SMIC to invest $8.87 billion in chipmaking plant in Shanghai

On Friday, China’s Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp said, it will invest $8.87 billion to build a chip plant in Shanghai. The development underscores Beijing’s efforts to boost its independence in the chip manufacturing sector. The development comes at a time when global chipmakers are struggling to fulfill orders from the electronics and automotive industries triggering new…

South Korea’s SK Group to invest $100M in AirAsia’s digital arm BigPay

On Friday, in a statement South Korea’s SK Group said, it will invest up to $100 million in the fintech unit of AirAsia Group Bhd. BigPay, a unit of AirAsia’s digital arm, offers a prepaid debit card, local and international money transfers, micro-insurance, bill payments and a budgeting tool. “Our ambition has always been to establish…

Square Inc partners with Blockstream in its Bitcoin Clean Energy Initiative

In a statement blockchain technology company Blockstream Mining said, Square Inc is set to invest $5 million to build an open-source, solar-powered bitcoin mining facility at one of its sites in the United States. In the announcement on its blog Blockstream said the “facility will be a proof-of-concept for a 100% renewable energy Bitcoin mine at…

Formula One plans to expand into the electric car segment with investment of $420M

On Tuesday, in a statement the Gordon Murray Group which makes supercars said, it plans on investing $420M (300-million-pound) spread over 5 years to expand into the electric car segment; it plans on developing electric SUVs and delivery vehicles for carmakers as it shifts towards an all-electric supercar by 2030. “Electric is what we’ve been…

South Korea’s Kakao Mobility secures $50.1M strategic investment from Google Inc

In a statement on Thursday, Kakao Corp, the parent of South Korea’s Kakao Mobility said, it has secured a strategic investment of $50.1 million (56.5 billion won) from Google. Kakao T, Kakao Mobility’s app, has registered user base of 28 million consumers, and offers South Korea’s most popular taxi-hailing service as well as other transportation…

German agrees 100% depreciation of digital assets as part of economic stimulus measure

According to a statement from German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, Germany will provide an annual tax relief of around 2.3 billion euros as part of part of a new measure to support purchases of digital assets, including computer software hardware. German state government and the federal government agreed on Tuesday, that digital assets could be…

Japan plans on eliminating gas powered vehicles by mid-2030s, ramps up renewable energy investments

On Friday, in a significant development, the Japanese government said it aims to eliminate gasoline-powered vehicles in the country in the next 15 years so as to reach net zero carbon emissions and generate nearly $2 trillion a year in green growth by 2050. The “green growth strategy,” sees an increased adoption of hydrogen in…

Astanor Ventures raises $325 million for investing in agri-food tech startups

On Friday, Astanor Ventures, a backer French insect breeder Ynsect as well as Germany’s vertical farmer InFarm stated, it had raised a $325 million fund to invest in sustainable agriculture, food, and ocean technology startups. The new fund will back ventures that seek to make the food supply more resilient to climate change and attempt…