] ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd., the world's tenth largest container liner operator, announced that it has signed a ten-year contract with Shell worth more than $1 billion The US dollar marine LNG fuel sales and purchase agreement will supply ten 15,000TEU LNG dual-fuel container ships that will be deployed on ZIM's flagship line, ZIM Container Service Pacific (ZCP).

Zhimeitong | Domestic highlights

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[SHEIN's GMV soared to US$16 billion in the first half of the year, and will soon face Pinduoduo] In the first half of 2022, SHEIN's sales exceeded US$16 billion, with a year-on-year growth rate of over 50%. With the arrival of the peak season, SHEIN is expected to advance ahead of schedule Completed the annual sales target of 30 billion US dollars, which was a year ahead of the original plan. In the past three years, SHEIN's performance has shown explosive growth. In 2020, its GMV will exceed 10 billion US dollars for the first time, with a growth rate of 250%; in 2021, this figure will reach 20 billion US dollars, and its self-operated revenue will approach 16 billion US dollars.

[Alibaba signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency] Alibaba Group signed a cooperation memorandum with the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency today. The two parties will open an exclusive national pavilion for "Made in Brazil" on Alibaba International Station, and select 100 Brazilian companies to settle in.

[Ministry of Commerce: Cross-border e-commerce increased by 28.6% year-on-year in the first half of this year] The Digital Trade Development Trend and Frontier Summit Forum of the Service Trade Fair was held yesterday. Foreign trade maintained steady and rapid growth. Cross-border e-commerce is another new growth point for foreign trade, with a year-on-year increase of 28.6%.

Zhimeitong | E-commerce highlights

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