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US-China technological rivalry escalates with new export restrictions - Industry roundup: 10 December

US-China technological rivalry escalates with new export restrictions

A recent report from Moody’s explores the fallout of China tightening its restrictions on exports of critical materials to the US by banning exports of gallium, germanium, and antimony and adding further scrutiny about end-use of graphite exports. China’s actions are a response to the announced new US rules that aim to hinder China’s production of advanced-node semiconductors, which can have military applications.

While Moody’s says that credit effects will be limited for now, additional restrictive measures and retaliatory measures would add to challenges for the semiconductor, defence and automotive sectors, which are most affected. These sectors are intensifying efforts to diversify their critical mineral supplies and build domestic capacities.

The expanded US restrictions are the final ruling under a large-scale effort to limit exports of advanced computing and semiconductor manufacturing items to China, which commenced in 2022. The new rules reflect the US administration's increased drive to not only impede China’s “ability to procure and produce the technologies necessary for its military modernisation” but also to prevent the circumvention of export restrictions by extending the export controls to chipmaking equipment manufactured outside of the US. As the US seeks increased strategic collaboration on countering China, exemptions have been granted to countries that have already applied their own technological restrictions. China’s response escalates prior limits on exports of critical materials and technologies for processing rare earth elements, which commenced in August 2023.

Since restrictive measures have rolled out gradually over the past few years, Moody’s notes that governments and businesses are already proactively engaged in creating strategies and policies to strengthen supply chain resilience. Furthermore, some of the US export controls will have a delayed compliance date of 31 December 2024, while the ban on Chinese exports to the US remains limited to some critical minerals. However, if the incoming US administration were to expand trade barriers aggressively and there was a retaliatory response from China and other US trading partners, Moody’s states it would significantly amplify the sectoral effects and add to short-term business costs. Both actions will impact commodity price volatility as companies step up their efforts to shift away from China due to China's dominant supplier position.

 

London and the North East top UK growth rankings in November

London and the North East were the two standout performers in November, both showing a degree of resilience in the face of slowdowns across other parts of the UK, according to the latest NatWest UK Regional Growth Tracker.

Growth of business activity in November was led by London, with the North East close behind. Northern Ireland, the strongest performer in the previous four months, lost momentum and posted its weakest expansion since January. Half of the 12 nations and regions monitored saw a fall in output, the steepest of which were recorded in Wales and the North West. 

Firms in London were by some margin the most optimistic about future activity in November. Growth expectations did however weaken almost universally from the month before, with only the North East going against the trend. Businesses operating in Northern Ireland were the least hopeful of a rise in output over the next 12 months, as was also the case in October.

In a reversal of the situation in October, business costs rose a quicker rate in the majority of the 12 UK nations and regions in November. The greatest acceleration was seen in Northern Ireland, which also topped the ranking for the fastest overall rate of increase ahead of the North East. The only places that saw slower increases in input prices were London and the East of England, the latter of which recorded the joint-softest overall cost pressures (along with Wales).

November saw a broad-based increase in average prices charged for goods and services across the UK, led by a steep and accelerated rise in Northern Ireland. There, the rate of inflation was at an 18-month high. Faster increases were recorded in six other nations and regions. The West Midlands was one of the exceptions, registering the slowest overall rise and its weakest rate of inflation since July 2020.

 

BRAC Bank to provide cash management solutions to Seven Rings Cement

BRAC Bank has partnered with Seven Rings Cement, a prominent brand in Bangladesh's cement industry, to deliver a suite of cash management solutions designed to optimise its financial operations. 

As part of this collaboration, Seven Rings will use BRAC Bank’s CORPnet platform. This digital cash management solution integrates payments, collections, and reconciliation services in a centralised platform.

CORPnet offers straight-through transaction processing with real-time reporting and invoicing capabilities. The platform also enables the creation of virtual accounts, allowing Seven Rings to track deposit collections efficiently while benefiting from advanced reconciliation tools.

Additionally, the cement firm will have access to real-time statement data through API integration. This feature is designed to ensure seamless delivery of transactional data from over-the-counter and electronic collections, with enhanced accuracy through dealer and distributor validation.

 

BNY and Conduent to connect corporate pension insurers and acquirers

The Bank of New York Mellon and Conduent have announced a strategic alliance to connect insurers and pension acquirers with end-to-end pension risk transfer services in one place.

The alliance combines BNY’s global payments and cash management capabilities with Conduent’s expertise in maintaining the records for pension accounts, managing transaction data and ability to provide customer service for pension members. The collaboration provides insurers and pension acquirers access to an end-to-end pension risk transfer solution that operates in a single system.

“In an increasingly complex pension transfer risk market, we see that clients are on the constant lookout for solutions that can simplify and de-risk these programmes,” said Carl Slabicki, Executive Platform Owner, Treasury Services at BNY. “By drawing on BNY’s platform infrastructure for payments and cash management services, and Conduent’s integrated administration expertise, we are able to deliver a unified, end-to-end package that supports clients through every stage of the pension risk transfer lifecycle.”

 

Bectran joins forces with Mastercard for efficient B2B fraud prevention

Business identity theft is a rising threat among B2B credit operations. At the same time, these scams are proving increasingly difficult and time-consuming to detect, posing a significant challenge to operational efficiency. To counter this, Bectran, a credit, collections and accounts receivable platform, has partnered with Ekata by Mastercard, a tool delivering low-friction risk insights to combat fraud. Together, the pair say they will empower credit departments against identity scams while streamlining risk assessments. 

While typically associated with consumer transactions, identity fraud has been on the rise among B2B businesses and within trade credit specifically. Despite efforts to curtail fraud, scammers’ methods continue to evolve, becoming more and more difficult for departments to detect. 

The partnership specifically targets B2B identity verification in a digital landscape. Using information already captured in the credit application process within Bectran, Ekata can assess applicant identity and business validity, quickly giving users a set of actionable risk ratings as a result. 

Bectran, through its integration with Ekata, can automatically flag suspicious transactions for review, at the same time providing credit managers with Ekata’s full risk findings. These can show whether the applicant and business name, address and phone numbers match, if the email domain, business address and phone number are valid, and alert when the distance between the applicant IP address location and the business location are suspicious. 

 

Tietoevry Banking and BIAN to drive global standards and multi-vendor collabs

Tietoevry Banking, a provider of modular software solutions for financial institutions, is joining the Banking Industry Architecture Network (BIAN). This move is part of Tietoevry Banking’s international expansion agenda and ambition to modernise the banking industry through the adoption of global standards and multi-vendor collaborations.

This decision allows Tietoevry Banking to participate in BIAN’s various working groups focused on payments, transaction banking, and lending, offering an opportunity to influence the future standards and open new avenues for collaboration with other industry leaders.

Tietoevry Banking’s membership in BIAN is also part of its strategy to position the unit as a leading provider of software solutions in Europe. By engaging with BIAN, the software firm hopes to ensure that its products and services remain at the forefront of industry developments, offering customers across the globe secure, compliant, and future-ready banking experiences.

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