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Fiat Chrysler in Talks With Foxconn to Develop Electric Cars

Report on Alleged Chinese Corruption in Maldives Due by June: Minister

NEW DELHI—A report on alleged Chinese corruption in the Maldives will be completed by June, the Maldives’ Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid said on Jan. 16, as the current government investigates a surge of investments by China in recent years. The tropical archipelago grew closer to Beijing under the rule of former president, Abdulla Yameen, with China funding an airport, bridge and social housing as part of its “One Belt, One Road” (OBOR, also known as Belt and Road) initiative. Critics of Yameen, who was voted out in 2018 after five years in office, say government contracts were awarded at inflated prices, and that the spending threatened to sink the islands’ tiny economy. Incumbent President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih announced a commission in November 2018 to look into deals made during Yameen’s…

Fiat Chrysler in Talks With Foxconn to Develop Electric Cars

Fiat Chrysler is in talks with the Taiwanese company Foxconn to develop and manufacture battery-powered vehicles, the U.S.-Italian automaker said on Jan.17.

Fiat Chrysler is in the process of merging with France’s PSA Peugeot, which is 12 percent owned by Chinese company Dongfeng Motor Co. Both Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot have lagged in developing electric powertrains and also have been struggling to increase sales in China, the world’s biggest auto market.

It was unclear what impact Fiat Chrysler’s proposed joint venture with Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Ind. Co., Ltd., would have on the broader merger, due to be completed in the next year or so.

If a deal with Foxconn is reached, a joint venture will focus first on China, the biggest market for electric cars with 1.2 million vehicles sold last year—half the global total.

“The proposed cooperation … would enable the parties to bring together the engineering and manufacturing and mobile software technology to focus on the growing battery electric vehicle market,″ Fiat Chrysler said in a statement.

Talks were aimed at reaching a binding agreement “in the next few months,” the company said.

Automakers around the world have announced a series of electric vehicle partnerships to share the soaring cost of technology development.

Companies including General Motors Co. and Toyota Motor Co. have electric vehicle joint ventures with Chinese partners to take advantage of their experience at making low-cost vehicles.

The Chinese government has a credit-based system that encourages automakers to sell electric vehicles, leading to a proliferation of brands. But industry analysts expect high development costs to drive many of them to merge.

The trend has led to a complicated mix of ties among competitors.

Daimler AG’s Mercedes Benz has electric vehicle joint ventures with both BYD Auto, one of the biggest global makers of battery-powered vehicles, and rival Geely Holding, which is best known abroad as the owner of Sweden’s Volvo Cars. Geely also has two separate electric brands, Geometry, and Volvo’s Polestar.

Beyond its stake in PSA Peugeot, Dongfeng also has joint ventures with Nissan Motor Co., Kia Motor Co., and Groupe Renault, all of whose product lineups include electric models.

This article is from the Internet:Fiat Chrysler in Talks With Foxconn to Develop Electric Cars

As China’s Xi Visits Burma, Ethnic Groups Rue ‘Disrespectful’ Dam Investment

MYITKYINA, Burma—The streets of Burma’s capital Naypyitaw were festooned with banners celebrating 70 years of Burma-China relations ahead of the arrival of Xi Jinping on Jan. 17 for his first visit to the Southeast Asian nation as China’s leader. But for thousands of villagers living in northern Burma (also known as Myanmar) close to the Chinese border, there is another anniversary that nobody can celebrate. It is 10 years since they were kicked off their land for a $3.6 billion dam, an unfinished project backed by Beijing that dogs relations between the two neighbors. The Myitsone hydropower dam in Kachin state is one many multi-billion dollar infrastructure projects that form part of Xi’s flagship “One Belt, One Road” (OBOR, also known as Belt and Road) initiative. The Chinese leader intends…