1 China’s foreign trade import and export data exceeded expectations again

According to customs statistics, in the first four months of this year, my country’s total import and export value was 11.62 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 28.5% and a year-on-year increase of 21.8%. Among them, exports were 6.32 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 33.8%, and a year-on-year increase of 24.8%; imports were 5.3 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 22.7%, and a year-on-year increase of 18.4%; a trade surplus was 1.02 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 149.7 %.

In April, my country’s total import and export value was 3.15 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 26.6%, a month-on-month increase of 4.2%, and a year-on-year increase of 25.2%. Among them, exports were 1.71 trillion yuan, up 22.2% year-on-year, 10.1% month-on-month, and 31.6% year-on-year; imports were 1.44 trillion yuan, up 32.2% year-on-year, down 2.2% month-on-month, and 18.4% year-on-year; The trade surplus was 276.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 12.4%.

Imports and exports to major trading partners such as ASEAN, the European Union and the United States all increased. In the first four months, ASEAN was China’s largest trading partner. The total trade value between China and ASEAN was 1.72 trillion yuan, an increase of 27.6%, accounting for 14.8% of China’s total foreign trade value. The EU is China’s second largest trading partner, with a total trade value of 1.63 trillion yuan with the EU, an increase of 32.1%, accounting for 14%. The United States is China’s third largest trading partner. The total value of Sino-US trade is 1.44 trillion yuan, an increase of 50.3%, accounting for 12.4%. Japan is China’s fourth largest trading partner. The total value of China-Japan trade is 770.64 billion yuan, an increase of 16.2%, accounting for 6.6%. During the same period, my country’s total imports and exports to countries along the “Belt and Road” reached 3.43 trillion yuan, an increase of 24.8%.

The import and export of private enterprises increased and their proportion increased. In the first four months, the import and export of private enterprises was 5.48 trillion yuan, an increase of 40.8%, accounting for 47.2% of China’s total foreign trade value, an increase of 4.1 percentage points over the same period last year.

Exports of mechanical and electrical products and labor-intensive products both increased. In the first four months, my country’s exports of mechanical and electrical products amounted to 3.79 trillion yuan, an increase of 36.3%, accounting for 59.9% of the total export value.

2 Bezos sells $2.5 billion in Amazon stock

Recently, according to the regulatory documents submitted by Amazon to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), its founder and CEO Jeff Bezos (Jeff Bezos) sold approximately $2.5 billion worth of Amazon stock this week. It is worth noting that this is his first large-scale cash out this year. Since the beginning of this year, Bezos has cashed out about 6 billion US dollars.

Regulatory documents show that Bezos sold approximately 739,000 Amazon shares on Monday and Tuesday according to a pre-arranged trading plan, with stock prices ranging from $3,274 to $3,485 per share. After paying relevant taxes and fees, Bezos will make a net profit of $1.9 billion. Another document shows that Bezos plans to sell up to 2 million shares in total.

The documents show that these transactions are part of Bezos’s scheduled plan to sell Amazon shares. After selling these stocks, Bezos currently still owns nearly 52.5 million Amazon shares, with a 10.4% stake.

3 Amazon raises the difficulty of opening a store review to verify the address of the seller’s page on the platform

In September 2020, Amazon required third-party sellers to disclose their business names and addresses in order to ensure that the addresses provided by merchants are true and accurate.

Recently, Amazon began to mail postcards to third-party merchants selling products in its US market to verify their addresses. It is reported that Amazon stated in the email that it will provide customers with a safe and trustworthy shopping experience and sales partners, and verifying the address of the seller’s profile page is also part of its commitment. Amazon also said that during the verification period, relevant sellers will not be prevented from selling products on the platform.

4 The surge in global import and export demand. Growing demand for bulk commodities pushes up shipping prices

According to the Financial Associated Press, the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) continued to rise due to the fierce demand for commodities. Recently, liner companies such as Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd, and Wanhai Shipping have announced that they will increase some ocean freight rates starting in May. Maersk believes that the surge in global import and export demand will lead to supply chain bottlenecks and shortages of containers until the fourth quarter of 2021.

5 Adidas bids for the sale of the Reebok brand, Anta and Li Ning may bid

On May 6, according to Reuters news, sporting goods manufacturer Adidas has launched the bidding for its Reebok brand. Adidas requires that the first round of bids be submitted next week, and it is expected that China’s Anta Sports and Li Ning will submit quotations, and South Korea’s Flia Wolverine and Wolverine in the United States are also seen by the market as possible bidders.

Adidas bought the American sports brand Reebok for US$3.8 billion in 2006 to help it compete with Nike. However, Reebok’s poor performance prompted investors to frequently call on Adidas to sell the brand. At present, Reebok is expected to sell for only 1 billion euros (1.2 billion US dollars), which is equivalent to a 25% discount compared with the 2006 purchase price of 3.8 billion US dollars, which can be described as the “fracture price.”

Prior to this, on February 16, Adidas issued a statement on its English official website titled “Adidas will initiate the process of divesting the Reebok brand.” Adidas said that this divestiture of Reebok is part of Adidas’ new five-year strategy. From the company’s point of view, both Reebok and Adidas brands can achieve better growth after operating independently.

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