Robots Have the Code to All Hotpot Desires
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B2 Saturday, November 3, 2018 BUSINESS THE INFORMER Chart of the day: Debt woes CAPITAL MARKETS EVENTS Debt at risk as % of GDP Current Combined shock Exiting the dragon: Tuesday, November 6: British Emerging markets Chamber of Commerce breakfast: Emerging markets ex-China “Burning a Stradivarius for firewood: examining options Converting Fanling golf course to China high-rise housing?” South Korea Wednesday, November 7: British for returning capital Chamber of Commerce lunch: Chile “Protect your business from cybercrime”. Brazil Beijing wants more companies to use domestic Thursday, November 8: American Russia markets to realise value, but is the plan working? Chamber of Commerce lunch: “ISS Group: How we bring smart facility India management to life”. Bank of Ian Potter and Claudia Zeisberger over the period, 74 per cent listed America Tower. Turkey on domestic exchanges. How- ever, of floats that raised more American Chamber of Commerce Indonesia In mid-September, China hosted than US$100 million, only 21 per lunch: “Qualcomm: Mobile the “Summer Davos” meeting of cent by value listed on mainland Mexico communications and the importance the World Economic Forum in exchanges. of IPR to innovation”. Grand Hyatt Malaysia Tianjin. Why the gap? Are the foreign- Hong Kong. The meeting’s focus was the listed offers expensive or the South Africa “Fourth Industrial Revolution” or, domestic ones cheap? It is hard to Joint chamber evening: “Barriers or simply, tech. If, as many delegates be conclusive. Anecdotally, there bumps? Navigating trade tensions Thailand did, you arrived in Beijing and appears to be a quality gap. Many in China”. HK Bankers’ Club. took the fast train to Tianjin, you of the smaller domestic floats Poland would be forgiven for thinking appear to be struggling after list- Friday, November 9: British that the revolution had arrived. ing, raising the question of wheth- Chamber of Commerce lunch: Argentina Cruising at 350km/h, the er these are “clean-up” exercises “Marketing in the fast lane: Lessons Asian “Fuxing” trains are a manifesta- for funds seeking to move on. financial from Lamborghini’s chief marketing Hungary crisis tion of Beijing’s ambitions to Trade sales (the sale of the ven- officer”. develop leading domestic ture-capital-backed company to 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 technologies and the perfect a corporate buyer in the industry) Wednesday, November 14: Joint Sources: Federal Reserve, ANZ SCMP vehicle to deliver delegates to the paint a different picture. Declin- chamber lunch with Chief Executive conference. ing as an exit route in absolute and Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor. In August, ANZ highlighted that rising interest rates in the United (a 20 per cent decline), interest rates (a 1-percentage-point rise) In the last decade, capital has relative terms, activity is domi- States and slowing emerging market growth were a double and currency exchange rates (a 20 per cent drop) saw debt at risk flowed into the mainland and into nated by domestic sales process- whammy for the developing economies. A recent Federal as a share of gross domestic product grow about 15 percentage tech investments at an ever- es. This is true of trade sales where RESULTS Reserve paper put the emerging markets under a stress test points. Excluding China, the share still increased 10 percentage increasing scale. Many red uni- the value exceeded US$100 mil- in terms of the sensitivity of their non-financial corporate debt points. Given that China stands out from the pack, the Beijing corns have emerged as cham- lion, where more than 90 per cent at risk to changes in interest rates, foreign exchange rates and government is already implementing a number of measures to pions in their sectors and taken Today AGM: Shenzhou Space Park earnings. The authors found that a combined shock to earnings combat mounting headwinds to growth, ANZ says in a report. the competition for leadership to Group their Silicon Valley peers. How- ever, less capital than headlines November 5 Interim: DLC Asia, KML has been returned to investors, Technology Group, WAC Holdings, RESTAURANTS raising questions on the longer- It would appear Wine’s Link International Holdings term health of the ecosystem. the domestic 3rd Quarter: China Futex Holdings, In a well-functioning venture China Youzan, DaChan Food (Asia), ecosystem, capital is invested listing markets HM International Holdings, Icicle with visionary entrepreneurs, Group Holdings, KW Nelson Interior grown and returned to investors and NEEQ Design and Contracting Group, ROBOTS HAVE THE CODE through private and public exits still have some Keen Ocean International Holding where investors are allowed to sell AGM: Kirin Group Holdings their equity. Beijing has made it a growing up to do policy goal to encourage more November 6 Interim: Grand companies to use the domestic were domestic. Given the level of Brilliance Group Holdings, Mansion TO ALL HOTPOT DESIRES capital markets for exits. activity of the three big groups – International Holdings, North Asia To that end, the “Third Board”, Baidu, Alibaba Group and Ten- Strategic Holdings, Sheung Moon Haidilao’s automated Beijing outlet can cater to tastes with machine-like restaurant delivering food while or NEEQ, was relaunched in Janu- cent, known as BAT – this may not Holdings four others fetch used trays. But ary this year with a centralised be a surprise. But nor might it be 3rd Quarter: Advanced precision, but humans will still have a role if entire chain adopts the tech they are not enough to take care of trading system. Today’s concerns healthy. Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp, all 93 tables in the restaurant, over market valuations, volatility So how should investors inter- Alpha Era International Holdings, which still rely on human waiters and risk prompted us to see if the pret the data? It would appear the Astrum Financial Holdings, Li Tao in Beijing to bus the tables. plan is working. domestic listing markets and Basetrophy Group Holdings, Chong [email protected] For now, the delivery robots While complete data is hard to NEEQ still have some growing up Sing Holdings FinTech Group, ETS are a novelty, and patrons often get (trade sales are a particular to do. A successful venture capital Group, Global Digital Creations stand in their way to take photo- concern as transaction details are manager is likely to be steering a Holdings, Goal Rise Logistics (China) When I first learned that Haidilao graphs with them. often confidential), since January path towards having a choice of Holdings, Jia Group Holdings, Sheng would employ robots and be- “Ideally, we will bring down 2015 it appears the initial public being bought by BAT or an over- Ye Capital, South China Assets come the world’s first “smart hot- the staff size to about 130 to 140 offering and trade sale exit routes seas float to maximise portfolio Holdings, Victory Securities pot restaurant”, my first reaction per restaurant from the current on the mainland are in good returns and value. (Holdings), Wing Fung Group Asia was not excitement, but worry. level of 170,” Shao said. “But it health. The value of transactions Policy progress is being made, AGM: In Technical Productions As a self-anointed hotpot con- would never be possible for a along each exit route is tilted 63 but domestic entrepreneurs and Holdings noisseur who has patronised the restaurant to go unstaffed … It is per cent in favour of listings. investors are still heavily reliant on Beijing-based chain’s restaurants said that dining is a combination However, trade sales are de- overseas capital for validation and 33 times in less than two years, I of two – before the dish comes to clining as a proportion of the liquidity and lack the optionality CONTACT US believe that friendly and meticu- table, it’s logistics. But after that, whole, suggesting the offer path is so desired by venture capitalists lous service was what made Hai- it’s called service.” becoming more popular (or that for the exit avenue. dilao what it is today. Can robots, The automation push for now industry experts are willing to pay Business News Desk with their preprogrammed res- was aimed at cutting the number less than the public markets). Ian Potter is a distinguished fellow Telephone 2565 2653 ponses, cater to the mainland’s Waitresses prepare to serve dishes brought out by a robot at the new of staff who worked in the kitch- So it would seem progress to- at INSEAD. Claudia Zeisberger is a Fax 2565 1624 demanding hotpot warriors? Haidilao Smart Restaurant in Beijing. Photo: Simon Song ens and boosting efficiency, he wards a domestic listing market is professor at INSEAD and academic E-mail [email protected] The restaurant chain’s good said. on track. Or is it? Of mainland director of the school’s global If you have information on events service is legendary within the The chain will not cut back on firms seeking a public market exit private equity initiative that should be included here, email food and beverage industry. If a Just how “smart” is the restau- Inside the kitchen, monitors frontline service staff, who still [email protected] waiter sees a patron having rant? As you enter the venue, an on the walls display key informa- hand out hot towels, guide cus- hotpot alone, he or she will place a automated cold room kept at zero tion, such as real-time inventories tomers through the menu and big cuddly soft toy in the seat to four degrees Celsius is on view, of each dish, including how much orders, and help with putting the Connect Watch opposite you so that you feel less where queues of robotic arms of the food material will soon food into the sizzling pot.