Weekly Market Update - 7 August 2023

India Investment

Apple’s main supplier, Foxconn, is planning to invest close to $500 million to build two component factories in India as part of a steady diversification from China. At least one of the factories that the Taiwanese company plans to build in Karnataka state will produce Apple parts, sources said. A formal announcement is expected as early as this week. Apple suppliers have ramped up business in India over the past few years thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s incentives to boost local manufacturing. Foxconn’s decision suggests suppliers may move capacity out of China far faster than expected.

Source: Bloomberg

Crypto In Hong Kong

The first licenses under Hong Kong’s new crypto regime went to HashKey Exchange and OSL, legalizing the retail trading of tokens in the city as officials seek to foster a global hub for the digital-asset sector. Hong Kong started a mandatory crypto framework this summer in an effort to restore its image as a cutting-edge financial center. The pivot stirred substantial interest and contrasts with a US digital-asset clampdown, but the city has yet to win big investments from an industry chastened by a market rout last year.

Source: Bloomberg

Downgraded

The US has been stripped of its top-tier sovereign credit rating by Fitch Ratings, echoing a move made more than a decade ago by S&P. The credit assessor downgraded the US to AA+ from AAA — a ranking the nation has held at Fitch since at least 1994 — in the wake of major political battles over the nation’s borrowing and repeated standoffs over raising the debt limit. While the most recent legislative impasse was resolved, it remains a potential issue of concern going forward. The assessor has a stable outlook on the country.

Source: Bloomberg