消息人士稱，亞洲開發銀行將資助巴基斯坦鐵路升級，因中國融資停滯

Recently Yahoo News on-line picked up the following:

ADB to back Pakistan rail upgrade as China financing stalls, sources say

Reuters - By Saeed Shah and Ariba Shahid

Fri, August 22, 2025 at 6:06 a.m. PDT

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -The Asian Development Bank will fund upgrades to part of Pakistan's creaking railway system, replacing China, after prolonged delays in securing financing from Beijing threatened to put a strain on a strategic mining project, two sources said on Friday.

An extensive revamp of 1,800 km (1,118 miles) of railways has been the centrepiece of a $60 billion Chinese investment programme in Pakistan announced in 2015 as part of Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative global infrastructure push.

A decade of negotiations, however, have yet to produce a finance package for the rail upgrades - the single biggest project under the programme with China. And Pakistan is, meanwhile, struggling to repay Chinese debt owed for other projects.

The ADB is in advanced talks to lead the financing of a $2 billion upgrade of a 500-km stretch of the railway line from Karachi to Rohri in the country's south that had previously been part of the Chinese project, two sources with direct knowledge of the discussions told Reuters.

The upgrade has become urgent, they said, as it is needed to transport copper ore from the Reko Diq mine currently being developed by Canada's Barrick Mining Corp.

"We will have a crisis. How will you evacuate output from Reko Diq? The exhausted line will come under even more pressure," one of the sources, a senior government official, said.

There was no immediate comment from Pakistan's railways ministry or China's foreign ministry.

The ADB would not confirm the finance package, which is being reported for the first time by Reuters. But it said Pakistan's government and the regional lender "have regular discussions on railway sector development".

"Any potential ADB assistance would be subject to comprehensive due diligence and consideration under ADB's policies and procedures before any commitment is made," it wrote in a statement to Reuters.

The deal, expected to be announced later this month, would see the ADB lead a consortium to finance the project and bring in an international engineering contractor to carry out the work through a competitive bidding process, the sources said.

The ADB announced $410 million in financing for the Reko Diq mine itself earlier this week. And its president is due to visit Islamabad next week, the sources said.

 

CHINA AND PAKISTAN: 'IRONCLAD FRIENDS'?

The sources said the plan is diplomatically tricky but has been squared with China.

"We would never do anything to jeopardise that relationship," the senior Pakistani official said.

China rolled out major power and infrastructure projects after the 2015 launch of the investment programme, known locally as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. But momentum has stalled, with the last big project - the Gwadar East Bay Expressway - inaugurated in 2022.

Islamabad has fallen behind on payments for electricity generated by Chinese-built power plants. And following a government report looking at the cost of the power stations, Islamabad has for the past year sought to reschedule debt payments for the plants.

"China and Pakistan are ironclad friends and all-weather strategic cooperative partners," China's foreign ministry said on August 19, ahead of a visit by Foreign Minister Wang Yi to Islamabad this week.

In Wang's meeting with Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday, both sides said they sought to deepen ties and move on to the next phase of CPEC.

 

PAKISTAN'S MINING AMBITIONS

The Reko Diq copper and gold mine - at the heart of the government's strategy to attract investment to Pakistan's mining sector - is due to enter production in 2028 with anticipated annual output of some 200,000 metric ton of copper concentrate.

One of the world's largest untapped copper deposits, it is Pakistan's largest foreign investment in recent years.

The ADB-financed rail upgrade would modernise the track and bridges from the commercial capital Karachi north to Rohri, close to the city of Sukkur, so that diesel trains can run faster, the sources said.

In Rohri, the line will meet a branch coming from the area of the Reko Diq mine and will carry the copper concentrate to port.

Tim Cribb, Reko Diq's project director, told Reuters that the government and Barrick would work together on securing financing for the upgrading of the branch coming from the west to Rohri.

The mine also faces security concerns, as it lies in the insurgency-hit western province of Balochistan, with militants frequently targeting the rail network.

Translation

消息人士稱，亞洲開發銀行將資助巴基斯坦鐵路升級，因中國融資停滯

伊斯蘭堡（路透社） - 兩位消息人士週五稱，亞洲開發銀行將取代中國，為巴基斯坦部分老舊鐵路系統的升級提供資金，此前，巴基斯坦未能獲得北京方面的融資，可能給一項戰略性採礦項目帶來壓力。

2015年，中國宣布將在巴基斯坦投資600億美元，作為「一帶一路」全球基礎建設的一部分，該項目的核心內容是對1800公里（1118英里）鐵路進行大規模改造。

然而，經過十年的談判，鐵路升級項目仍未達成融資方案 - 這是與中國合作的最大单一項目。與此同時，巴基斯坦還在努力償還中國因其他項目所欠下的債務。

兩位直接了解談判情況的消息人士告訴路透社，亞洲開發銀行 (ADB)正就牽頭融資20億美元升級巴基斯坦南部卡拉奇至羅裡一段500公里鐵路線進行深入談判，該鐵路線此前曾是中國項目的一部分。

他們表示，升級工作已刻不容緩，因為需要運送 Reko Diq 礦場的銅礦石，目前由加拿大 Barrick礦業公司開發。

其中一位消息人士，一位高級政府官員說: 「我們將面臨危機。如何從 Reko Diq 送出出產？這條疲憊不堪的線路將面臨更大的壓力」。

巴基斯坦鐵道部和中國外交部均未立即發表評論。

亞洲開發銀行不願證實路透社首次通報的融資方案。但亞洲開發銀行表示，巴基斯坦政府和亞洲開發銀行「正在就鐵路產業發展進行定期討論」。

亞銀在給路透社的聲明中寫道： “任何潛在的銀行援助都將根據其政策和程序進行全面的盡職調查和考量，之後才會做出任何承諾。”

消息人士稱，該協議預計將於本月稍後宣布，由亞銀牽頭一個財團為該項目提供融資，並透過競爭性招標程序引入一家國際工程承包商來實施該項目。

亞銀本週稍早宣布將為 Reko Diq 礦提供4.1億美元的融資。消息人士稱，亞銀行長將於下週訪問伊斯蘭堡。

 

中國和巴基斯坦：「鐵甲般堅實朋友」?

消息人士稱，該計劃在外交上頗具技巧，但已與中國達成和解。

這位巴基斯坦高級官員表示: 「我們絕對不會做任何危及兩國關係的事情」。

自2015年啟動這項在當地被稱為「中巴經濟走廊」(CPEC) 的投資計劃以來，中國展開了多項大型電力和基礎設施項目。然而，隨著最後一個大型計劃 - 瓜達爾東灣高速公路 - 於2022年正式通車，這股勢頭已停顿。

伊斯蘭堡一直拖欠中國建造的發電廠的電費。在一份政府報告審查了這些發電站的成本後，伊斯蘭堡在過去一年裡一直試圖重組這些電廠的債務償還。

在外交部長王毅本週將訪問伊斯蘭堡之前, 中國外交部於8月19日表示：「中巴是鐵甲般堅實朋友和全天候戰略合作夥伴」。

週四，王毅在與巴基斯坦總理謝里夫的會晤中表示，雙方均表示，希望深化兩國關係，並推動中巴經濟走廊 (CPEC)下一階段的建設。

 

巴基斯坦的礦業雄心

Reko Diq 銅金礦是巴基斯坦政府吸引礦業投資策略的核心，預計2028年投產，預計年產銅精礦約20萬噸。

Reko Diq 礦場是世界上最大的未開發銅礦床之一，也是巴基斯坦近年來最大的外國投資。

消息人士稱，由亞銀資助的鐵路升級項目將對從商業首都卡拉奇北部到 Sukkur市附近的 Rohri 的鐵路和橋樑進行現代化改造，以提高柴油列車的運行速度。

在 Rohri，這條鐵路將與一條來自 Reko Diq 礦區的支線匯合，並將銅精礦運往港口。

Reko Diq 專案總監 Tim Cribb 告訴路透社，政府將與 Barrick 合作，為從西部通往 Rohri 的支線升級項目爭取融資。

該礦也面臨安全問題，因為它位於叛亂猖獗的西部省份 Balochistan，武裝分子經常襲擊鐵路網。

 So, the Asian Development Bank will replace China in providing funds to upgrade part of Pakistan's aging railway system. Previously, China has rolled out major power and infrastructure projects known locally as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, but momentum is stalled now. Currently, Islamabad has fallen behind on payments for electricity generated by Chinese-built power plants and is trying to reschedule debt payments for the plants. I am wondering why China is not willing to continue to support the upgrading of the railway system. Apparently, money is a concern.

特朗普大力打擊東南亞作為中國替代者的地位 (1/2)

 Recently The New York Times reported the following:

Trump Took a Wrecking Ball to Southeast Asia’s Role as an Alternative to China (1/2)

Punishing tariffs on Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and others in the region threaten their position as major manufacturing hubs for the American market.

By Alexandra Stevenson Reporting from Hong Kong

April 3, 2025

Updated 10:04 a.m. ET

For years, countries like Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand have worked to turn themselves into alternatives to China for factories making the bags, electronics, shoes and auto parts that eventually end up in the United States.

That is now poised to change after President Trump on Wednesday aimed his most punishing tariffs at countries in Southeast Asia.

The news came as a hammer blow to American companies that have come to depend on factories in the region amid growing U.S.-China trade tensions. Some were asking: Where to now?

“This is much worse than what most of us had anticipated,” said Sonal Varma, chief economist for Asia excluding Japan at Nomura, the Japanese bank.

There were no illusions that any one country in Southeast Asia would be spared, but the size of the tariffs was a shock, as many of these countries are trade partners and allies with the United States.

Singapore, a close partner of the United States, said it was disappointed by the imposition of 10 percent tariffs despite a free-trade agreement with the United States and said that it would engage with the United States to understand how it calculated the tariffs.

Vietnam and Cambodia were singled out with new tariffs of 46 percent and 49 percent — among the steepest meted out to any country in the world, not accounting for earlier tariffs on specific sectors and countries such as China. In Thailand and Indonesia, the tariffs were high too, at 36 percent and 32 percent.

Mr. Trump had not previously given much air to concerns about the region, unlike his lengthy tirades against countries like China and Mexico, said Priyanka Kishore, an economist in Singapore and the founder of Asia Decoded, a consulting firm. “And then bam, Southeast Asia gets hit really hard,” she said.

The tariffs on Vietnam were especially harsh and could have long lasting effects on global trade because of how important the country has become as a substitute to manufacturing in China. “I’m still wrapping my head around it,” said Ms. Kishore.

Together with Mexico, Vietnam has been the biggest beneficiary of shifting global supply chains in recent years, as companies moved their factories out of neighboring China because of rising costs and growing tensions between the U.S. and China. The boom sent Vietnam’s trade surplus with the United States ballooning to $123.5 billion in 2024, the third highest after China and Mexico.

Initially, much of that trade was from companies rerouting products from China into Vietnam before exporting them to the United States. But in recent years, more of that trade has been driven by products made in Vietnam, as companies built new factories in the country and tried to replicate much of the China supply chain.

(to be continued)

Translation

特朗普大力打擊東南亞作為中國替代者的地位 (1/2)

對越南、柬埔寨、泰國和該地區其他國家徵收懲罰性關稅以威嚇它們作為美國市場主要製造中心的地位。

多年來，越南、柬埔寨和泰國等國家一直致力於將自己打造成中國的替代國家，生產物品容器、電子產品、鞋子和汽車零件，這些產品最終銷往美國。

特朗普總統週三對東南亞國家徵收最嚴厲的關稅後，這種情況即將改變。

在中美貿易緊張局勢加劇之際，這一消息對依賴該地區工廠的美國公司來說是一個沉重的打擊。有人問：接下來去哪裡？

日本野村證券（Nomura）日本以外亞洲地區首席經濟學家 Sonal Varma 表示： “這比我們大多數人預期的要糟糕得多。”

沒有人幻想東南亞任何一個國家能倖免，但關稅的規模令人震驚，因為其中許多國家都是美國的貿易夥伴和盟友。

美國的親密合作夥伴新加坡表示，儘管與美國簽訂了自由貿易協定，但新加坡對美國仍徵收 10% 的關稅感到失望，並表示將與美國接觸，了解如何計算關稅。

越南和柬埔寨被單獨列為被徵收 46% 和 49% 的新關稅的國家，這是全球被徵收最高額度的關稅之一，不包括先前對特定行業和中國等國家徵收的關稅。泰國和印尼的關稅也很高，分別為36%和32%。

新加坡經濟學家、顧問公司 Asia Decoded 的創辦人 Priyanka Kishore 表示，與針對中國和墨西哥等國的長篇大論不同，特朗普此前並沒有對這區域太多關注。她說: 「然後突然東南亞就遭受了嚴重打擊」。

對越南徵收的關稅尤其嚴厲，並且可能對全球貿易產生長期影響，因為越南已成為中國製造業的重要替代者。 Kishore 女士說:「我還在理解這個問題」。

近年來，由於成本上升和中美關係緊張加劇，企業紛紛將工廠遷出鄰近的中國，越南和墨西哥成為全球供應鏈轉移的最大受益者。經濟繁榮導致越南對美國的貿易順差在 2024 年激增至 1,235 億美元，僅次於中國和墨西哥，位居第三。

最初，大部分貿易都是由企業將產品從中國轉運到越南，然後再出口到美國。但近年來，隨著企業在越南建立新工廠並試圖複製大部分中國供應鏈，越來越多的貿易是由越南製造的產品所推動。

（待續）

越南向中國徵收鋼鐵關稅抑制其激增出口

 Recently Yahoo News on-line picked up the following:

Vietnam Hits China with Steel Tariffs to Fight Surging Exports

Yihui Xie and Katharine Gemmell

Sun, February 23, 2025 at 11:41 p.m. PST·2 min read

(Bloomberg) -- Vietnam will impose anti-dumping tariffs on steel from China, following South Korea and other nations in fighting back against surging supplies from the world’s biggest producer.

The Southeast Asian nation will impose temporary tariffs on some hot-rolled coil starting from early March, according to a statement from the Ministry of Industry and Trade on Friday. Outside China itself, Vietnam is the biggest single buyer of Chinese steel, and hot-rolled coil is a major export product.

China’s sent the most steel overseas in nine years in 2024, as its producers turned to global markets to offset a deep construction slowdown at home. That set the stage for President Donald Trump to propose a blanket 25% tariff on all US imports, and has prompted nations from South Korea to Brazil and India to consider levies.

The flurry of protectionism will pile pressure on Beijing to rein in its billion-ton steel industry after several years of slowing domestic demand. Steel futures in China fell as much as 1.8%, while steelmakers in Vietnam advanced.

Recent tariff decisions “should incentivize the Chinese government to launch another round of supply reform” to boost supply discipline and improve industry profitability, analysts including Jack Shang from Citigroup Inc. wrote in a note.

Vietnam’s temporary tariffs of between 19.38% and 27.83% will come into force on March 7 and last for 120 days. China exported about 8 millions tons of HRC to Vietnam last year, and the tariffs would likely cover about 50% of that volume, Citigroup said, citing discussions with industry players.

The anti-dumping probe was triggered by Hoa Phat Group and Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corp., two major Vietnamese steelmakers who requested an investigation of imports from India and China last year. The government won’t go ahead with duties on India at this moment, it said.

HRC futures on China’s Shanghai Futures Exchange were 1.3% lower by 3:34 p.m. local time, while iron ore in Singapore was little changed at $107.50 a ton.

Translation

越南向中國徵收鋼鐵關稅抑制其激增出口

(彭博社)－繼韓國和其他國家針對全球最大鋼鐵生產國中國鋼鐵供應激增進行反傾銷之後，越南將對來自中國的鋼鐵徵收反傾銷關稅。

越南工業和貿易部週五發表的聲明稱，這個東南亞國家將從 3 月初開始對部分熱軋捲板(HRC)徵收臨時關稅。中國對外，越南是中國鋼鐵最大的單一買家，熱軋捲板是中國鋼鐵的主要出口產品。

到2024年的九年內，中國的大部分鋼鐵產品是出口到海外，因為中國鋼鐵生產商將目光轉向全球市場，以抵消國內建築業大幅放緩的影響。這為特朗普總統提議對所有美國進口產品徵收 25% 的關稅提供了基礎，並引使韓國、巴西和印度等國也考慮徵收關稅。

在國內需求連續幾年放緩之後，一系列保護主義將給北京帶來壓力，迫使其遏制數十億噸的鋼鐵業。中國鋼鐵期貨下跌1.8%，而越南鋼鐵上漲。

花旗集團的分析師 Jack Shang 在一份報告中寫道，最近的關稅決定 “應該會激勵中國政府啟動新一輪供應改革” ，以加強供應紀律並提高行業盈利能力。

越南19.38%至27.83%的臨時關稅將於3月7日生效，為期120天。花旗集團引述與業內人士的討論結果稱，去年中國向越南出口了約 800 萬噸熱軋卷，加徵關稅的範圍可能涵蓋其中的 50% 左右。

這項反傾銷調查由越南兩大鋼鐵製造商 Hoa Phat Group 及 Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corp發起，這兩家公司去年申請對來自印度和中國的進口產品進行調查。政府表示，目前不會對印度徵收關稅。

截至下午 3:34，中國上海期貨交易所熱軋捲板期貨下跌 1.3%, 而在新加坡鐵礦石價格基本持平，每噸 107.50 美元。

       So, Vietnam will impose anti-dumping tariffs on steel from China, following South Korea and other nations in fighting back against surging supplies from the world’s biggest producer. Apparently, China is getting more pressure from abroad and a tariff war is also taking place among Asian countries.

中國將在西藏建造世界最大水力發電廠

Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following:

China to build world's largest hydropower dam in Tibet

Reuters

Reporting by Ryan Woo; Editing by Nicholas Yong

Wed, December 25, 2024 at 9:02 p.m. PST·2 min read

BEIJING (Reuters) - China has approved the construction of what will be the world's largest hydropower dam, kicking off an ambitious project on the eastern rim of the Tibetan plateau that could affect millions downstream in India and Bangladesh.

The dam, which will be located in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River, could produce 300 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, according to an estimate provided by the Power Construction Corp of China in 2020.

That would more than triple the 88.2 billion kWh designed capacity of the Three Gorges Dam, currently the world's largest, in central China.

The project will play a major role in meeting China's carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals, stimulate related industries such as engineering, and create jobs in Tibet, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Wednesday.

A section of the Yarlung Zangbo falls a dramatic 2,000 metres (6,561 feet) within a short span of 50 km (31 miles), offering huge hydropower potential as well as unique engineering challenges.

The outlay for building the dam, including engineering costs, is also expected to eclipse the Three Gorges dam, which cost 254.2 billion yuan($34.83 billion). This included the resettling of the 1.4 million people it displaced and was more than four times the initial estimate of 57 billion yuan.

Authorities have not indicated how many people the Tibet project would displace and how it would affect the local ecosystem, one of the richest and most diverse on the plateau.

But according to Chinese officials, hydropower projects in Tibet, which they say hold more than a third of China's hydroelectric power potential, would not have a major impact on the environment or on downstream water supplies

India and Bangladesh have nevertheless raised concerns about the dam, with the project potentially altering not only the local ecology but also the flow and course of the river downstream.

The Yarlung Zangbo becomes the Brahmaputra river as it leaves Tibet and flows south into India's Arunachal Pradesh and Assam states and finally into Bangladesh.

China has already commenced hydropower generation on the upper reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo, which flows from the west to the east of Tibet. It is planning more projects upstream.

($1 = 7.2989 Chinese yuan renminbi)

Translation

中國將在西藏建造世界最大水力發電廠

北京（路透社） - 中國已批准建造世界上最大的水力發電廠大壩，在青藏高原東緣啟動了一項雄心勃勃的項目，該項目可能會影響印度和孟加拉國下游數百萬人。

根據中國電力建設集團公司2020年預計，該大壩將位於雅魯藏布江下游，年發電量將達3,000億度。

這將相比使位於中國中部的目前世界上最大的三峽大壩的設計容量882億千瓦時多了三倍多。

根據官方新華社週三報道，該計劃將為實現中國的碳達峰和碳中和目標發揮重要作用，刺激工程等相關產業，並為西藏創造就業機會。

雅魯藏布江的一段在短短 50 公里（31 英里）的突然驟跌2,000  公尺（6,561 英尺），提供了巨大的水力發電潛力，同時也帶來了獨特的工程挑戰。

包括工程成本在內的大壩建設費用預計也將超過耗資 2,542 億元人民幣（348.3 億美元）, 使三峽大壩顯得不那麼重大。其中包括140萬流離失所人口的安置，是最初估計的570億元人民幣的四倍多。

當局尚未表明西藏計劃將導致多少人流離失所，以及它將如何影響當地的生態系統，這是高原上最豐富、最多樣化的生態系統之一。

但中國官員表示這些西藏水力發電計劃蘊藏著中國水力發電潛力的三分之一以上，是不會對環境或下游供水產生重大影響。

儘管如此，印度和孟加拉還是對大壩提出了擔憂，因為該計劃不僅可能改變當地的生態，而且可能改變下游河流的流量和河道。

雅魯藏布江離開西藏，向南流入印度阿魯納恰爾邦(Arunachal Pradesh)和阿薩姆邦(Assam)，最後流入孟加拉國，成為布拉馬普特拉河(Brahmaputra river)。

中國已經在從西藏西流向東的雅魯藏布江上游開始水力發電。它正在計劃更多的上游項目。

             So, China has approved the construction of what will be the world's largest hydropower dam, kicking off an ambitious project on the eastern rim of the Tibetan plateau that could affect millions downstream in India and Bangladesh. I am wondering how neighboring countries will react to this project.

越南 VinFast 希望透過價格低於 10,000 美元的小型電動車來改變命運 (2/2)

Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following:

Vietnam's VinFast looks to tiny EV, priced at less than $10,000, to change its fortunes (2/2)

AP -Aniruddha Ghosal

Tue, June 25, 2024 at 4:08 a.m. PDT·6 min read

(continue)

VinFast aims to sell 20,000 of these cars in Vietnam this year and deliveries will begin in August. It's being sold on the Southeast Asian e-commerce website Shopee, with an initial deposit of about $2,000. The company says more than 27,000 people applied to buy the car in the first three days after orders opened on May 13.

Many, like Dieu Linh, 32, are first-time car buyers. A businesswoman, she and her husband wanted to switch from motorbikes to a car, which is safer and more comfortable during extreme heat or rains.

"The VF3 price is tempting. But I'll wait and see how it performs on the road before I make my deposit,” she said.

VinFast plans to start selling VF3s in the Philippines this year and in Indonesia, Thailand, the U.S., and Europe by next year.

It opened its first showroom in Jakarta, Indonesia's capital, in April and says it has sold about 600 SUVs to Indonesian companies. It has begun construction of a factory in India.

Even in Asian markets, VinFast faces plenty of competition, especially from Chinese EV maker BYD, which has already achieved a big enough scale for cost-efficient manufacturing. Chinese EV makers like BYD and Haima are rapidly expanding in Southeast Asia. But in Vietnam, VinFast's near-monopoly over charging infrastructure — charging stations dot the country, not just in big cities but also in more remote hilly provinces — consumer mistrust of Chinese products and nationalist sentiment may give it an initial edge, said Le Hong Hiep, a visiting fellow at Singapore’s ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.

BYD plans to launch three models — the Atto 3, Dolphin and Seal — in Vietnam next month.

VinFast must increase its sales to reduce per unit costs for its sprawling factory in northern Vietnam’s Haiphong province, which has the capacity to make around 250,000 EVs a year but is making a fraction of that.

“An idle factory just burns through money,” said Tu Le, the auto consultant.

India, the world's third-largest car market by sales, offers the promise of scale, but only if VinFast builds its own factory there to enable it to benefit from policies that protect local carmakers. High import taxes mean that even at $9,200, the VF3 would be too expensive for Indians, said Ishan Raghav, the managing editor of the Indian car magazine autoX.

The VF3 might appeal to Indian families looking for a compact car with a range suitable for getting around in India’s crowded cities. But newcomers have to set up broad sales and EV charging networks and that will take a few years, he said. “All of these — manufacturing, sales and service and charging networks — are capital intensive and take time," he said.

Vingroup has launched a company called V-Green to build its own charging infrastructure in Vietnam and other key markets. In Thailand, it plans to build its own charging infrastructure, Vu Dang Yen Hang, chief executive officer of VinFast Thailand, told The Associated Press in an interview in March.

VinFast is racing against time.

Despite prioritizing sales in the U.S., bad reviews for its early models in the hypercompetitive market meant that it sold fewer than 1,000 cars in North America last year and only around 35,000 cars globally, below its target of at least 40,000 cars. About two-thirds of VinFast's revenue in 2023 came from sales to a taxi service owned by Vingroup, according to a filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

VinFast's main challenge is to improve its financial performance, said Hiep.

“If they cannot sustain it long enough, they may go bankrupt,” he said.

Translation

（繼續）

VinFast 的目標是今年在越南銷售 20,000 輛此類汽車，交付將於 8 月開始。它在東南亞電商網站 Shopee 上出售，初始押金約為 2,000 美元。該公司表示，5 月 13 日訂單開放後的前三天，就有超過 27,000 人申請購買該車。

許多人，例如 32 歲的 Dieu Linh，都是首次購車。身為一名女商人，她和丈夫想從摩托車換成汽車，這樣在酷熱或下雨時更安全、更舒適。

她說: 「VF3 的價格很吸引。但在我付按金之前，我會先看看它在路上的表現如何」。

VinFast 計劃今年開始在菲律賓銷售 VF3，明年開始在印尼、泰國、美國和歐洲銷售。

該公司於 4 月在印尼首都雅加達開設了第一家陳列室，並表示已向印尼公司出售了約 600 輛 SUV。它已開始在印度建造工廠。

即使在亞洲市場，VinFast 也面臨激烈的競爭，尤其是來自中國電動車製造商比亞迪的競爭，該公司已經實現了足夠大的規模，可以實現高成本效益的製造。比亞迪和海馬等中國電動車製造商正在東南亞迅速擴張。但在越南，VinFast 對充電基礎設施近乎壟斷 - 充電站遍布全國，不僅在大城市，而且在更偏遠的山區省份 - 新加坡ISEAS-Yusof Ishak研究所客座研究員 Le Hong Hiep 表示, 消費者對中國產品的不信任和民族主義情緒可能會給 VinFast 帶來初步優勢。

比亞迪計劃下個月在越南推出三款車型 - Atto 3、Dolphin 和 Seal。

VinFast 必須增加銷量，以降低其位於越南北部海防省的龐大工廠的單位成本，該工廠每年可生產約 25 萬輛電動車，但目前產量僅為其產能的一小部分。

汽車顧問 Tu Le 說: 「閒置的工廠只會燒錢」。

印度作為全球銷售第三大汽車市場，規模上有保証，但前提是 VinFast 在印度建立自己的工廠，使其能夠從保護當地汽車製造商的政策中受益。印度汽車雜誌 autoX 的總編輯 Ishan Raghav 表示，高昂的進口稅意味著即使售價為 9,200 美元，VF3 對於印度人來說也太貴了。

VF3 可能會吸引那些尋求一款適合在印度擁擠的城市出行的小型車的印度家庭。但他表示，新來者必須建立廣泛的銷售和電動車充電網絡，這將需要幾年的時間。他說: 「所有這些 - 製造、銷售、服務以及充電網路 - 都是資本密集的，並且需要時間」。

Vingroup 成立了一家名為 V-Green 的公司，在越南和其他主要市場建立自己的充電基礎設施。 VinFast 泰國公司執行長 Vu Dang Yen Hang 在 3 月接受美聯社採訪時表示，該公司計劃在泰國建立自己的充電基礎設施。

VinFast 正在與時間賽跑。

儘管優先考慮在美國銷售，但其早期車型在競爭激烈的市場中受到的低劣評價使去年該公司在北美的銷量不到1,000 輛，全球銷量僅為35,000 輛左右，低於至少40,000 輛的目標。根據向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件，2023 年 VinFast 約三分之二的收入來自對 Vingroup 旗下計程車公司的銷售。

Hiep 表示，VinFast 的主要挑戰是去提高財務表現。

他說: 「如果他們的財務表現不能維持足夠長的時間，他們可能會破產」。

              So, VinFast is facing the problem of can’t sell enough cars. VinFast’s factory in northern Vietnam has the capacity to make around 250,000 EVs a year but is making a fraction of that. The VF3 is trying to enter the Indian market, but it has to set up broad sales connections and EV charging networks and that will take a few years to achieve. Now, it seems that EV business is not that profitable after all because of keen competition.

越南 VinFast 希望透過價格低於 10,000 美元的小型電動車來改變命運 (1/2)

Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following:

Vietnam's VinFast looks to tiny EV, priced at less than $10,000, to change its fortunes (1/2)

AP -Aniruddha Ghosal

Tue, June 25, 2024 at 4:08 a.m. PDT·6 min read

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnamese automaker VinFast, for a short time the third-most valuable car company in the world, has a big problem: It just can’t sell enough cars.

Idle factories bleed money and the company’s financial health is at stake. After finding the U.S. market a tough nut to crack, Vinfast is hoping its tiniest and cheapest car yet — a roughly 10-foot-long pure battery electric mini-SUV priced at $9,200 and called the VF3 — will become Vietnam’s “national car” and win over consumers in Asian markets.

Designed specifically for the Vietnamese and other Asian markets, the VF3 is priced for “mass appeal”, according to VinFast. It expects bigger sales for it than from earlier models that were meant mainly for export to western countries, Le Thi Thuy, Vingroup's chairperson, said in an earnings call in April.

VinFast was dreaming of breaking into the big leagues of global automakers when it launched sales in the U.S. last year and listed its shares on the Nasdaq, where its market value briefly surpassed those of General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. in late August.

Investor enthusiasm has since cooled, and its shares are trading below $4 from a peak of $82.35. VinFast is facing delays in construction of a $4 billion factory in North Carolina, where the company said in an email that it is reviewing and evaluating “all aspects of the construction process.” It's facing legal troubles over a crash that killed four people in California. It's also dealing with allegations of patent infringement.

VinFast’s future matters for Vietnam, both because its ambitions dovetail with the Communist Party’s own goals, and because of parent company Vingroup's large role in the Vietnamese economy. The conglomerate began as an instant noodle company in Ukraine in 1990s and now runs all sorts of businesses.

VinFast reported a net loss of $2.39 billion last year, despite a 90% increase in revenue. To patch its tattered finances, Vingroup recently sold its profitable commercial property arm, Vincom Retail. Vingroup's founder, Pham Nhat Vuong, has committed $1 billion of his personal wealth, on top of the $11.4 billion of financing the parent company injected into VinFast in 2017-2023, according to a filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

“We will never let VinFast go,” he told Vingroup shareholders at their annual general meeting in April, according to state media.

The VF3 initially will be sold in emerging markets in Asia, where car buyers graduating from motorcycles to four-wheelers might not be as finnicky as Americans, said Tu Le, the founder of the consultancy Sino Auto Insights.

Just 3.1-meters-long, and 1.6 meters wide and high (10 feet long and 5.2 feet wide and high), it can squeeze into narrow lanes in Asian cities, but still seats five people.

(to be continued)

Translation

越南河內（美聯社）— 越南汽車製造商 VinFast 曾經成為全球第三大最有價值的汽車公司，但它面臨一個大問題：它無法銷售足夠的汽車。

閒置的工廠大量流失資金，公司的財務健康受到威脅。在發現美國市場是一個棘手的難題後，Vinfast 希望其迄今為止最小、最便宜的汽車 - 即一款長約10 英尺的純電動迷你SUV，售價9,200 美元，名為VF3 - 將可成為越南的 “國民汽車”，並贏得亞洲市場的消費者。

據 VinFast 稱，VF3 專為越南和其他亞洲市場設計，其定價位於「對大眾吸有引力」。 Vingroup 董事長 Le Thi Thuy 在 4 月的財報電話會議上表示，預計這款產品的銷量將高於主要出口到西方國家的早期型號。

VinFast去年在美國上市並在納斯達克上市時，就夢想著躋身全球汽車製造商的大聯盟，其市值於8月下旬一度超過通用汽車公司和福特汽車公司。

此後，投資者的熱情逐漸降溫，其股價從 82.35 美元的峰值跌至 4 美元以下。 VinFast 在北卡羅來納州投資 40 億美元的工廠建設面臨延誤，該公司在一封電子郵件中表示，正在審查和評估「建設過程的各個方面」。該公司因加州發生的導致四人死亡的車禍而面臨法律麻煩。它還正在處理專利侵權指控。

VinFast 的未來對越南很重要，一方面是因為它的雄心壯志與共產黨自己的目標相吻合，另一方面是因為母公司 Vingroup 在越南經濟中發揮重要作用。該集團於 20 世紀 90 年代在烏克蘭成立，最初是一家泡麵公司，現在經營各種業務。

VinFast 報告去年淨虧損 23.9 億美元，儘管收入成長了 90%。為了修補其破爛的財務狀況，Vingroup 最近出售了其有盈利的商業房地產部門 Vincom Retail。根據向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件，Vingroup 的創始人Pham Nhat Vuong 已承諾將其個人財富中的10 億美元投入其中，而母公司在2017 年至2023 年期間向 VinFast 注入了114 億美元的資金。

據官方媒體報道，他在 4 月的 Vingroup 股東年度股東大會上表示： “我們永遠不會放棄 VinFast。”

顧問公司 Sino Auto Insights 的創辦人 Tu Le表示，VF3最初將在亞洲新興市場銷售，那裡的汽車購買者從摩托車進階到四輪車, 可能不會像美國人那麼挑剔。

汽車只有 3.1 公尺長、1.6 公尺寬和高（10 英尺長、5.2 英尺寬和高），可以擠進亞洲城市的狹窄巷子，但仍可容納 5 人。

（待續）

玩具製造商從中國轉移並非易事 (2/2)

Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following:

Toy manufacturers' shift from China is no child's play (2/2)

Richa Naidu

Mon, January 15, 2024 at 5:08 a.m. PST

By Richa Naidu

(continue)

"Is it easy to re-shore away from mainland China? No, it isn't. That goes double for toys," S&P Global Market Intelligence's Chris Rogers said. "It's more complicated because they're highly seasonal -- you're asking a partner to sit on inventory for most of the year. Toy makers also have to be doubly rigorous on safety, sourcing and making sure workers are treated well."

While China's minimum wage varies from between 1,420 yuan per month to 2,690 yuan per month ($198.52-$376.08), in India unskilled and semi-skilled workers can be secured for between 9,000 Indian rupees and 15,000 Indian rupees a month ($108.04- $180.06), according to central bank estimates.

But setting up to source from other countries can take 18 months if a company is buying product from a contract manufacturer, and up to three years if a firm is building a new factory from scratch, Rogers said.

Toys to be sold in the autumn go into production starting in May and are then stored or shipped.

'MORE REASONABLE COST'

Hasbro began addressing its outsized dependence on China as an operational risk in its annual report in 2018, while Mattel has reportedly been shifting away from China since 2007, when it had to recall millions of toys tainted with lead paint. Efforts across the industry have ramped up since the pandemic.

Hasbro did not respond to a request for comment, while Mattel declined to comment for this story.

Spiralling Chinese wages are helping push up toy prices. In the UK, for instance, prices rose by about 8% in the first six months of 2022, according to Circana, formerly known as NPD. The risk for consumers is that prices will keep on rising sharply if manufacturers can't cut costs by moving to cheaper production centres.

Though U.S. duties on Chinese toys are currently negligible, that could also change as some Republican politicians have called for revoking China's "permanent normal trade relations" status. Such a move could raise the price of toys in the United States by more than a fifth, according to the National Retail Federation.

"We are all looking at derisking China," said Nic Aldridge, managing director at Bandai UK, the maker of Tamagotchi virtual pets. "Raw materials costs have gone up a lot in China, we're looking for places where we could get a more reasonable cost."

Bandai still mostly manufactures in mainland China but some of its products are made in Taiwan, Japan, Vietnam. It is looking at India and Thailand as additional locations, Aldridge said.

MGA Entertainment, maker of LOL Surprise and Bratz dolls, has found infrastructure outside China to be a road-block to diversifying sourcing to countries like India and Vietnam, even as its exports from China last holiday season dropped versus the year before.

India accounted for only 1% of U.S. and EU toy imports over the past five years, according to Panjiva's data.

"The issue in India is really the gridlock of moving even from one state to another. There are so many crazy regulations," MGA Entertainment CEO Isaac Larian told Reuters.

"(But) the infrastructure is getting better and better as these countries realize the opportunity they have to take business away from China and they are investing," he said.

Translation

（繼續）

標準普爾全球市場情報公司的 Chris Rogers 表示： “離開中國大陸重新上岸容易嗎？不，不容易。這對玩具來說是雙倍的”; “情況更加複雜，因為它們具有很強的季節性 - 你要求合作夥伴在一年中的大部分時間都把玩具保留著庫存。玩具製造商還必須在安全、採購和確保工人得到良好待遇方面加倍嚴格。”

中國的最低工資為每月 1,420 元至 2,690 元（198.52-376.08 美元）不等，而在印度根據央行的估計，用每月 9,000 印度盧比至 15,000 印度盧比（108.04-180.06 美元）即可獲得非熟練和半熟練工人。。

但 Rogers 表示，如果從其他國家的一家公司從合約製造商購買產品，那麼採購可能需要 18 個月的時間；如果一家公司從頭零開始建造新工廠，則需要長達三年的時間。

秋季銷售的玩具從五月開始生產，然後儲存或運輸。

“成本更合理”

Hasbro 在2018 年的年度報告中開始將其對中國的過度依賴視為營運風險，而據報道，Mattel 自2007 年以來一直在遠離中國，當時該公司不得不召回數百萬件受含鉛油漆污染的玩具。 自從疫情爆發後，整個產業都加大了遠離的力度。

Hasbro沒有回應置評請求，而Mattel則拒絕對此事發表評論。

中國工資的不斷上漲正在推高玩具價格。 例如，根據 Circana（前身為 NPD）的數據，在英國，2022 年前 6 個月的價格上漲了約 8%。 消費者面臨的風險是，如果製造商無法透過轉移到更便宜的生產中心來降低成本，價格將繼續大幅上漲。

儘管美國對中國玩具的關稅目前是微不足道，但隨著一些共和黨政客呼籲取消中國的「永久正常貿易關係」地位，這種情況也可能會改變。 據美國零售聯合會稱，此舉可能會使美國玩具的價格上漲五分之一以上。

Tamagotchi虛擬寵物製造商公司, 英國的 Bandai 的董事總經理 Nic Aldridge 說: 「我們都在考慮消除中國的風險」。 「中國的原材料成本上漲了很多，我們正在尋找成本更合理的地方」。

Bandai 仍然主要在中國大陸生產，但也有一些產品在台灣、日本、越南生產。 Aldridge 說，該公司正在考慮將印度和泰國作為額外的地點。

LOL Surprise 和 Bratz 娃娃的製造商 MGA Entertainment 發現，在中國以外地點的基礎設施是有問題, 是向印度和越南等國家進行多元化採購的障礙，儘管該公司上個假期季節從中國的出口量較上年有所下降。

Panjiva 的數據顯示，過去五年，印度僅占美國和歐盟玩具進口的1%。

MGA Entertainment 執行長 Isaac Larian 告訴路透社： “印度選項實際上是從一處轉移到另一處的死胡同。那裡有太多瘋狂的法規。”

他說: 「（但是）隨著這些國家已意識到他們有機會從中國奪走業務並進行投資，其基礎設施正在變得越來越好」。

              So, due to increasing production cost in making toys, toy companies are trying to move out of China although it would be a slow process and there are many challenges to face.

沃爾瑪轉向印度，削減中國進口 (2/2)

Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following:

Walmart shifts to India, cuts China imports (2/2)

Updated Thu, November 30, 2023 at 1:20 a.m. GMT+8

By Richa Naidu and Siddharth Cavale

(continue)

WORKFORCE, TECHNOLOGY ARE KEY DRAWS

Walmart is importing goods ranging from toys and electronics to bicycles and pharmaceuticals from India to the U.S., Albright said. Packaged food, dry grains and pasta are also popular imports from India, she added.

India, whose stock market has risen to record highs this year, is viewed as the country best equipped to outperform China in low-cost, large-scale manufacturing.

Its rapidly growing workforce and technological advancement were a draw for Walmart, Albright said. China on the other hand reported its first decline in population in six decades last year.

Walmart started its sourcing operations in Bangalore in 2002. Now, the company employs more than 100,000 people, including temporary workers, in the country spread across several offices under its Walmart Global Tech India unit, Flipkart Group, PhonePe and sourcing operations.

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May this year, a meeting that Modi termed "a fruitful one."

"Happy to see India emerge as an attractive destination for investment," Modi wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, on May 14. McMillon said Walmart would "continue to support the country's manufacturing growth and create opportunity."

Walmart rival Amazon said this month it is targeting merchandise exports worth $20 billion from India by 2025.

Freewill Sports, a small Indian supplier of soccer balls, is one company that has benefited, its Chief Executive Rajesh Kharabanda said in an interview.

The rising cost of shipping goods from China has also contributed to the switch to India, supply chain experts say.

"Sourcing from mainland China has become less competitive because of rising labor costs versus other manufacturing centers," said Chris Rogers, research analyst at S&P Global Market Intelligence's supply chain analysis group Panjiva.

China's minimum wage changes from province to province and sometimes even from city to city, with a range between 1,420 yuan per month and 2,690 yuan per month ($198.52 - $376.08). Meanwhile, average wages for unskilled and semi-skilled workers in India range from about 9,000 Indian rupees to 15,000 Indian rupees a month ($108.04 - $180.06), according to central bank estimates.

SUPPLY CHAIN SNAGS

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed weaknesses in global supply chains, showing U.S. importers to be over-reliant on a small number of markets.

"Planning for a geopolitical event is like planning for a hurricane," said Albright. "What I can control is where my product is coming from and how do I make sure that Christmas still happens if something happens in our supply chain."

Pakistan and Bangladesh have also benefited from Walmart's strategy, expanding as suppliers of home and apparel products, Albright said.

Last year, at least eight Freewill shipments sailed to Walmart warehouses from Mundra Port in Gujarat, the largest private port in India, according to U.S. import data.

"There is a newfound confidence in the Indian manufacturing industry and also the availability of factory infrastructure," Freewill's Chief Executive Rajesh Kharabanda said in an interview.

India's central bank forecasts that the country's economy will expand 6.5% this fiscal year. China is expected to grow around 5% this year.

"In the last 12 to 18 months there has certainly been a bigger impact," said Shekhar Gupta, whose family business Devgiri has been selling floor rugs to Walmart for about a decade. "That's when Walmart started putting a true strategy behind how they wanted India at the center of their growth."

($1 = 7.1528 Chinese yuan renminbi)

($1 = 83.3050 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Richa Naidu and Siddharth Cavale; additional reporting by Casey Hall and Manoj Kumar. Editing by Matthew Scuffham and Sharon Singleton)

Translation

（繼續）

勞動力和技術是關鍵吸引力

Albright 說，沃爾瑪正在從印度向美國進口玩具、電子產品、自行車和藥品等商品。 她補充說，包裝食品、乾穀物和意大利麵也是從印度進口的熱門產品。

印度股市今年已升至歷史新高，被視為最有能力在低成本、大規模製造業方面超越中國的國家。

Albright 表示，其快速成長的勞動力和技術進步對沃爾瑪具有吸引力。 另一方面，中國去年報告了六十年來的人口首次下降。

沃爾瑪於2002 年在班加羅爾開始開展採購業務。現在，該公司在印度擁有超過10 萬名員工，其中包括臨時工，多個辦事處分佈於沃爾瑪全球科技印度組、Flipkart Group、PhonePe 和採購業務組。

沃爾瑪執行長 Doug McMillon 今年5月會見了印度總理莫迪，莫迪稱這次會晤「富有成果」。

5 月14 日，莫迪在X（前身為Twitter）上寫道：「很高興看到印度成為有吸引力的投資目的地」。McMillon 表示，沃爾瑪將「繼續支持該國製造業成長並創造機會」。

沃爾瑪競爭對手亞馬遜本月表示，目標是到 2025 年從印度出口價值 200 億美元的商品。

印度小型足球供應商 Freewill Sports 執行長 Rajesh Kharabanda 在接受採訪時表示，該公司是受惠者之一。

供應鏈專家表示，從中國運輸貨物的成本不斷上升也是導致轉向印度的原因之一。

標準普爾全球市場情報旗下的供應鏈分析集團 Panjiva 的研究分析師 Chris Rogers 表示： “由於與其他製造中心相比，中國大陸勞動力成本不斷上升，採購的競爭力已經下降。”

中國的最低工資因省份而異，有時甚至因城市而異，範圍為每月 1,420 元至 2,690 元（198.52 美元 - 376.08 美元）。 同時，根據央行的估計，印度非熟練和半熟練工人的平均工資約為每月 9,000 印度盧比至 15,000 印度盧比（108.04 美元 - 180.06 美元）。

供應鏈障礙

COVID-19 大流行暴露了全球供應鏈的弱點，顯示美國進口商過度依賴少數的市場。

Albright 說：「為地緣政治事件做準備就像為颶風做準備一樣 」; 「我能控制的是我的產品來自哪裡，以及如果我們的供應鏈發生問題，我如何確保聖誕節仍然會出現」。

Albright 說，巴基斯坦和孟加拉也受益於沃爾瑪的策略，擴大了作為家居和服裝產品供應商的規模。

根據美國進口數據，去年，至少有八批 Freewill 貨物從印度最大的私人港口古吉拉特邦蒙德拉港運往沃爾瑪倉庫。

Freewill 執行長 Rajesh Kharabanda 在接受採訪時表示： “人們對印度製造業以及工廠基礎設施的可用性有了新的信心。”

印度央行預測本財年該國經濟將成長6.5%。 中國今年預計將成長5%左右。

Shekhar Gupta 說: 「在過去 12 到 18 個月裡，肯定產生了更大的影響」，他的家族企業 Devgiri 向沃爾瑪銷售地毯已有大約十年的時間。 「從那時起，沃爾瑪開始製定真正的策略，以實現希望印度成為他們成長的中心。”

              So, Walmart is importing more goods to the United States from India and reducing its reliance on China. China's minimum wage for works is higher than that in India. India’s rapidly growing workforce and technological advancement are attracting buyers such as Walmart and Amazon while China on the other hand reported its first decline in population. It is interesting to note that India’s central bank forecasts that its country's economy will expand by 6.5% this fiscal year while expecting China to grow at around 5%. It seems that the title of “world factory” is shifting from China to India.

沃爾瑪轉向印度，削減中國進口 (1/2)

Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following:

Walmart shifts to India, cuts China imports (1/2)

Updated Thu, November 30, 2023 at 1:20 a.m. GMT+8

By Richa Naidu and Siddharth Cavale

LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Walmart is importing more goods to the United States from India and reducing its reliance upon China as it looks to cut costs and diversify its supply chain, data seen by Reuters shows.

The world's largest retailer shipped one quarter of its U.S. imports from India between January and August this year, according to bill of lading figures shared with Reuters by data firm Import Yeti. That compared with just 2% in 2018.

The data shows that only 60% of its shipments came from China during the same period, down from 80% in 2018. To be sure, China is still Walmart's biggest country for importing goods.

The shift illustrates how the rising cost of importing from China and escalating political tensions between Washington and Beijing are encouraging large U.S. companies to import more from countries including India, Thailand and Vietnam.

In the U.S., shoppers face higher interest rates and high food prices, eroding household savings and prompting Walmart and other retailers to become cautious in their outlook for consumer spending.

"We want the best prices," Andrea Albright, Walmart's executive vice president of sourcing said in an interview. "That means I need resiliency in our supply chains. I can't be reliant on any one supplier or geography for my product because we're constantly managing things from hurricanes and earthquakes to shortages in raw materials."

In a statement, Walmart said the bill of lading data painted a partial picture of what it sourced and that creating redundancy "does not necessarily mean" it was reducing reliance on any of its sourcing markets. "We're a growth business and are working to source more manufacturing capacity," Walmart said.

India has emerged as a key component of Walmart's efforts to build that manufacturing capacity, Albright said.

Walmart has been accelerating growth in India since 2018, when it bought a 77% stake in Indian e-commerce firm Flipkart. Two years later, it committed to import $10 billion of goods from India each year by 2027. That is a target it remains on track to hit, Albright said. It is currently importing around $3 billion worth of goods from India each year.

(to be continued)

Translation

倫敦/紐約（路透社）— 路透社看到的數據顯示，沃爾瑪正在從印度進口更多商品到美國，並減少對中國的依賴，以降低成本並實現供應鏈多元化。

根據數據公司 Import Yeti 向路透社分享的提單數據，今年 1 月至 8 月期間，這家全球最大的零售商的進入美國的商品四分之一是從印度進口。 相比之下，2018 年這一數字僅為 2%。

數據顯示，同期其入貨量中只有60%來自中國，低於2018年的80%。可以肯定的是，中國仍然是沃爾瑪最大的商品進口國家。

這一轉變表明，從中國進口的成本上升,以及華盛頓和北京之間不斷升級的政治緊張局勢如何鼓勵美國大公司從印度、泰國和越南等國家進口更多產品。

在美國，購物者面臨更高的利率和高食品價格，侵蝕家庭儲蓄，促使沃爾瑪和其他零售商對消費者支出的前景變得謹慎。

沃爾瑪負責採購的執行副總裁 Andrea Albright 在接受採訪時表示「我們想要最優惠的價格」。 「這意味著我的供應鏈需要有彈性。我不能依賴单一供應商或单一地理位置的產品，因為我們不斷應對從颶風、地震到原材料短缺等各種問題」。

沃爾瑪在聲明中表示，提貨單數據描繪了其採購情況的部分情況，形成失業情況「並不一定意味著」它正在減少對其任何一個採購市場的依賴。 沃爾瑪表示： 「我們是一家成長型企業，正在努力尋找出更多的生產能力」。

Albright 表示，印度已成為沃爾瑪建設那生產能力的重要組成部分。

自2018年收購印度電子商務公司Flipkart 77%的股份以來，沃爾瑪一直在印度加速成長。 兩年後，它承諾到 2027 年每年從印度進口 100 億美元的商品。Albright 表示，這一目標仍有望實現。 目前，它每年從印度進口價值約30億美元的商品。

（待續）