AstraZeneca China president under investigation

In at this time’s publication:

• Beijing probes AstraZeneca’s China boss

• BYD’s quarterly gross sales beat Tesla for the primary time

• An interview with Bangladesh’s interim chief

Good morning. AstraZeneca’s China boss, one of many nation’s most high-profile pharmaceutical executives, is below investigation by Beijing authorities.

The British drugmaker mentioned yesterday that its China president Leon Wang was “co-operating with an ongoing investigation”. The assertion didn’t make clear the character of the probe.

The pharmaceutical chief has been essential to AstraZeneca’s fortunes in China, the place it generated $5.9bn in revenues final yr, making it the most important abroad drugmaker by gross sales within the nation.

Yesterday’s assertion comes after police in Shenzhen detained a handful of AstraZeneca staff final month over the potential infringement of knowledge privateness legal guidelines and importing unlicensed medicines. It’s unclear if Wang’s investigation is expounded to these arrests.

Beijing has intensified an anti-corruption crackdown on pharmaceutical firms over the previous yr, even because the sector has been a shiny spot within the nation’s bid to draw overseas capital.

Eleanor Olcott, our technology correspondent in Beijing, has more details.

Right here’s what else I’m protecting tabs on at this time:

• Financial knowledge: Hong Kong and Taiwan report advance third-quarter GDP. China’s official October manufacturing and non-manufacturing PMIs are due.

• Japan financial coverage: The Financial institution of Japan broadcasts its rate of interest determination — buyers are betting the central financial institution will hold rates steady.

• Outcomes: Samsung Electronics, Fujitsu, Panasonic, Apple and Shell report.

• Vacation: Monetary markets are closed in Singapore, Sri Lanka and Malaysia for Deepavali, additionally known as Diwali, the Hindu pageant of lights.

5 extra prime tales

1. China’s largest electrical car maker BYD has posted increased quarterly revenues than US rival Tesla for the primary time. The Warren Buffett-backed carmaker bought a document 1.1mn automobiles within the three-month interval, but a bruising price war in the Chinese market dragged on its profitability. 

2. The EU is getting ready to launch an investigation into Temu, the Chinese language on-line buying enterprise, amid issues that the ecommerce platform is failing to crack down on sales of illegal products. A latest survey that examined toys bought on Temu and different on-line platforms discovered that 80 per cent of the objects have been poisonous or posed well being hazards for youngsters.

• EU-China relations: EU tariffs of as much as 45 per cent on Chinese language electrical autos got here into drive yesterday, sharply escalating the trade war between the 27-member bloc and Beijing over allegations of unfair industrial subsidies.

3. A Canadian official has accused India’s highly effective house affairs minister Amit Shah of overseeing violence and threats in direction of Sikh separatist activists within the North American nation. David Morrison, Canada’s deputy overseas minister, instructed a parliamentary committee on Tuesday that he had confirmed Shah’s id and alleged involvement to The Washington Publish. It’s the most direct claim against a close ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

4. The US financial system grew at an annualised price of two.8 per cent within the third quarter. The info is the most recent signal that American shoppers stay resilient and comes just days before they vote to elect the nation’s new president.

5. Australia will make investments as much as A$18bn (US$12bn) in missile manufacturing, together with making superior guided missile programs within the nation for the primary time. The funding is part of an overhaul of Canberra’s defence strategy in response to China’s army build-up.

Interview: Muhammad Yunus

Chatting with the FT, Bangladesh’s interim chief Muhammad Yunus accused ousted authoritarian chief Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League of exhibiting “all the characteristics of fascism”, saying the social gathering has “no place” for now within the nation’s politics. Yunus’s feedback clarify the 84-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate favours taking a tough line on Bangladesh’s oldest and largest political social gathering after Sheikh Hasina was toppled by a student-led revolt in August.

We’re additionally studying . . . 

• The FT View: Japan’s political limbo comes at a time when its financial, demographic and safety challenges have never been greater, the editorial board writes.

• Apple Card: The tech big’s bank card with Goldman Sachs is a cautionary tale for these in search of to reinvent retail finance, writes Brooke Masters.

• Large African rats: A furry investigator has boosted the ranks of these sniffing out contraband within the profitable unlawful wildlife commerce.

Chart of the day

Samsung Electronics is struggling to carry on to its crown because the world’s top-selling smartphone maker. The Korean tech big was the one one of many prime 5 world smartphone makers to expertise falling shipments within the third quarter of this yr, losing market share to longtime US rival Apple and to Chinese language contenders providing slick new foldable gadgets.

Take a break from the information

Age issues in terms of boards, writes Anjli Raval. Simply 5 per cent of administrators inside S&P 500 firms are below the age of fifty, however firms should not be afraid to take an opportunity on youth, argues Raval.