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7.11.19 15 FOREIGN NEWS UBER Technologies Inc (UBER.N) fell as much as 9% to a record low on Wednesday after shares held by early investors became available for sale fol- lowing the expiration of a six-month restriction related to the ride-hailing company's initial public offering. Uber made its market debut at $45 per share in May, but has since lost more than 40% in value as the loss-making company struggled to retain investor confidence. Much of Uber's nearly 1.68 billion out- standing shares were under lock-up. In the IPO filing, Uber had said about 76% of its shares held by insiders, venture capitalists and other investors were un- der the restriction. "Some of the sell-off over the last few days has been attributed to the fear of additional liquidity coming into the market as a result of the lock-up expi- ration today, and people were trying to get ahead of that," said Matt Novak, managing partner at All Blue Capital, an Uber investor. However, not all early investors will hit the market to book a profit as they might have bought shares above the current trading price of $25.58. SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T), which has invested billions in Uber to become its largest investor, in 2017 bought preferred stock at $48.77 per share and common shares at $32.97 apiece from existing shareholders, including co-founder Travis Kalanick. e Japanese firm, which took a beat- ing on its investment in WeWork, ear- lier on Wednesday reported its first quarterly loss in 14 years, hurt by an $8.9 billion hit at its giant Vision Fund. e ride-hailing firm also counts Benchmark Capital, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Alphabet and Goldman Sachs among its top inves- tors. None of those investors could be immediately reached for comment. Uber was the biggest of a group of Silicon Valley startups that have gone public this year against the backdrop of a global stock market selloff, sparked by the trade battle between the United States and China. e company's latest quarterly report was also disappointing, piling more pressure on the battered stock. It posted a wider third-quarter loss as it outspend rivals on discounts to lure customers and invested heavily in loss-making new business ventures. From offering ride-hailing services in more than 700 cities worldwide, Uber has diversified into long-haul trucking, food delivery, developing self-driving cars and offering banking services to its drivers. However, profit has been elusive. Uber shares fall to record low as stock lock-up expires THE European Union and China have agreed to protect 100 European region- al food names, known as geographical indications (GI), in China and 100 Chi- nese geographical indications in the EU, said a statement from the EU Commis- sion on Wednesday. e deal will include protecting the name of products such as cava, Irish whiskey, feta and prosciutto di Parma, as well as China's Pixian bean paste, Anji white tea and Panjin rice. GI Protection e deal significantly expands the number of foods protected by GIs from the 10 products on both sides that were agreed in 2012 and should help boost trade in higher value goods. "It is a win for both parties, strength- ening our trading relationship, benefit- ting our agricultural and food sectors, and consumers on both sides," said Ag- riculture and rural development Com- missioner Phil Hogan, who is currently visiting China. Consumers are willing to pay more for GI products, he said, trusting the origin and authenticity of the goods. Agreement e agreement still needs to be ap- proved by the European Parliament and Council but is expected to enter into force before the end of 2020, said the statement. It will be expanded to cover an addi- tional 175 GI names from both sides four years after the current agreement. EU agri-food exports to China were worth €12.8 billion in the 12 months from September 2018 to August 2019. EU, China agree to protect 100 of each other's regional foods

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