Hyundai Motor and Kia, South Korea’s leading automotive companies, said on Thursday they have launched a joint project to develop cathode material technology for producing LFP (lithium iron phosphate) batteries for electric vehicles.

The joint project, also involving Hyundai Steel Co. and Ecopro BM, aims to develop a technology for synthesising materials directly without using precursors during the manufacturing of LFP battery cathodes, reports Yonhap news agency.

Hyundai Motor and Kia, in collaboration with Hyundai Steel, plan to develop high-purity fine iron powder processing technology using recycled steel. Ecopro BM will utilise this to develop directly synthesised LFP cathode materials.

The project, supported by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, will run for four years, the automakers said. The companies’ representatives held a meeting Wednesday to discuss future cooperation.

If the project is proven successful, LFP battery production could become more cost competitive, as currently most cathode precursors are produced in a few specific countries, leading to high import dependency.

The project could potentially enable the establishment of a stable domestic supply chain for raw materials for LFP batteries, reducing reliance on imports and enhancing supply chain security for the country, the companies said.

“Through this project, we hope to reduce reliance on foreign imports and internalise the necessary technologies, thereby enhancing the technological competitiveness of both the nation and Hyundai Motor Group,” the automakers said.

Meanwhile, cumulative sales volume of Hyundai Motor is likely to exceed the 100 million-unit mark this month, industry projections showed.

According to the company data, Hyundai Motor’s cumulative car sales from 1968 to the end of July totalled 99.66 million units. This includes 24.36 million units sold domestically and 75.3 million units sold overseas.

Achieving 100 million units in cumulative sales would mark a major milestone for the South Korean automaker, accomplished 56 years after the company first began selling the Cortina compact sedan, which was first produced at Hyundai’s Ulsan plant in 1968.

AGENCIES

 After a two-year bull run, residential real estate activity across top cities stabilised in the third quarter (July-September) this year, reaching more that 1.07 lakh units, a report showed on Thursday, adding that the lull was due to monsoon and perceived inauspiciousness (the ‘shraad’ period).

However, sales continued to outstrip new supply in Q3, reflecting continued health in the market. Share of new luxury homes supply (priced Rs 1.5 crore and above) was highest at 33 per cent in the quarter, as per Anarock Group report.

“Housing sales in the third quarter tapered down amid high prices and the monsoon season. As always in this period, the ‘shraad’ period also suppressed demand to an extent as many Indians defer home buying in this period. Overall, the housing market is stabilising after creating a new peak in Q1 2024,” said Anuj Puri, Chairman, Anarock Group.

Developers have several projects lined up during the festive quarter during which, the market is expected to see an uptick in demand.

Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) saw highest sales of nearly 36,190 units in Q3, followed by Pune with 19,050 units.

“Cumulatively, the two western cities accounted for 52 per cent of the total sales across the top 7 cities in Q3 2024. All the top cities individually recorded a dip in housing sales,” Puri added.

The top seven cities saw new housing supply with about 93,750 units launched in Q3, against 1,16,220 units in the corresponding period in 2023.

“Nevertheless, the fact that sales remained higher than launches indicates that the demand-supply equation remains robust,” Puri noted.

The mid segment (Rs 40 lakh-Rs 80 lakh) contributed a 23 per cent share of the total new supply during the quarter, while the affordable segment’s share fell further to just 13 per cent – the lowest in a quarter.

The inventory decline is largely attributable to sales exceeding new launches in the quarter, the report mentioned.

Average residential prices in the top seven cities collectively saw double-digit growth of 23 per cent against Q3 2023. Hyderabad recorded the highest 32 per cent annual growth, followed by Bengaluru and Delhi-NCR with 29 per cent increases each.

According to the report, residential prices too seem to have peaked out and are now gradually stabilising across cities. AGENCIES

 South Korea plans to launch an antidumping investigation into stainless steel plates imported from China after a local company claimed that cheap imports have damaged the domestic market, the industry ministry said on Thursday.

The move came after DK Corp filed a complaint with the Korea Trade Commission in June, claiming that stainless steel plates from four Chinese companies were imported at below reasonable market prices, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The plates are widely used in various industries, including the petrochemical, shipbuilding, and semiconductor sectors, reports Yonhap news agency.

The commission said it plans to carry out investigations on products imported in 2023.

Last month, the government said that Children’s bicycles, skates and sunglasses sold in South Korea by Chinese online platform AliExpress have been found to contain a hazardous substance exceeding the country’s standard by about 260 times.

The government conducted a safety examination on 16 kinds of children’s products sold on AliExpress, such as inline skates, kickboards, bicycles, glasses, and sunglasses, and half of them were found to contain hazardous substances exceeding domestic standards or were not durable enough.

The number of complaints by South Korean users about the products and services on the Chinese platforms has soared recently.

Given this, the South Korean antitrust regulator Fair Trade Commission (FTC) in May signed agreements with the Chinese retail platforms AliExpress and Temu meant to prevent them from selling harmful products and to better protect consumers.

The move came as the customs agency found that some of the products sold on AliExpress, owned by Alibaba, and Temu contained high levels of carcinogens and other harmful substances, the FTC said.

AGENCIES

In a significant development at the Sam Altman-run OpenAI, three top executives — including Chief Technical Officer Mira Murati — have left the ChatGPT developer.

According to Altman, they made the decision to leave independently of each other and amicably. Of the 13 people who helped found OpenAI in 2015, only three now remain at the company.

“But the timing of Mira’s decision was such that it made sense to now do this all at once, so that we can work together for a smooth handover to the next generation of leadership,” he posted on X social media platform.

“Mira has been instrumental to OpenAI’s progress and growth the last 6.5 years; she has been a hugely significant factor in our development from an unknown research lab to an important company,” said the OpenAI CEO.

Murati said in a separate X post that after much reflection, “I have made the difficult decision to leave OpenAI”.

“There’s never an ideal time to step away from a place one cherishes, yet this moment feels right. My six-and-a-half years with the OpenAI team have been an extraordinary privilege,” she added.

Altman said that Matt Knight, formerly head of security, will be OpenAI’s chief information security officer.

Chief product officer Kevin Weil and VP of engineering, Srinivas Narayanan, will continue to lead OpenAI’s applied team. Josh Achiam will be the Chief Scientist at the AI company.

“Achiam is going to take on a new role as Head of Mission Alignment, working across the company to ensure that we get all pieces (and culture) right to be in a place to succeed at the mission. Kevin and Srinivas will continue to lead the Applied team,” announced Altman.

“Mark, Jakub, Kevin, Srinivas, Matt, and Josh will report to me. I have over the past year or so spent most of my time on the non-technical parts of our organisation; I am now looking forward to spending most of my time on the technical and product parts of the company,” he added.

According to Altman, leadership changes are a natural part of companies, especially companies that grow so quickly and are so demanding.

AGENCIES

Chandigarh: The 14^th Hockey India Sub Junior Men National Championship will be held at Hockey Stadium, Sector 42 in Chandigarh from September 23 to October 03, 2024. About 650-700 players & officials from 28 States of the Country will participate in this National championship.

Anil Vohra, General Secretary Hockey Chandigarh said that Punjab Governor and UT Chandigarh Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria will inaugurate the championship at Hockey Stadium Sector 42, Chandigarh at 5 pm on September 24. Man of the Match of all the matches and player of the Championship (Goal Keeper, Defender, Midfielder and forward) along with handsome gift will be awarded. Memento and gifts will also awarded to the Winners, Runners up and third position team, he added.

Chandigarh:

With the onset of festive season, Amazon India is bringing an extraordinary interactive experience to the heart of Chandigarh from September 14th to 18th. The “Amazon Festive Box”, a larger-than-life installation that celebrates Chandigarh’s vibrant spirit and culture through stunning art, while giving customers a fun way to engage with Amazon’s upcoming Great Indian Festival sale. At this one-of-a-kind activation, installed at the Bridge Market, Sector 17, the audience can “make a wish” and share what they would love to gift their loved ones. This initiative is a perfect blend of Chandigarh’s uniqueness and Amazon’s biggest annual celebration.

Amazon Business – the B2B store, completes 7 years in India

The festive season preparations also coincide with the 7th anniversary of Amazon Business, the B2B store of Amazon.in, in India. Since 2017, Amazon Business has been at the forefront of transformation for many Indian businesses. It has witnessed a huge growth outside of the metros, and including in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh. In these regions, Amazon Business has seen a 200% YoY growth in customers.

Mitranjan Bhaduri, Director, Amazon Business, said “The festive period holds great significance not just for customers but also for businesses as they gear up for celebrating the season with their employees and partners. Be it sharing the festive excitement through gifting or redoing their office space, we have seen that this season is equally important for businesses. At Amazon Business, we recognize this unique opportunity. As we celebrate our 7th year in India, we’re committed more than ever to empowering businesses of all sizes in every corner of India. We’re dedicated to providing unparalleled support to our sellers and innovative solutions to our business customers. Our goal is to make this festive season truly memorable by innovating to provide unmatched selection, value and convenience.”

With added convenience like enabling multi-user accounts within same teams/organizations that has witnessed a 288% of YoY growth, ‘Bill-to-Ship to’ where customers can buy from one location and ship to another without compromising GST input credit. Recently, we launched the ‘Invoice by Amazon’ feature that helps customers consolidate invoicing from multiple sellers. Amazon Business has simplified procurement needs for MSMEs across the country, and thereby improving the business efficiency. Further underscoring the platform’s commitment to providing a seamless on-the-go shopping experience for business customers, 65% of overall orders on Amazon Business are now received from a mobile phone.

IPSOS study** reveals strong consumer enthusiasm for online festive shopping, Amazon.in emerges as preferred destination

Customers are enthusiastic for festive shopping upswing this year, revealed a study conducted by Ipsos Research Private Limited, commissioned by Amazon India**. 89% respondents expressed their excitement for the upcoming festivities with 71% indicating that they intend to shop online. Nearly 50% respondents said they intend to shop online and they would spend more on online festive shopping compared to last year. This trend cuts across metros (55%) and tier-2 cities (43% in cities with 10-40 lakh population).  The study also revealed Amazon.in as a preferred online shopping destination, with over 73% of respondents trusting Amazon for their festive needs. 75% associated Amazon with wide selection of products, 72% said that sellers on Amazon provide attractive deals, and 73% viewed it as a reliable and trustworthy online shopping destinations.

A long-range surface-to-surface missile fired from Yemen struck an unpopulated area near Israel’s international airport outside Tel Aviv on Sunday, Israeli sources said.

The missile triggered sirens in Tel Aviv and other cities in central Israel, sending residents running to shelters during the morning rush hour, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Israeli military said in a statement that interceptors were launched but failed to shoot down the missile, which landed in an open area.

Israel’s state-owned Kan TV news reported that the missile fell in Kfar Daniel, about 6 km from Ben Gurion Airport. A fire broke out in the area.

Magen David Adom, Israel’s national rescue service, said five people were injured while running to shelters.

There were no changes to the Home Front Command’s defensive guidelines for civilians.

The incident marks the second time a projectile from Yemen has reached central Israel, following a drone attack by Houthi forces in July that killed one person in Tel Aviv. AGENCIES

One person was killed and thousands were evacuated due to continuous rainfall in Poland, said Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk at a press conference on Sunday.

By Sunday morning, 1,600 people had been evacuated from Klodzko, a town in southern Poland, due to severe flooding caused by continuous rainfall, Xinhua news agency reported.

Torrential rains have caused rivers to exceed alarming levels, especially in regions like Opole and Silesia.

The local water management authority in Wroclaw expects a flood peak on the Oder River in Wroclaw next Tuesday which will last for several days.

Tusk warned that delaying evacuation may pose a danger not only to citizens but also to the services that will have to carry out the evacuation later, in much more difficult conditions.

Polish Prime Minister taking to social media platform X, stated, “Now, all that matters is help for people threatened by flooding and state action. Those who can, let them help, those who can’t, do not hinder. Politics must give way to solidarity.”

People in the towns of Jarnoltowek and Pokrzywna in the region of Opole started to evacuate on Saturday with authorities warning that the situation could worsen.

The director of the Karkonosze National Park in southwestern Poland has decided to close all tourist trails in the park until further notice.

Hydrologic alerts have been extended to other regions, with infrastructure damage, road closures, and halted rail services reported. AGENCIES