7-Eleven operator explores protected status to thwart foreign bid

Good morning from the FT newsroom, where the August doldrums are providing us a chance to catch our breath amid a busy couple months.

A global stock sell-off, turmoil in Bangladesh and a volatile US election campaign — these are just a few of the biggest stories we’ve covered lately. Which do you want to know more about? What questions do you have about the top headlines in Asia or around the world? Reply to this email with your questions, your name and where you’re writing from. We’ll answer them in a special weekend edition of FirstFT.

In today’s newsletter we’re covering:

• Ecommerce giant PDD’s $55bn share hit

• Beijing’s preferred outcome in the US election

• Fears over China’s chip materials export curbs

But we start with the latest on the foreign takeover bid for 7-Eleven’s Japanese owner.

Seven & i Holdings is discussing ways to defend itself against the approach by Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard, including by applying for the same status as companies in the nuclear and semiconductor industries.

Two people close to Seven & i Holdings said such a tactic, which would involve trying to persuade the government to change the company’s designation from a “non-core” to a more protected “core” rating under Japan’s Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act (Fefta), was among several options under examination.

The internal discussions on the means of thwarting a bid have emerged just 10 days after Seven & i publicly acknowledged it had received a preliminary proposal of a full takeover by Couche-Tard, and had established a special committee of independent board directors to examine the offer.

Tokyo bureau chief Leo Lewis has more on the internal talks and how shareholders in Seven & i have responded to the takeover bid.

Here’s what I’m keeping tabs on today:

• Economic data: Malaysia and Australia report July inflation figures.

• Nvidia results: The US chipmaker at the heart of the AI boom is expected to say that its quarterly sales have more than doubled, even as year-on-year growth slows.

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Five more top stories

1. Chinese ecommerce giant PDD Holdings suffered a $55bn stock plunge after warning of an “inevitable” decline in profitability. PDD’s apps including Pinduoduo and Temu, face rising competition in China and around the world.

2. Australia will cut the number of incoming international students over concerns about migration and housing prices. The planned quota drew widespread condemnation from the education sector, which warned of huge budget gaps and up to 14,000 job losses if the number of international students was slashed.

3. US prosecutors have filed a revised set of charges against Donald Trump over his alleged attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The fresh indictment is an attempt to comply with the Supreme Court decision that recognized broad immunity from criminal prosecution for presidents.

• US election news: Trump has tapped Robert F Kennedy Jr, his onetime campaign rival, and Tulsi Gabbard, a former congresswoman from Hawaii, to serve on his presidential transition team.

4. The Pentagon yesterday warned of a “potential environmental catastrophe” in the Red Sea as it said that an oil tanker set on fire by Yemen’s rebel Houthis now appeared to be leaking crude.

5. Rising sea levels, ocean warming and acidification are threatening the Pacific Islands, the World Meteorological Organization said, as regional leaders meet this week. The latest WMO report found that sea surface temperatures in the Pacific had risen three times faster than the global average since 1980, highlighting the peril to the mostly low-lying nations that make up the region.

News in-depth

Policymakers in Beijing are weighing whether a Kamala Harris presidency would be preferable to a second Donald Trump administration. While Trump’s style and approach is familiar to China, Beijing is wary of the “mystery” around the US vice-president who has had little exposure to foreign affairs.

We’re also reading . . . 

• PBoC’s transparency problem: If monetary mystique is an art, China’s central bank takes that to the extreme, writes Eswar Prasad. But this opacity has many negative ramifications.

• Cracking cancer: The $1tn race for treatments has bypassed some forms of the disease, but novel therapies are on the horizon.

• Ukraine: Kyiv’s allies are divided over whether to lift their restrictions on the use of western weapons against targets on Russian territory.

Chart of the day

Chinese export controls on crucial semiconductor materials — germanium and gallium — are hitting supply chains and stoking fears of shortfalls in western production of advanced chips and military optical hardware.

Take a break from the news

Is this the best falafel in Europe? L’As du Fallafel in Paris was opened in 1979 by a Franco-Israeli couple who moved to the city from Israel. Ajesh Patalay visited to find out what makes the chickpea snack stand out.

Additional contributions from Melody Abike Adebisi and Irwin Cruz