Jul 29, 2019

Ride-hailing giant Grab to invest $2 billion into Indonesian business

SoftBank Chairman Masayoshi Son (R) and Grab CEO Anthony Tan (L) during the SoftBank World 2019 conference on July 18, 2019 in Tokyo, Japan. Photo: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images

Southeast Asian ride-hailing giant Grab said on Monday that it will use $2 billion of its funds from SoftBank to invest in developing transportation and other services, like healthcare, in Indonesia over the next five years.

Why it matters: For Japan-based SoftBank, this is a way to get even deeper investment into the Indonesian market. Chairman Masayoshi Son also said he plans on investing more funds into the online marketplace Tokopedia and look for additional investment opportunities in the country.

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Rebecca Falconer
Updated 17 mins ago - World

China announces retaliatory sanctions on Rubio, Cruz and other U.S. officials

Photos: Graeme Jennings/Pool/Getty Images; Al Drago/Pool/Getty Images

China's Foreign Ministry announced Monday that it's imposing sanctions on Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas), along with nine other Americans, per Bloomberg.

Why it matters: It's a direct response to similar actions by the U.S. that included the Trump administration placing sanctions on officials Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam last Friday over Beijing's encroachment of the Asian financial hub's s autonomy.

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Amy Harder
25 mins ago - Energy & Environment

Biden’s union push could force showdown with Elon Musk

Photo illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios. Photo: Yasin Ozturk/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images, Joshua Roberts/Getty Images

Joe Biden wants to go big on climate change and big on unions. Elon Musk leads on the former but lags on the latter.

Why it matters: Musk isn’t uniquely averse to unions, but Tesla is considered a leader on the type of new technologies needed to tackle climate change. Musk’s leadership ethos could be in the crosshairs if Biden becomes president and follows through on his campaign vows.

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Zachary Basu
Updated 59 mins ago - World

Police and protesters clash in Belarus after "Europe's last dictator" claims election win

Protesters and riot police clash in Minsk, Belarus, on Sunday during a demonstration against President Alexander Lukashenko's claim of a landslide victory. Photo: Misha Friedman/Getty Images)

Riot police clashed with protesters in Belarus overnight after a government exit poll predicted Sunday President Aleksander Lukashenko, an authoritarian who has ruled the Eastern European country since 1994, had overwhelmingly defeated a pro-democracy opposition candidate.

Why it matters: It's a precarious moment for the former Soviet republic, where decades of repression and a complete disregard for the coronavirus pandemic threaten to topple "Europe's last dictator." Rights groups said at least one protester was killed and dozens more wounded in a "police crackdown," per AP.

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