Why China wants Musk to save TikTok
FT News Briefing
Forhecz Topher
4.4 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 15 January 2025
⏱️ 13 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Saudi Aramco is to expand its investments in lithium production, officials in Beijing are discussing using Elon Musk as a broker in a potential sale of TikTok’s US operations, and KPMG could soon begin offering legal services in the US. Plus, Syria has been flooded with imports in the aftermath of Bashar al-Assad’s ousting.
Mentioned in this podcast:
Saudi Aramco to expand investments in lithium as it diversifies from oil
China discussing using Elon Musk as broker in TikTok deal
KPMG readies challenge to US law firms
Syria flooded with Pepsi and Pringles as rulers open economy
The FT News Briefing is produced by Niamh Rowe, Fiona Symon, Sonja Hutson, Kasia Broussalian, Lulu Smyth, and Marc Filippino. Additional help from Breen Turner, Sam Giovinco, Peter Barber, Michael Lello, David da Silva and Gavin Kallmann. Our engineer is Joseph Salcedo. Topher Forhecz is the FT’s executive producer. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. The show’s theme song is by Metaphor Music.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | We're Equinor, an energy company searching for better. |
| 0:03.0 | Currently, we supply 27% of the UK's gas, 15% of its oil, |
| 0:07.7 | and we're playing our part in the UK's energy transition. |
| 0:11.0 | Our wind farms power 750,000 homes, |
| 0:14.0 | and we expect that to grow to over 7 million. |
| 0:16.5 | Last year, we invested 20% of our global growth spend in renewables |
| 0:20.1 | and lower carbon solutions. |
| 0:22.0 | We plan to increase that to 50% by 2030. |
| 0:25.4 | We're an energy company searching for better. |
| 0:28.4 | equinore.co.uk. |
| 0:33.7 | Good morning from the Financial Times. |
| 0:36.3 | Today is Wednesday, January 15th, and this is your FT news briefing. |
| 0:42.0 | Saudi Arabia is betting on EV batteries, and China thinks Elon Musk could help with its TikTok problem. |
| 0:50.5 | Plus, imports have been flooding into Syria since the downfall of Bashar al-Assad. |
| 0:56.8 | It's already, you know, a sign of things to come for Syrians to see all these foreign items that they used to have to cross borders to get to. |
| 1:04.0 | I'm Sonia Hudson, and here's the news you need to start your day. |
| 1:20.4 | Yeah. to start your day. The world's biggest oil company wants to dig deeper into lithium production. |
| 1:30.7 | The metal is crucial for electric vehicle batteries. |
| 1:38.2 | Saudi Aramco is set to announce the expansion today. The company's pivot is part of Saudi Arabia's broader plans to become a mining hub and diversify away from oil. But it won't be easy. China currently controls about |
| 1:48.7 | two-thirds of the market. Plus, excess supply has dragged down prices. That makes it hard for |
| 1:55.9 | new groups to compete. But Saudi Arabia thinks its deep pockets and chemical expertise will help it |
| 2:03.1 | break into the market. The Kingdom plans to develop facilities within three to five years. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Forhecz Topher, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Forhecz Topher and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.