Thu, Jun 22, 2023 page11

• World Business Quick Take

  • Agencies
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  VEHICLES

  China extends tax breaks

  The government yesterday extended tax breaks for consumers buying clean vehicles through 2027, estimated to be worth 520 billion yuan (US$72.3 billion) in the coming four years, in a bid to bolster the nation’s flagging electric-vehicle (EV) industry. The move is the latest in a series of steps to lift sales and production in the world’s biggest EV market. While new vehicles are generally subject to a 10 percent sales tax, it has not applied to clean-energy vehicles since 2014 and the policy was recently extended through this year. Yesterday’s announcement pushes that date to the end of 2025 for clean vehicles priced under 300,000 yuan that do not seat more than nine people. Vehicles priced under 150,000 yuan are to get further support through the end of 2027.

  ENERGY

  Transgrid to invest US$11bn

  Australia’s most populous state would be ready for 100 percent renewable energy within a decade under a A$16.5 billion (US$11.2 billion) infrastructure investment plan announced by a major grid operator yesterday. Transgrid, privatized in 2015, is to invest in batteries and other energy storage, as well as 2,500km of new transmission lines across an area larger than Texas for “secure operation” of the grid at up to 100 percent instantaneous renewables. The company owns and operates more than 13,000km of transmission lines across New South Wales (NSW) state and the Australian Capital Territory. “There will be no transition without transmission,” CEO Brett Redman said in a statement. “With over 80 percent of coal-fired capacity in NSW expected to retire and 28 gigawatts of new renewable and storage capacity coming online in the next 10 years, we must urgently accelerate the investment in all areas of the energy transition.”

  SINGAPORE

  City-state most expensive

  Singapore surged to top the rankings as the most expensive city in the world for luxury living for the first time as it vies to be a leading global center for the rich. The city-state, ranked fifth last year, leapfrogged ahead of Shanghai and Hong Kong, which placed second and third respectively, a report by Swiss wealth manager Julius Baer Group Ltd said. One of the first places in Asia to reopen its borders during the COVID-19 pandemic, Singapore’s attractiveness to high-net-worth individuals is reflected in rising prices that locals now face. By the end of last year, Singapore counted an estimated 1,500 family offices in the territory, twice the number of the previous year, the report said. It is also the most expensive city globally for vehicle prices. New York was another big gainer. It rose to fifth from 11th last year, due to a strengthening US dollar and a rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic.

  UNITED STATES

  Fed nominees eye inflation

  Three Federal Reserve nominees — two of them current central bank policymakers — said tackling US inflation would be their top priority if confirmed to roles at the central bank. Governor Philip Jefferson, selected by US President Joe Biden to be elevated to vice chair, said the economy faces multiple challenges, including inflation and banking-sector stress, in remarks to be delivered at his confirmation hearing yesterday before the Senate Banking Committee. Adriana Kugler, nominated by Biden to fill a vacancy left by the departure of Lael Brainard earlier this year, agreed, saying it is important to return inflation to that level. Kugler is Colombian-American and would become the Fed’s first Latina governor if confirmed.
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