Problems with Nissan attract interest from both Honda and Foxconn

Troubled Japanese automaker Nissan Motor is said to have accelerated talks to merge with rival Honda Motor after Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry expressed interest in taking a stake. News of the merger talks sent Nissan shares up a record 24%. Nissan’s problems became apparent last month when it cut its profit forecast, said it would cut 9,000 jobs globally and announced a 20% reduction in global production. Since then, various entities have circled the automaker, with activist investors building positions in its stock. France’s Renault will also have influence over any deal due to its 36% stake in Nissan. Hon Hai, which makes iPhones for Apple and is known as Foxconn, has invested heavily in factories to build electric cars.

Hong Kong’s securities watchdog is said to have raided the offices of about a dozen financial firms and individuals last month as part of an investigation into corporate listings on the Nasdaq exchange. The investigation centers around so-called pump-and-dump operations, where people may have colluded to cause wild price swings. The New York Stock Exchange earlier raised concerns about Hong Kong-based companies after some’s shares rose before falling. About 55 companies from China and Hong Kong have floated shares on the Nasdaq this year, raising a combined $1.3 billion.