Author: Lucas

From west Africa’s Sierra Leone and Liberia to Kiribati and Tonga in the Pacific, the impact from China’s rising dominance as the world’s first significant “electrostate” is beginning to be felt.Chinese solar panel exports reached 236GW in 2024, more than triple the volume of 2019, and should hit a new record high again this year, according to data from French bank Natixis and Ember Research, a UK think-tank. In Africa, imports of Chinese-made solar panels in the year to the end of June topped 15GW, an increase of 60 per cent from the prior 12 months, Ember data also showed.…

TOKYO, Oct 28 (Reuters) – Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (7011.T), opens new tab (MHI) said it has asked several other companies to temporarily employ idle workers from its factories in central Japan in a bid to cut costs and weather a downturn from the COVID-19 pandemic, two sources told Reuters.MHI has approached firms in Aichi Prefecture including Toyota Motor Corp-affiliated parts maker Toyoda Gosei (7282.T), opens new tab, about transferring dozens of workers for up to three years from January, the sources with knowledge of the plan said. Sign up here.They asked not to be identified because they are not authorised…

Oct 30 (Reuters) – Japan on Friday said it had picked Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (7011.T), opens new tab (MHI) to lead the development of a new stealth fighter jet that Japan wants operational by the mid-2030s to counter advanced Chinese aircraft.”We awarded the prime contract to Mitsubishi Heavy,” a ministry of defence spokesman said. Sign up here.The fighter jet project, which is expected to cost about $40 billion, comes at an opportune time for MHI, as the company is pulling back from plans to build its SpaceJet regional passenger aircraft as coronavirus travel curbs leave airlines with little cash to…