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<ul class="summary-list"><li>A Hong Kong court ordered the liquidation of China Evergrande, the world's most indebted property developer.</li><li>Evergrande has assets of about $245 billion, but owes about $300 billion.</li></ul>Evergrande — once <a target="_blank" href="https://www.mingtiandi.com/real-estate/research-policy/evergrande-held-spot-as-chinas-biggest-developer-in-2020/">China's largest real-estate developer</a> — has collapsed.The pivotal moment came on January 29, when a Hong Kong court ordered the liquidation of the most indebted property developer in the world.The demise of the property giant wasn't a surprise, since its cash crunch was made public in the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-housing-market-explainer-cost-debt-wealth-evergrande-impact-2021-9">second half of 2021.</a>But there are still concerns about how Evergrande's fallout will affect the broader market, since the property sector contributes to about <a target="_blank" href="https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202401/29/WS65b6ff1ba3105f21a507ec78.html">one-quarter of China's GDP.</a>"The property developer's demise looks like a controlled collapse. The writing was on the wall long ago, and few in the market are surprised by the situation," Kyle Rodda, a senior market analyst at Capital.com, an online trading platform, told Business Insider."However, it raises systemic risk at the margins and, if nothing else, will expose some to ugly haircuts on their assets as the business is pulled apart," Rodda added.Here's the deal in what Rodda calls a "controlled demolition."<h2>What happens next to Evergrande?</h2>The court has appointed Alvarez and Marsal as liquidator to manage the company, Evergrande said in <a target="_blank" rel=" nofollow" href="https://www.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2024/0129/2024012900565.pdf">a filing</a> to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.Alvarez and Marsal will now take control of Evergrande's assets and prepare to sell them to repay the real-estate developer's debts.Offshore creditors still expect Evergrande's liquidator to propose a new offshore debt restructuring plan first and only liquidate the property developer' assets if it cannot come to an agreement with its creditors, two unnamed sources told <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/business/what-happens-next-after-china-evergrande-ordered-liquidate-2024-01-29/">Reuters</a>.Evergrande can still appeal the judgement, but the liquidation process will continue while the outcome of the appeal is pending.Given the size of Evergrande, experts expect that it could take years to complete the liquidation of the company.Importantly, since the court order was made in Hong Kong, it's also unclear if mainland authorities will recognize and comply with the order. This is important because most of Evergrande's assets are in mainland China.<h2>And what about that $300 billion in debt?</h2>Evergrande owns <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-01-29/what-does-evergrande-s-liquidation-order-mean-quicktake-q-a">assets worth 1.74 trillion Chinese yuan,</a> or about $245 billion. However, the company owes about $300 billion — a big shortfall, and there's a clear order of priority when it comes to repayments.First, secured creditors will be paid, according to a guide by international law firm <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="c-link" href="https://resourcehub.bakermckenzie.com/en/resources/asia-pacific-guide-to-lending-and-taking-security/asia-pacific/hong-kong/topics/if-things-go-wrong">Baker McKenzie.</a> This means any collateral, such as property, that Evergrande pledged for loans will be used to pay such creditors back.Then, the liquidators will be paid, alongside other expenses associated with the winding down of the firm. Evergrande employee wages and debts to the government are next, followed by unsecured creditors, such as bondholders, suppliers, and contractors.At the bottom of the list are Evergrande's ordinary shareholders.Overall, returns to unsecured creditors and shareholders are likely to be low, since Evergrande's liabilities outstrip its assets.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-property-real-estate-crisis-unlikely-rescue-evergrande-offshore-creditors-2024-1">Offshore creditors</a> are particularly vulnerable to losing their investments. That's because Beijing authorities will likely prioritize maintaining social and political stability on their home turf: They'll protect investors at home first, and try to ensure that people who have paid for Evergrande properties eventually get their homes."Onshore stakeholders are busy working to ensure home purchasers will eventually receive the homes they have paid for one way or another, but retail 'mom and pop' investors in the company's offshore securities will be facing even further uncertainty and delay which would likely continue for years," Daniel Margulies, a partner at Dechert, a law firm that specializes in restructuring in Asia, told BI.Evergrande's offshore creditors are owed $25.4 billion, but the company's key holdings in Hong Kong, where it is listed, added up to just a paltry $2.9 billion at the end of June, according to a court <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="Link_link-tVkXhPLPofs-" href="https://legalref.judiciary.hk/lrs/common/ju/ju_frame.jsp?DIS=157796&amp;currpage=T">document</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-01-30/evergrande-liquidation-to-leave-little-for-creditors-to-claim">Bloomberg's calculations.</a>In July, Evergrande cited an analysis by Deloitte that estimated a recovery rate of 3.4% on its debt if the company is liquidated, per Reuters. Creditors now expect the recovery rate to be less than 3%, according to Reuters.<h2>What happens to the rest of China's property market?</h2>Many of Evergrande's real-estate peers are already in trouble and have <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-property-creditors-face-worsening-restructuring-terms-sector-recovery-2023-10-11/">defaulted on their debts.</a>But restructuring isn't impossible. Debtwire data showed 32 developers in China managed to complete 42 restructuring processes covering 104 tranches of offshore bonds worth $33.1 billion from July 2021 — around the time the current property crisis started — to the end of October 2023.However, Evergrande owes around $300 billion — which is about 10 times more than what was collectively restructured by the 32 developers above.At large, Evergrande's fate reads like a warning sign to other companies in China, Margulies said.That's because the court order to liquidate Evergrande signals that problems of this size in China "will likely end up in some form of liquidation, whether onshore or offshore," Margulies said.<h2>How will the Evergrande collapse impact sentiment in China's economy and markets?</h2>It's tough out there.China's economy has been struggling to recover since it started lifting pandemic-related restrictions more than a year ago. It's facing significant headwinds from a <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-real-estate-property-market-speculation-debt-crackdown-xi-jinping-2023-8?utm_medium=ingest&amp;utm_source=markets">property crisis,</a> <a target="_blank" rel="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-economy-deflation-us-inflation-cpi-fed-rate-cuts-yuan-2023-12?utm_medium=ingest&amp;utm_source=markets">deflationary pressure,</a> and a <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-population-drops-2nd-year-raises-long-term-growth-concerns-2024-01-17/">demographic crisis.</a>China, the world's second-largest economy, grew 5.2% in 2023. While that was better than the COVID-battered performance of 3% in 2022, it's still one of the economy's worst showings in three decades.Market sentiment over China's economy is so bad that the country's <a target="_blank" rel="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/china-stock-market-meltdown-brutal-year-explainer-whats-happening-2024-1?_gl=1*97kwue*_ga*MTM0MjM1NDU5My4xNjg1MTUzMTcw*_ga_E21CV80ZCZ*MTcwNjUwNDIyNy4zMzguMS4xNzA2NTA3MjQwLjU5LjAuMA..">stock markets sold down massively</a> in the first weeks of January as investors made a dash for the door.Notably, the stock market sell-off came before Evergrande's liquidation order.Given that Evergrande's demise wasn't unexpected, the markets didn't react much to the news. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended up slightly higher the day the court order was made. The CSI 300 ended slightly down, indicating that Evergrande's winding-up has been priced in and is being actively managed by authorities."There are no signs of panic yet. If anything, it reveals the proactive and incrementalist approach authorities are adopting to manage China's painful economic reformation," said Rodda.China is trying to engineer the transition of its economy after several decades of breakneck growth to one that is on a sustainable trajectory. It has detailed the<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-economy-new-growth-areas-electric-vehicles-batteries-solar-property-2024-1"> three new growth areas</a> of electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries, and solar cells."Evergrande's liquidation is a sign that China is willing to go to extreme ends to quell the property bubble," Andrew Collier, a managing director at Orient Capital Research, told <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/business/china-evergrande-ordered-liquidate-by-hong-kong-court-2024-01-29/">Reuters.</a>"This is good for the economy in the long term but very difficult in the short term," he added.

What the collapse of a company owing $300 billion means for the world

With <keyword id="19899402" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="digital" source="keywords">digital</keyword> adoption fast gaining currency, <keyword id="19895063" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="India" source="keywords">India</keyword> is likely to see <keyword id="19992513" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="retail" source="keywords">retail</keyword> <keyword id="19989657" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="digital-payments" source="keywords">digital payments</keyword> double to USD 7 trillion by 2030 from current levels, a study by Kearney and <keyword id="19942875" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amazon-Pay" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Amazon Pay" meta.hostid="153" meta.entityid="Amazon Pay">Amazon Pay</keyword> said. In the report 'How Urban India Pays', Kearney-Amazon Pay said strong adoption of digital payments in <keyword id="21056201" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="online-purchases" source="keywords">online purchases</keyword> has potentially led to a permanent shift in consumer behaviours, fuelling offline adoption as well. While 90 per cent of the respondents of the survey preferred digital payments when making online purchases, affluent consumers lead the way with the highest Degree of Digital Payment Usage (DDPU), tending to use various modes of digital payment for 80 per cent of their transactions. "<keyword id="19955338" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="millennials" source="keywords">Millennials</keyword> and Gen X are leading in the adoption of all types of digital payment instruments," it said. "Men and women both use digital payments in about 72 per cent of their transactions, indicating gender parity." The research was based on an online survey of over 6,000 consumers along with more than 1,000 merchants through offline and online methods across 120 cities with representation from various regions, income groups, city categories, age brackets and genders. India has seen a surge in <keyword id="19990771" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="e-commerce" source="keywords">e-commerce</keyword>, with the market valued at USD 75 billion to USD 80 billion in 2022 and expected to grow at a 21 per cent CAGR until 2030. "In line with India's digital journey, retail digital payments have grown dramatically over the past five years - from USD 300 billion in FY18 to USD 3.6 trillion in FY24. By FY30, they are likely to double to USD 7 trillion," the report said. The Unified Payments Interface (<keyword id="19900911" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="UPI" source="keywords">UPI</keyword>) has been a key driver of this growth, demonstrating a CAGR of 138 per cent in its volumes during FY18-24. Other instruments such as cards and digital wallets are also gaining in popularity, contributing 10 per cent of digital transaction value today. "With such dynamic developments, it is no wonder that India is a global frontrunner in the digital payment landscape, accounting for a stellar 46 per cent of the global digital transaction volumes in 2022," it said. Digital payments have penetrated small towns, with respondents in these areas highlighting that 65 per cent of their transactions are digital, while respondents in larger cities cited this ratio to be 75 per cent. "There is a strong correlation between a city's average DDPU and its retail potential, as measured by the Kearney India Retail Index, with the top six metros displaying both high DDPU and high retail potential," the report said. DDPU surpasses retail potential in some cities such as Lucknow, Patna, Bhopal, Jaipur, Bhubaneswar, Indore, Ahmedabad and Pune, which have a high DDPU nearly matching that of larger metropolitan cities despite having a lower retail potential than the top six metros. The report said co-branded credit cards are gaining momentum. "Emerging methods such as buy now, pay later (BNPL), wearable payments and voice assistant-based payments are also starting to make inroads." Digital modes of payment constitute around 69 per cent of the total transaction volumes for the Indian merchants that were surveyed. Even street vendors such as paan shops, fruit and flower sellers, food stalls, and kirana stores are joining the digital payment brigade. "Challenges for merchant adoption mirror consumer concerns, emphasizing issues of financial fraud, limited connectivity and trust," it said. The report said the next wave of growth in digital payments will be fueled by increasing penetration in segments with lower DDPU, such as consumers in lower-income groups and smaller towns, along with enhancing the value of spending via digital modes of payment in the higher DDPU segments by addressing their concerns. "All key stakeholders across the digital payments' ecosystem, including payment providers, the government, and value-added services players, will need to play a part in expanding digital payment adoption," it said. The focus areas should be empowering communities with financial education by launching target programmes to boost awareness of digital payments and new methods such as UPI Lite and UPI Lite X, especially for aspiring consumer segments, women in small towns, and street commerce merchants, to encourage higher adoption. Also, there is a need to create user-friendly consumer journeys by streamlining documentation and know-your-customer (<keyword id="19910870" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="kyc" source="keywords">KYC</keyword>) processes, optimising user interfaces, and establishing responsive customer complaint resolution mechanisms, it said adding also there is a need to enhance digital infrastructure by addressing systems and network issues and exploring innovations such as UPI Lite X for areas with limited internet. Also, the risk of fraud has to be minimised and access to credit-based payment methods expanded by using alternate data for underwriting risk, developing innovative credit products and promoting credit education for financial health. "These areas can help India overcome challenges in the digital payment ecosystem by fostering a more inclusive, secure, and user-friendly environment, thereby enhancing the adoption of digital payments among consumers and merchants in India," it added.

India to see retail digital payments to double to USD 7 tn by 2030: Report

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Indonesia is building a new capital city from scratch to deal with rising sea levels.</li><li>The new city, Nusantara, was set to be operational in October. But things are not going according to plan.</li></ul>Jakarta, the current capital of Indonesia, is overpopulated and sinking.Southeast Asia's largest megacity is home to some 10.6 million people. But with 40% of the wider metropolitan area below sea level, the effects of climate change are increasingly <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/indonesia-jakarta-sinking-flooding-2019-5">causing flooding</a> across the capital.So, in 2019, Indonesia's government approved an ambitious plan to build a new capital city 100 miles away from Jakarta.Nusantara, the new capital, is not scheduled to be fully completed until 2045. However, the city was set to be operational as the new seat of government in time for the new president's inauguration in October.That's now looking increasingly unlikely, according to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2024-indonesia-new-capital-nusantara-delays/?srnd=phx-latest">Bloomberg</a>.Construction delays, funding concerns, and resignations are casting doubt over whether President Joko Widodo's <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jakarta-sinking-indonesia-new-capital-city-nusantara-photos-climate-crisis-2024-4">$30 billion</a> megaproject will be open before his term runs out.As the nation's new administrative capital, Nusantara requires ministerial offices, a presidential palace, and residential and office space for at least 10,000 civil servants to be built in East Kalimantan, a province on the Indonesian side of the jungle-covered island of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/top-2024-destination-dupes-according-to-intrepid-travel-2024-5">Borneo</a>.Large areas around the government buildings are still under construction. When it rains, the unpaved access roads become muddy and difficult for workers to navigate.<div type="image" title="The Autonomous Rail Rapid Transit system in Nusantara, the new capital of Indonesia, with jungle trees behind it and cranes in the distance." height="576" width="1024" msid="112547669" hostid="261" sizebytes="128106"></div>Issues with water and electricity supplies have also delayed plans to relocate civil servants to their new homes multiple times since March. Only one office building, meant to house four government agencies, is currently complete, Bloomberg reported.The latest estimate is that office and housing complexes will be ready in September. "But if it's not ready, we'll postpone it," President Widodo <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3270707/indonesias-jokowi-delays-move-new-capital-amid-prabowos-potential-shift-nusantara">told reporters</a>.In June, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/indonesia-nusantara-jakarta-new-capital-city-joko-widodo-resignations-2024-6">two senior government officials</a> overseeing the project resigned.Even plans to celebrate Indonesia's Independence Day in Nusantara on 17 August have been curtailed — the guest list has been cut down from 8,000 to 1,300 because of logistical challenges, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.ft.com/content/f6aa4a2c-42fe-459f-922e-dfb2b0d2e24a">the Financial Times reported.</a>"The accommodation was not enough, as well as food, since the ecosystem has yet to be built here," Widodo said at a press conference, per the FT.Despite the setbacks, president-elect Prabowo Subianto has pledged to continue the project when he takes office. However, there are rising concerns about how Nusantara will be funded.The Indonesian government has only committed to covering about 20% of the cost and has struggled to find other sources of cash. In March 2022, Japan's SoftBank pulled out of investing in the project.Over 400 companies have now signed intent to invest letters, but only around $3.5 billion has been committed so far, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Business-trends/Indonesia-s-new-capital-Nusantara-attracts-increased-investor-interest">Jokowi has said</a>.Subianto's commitment to the project may increase investor's confidence. The government is also tempting them with land concessions for <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://jakartaglobe.id/news/jokowi-defends-190year-state-land-concessions-for-nusantara-investors">up to 160 years</a> and generous tax incentives.

Indonesia's $30 billion purpose-built new capital city is not going to plan

The e-commerce market in India is projected to increase significantly to over USD 300 billion by 2030 as the country's <keyword id="20107419" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="digital-economy" source="keywords">digital economy</keyword> is set to reach a whopping USD 1 billion by the same year. According to <keyword id="19918506" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Invest-India" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Invest India" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Invest India">Invest India</keyword>, India's online shopper base will be the 2nd largest globally by 2030, with nearly 500-600 Mn shoppers. Even now, India has the 2nd largest Internet user-base globally with 881 million users. India is moving towards becoming a dominant force in global e-commerce by 2030, driven by a growing digital economy and an expanding internet user base. The data from the investment promotion and facilitation agency Invest India from shows India taking the lead in <keyword id="19957108" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="online-shopping" source="keywords">online shopping</keyword>, the e-commerce sector in India is valued at USD 70 billion at present. This makes up for just around 7 percent of the total retail market in the country. However, several factors are likely to contribute a bright future outlook for the sector. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Growing internet penetration and digital economy" comment="subhead" text="Growing internet penetration and digital economy">Growing <keyword id="20707509" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="internet-penetration" source="keywords">internet penetration</keyword> and digital economy</cmsannotation> Internet penetration across has seen substantial growth, with over 60% of the Indian population (918 million) using the internet by September 2023. Further, an estimated 87 percent of Indian households are projected to have internet access as early as 2025. The time spent accessing the internet via mobile devices has also increased by 21 percent compared to 2019. The affordability of data prices in India is a key factor, with one gigabyte of data priced at around USD 0.17 (Rs 13.5), encouraging a large portion of the population to go online. <keyword id="21457667" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mobile-data-traffic" source="keywords">Mobile data traffic</keyword> has tripled from 2018 to 2023, demonstrating the growing dependence on <keyword id="19979951" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="digital-platforms" source="keywords">digital platforms</keyword> for diverse requirements. It is projected that by 2026, 1.18 billion people across the country will have access to smartphones, over 80% of India's population. The increasing number of smartphone users along with higher average data consumption per user, boosts the digital economy. The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has become a major player in digital payments, handling transactions worth USD 1.5 trillion in 2022. There has been a significant increase in the availability of local language and mobile-first content, with about 73 percent of India's internet users utilizing Indian languages. As a result, there is an estimated regional language user base of 540 million, creating a market worth USD 53 billion. Digital infrastructure like UPI, eKYC, and Aadhaar has cut down the consumer onboarding time by 80 percent, enhancing the digital experience. The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) is another notable initiative by the Government of India, launched in 2022. It aims to provide equal opportunities to MSMEs to thrive in digital commerce and democratize e-commerce. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="A transition along with growth" comment="subhead" text="A transition along with growth">A transition along with growth</cmsannotation> In FY 2022-23, Government e-marketplace (GeM) registered its highest ever Gross Merchandise Value of $2011 Bn, shows data from Invest India. The projected growth in online shoppers in India is substantial, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22 percent to 88 million in rural India and 15 percent to 263 million in urban India from 2019 to 2026. There is a notable transition towards rural-focused value e-commerce, with more than 60 percent of demand anticipated to come from tier 2-4 towns and rural India by 2026. Government programs such as the National Logistics Policy are designed to streamline deliveries to remote areas, improving the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of logistics. The quick commerce market in India's hyperlocal mobility sector is also projected to grow exponentially to achieve a market size of USD 5.5 billion by 2025. Leading companies like Swiggy and Zomato are at the forefront of the market, while startups like Zepto are also gaining substantial market share. <keyword id="20873923" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="social-commerce" source="keywords">Social commerce</keyword>, a new trend that uses social networks and digital media to connect buyers and sellers, is also projected to achieve a market size of USD 70 billion by 2030, with small video applications gaining significant popularity. Significant mergers and acquisitions have been observed in the e-commerce sector, with companies such as Zomato and PhonePe making strategic decisions to enhance their positions. Government schemes like Jan Dhan Yojana, BharatNet Project, and the implementation of Goods &amp; Service Tax (GST) have been instrumental in shaping India's digital economy. (With inputs from ANI)

India's e-commerce market set to skyrocket as the country's digital economy surges to USD 1 Trillion by 2030

<ul class="summary-list"><li>US regulators ruled that new Apple Watches infringe upon existing patents held by Masimo.</li><li>In response to the ruling, Apple said it would stop selling two models of the Apple Watch this week.</li></ul>If Apple moves ahead with its tentative plan to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-halting-sales-series-9-ultra-2-watch-united-states-2023-12">stop selling two of the latest models of Apple Watches</a> this week, it could cost the company hundreds of millions of dollars.On Monday, Apple announced plans to stop selling the Series 9 and Ultra 2 versions of its smartwatch for US customers online beginning Thursday afternoon, and in its stores on Sunday.The disruption will likely cost Apple about $300-400 million in holiday-season sales, Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives estimated. That's a relative drop in the bucket for Apple, given that analysts are expecting Apple to generate nearly $120 billion in sales during the October-December period, including the holiday shopping season.The sales suspension on the two Apple Watch models "doesn't move the needle much for the company, but still, it couldn't have come at a worse possible time," Ives said.Apple's stock so far hasn't been significantly affected by the announced sales suspension on the two watch models, leaving the shares near their record high reached last week."Apple strongly disagrees with the order and is pursuing a range of legal and technical options to ensure that Apple Watch is available to customers," a representative for Apple said in a statement to Business Insider. "Should the order stand, Apple will continue to take all measures to return Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 to customers in the US as soon as possible."<h2>Apple's patent dispute has reached the White House</h2>Apple's move to halt sales of its new smartwatch models stems from an October decision by the International Trade Commission restricting Apple's watches with the Blood Oxygen measurement feature as part of an intellectual property dispute with the medical technology company Masimo.The White House had 60 days to review the ITC order issued on October 26, meaning Apple could have kept selling the two affected models in the US through Christmas. But the Cupertino, California, company said in a Monday statement that it is pausing sales early to ensure it complies with the ITC order, in an apparent indication that the company isn't confident that the White House will intervene in the international patent dispute.Business Insider previously reported that it's unlikely the Biden administration will overturn the ruling, but is possible and has happened before. <a target="_blank" rel="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/obama-vetoes-ban-on-iphone-and-ipad-2013-8">Former President Barack Obama</a> in 2013 vetoed an ITC ban on some models of the iPhone and iPad following a similar patent dispute between Apple and Samsung.White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the Biden administration was tracking the Apple Watch trade case. She said US Trade Representative Katherine Tai has the authority to decide on the matter and that she was "carefully considering all of the factors in this case." Jean-Pierre said she didn't want to get ahead of any decision Tai might make.<h2>More patent disputes may be on the horizon</h2>If the ITC's sales ban isn't overturned, Apple pledged to "take all measures" to resume sales of the Series 9 and Ultra 2 models in the US as soon as possible.Bloomberg <a target="_blank" rel=" nofollow" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-12-18/apple-plans-rescue-for-17-billion-watch-business-in-face-of-ban?srnd=premium">reported</a> the company's engineers are scrambling to make last-minute software changes to the watches in an attempt to work around the ITC's ruling, though there's no guarantee their efforts will prevent the ban from taking place.The Apple Watch SE, which lacks the Blood Oxygen feature, will remain on sale in the US after Christmas Eve. Previously purchased Apple Watches equipped with the Blood Oxygen feature aren't affected by the ITC order.This isn't the first patent roadblock the Apple Watch has run into as it increasingly morphs into a health-management device. Last year, the ITC ruled that Apple had infringed on the wearable EKG technology of AliveCor — a decision the Biden administration declined to overturn. That dispute hasn't directly affected Apple Watch sales yet because another regulatory body had ruled that AliveCor's technology isn't patentable. The legal tussle on that issue is still ongoing.The patent headaches facing Apple as it tries to infuse more medical technology into its watch models make it increasingly likely the company will either have to start working out licensing deals or simply acquire startups specializing in the field, Ives predicted.

Apple Watch ban could cost the company $300-$400 million in lost sales

Amid layoffs and a severe cost-cutting, Twitter has closed offices in <keyword id="66" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="delhi" source="Orion">Delhi</keyword> and <keyword id="6358070" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="mumbai" source="Orion">Mumbai</keyword> and asked staff to work from home, according to sources. The micro-blogging platform's Bengaluru office which largely has engineering staff remains operational, the sources said. The Delhi and Mumbai offices shuttered a few weeks ago, with remaining staff now working from home, sources privy to the matter said. However, the number of employees affected by the move could not be immediately ascertained. A mail sent to Twitter on the issue did not elicit a response. The closure of the two offices in key locations in India comes as the platform has initiated a massive cost-cutting drive globally, after billionaire Elon Musk's USD 44 billion takeovers of Twitter, last year. The firm downsized from more than 7,000 people to 2,300 active employees across the globe - the mass-layoffs began with the firing of CEO <keyword id="3115373" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="parag-agrawal" source="Orion">Parag Agrawal</keyword> as well as the <keyword id="53346" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="cfo" source="Orion">CFO</keyword> and many other high-ranking leaders last year. In the retrenchments that followed, Twitter fired the majority of its over 200 employees in India as well. Only a handful was spared as layoffs culled roles across engineering, sales and marketing, and communications teams. The US-based social media platform, in an internal e-mail to employees in early November, said, "in an effort to place Twitter on a healthy path, we will go through the difficult process of reducing our global workforce..." SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/govt-gives-in-principle-approval-to-nine-ethanol-blending-projects/articleshow/98005422.cms">Govt gives in-principle approval to nine ethanol blending projects</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/sports/news/bcci-chief-selector-chetan-sharma-resigns-as-per-sources/articleshow/98003169.cms">BCCI chief selector Chetan Sharma resigns, as per sources</a>

Twitter closes offices in Delhi, Mumbai; staff asked to work from home

<keyword id="6355267" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mining" source="Orion">Mining</keyword> mogul <keyword id="6354819" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="anil-agarwal" source="Orion">Anil Agarwal</keyword> has said his <keyword id="28423" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="vedanta" source="Orion">Vedanta</keyword> group has ample cash flow to service all its <keyword id="44647" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="debt" source="Orion">debt</keyword> repayment obligations and that it aims to become a "net <keyword id="817349" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="zero-debt" source="Orion">zero debt</keyword> company" in 2-3 years. Agarwal said questions over Vedanta's debt servicing ability are "absolutely irrelevant" as the group will make USD 9 billion of profits next year on revenue of USD 30 billion, which would be sufficient to meet all obligations. The comments by the former scrap metal trader turned industrialist come at a time when scrutiny of highly leveraged Indian conglomerates grows following a US short seller attack on the Adani group. "We have the lowest debt in the world for a group of our size," Agarwal, founder, and chairman of Vedanta Resources, told PTI in an interview here. And the debt is a result of investing billions of dollars across businesses, he said. "Total debt in the company is USD 13 billion. And we have a profit this year of USD 7 billion. Next year our revenue would be USD 30 billion and we will have USD 9 billion profit" across the group. The cash flows are more than sufficient to meet debt servicing obligations. "We are very comfortable," he said. "We have never defaulted to make any payment. We always have a plan to make the payments." Earlier this week, Vedanta Resources Ltd, the parent company of Mumbai-listed mining giant Vedanta Ltd, said it has paid all its maturing loans and bonds due this month to reduce its gross debt by a further USD 1 billion. Vedanta has now reduced debt by a total of USD 3 billion since it announced in February 2022 its intention to accelerate deleveraging. It had announced plans to reduce debt by USD 4 billion within 3 years, of which it has achieved 75 per cent of the committed reduction in 14 months. Agarwal said it is "absolutely irrelevant" to talk about the debt payment capability of the group. The group, whose business spans from zinc to silver, iron ore to aluminium and oil and gas, borrows the bare minimum, and "we have enough cash flow to service that debt," he said. He went on to state that the group would be a net zero debt company in 2-3 years' time. "At the moment the plan is that in 2-3 years we will be a net zero debt company," he said hastening to add that the group may have to borrow in pursuit of its aggressive expansion plans. Diversified natural resources conglomerate plans building capacities in zinc, oil and gas, and aluminium businesses as it believes supply will remain a challenge in the commodities' space in the medium term. The group, which has already invested USD 35 billion in the country so far, plans to become a USD 100-billion company by 2030. Vedanta is also foraying into the manufacturing of semiconductor and display fabs and signed an initial pact with Apple supplier Foxconn to set up a manufacturing facility in Gujarat. India is 100 per cent import-dependent for fabs and semiconductors with domestic consumption expected to cross USD 80 billion by 2026 and touch USD 110 billion by 2030. "Yes 100 per cent within a maximum of 2-3 years time, we will be zero debt company. But we have to do a lot in India. We have to create semiconductors (factory), we have to create display glass (factory), we have to expand our copper (business), we have to expand our aluminium (business), we have to expand oil and gas (operations), this is important. At that point, we might have to take debt (but) we have no plan (as of now)," he said. S&amp;P Ratings on April 3 stated that Vedanta will likely have enough liquidity until December. US short-seller Hindenburg Research's damning report on billionaire tycoon Gautam Adani's infrastructure conglomerate this year triggered a stock market routing that had erased about USD 145 billion in his group's market value at its lowest point. Adani group has denied all allegations by Hindenburg and is plotting a comeback strategy. Agarwal dismissed concerns about paying upcoming liabilities, stressing his commodities businesses were generating enough cash to service debt. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/best-discounts-offers-and-deals-on-smartphones-laptops-and-electronics-items-in-amazon-sale-2023/articleshow/99815311.cms">Amazon Sale 2023: Bank discounts, offers, and deals on gadgets and more teased</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/how-to-grant-social-benefits-to-same-sex-couples-sc-asks-centre/articleshow/99815407.cms">'How to grant social benefits to same-sex couples', SC asks Centre</a>

Anil Agarwal makes 'zero debt' pledge, says 'very comfortable' servicing debt

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The Biden administration is reportedly gearing up to cancel $10,000 in student debt for some borrowers.</li><li>The announcement, targeted at borrowers making under $125,000, could come on Wednesday.</li></ul>After over a year of uncertainty, the Biden administration is gearing up to finally cancel some student loan debt, a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/student-loan-debt-forgiveness-biden-campaign-promises-education-department-2021-6">long-awaited fulfillment</a> of one of the president's campaign promises.Borrowers making below $125,000 annually could see $10,000 in student debt wiped out as early as this week, with an <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-weighing-student-loan-forgiveness-100000-income-threshold-this-week-2022-8">announcement potentially coming on Wednesday</a>. In a new analysis, the Penn-Wharton Budget Model <a href="https://budgetmodel.wharton.upenn.edu/issues/2022/8/23/forgiving-student-loans">estimates</a> that that forgiveness could cost about $300 billion this year, with a price tag of a little below $330 billion if borrowers remain eligible for forgiveness over the next ten years. The analysis's estimates for various levels of debt forgiveness and income cutoffs show that the Biden administration has opted for the cheapest road to forgiveness; forgiving $50,000 for all borrowers would cost about $820 billion this year alone, and eventually add up to about $980 billion over the next decade if borrowers stay eligible.Student loans currently aren't even profitable for the government. A <a href="https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-22-105365">July report</a> from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/student-loans-costing-thegovernment-not-profiting-gao-republicans-2022-8">found</a> that federal loans are actually projected to cost the government $197 billion, instead of bringing in what the Education Department estimated as a $114 billion profit, because of the various pauses and changes over the last couple of years.The price of student-loan forgiveness pales in comparison to other major federal expenditures. Defense spending is projected to cost nearly $8.7 trillion over the next decade, according to the <a href="https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2022-07/57972-APB-discretionary.pdf">Congressional Budget Office</a>, and will cost $796 billion in 2022 alone.That $300 billion is also a fraction of how much borrowers hold right now; America's student loan debtors <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/student-loan-debt-cancellation-payment-pause-borrowers-disabilities-defrauded-2021-6">currently owe $1.7 trillion</a>.While Biden has not publicly confirmed his plans for broad student-loan relief, he has said himself he will make the decision before August 31, when student-loan payments are set to resume. In April, he <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-decide-student-loan-forgiveness-coming-weeks-not-50000-debt-2022-4">shot down</a> $50,000 in relief — an amount many Democratic lawmakers and advocates have been pushing for — and recent reports have <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-weighing-student-loan-forgiveness-100000-income-threshold-this-week-2022-8">suggested</a> his final amount will be near $10,000, which he <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/student-loan-debt-forgiveness-biden-campaign-promises-education-department-2021-6">pledged</a> on the campaign trail. Some pundits and politicians have <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-student-loan-forgiveness-debt-payment-pause-lawmakers-last-efforts-2022-8">pushed back</a> against forgiveness, arguing that it would exacerbate inflation and benefit the highest earners, like <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-doctors-lawyers-student-loan-debt-high-paid-jobs-2022-8">doctors and lawyers</a>. Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, for example, recently wrote a <a href="https://twitter.com/LHSummers/status/1561701542591356931?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1561701542591356931%7Ctwgr%5Ef05235640756f057859baaff8da7bf5ee8cce774%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.businessinsider.com%2Fbiden-student-loan-forgiveness-debt-payment-pause-lawmakers-last-efforts-2022-8">Twitter thread</a> saying that he hopes Biden "does not contribute to inflation macro economically by offering unreasonably generous student loan relief or micro economically by encouraging college tuition increases."A number of Republican lawmakers have also pushed back against broad relief, citing the costs of prior policies like the payment pause, and have <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gop-counters-bidens-student-loan-forgiveness-new-bill-income-pslf-2022-8">introduced legislation</a> to resume repayment and ban Biden from canceling debt broadly. But with these likely being the final days before a decision is announced, supporters of broad debt relief have been persuading the president to go <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-student-loan-forgiveness-debt-payment-pause-lawmakers-last-efforts-2022-8">as big as possible</a>. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders recently called for Biden to "cancel every single cent of student debt in this country," and groups like the NAACP are keeping pressure on Biden to cancel a minimum of $50,000 for every federal borrower."Do it to reduce the racial wealth gap, do it to capture the interest of many who will participate in the November election, do it for the future of American families and communities," NAACP Director of Youth and College Wisdom Cole said in a statement. "Every generation will be grateful you did."

You Searched For "USD 300 billion pledge" and got 8 results

What the collapse of a company owing $300 billion means for the world

Huileng Tan

India to see retail digital payments to double to USD 7 tn by 2030: Report

PTI

Indonesia's $30 billion purpose-built new capital city is not going to plan

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India's e-commerce market set to skyrocket as the country's digital economy surges to USD 1 Trillion by 2030

BI India Bureau

Apple Watch ban could cost the company $300-$400 million in lost sales

Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert,…

Twitter closes offices in Delhi, Mumbai; staff asked to work from home

PTI

Anil Agarwal makes 'zero debt' pledge, says 'very comfortable' servicing debt

PTI

Biden's student-loan debt forgiveness would cost $300 billion, report says — less than half of the defense budget

Juliana Kaplan,Ayelet Sheffey

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