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A rags-to-riches tycoon, Hong Kong media boss Jimmy Lai is a self-styled “troublemaker” who has long been a thorn in Beijing’s side with his caustic tabloids and unapologetic support for democracy.Verdicts in the 78-year-old’s national security trial are set to be delivered on Monday, a case widely condemned by Western nations as an attack on political liberties and the free press.Lai told AFP in June 2020 he was “prepared for prison”, where he has been since late that year.Those remarks came two weeks before Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law on the finance hub after huge, and sometimes violent, pro-democracy protests the previous year.He was arrested under the new security law that August, fulfilling his prediction that he was a prime target for prosecution.”If (prison) comes, I will have the opportunity to read books I haven’t read. The only thing I can do is to be positive,” he said at the time.Few Hong Kongers generate the same level of vitriol from Beijing as Lai.He is an unlikely hero for many residents of the semi-autonomous city, a pugnacious, self-made tabloid owner and the only tycoon willing to lampoon Beijing.But to China’s state media he is a “traitor”, the biggest “black hand” behind the pro-democracy protests and the head of a new “Gang of Four” conspiring with foreign nations to undermine the motherland.- Tiananmen watershed -Lai rose from poverty, like many Hong Kong tycoons.He was born into a wealthy family in mainland China’s Guangdong province, but they lost it all when the communists took power in 1949.Smuggled into Hong Kong aged 12, Lai toiled in sweatshops, taught himself English and eventually founded the hugely successful Giordano clothing empire.However, his path diverged from his contemporaries when China sent tanks to crush pro-democracy protests in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989.He founded his first publication shortly after and wrote columns critical of senior Chinese leaders.Authorities began closing his mainland clothing stores, so Lai sold up and ploughed the money into a tabloid empire.Lai was the subject of other lawsuits, including one where he was acquitted of intimidating a journalist from a rival newspaper.But his embrace of 2019’s pro-democracy movement landed him in deeper trouble and he was jailed for 20 months over his participation in some rallies.An additional fraud case over an office lease added almost six more years to his sentence.Those cases pale in comparison to Monday’s verdicts.Lai is charged with two counts of “conspiracy to foreign collusion” under the security law that carry a maximum penalty of life in prison. He is also charged with one count of “conspiracy to publish seditious publications”.He pleaded not guilty to all charges.Asked why he didn’t keep quiet and enjoy his wealth like Hong Kong’s other tycoons, Lai said in 2020 he “just fell into it, but it feels right doing it”.”Maybe I’m a born rebel, maybe I’m someone who needs a lot of meaning to live my life besides money,” he said.- ‘Delivering freedom’ -Lai also said then he had no plans to leave Hong Kong despite his wealth and the risks he faced.”I’m a troublemaker. I came here with nothing, the freedom of this place has given me everything. Maybe it’s time I paid back for that freedom by fighting for it,” he said.Lai’s two primary publications — the Apple Daily newspaper and the digital-only Next magazine — openly backed democracy protests in a city where competitors either support Beijing or tread a far more cautious line.The two publications were largely devoid of advertisements for years as brands steered clear of incurring Beijing’s wrath, and Lai plugged the losses with his own cash.They were popular, offering a heady mix of celebrity news, sex scandals and genuine investigations.Apple Daily was forced to close in 2021 after police raids and the arrests of senior editors. Next also closed. Lai defended his paper during more than 40 days of spirited courtroom testimony.”The core values of Apple Daily are actually the core values of the people of Hong Kong… (including) rule of law, freedom, pursuit of democracy, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly,” he told the court in November 2024.”To participate in delivering freedom is a very good idea for me,” Lai said. “The more you are in the know, the more you are free.”

Long-awaited verdicts in Hong Kong pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai’s national security trial will be delivered on Monday, one of the city’s most closely watched rulings since its return to Chinese rule in 1997.The case has grown into a wedge between Beijing and many Western nations, with US President Donald Trump reportedly calling for Lai’s release during a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in October.The Apple Daily founder has pleaded not guilty to two counts of “conspiracy to foreign collusion” under the security law, which carry a maximum penalty of life in prison, as well as one count of “conspiracy to publish seditious publications”.Lai turned 78 last week and once described himself as a “born rebel”. He loudly defied the Chinese Communist Party for years, while amassing millions from his clothing and media empires.He became a prime target after Beijing imposed the sweeping national security law on Hong Kong in 2020, a year after huge and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests in the finance hub.High Court judges Esther Toh, Alex Lee and Susana D’Almada Remedios will begin delivering their verdicts at 10 am (0200 GMT). If found guilty, Lai will likely be sentenced at a later date and can appeal the outcome.A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said on Friday that Beijing “firmly supports” Hong Kong in “safeguarding national security in accordance with the law and punishing criminal acts that endanger national security”.Lai is a British citizen, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been under pressure from human rights and press freedom groups to secure his release.- Health concerns -Lai has been in jail since December 31, 2020, and the state of his health is bitterly contested by his family and the Hong Kong government.He most recently appeared in court in August, when he was prescribed medication and fitted with a heart rate monitor after lawyers said he had experienced heart palpitations.Lai gave spirited courtroom testimony and was quick to respond to, and even bicker with, prosecutors and judges.His daughter Claire told AFP last week that Lai, a diabetic, had “lost a very significant amount of weight” and showed decay in his nails and teeth.The Hong Kong government said on Friday that Lai has received “adequate and comprehensive” medical services and that “no complaints” had been raised.Authorities also confirmed that Lai had been held in solitary confinement, but said that “has all along been made at his own request”.- Sprawling trial -Prosecutors accused Lai during the trial of being the mastermind in a conspiracy involving Apple Daily’s senior management, citing 161 items the outlet published.Those items, which included op-eds with Lai’s byline and online talk shows he hosted, were deemed seditious under a colonial-era law because they “excited disaffection” against the government.Prosecutors said some of the items also breached the later national security law because they asked foreign countries to impose “sanctions or blockade” or take “hostile activities” against Hong Kong or China.Lai was grilled for days over his political connections in the United States, Britain and Taiwan, including a 2019 meeting with then-US vice president Mike Pence.Prosecutors separately accused Lai of being the mastermind and financial backer of the protest group “Stand with Hong Kong, Fight for Freedom”, which allegedly lobbied for sanctions against China.Lai countered that he had never tried to influence other countries’ foreign policies on Hong Kong and China through his overseas contacts.He also distanced himself from violence and separatism, saying that Apple Daily represented Hongkongers’ core values such as “rule of law, freedom, pursuit of democracy, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly”.Apple Daily was forced to close in 2021 after police raids and the arrests of its senior editors.Six of the newspaper’s top executives were charged as co-defendants and have already pleaded guilty.

In a light-filled workshop in eastern China, a robotic arm moved a partially assembled autonomous vehicle as workers calibrated its cameras, typical of the incremental automation being adopted even across smaller factories in the world’s manufacturing powerhouse.China is already the world’s largest market for industrial robots, and the government is pouring billions of dollars into robotics and artificial intelligence to boost its presence in the sector. The first essentially humanlessfactoriesare already in operation, even as widespread automation raises questions about job losses as well as the cost and difficulty of transition for smaller and medium-sized companies. The answer for many is a hybrid approach, experts and factory owners told AFP. At the autonomous vehicle workshop, manager Liu Jingyao told AFP that humans are still a crucial part of even technologically advanced manufacturing. “Many decisions require human judgement,” said Liu, whose company Neolix produces small van-like vehicles that transport parcels across Chinese cities. “These decisions involve certain skill-based elements that still need to be handled by people.”At the Neolix factory, 300 kilometres (186 miles) north of Shanghai, newly built driverless vehicles zoomed around a testing track simulating obstacles including puddles and bridges.In a closed-off room, workers assembled vehicles’ “brains”, testing their cameras and computer chips.”Automation… primarily serve(s) to assist humans, reducing labour intensity rather than replacing them,” Liu said.But Ni Jun, a mechanical engineering expert at Shanghai’s Jiaotong University, said China’s strategy of focusing on industrial applications for AI means full automation is already feasible in many sectors.Among others, tech giant Xiaomi operates a “dark factory” — where the absence of people means no need for lights — with robotic arms and sensors able to make smartphones without humans.- Digital divide -Ni described a “digital divide” between larger companies with the funds to invest heavily in modernisation, and smaller businesses struggling to keep up.For Zhu Yefeng’s Far East Precision Printing Company, part of China’s vast network of small independent factories employing up to a few dozen people each, full automation is a distant dream.At the company just outside Shanghai, workers in small rooms fed sheets of instruction manuals into folding machines and operated equipment that printed labels for electronic devices.The company used pen and paper to track its workflow until two years ago, with managers having to run around the factory to communicate order information.”Things were, to put it bluntly, a complete mess,” Zhu told AFP.The company has since adopted software that allows employees to scan QR codes that send updates to a factory-wide tracker.On a screen in his office, Zhu can see detailed charts breaking down each order’s completion level and individual employees’ productivity statistics.”This is a start,” Zhu told AFP. “We will move toward more advanced technology like automation, in order to receive even bigger orders from clients.”Financial constraints are a major barrier though.  “As a small company, we can’t afford certain expenses,” said Zhu. His team is trying to develop its own robotic quality testing machine, but for now humans continue to check final products.- Employment pressures -The potential unemployment caused by widespread automation will be a challenge, said Jacob Gunter from the Berlin-based Mercator Institute for China Studies. “Companies will be quite happy to decrease their headcount… but the government will not like that and will be under a lot of pressure to navigate this,” Gunter told AFP.Beijing’s push to develop industrial robots will “intersect with the need for maintaining high employment at a time when employment pressure is considerable”, he added. Going forward, manufacturers must strike a balance “between the technical feasibility, social responsibility, and business necessity”, Jiaotong University’s Ni told AFP.Zhou Yuxiang, the CEO of Black Lake Technologies — the start-up that provided the software for Zhu’s factory — told AFP he thought factories would “always be hybrid”. “If you ask every owner of a factory, is a dark factory the goal? No, that’s just a superficial description,” Zhou said. “The goal for factories is to optimise production, deliver things that their end customers want, and also make money.”

Stock markets on both sides of the Atlantic pulled back Friday as profit-taking trimmed some of the gains seen after the Federal Reserve’s interest rate cut this week.Investors kept away from any big bets on the future direction of US interest rates while the inflation and employment pictures remain cloudy, analysts said.European and Asian equity markets initially tracked Thursday’s record performance on Wall Street but then turned negative as the mood in New York shifted. This change was partly motivated by unease about potentially excessive stock valuations in the tech sector.Focus for global investors is switching to next week’s release of US jobs data, which could provide insights into the Fed’s plans for the coming year.Partial data released Thursday showed US jobless claims rose more than expected in the week ending December 6, marking their biggest increase for five and a half years and reinforcing the view of a softening labor market.Traders welcomed Fed boss Jerome Powell’s post-meeting comments Wednesday — seen as less hawkish than feared — but the policy board’s statement suggested it could hold off from a fourth straight cut in January.There was some concern about sector valuations after disappointing earnings from sector giants Oracle and Broadcom.”Oracle and Broadcom reminded the market that while AI demand remains strong, leveraged investments and uncertain monetisation paths are preventing investors from adding exposure at current valuations,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote.All three major US indexes slumped on Friday, with the Nasdaq Composite Index falling 1.7 percent.London stock prices underperformed their European peers after official data showed that the UK economy unexpectedly contracted in October.- Key figures at around 2145 GMT -New York – Dow: DOWN 0.5 percent at 48,458.05 points (close)New York – NASDAQ: DOWN 1.7 percent at 23,195.17 (close)New York: S&P 500: DOWN 1.1 percent at 6,827.41 (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.6 percent at 9,649.03 (close)Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.2 percent at 8,068.62 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.5 percent at 24,186.49 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.4 percent at 50,836.55 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 1.8 percent at 25,976.79 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 3,889.35 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1742 from $1.1741 on ThursdayDollar/yen: UP at 155.83 yen from 155.58Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3368 from $1.3394Euro/pound: UP at 87.83 pence from 87.65Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.3 percent at $61.12 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.3 percent at $57.44 per barrelburs-jh-bys/ksb

Stock markets on both sides of the Atlantic pulled back Friday as pre-weekend profit-taking pared some, but not all, of the gains seen after the Federal Reserve bank delivered a much-anticipated rate easing this week.Investors kept away from any big bets on the future direction of US interest rates while the inflation and employment pictures remain cloudy, analysts said.European and Asian equity markets initially tracked Thursday’s record performance on Wall Street, but then turned negative as the mood in New York shifted, a change partly motivated by unease about potentially excessive stock valuations in the tech sector.Focus for global investors is switching to next week’s release of US jobs data, which could provide insights into the Federal Reserve’s plans for next year.Partial data released Thursday showed US jobless claims rose more than expected in the week ended December 6, marking their biggest increase for five and a half years and reinforcing the view of a softening labour market.Traders welcomed Fed boss Jerome Powell’s post-meeting comments Wednesday — seen as less hawkish than feared — but the policy board’s statement suggested it could hold off from a fourth straight cut in January.There was some concern about sector valuations after disappointing earnings from sector giants Oracle and Broadcom.”Oracle and Broadcom reminded the market that while AI demand remains strong, leveraged investments and uncertain monetisation paths are preventing investors from adding exposure at current valuations,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, Senior Analyst at Swissquote.The tech-heavy NASDAQ index consequently did worse than the Dow and S&P 500 indexes.London stock prices underperformed their European peers after official data showed that the UK economy unexpectedly contracted in October.- Key figures at around 1640 GMT -New York – Dow: DOWN 0.6 percent at 48,383.22 pointsNew York – NASDAQ: DOWN 2.0 percent at 23,120New York: S&P 500: DOWN 1.4 percent at 6,804.16London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.6 percent at 9,649.03 (close)Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.2 percent at 8,068.62 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.5 percent at 24,186.49 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.4 percent at 50,836.55 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 1.8 percent at 25,976.79 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 3,889.35 (close)Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1728 from $1.1741 on ThursdayDollar/yen: UP at 155.75 yen from 155.58Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3347 from $1.3394Euro/pound: UP at 87.87 pence from 87.65Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.4 percent at $61.06 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.4 percent at $57.39 per barrelburs-jh/gv

EU finance ministers agreed Friday to impose a three-euro duty on low-value imports into the bloc from July 2026 to help tackle a flood of small parcels ordered via the likes of Shein and Temu.Last year, 4.6 billion small retail packages entered the European Union — more than 145 per second — with 91 percent originating in China and their numbers expected to keep rising.Starting at three euros, the new fee will apply once per item in cases where packages contain different products, but only once if they contain multiples of the same item, a spokesperson for the European Council told AFP.The move comes a month after the EU agreed to scrap a duty exemption for parcels worth less than 150 euros ($174) imported directly to consumers in the 27-nation bloc, in many cases via Chinese-founded platforms.The levy will be introduced on a temporary basis starting July 1, staying in place until the bloc can settle on a permanent solution for taxing such imports.”This temporary measure responds to the fact that such parcels currently enter the EU duty free, leading to unfair competition for EU sellers, health and safety risks for consumers, high levels of fraud and environmental concerns,” the Council, which represents EU member states, said in a statement.- ‘Major victory’ -European retailers argue they face unfair competition from overseas platforms, such as AliExpress, Shein and Temu, which they claim do not always comply with the EU’s stringent rules on products.Key EU power France has made the matter a priority, given the around 800 million such packages shipped to the country last year and strong domestic pressure to take action.French Finance Minister Roland Lescure welcomed the flat tax as “a major victory for the European Union”.”Europe is taking concrete steps to protect its single market, its consumers and its sovereignty,” he said.The move comes as the EU strives to bolster the continent’s competitiveness by making the lives of European businesses easier through slashing red tape.Alongside ending the duty exemption, the EU executive in May proposed a small package handling fee worth two euros. EU member states have yet to agree on the level of that fee, but hope it will apply from late 2026.Fed up with waiting, some states have already moved forward with their own plans, including Romania, which has imposed a five-euro fee on small parcels.

Global stocks on Friday held on to gains seen after the Federal Reserve bank delivered a much-anticipated rate easing this week, but investors shied away from big bets on the future direction of US interest rates.European and Asian equity markets tracked Thursday’s record performance on Wall Street, where the equities seemed poised to end the week on a high note.”Global stock markets are still pushing higher,” observed Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, noting that European stocks had pulled ahead of US markets since the start of the month.Focus for global investors switches to next week’s release of US jobs data, which could provide insights into the Federal Reserve’s plans for next year.Partial data released Thursday showed US jobless claims rose more than expected in the week ended December 6, marking their biggest increase for five and a half years and reinforcing the view of a softening labour market.Traders welcomed Fed boss Jerome Powell’s post-meeting comments Wednesday — seen as less hawkish than feared — but the policy board’s statement suggested it could hold off from a fourth straight cut in January.While there was some concern about sector valuations after disappointing earnings from sector giants Oracle and Broadcom caused a tech dip Thursday, this did not translate into sustained selling pressure.London stock prices underperformed their European peers after official data showed that the UK economy unexpectedly contracted in October.- Key figures at around 1435 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 0.3 percent at 48,831.12New York – Nasdaq: DOWN 0.4 percent at 23,508.69New York: S&P 500: DOWN 0.1 percent at 6,893.29London – FTSE 100: FLAT at 9,700.60 pointsParis – CAC 40: UP 0.7 percent at 8,138.75Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.4 percent at 24,379.84Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.4 percent at 50,836.55 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 1.8 percent at 25,976.79 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 3,889.35 (close)Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1731 from $1.1741 on ThursdayDollar/yen: UP at 156.01 yen from 155.58Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3372 from $1.3394Euro/pound: UP at 87.75 pence from 87.65 penceBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.3 percent at $61.12 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.2 percent at $57.49 per barrelburs-jh/sbk

European and Asian stock markets rose Friday as investors tracked a record session on Wall Street in the wake of the Federal Reserve’s latest interest rate cut.The gains came despite renewed concerns about tech valuations after disappointing earnings from sector giants Oracle and Broadcom.”The US tech sell-off was short-lived as Wall Street narrowed losses towards the end of yesterday’s session, helping to lift the broader market mood,” said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell.London added 0.3 percent in late morning deals, despite official data showing that the UK economy unexpectedly contracted in October in the run-up to Britain’s tax-raising budget.Focus for global investors switches to next week’s release of US jobs data, which could provide an insight into the Federal Reserve’s plans for next year.Partial data released Thursday showed US jobless claims rose more than expected in the week ended December 6, marking their biggest increase for five and a half years and reinforcing the view of a softening labour market.Traders welcomed Fed boss Jerome Powell’s post-meeting comments Wednesday — seen as less hawkish than feared — but the policy board’s statement suggested it could hold off a fourth straight cut in January, supporting the dollar.- AI concerns -Stock markets in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Sydney, Singapore and Seoul climbed more than one percent on Friday, while Shanghai, Wellington, Taipei, Mumbai and Manila also ended higher.Jakarta slipped, while Bangkok was barely moved as investors brushed off news that Thailand’s prime minister had dissolved parliament, paving the way for general elections early next year.The gains came despite worries about an AI-led tech rally that has seen many firms chalk up eye-watering gains, with chip giant Nvidia becoming the first to break a $5 trillion valuation in October.With warnings that the hundreds of billions of dollars pumped into AI may have been overdone — and investors might have to wait some time before seeing any returns — analysts say valuations could be overstretched and a bubble forming.Those worries were compounded Thursday as earnings from chip titan Broadcom failed to meet investors’ lofty expectations and its outlook for AI sales disappointed. Its shares fell more than four percent in after-hours trade.The news came a day after software firm Oracle reported quarterly revenue had fallen short of forecasts and revealed a surge in spending on data centres to boost AI capacity.Shares in Oracle ended down 10.8 percent in New York.In corporate news Friday, tech investment giant SoftBank jumped 3.9 percent, as Bloomberg reported that the firm is looking at more acquisitions including data centre operator Switch as it looks to build its influence in the AI sector.- Key figures at around 1100 GMT -London – FTSE 100: UP 0.3 percent at 9,730.52 pointsParis – CAC 40: UP 0.6 percent at 8,137.78Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.4 percent at 24,382.37Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.4 percent at 50,836.55 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 1.8 percent at 25,976.79 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 3,889.35 (close)New York – Dow: UP 1.3 percent at 48,704.01 (close)Dollar/yen: UP at 155.92 yen from 155.58 yen on ThursdayEuro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1728 from $1.1741Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3376 from $1.3394Euro/pound: UP at 87.67 pence from 87.65 penceBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.1 percent at $61.20 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.1 percent at $57.55 per barrel

Asian equities rose Friday as investors tracked a record day on Wall Street in the wake of the Federal Reserve’s latest interest rate cut.The gains came despite renewed concerns about tech valuations after disappointing earnings from sector giants Oracle and Broadcom.Markets ended a mixed week on a strong note, with eyes now on the release of delayed US jobs data next week, which could provide an insight into the central bank’s plans for next year.Figures released Thursday showed initial jobless claims rose more than expected in the week ended December 6, marking their biggest increase for five and a half years and reinforcing the view of a softening labour market.Traders welcomed Fed boss Jerome Powell’s post-meeting comments Wednesday — which were seen as less hawkish than feared — but the policy board’s statement suggested it could hold off a fourth straight cut in January.And analysts said the fact that three decision-makers unusually dissented complicated the policy outlook.Still, investors in New York continued to look at the positives, pencilling in more cuts next year and pushing the S&P 500 and Dow to fresh records.Asia followed suit, with Tokyo, Hong Kong, Sydney, Singapore and Seoul up more than one percent, while Shanghai, Wellington, Taipei, Mumbai and Manila also rose.London edged up at the open even as data showed the UK economy unexpectedly shrunk in October. Paris and Frankfurt also rose.Jakarta slipped, while Bangkok was barely moved as investors brushed off news that Thailand’s prime minister had dissolved parliament, paving the way for general elections early next year.”So, (the Fed being) not as hawkish as it could have been and despite only one cut next year pencilled in, a new Fed chair and cooling jobs market means markets think there is more to come,” said Neil Wilson at Saxo Markets. The gains came despite worries about an AI-led tech rally that has seen many firms chalk up eye-watering gains, with chip giant Nvidia becoming the first to break a $5 trillion valuation in October.With warnings that the hundreds of billions of dollars pumped into AI may have been overdone — and investors might have to wait some time before seeing any returns — analysts say valuations could be overstretched and a bubble forming.Those worries were compounded Thursday as earnings from chip titan Broadcom failed to meet investors’ lofty expectations and its outlook for AI sales disappointed. Its shares fell more than four percent in after-hours trade.The news came a day after software firm Oracle reported quarterly revenue had fallen short of forecasts and revealed a surge in spending on data centers to boost AI capacity.Shares in Oracle ended down 10.8 percent in New York.In corporate news, tech investment giant SoftBank jumped 3.9 percent as Bloomberg reported that the firm is looking a more acquisitions including data centre operator Switch as it looks to build its influence in the AI sector.- Key figures at around 0815 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.4 percent at 50,836.55 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 1.8 percent at 25,976.79 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 3,889.35 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 9,726.26Dollar/yen: UP at 155.69 yen from 155.58 yen on ThursdayEuro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1737 from $1.1741Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3383 from $1.3394Euro/pound: UP at 87.70 pence from 87.65 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.6 percent at $57.95 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.5 percent at $61.61 per barrelNew York – Dow: UP 1.3 percent at 48,704.01 (close)