Toyota ready to remake itself as IT transforms autos www.asia.nikkei.com

TOKYO -- Huge changes sweeping the auto industry -- from the development of driverless cars to the ride-sharing boom -- are forcing carmakers to compete not only against themselves but, increasingly, with tech companies.

Uber to sell China business to taxi app rival Didi www.rt.com

US taxi service Uber has sold its business in China to the dominant ride-hailing service in the country Didi Chuxing. The $35 billion deal will end heated competition between the two firms.

China Tells Sri Lanka: We Want Our Money, Not Your Empty Airport www.forbes.com

Sri Lanka has a debt problem. After more than a decade of taking out huge loans to build large-scale infrastructure — most of which hasn’t yet produced adequate returns — the country is now struggling to make payments, and is looking for another way out.

A potential exit strategy was to offer China debt for equity swaps, which Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe recently proposed to China’s Ambassador Yi Xianliang. China was offered varying degrees of control over some of Sri Lanka’s biggest infrastructure projects, including Mattala International Airport and portions of the Hambantota deep sea port, and Sri Lanka would receive some debt relief.

China’s response to this offer was publicized earlier today in Colombo’s Sunday Times: We’re not interested. The Chinese ambassador replied that “it was not possible according to China’s laws.”

However, China was clear that it extends its “fullest cooperation” and that such deals should be conducted via investors on proper commercial terms.

This point is key: while China’s government will not swap debt for equity they will help clear the road for Chinese companies to take over key projects in Sri Lanka. IZP, a Chinese informational technology company, has been put forward as a potential purchaser of Mattala International Airport, while COSCO is looking into expanding operations at the Hambantota deep sea port.

The problem, both for Sri Lanka and for any would-be investor, is that many of the large projects in question are losing money fast, and may ultimately prove to be economically unsustainable — at least without a massive amount of additional investment, more infrastructure, and a miracle or two. With just two flights per day, Mattala International is more than likely the most underused international airport on the planet and the Hambantota port is also running at severe under-capacity, while the brand new and fully modern highways that run through this region are mostly devoid of vehicles.

However, not all hope is lost for these projects — yet. Although China declined a debt for equity swap, their participation in Sri Lanka’s infrastructure development is more than likely just getting started. Colombo Port City has been green-lighted once again and just last week China requested 15,000 acres of land in Hambantota for the building of a massive, million worker special economic zone. The latter seems to run flush with the original Hambantota idea:

“If you’re going to have a bulk port you need to have industry around the bulk port to take advantage of it,” said Deshal de Mel, a senior economist at Hayleys Plc in Colombo. “That is where the whole idea comes from; that we’ll have industry coming in to kind of match up to the port. So the shipping port can still be made to work if they can get the right industries to invest in it.”

Sri Lanka’s debt situation is severe. The country is currently in $58.3 billion deep to foreign financiers, and 95.4% of all government revenue is currently going towards paying back its loans. This means that out of every hundred dollars the government brings in only $4.60 is going towards essentials like education and public services.

Beyond China, Sri Lanka has called for proposals from investors worldwide who may interested in taking on their Hambantota projects, just in case you’re looking for a challenge.

Cabinet complete: Four remaining ministers appointed www.news.mn

In the election, which took place on 29th June, the Mongolian People’s Party (MPP) won 63 seats in the 76-seat Great Khural (Parliament). At a meeting of the State Great Khural, which assembled on July 29, the majority of the new members of parliament backed the nominations by MPP for the offices of the four remaining ministers. P.Sergelen was appointed Minister of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry, G.Monkhbayar as Minister of Construction and Urban Development, A.Tsogtsetseg as Minister of Health, and P.Gankhuu as Minister of Energy.

O.Erdembileg appointed First Deputy Governor of Central bank www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ First plenary session of the State Great Khural, formed after the 2016 parliamentary elections, have backed the resolution on appointing Erdembileg Ochirkhuu as the First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Mongolia (BoM).

NHK tests ultra high-definition broadcasts www3.nhk.or.jp

Japan's public broadcaster, NHK, has started testing an ultra high-definition video system that provides images dramatically sharper than those available through current high definition television.

KPMG changes graduate interviews to suit millennials www.bbc.com

Accountancy firm KPMG has changed its graduate recruitment process to suit people born between 1980 and 2000 - the so-called millennial generation.
Instead of conducting three separate assessments over several weeks, it will now combine the process into one day.
The firm says the change will mean applicants will find out if they have got a job within two working days.
It made the change following research suggesting millennials were frustrated by lengthy recruitment processes.
KPMG said its survey- conducted among 400 of this summer's new graduates applying for a graduate job at a UK firm - found that more than one-third were annoyed about how long they had to wait to hear the outcome of an interview, and how long the recruitment process took.
But the biggest complaint, made by more than half of those surveyed, was about not receiving any feedback if they were unsuccessful.
'Best brains'
KPMG chairman Simon Collins said the company felt it had to make the changes to make sure it could compete with smaller start-up or tech firms, which often offer a faster recruitment process, to secure the best graduate employees.
"We are competing with the full gamut for the best brains and talent leaving university: getting our graduate recruitment right is crucial to the long-term success of our business," he said.
The accountancy firm's move comes in the wake of several other big firms shaking up their graduate recruitment process.
In June, Goldman Sachs said it had scrapped face-to-face interviews on university campuses in a bid to attract a wider range of talent.
Work-life balance
The US investment bank has now switched to video interviews with first-round undergraduate candidates, in a move aimed at helping it to attract graduate recruits from a broader range of disciplines.
And last year, professional services firm professional services firm Deloitte said it had changed its selection process so recruiters did not know where candidates had gone to school or university.
It said the move was aimed at preventing "unconscious bias" and recruiting a more diverse "talent pool".
Analysis suggests millennials will make up 75% of the global workforce by 2025.
Several surveys suggest that these younger workers are not motivated by the same factors as previous generations, such as a job for life, but instead value a good work-life balance and a sense of purpose beyond financial success.

Uber to invest $500 million in global mapping project: FT www.reuters.com

Ride-hailing service Uber [UBER.UL] has decided to invest $500 million into an ambitious global mapping project to wean itself off dependence on Google Maps and pave the way for driverless cars, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.

Chinese consortium agrees to $4.4 billion deal for Caesars online games www.reuters.com

A Chinese consortium that includes game developer Shanghai Giant Network Technology Co Ltd and e-commerce company Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA.N) founder Jack Ma has agreed to acquire Caesars Interactive Entertainment Inc's online games unit for $4.4 billion in cash, the companies said.

Caesars Interactive Entertainment is currently owned by Caesars Acquisition Co (CAC) (CACQ.O) and Caesars Entertainment Corp CRZ.O. The sale will be a boon to the two affiliated companies, which are looking for cash as they embark on a complex merger.

The deal follows a period of exclusive negotiations between Caesars Interactive Entertainment and Giant's consortium that were first reported on July 21 by Reuters.

Caesars Entertainment's main operating unit, Caesars Entertainment Operating Co Inc (CEOC), is currently involved in an $18 billion bankruptcy and is seeking creditor approval for a restructuring plan. The transaction between CAC and the Caesars Entertainment parent is part of a complex web of deals that have come under scrutiny by CEOC's creditors.

Chinese companies are eager to expand beyond their home country, which boasts the world's largest online gaming market. In June, Tencent Holdings Ltd (0700.HK), China's biggest gaming group, agreed to buy a majority stake in 'Clash of Clans' mobile game maker Supercell from SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T) in an $8.6 billion deal.

Caesars' online games business, known as Playtika, makes its games such as Bingo Blitz and Slotomania available on Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) App Store. Playatika will continue to operate independently with its own management team and its headquarters remaining in Herzliya, Israel, following the deal, the companies said.

Playtika players use virtual currency that cannot be exchanged for real money, although players can spend money by buying items in the games. Caesars' World Series of Poker and real-money online gaming businesses are not part of the deal, according to the companies.

Giant is one of China's biggest gaming companies, with nearly 50 million monthly active users and several top-grossing mobile titles. It was taken private in 2014 for $3 billion by a group of buyers that included company Chairman Yuzhu Shi and private equity firm Baring Private Equity Asia Ltd. It is now valued at more than $12 billion.

The Chinese consortium involved in the deal also includes Ma's private equity firm Yunfeng Capital, China Oceanwide Holdings Group Co, China Minsheng Trust Co, CDH China HF Holdings Company Limited, and Hony Capital Fund, the companies said.

The merger between the owners of Caesars Interactive Entertainment is intertwined with the bankruptcy of CEOC, whose restructuring plan hinges on billions of dollars of cash and equity from its parent.

CEOC's creditors have accused the parent company of looting choice assets from its operating unit and leaving it bankrupt. Caesars has said the acquisitions were done at fair value.

While proceeds from a Caesars Interactive online games unit sale will help the bankruptcy estate, junior creditors may still object to the distribution of the funds because more money will end up in the hands of first lien banks and lenders.

Junior creditors led by Appaloosa Management remain the biggest hold-outs in the CEOC bankruptcy, and have said they have as much as $12 billion in claims against Caesars Entertainment and its private equity backers, Apollo Global Management LLC (APO.N) and TPG Capital LP.

(Reporting by Liana B. Baker in New York and Allison Lampert in Montreal; Additional reporting by Tracy Rucinski in Chicago)

Tokyo poised to elect Yuriko Koike as first female governor www.bbc.com

Former Japanese Defence Minister Yuriko Koike looks set to be elected as the Japanese capital's first woman governor, exit polls project.
Public broadcaster NHK and other media forecast Ms Koike as the winner after polls closed at 20:00 (11:00 GMT).
If confirmed, one of her key challenges will be curbing the financial problems plaguing Tokyo's preparations to host the 2020 Olympic Games.
Scandals linked to the Games forced the last two governors to resign.
"I will lead Tokyo politics in an unprecedented manner, a Tokyo you have never seen," Ms Koike, 64, told cheering supporters,
"While feeling the weight of this result, I want to thoroughly push the metropolitan government forward as the new governor."
Tokyo's ill-tempered election
In all, 21 contenders were vying to lead the sprawling capital and a number of other cities in the prefecture.
Ms Koike, politician Hiroya Masuda and journalist Shuntaro Torigoe were the front-runners.