Company Briefs

Evergreen Marine Corp has hired the firm that freed its giant container ship Ever Given last year when it ran aground in the Suez Canal for almost a week, disrupting global trade for months, to do the same with its vessel stranded near the United States capital.

The Taiwanese carrier has enlisted Donjon-Smit to free the Ever Forward, stranded in the Chesapeake Bay since Sunday night, Associated Press reported.

The salvor is a joint venture between Donjon Marine and Smit Salvage Americas, a subsidiary of the Netherlands-based company responsible for ending the six-day saga last March.

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Aquila Acquisition

Aquila Acquisition Corp, the first special purpose acquisition company (Spac) to list in Hong Kong, had a slow debut yesterday.

The Spac closed 3.2 per cent lower at HK$9.68 after a session marked by only a few trades. The firm backed by CMB International Asset Management and AAC Mgmt Holding raised about US$128 million (S$173 million), with shares sold at HK$10 each, inaugurating rules for blank cheque companies effective since January. Transactions with blank cheque companies in the Asian hub are restricted to professional investors.

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Aibee

Aibee, a Chinese artificial intelligence start-up, is getting fresh funding from smartphone maker Xiaomi Corp, which propels its valuation to more than US$1 billion (S$1.36 billion).

The start-up is also receiving new funds from China Merchants Capital Management, said a press release on the company's official WeChat account.

Aibee was planning a funding round to raise about US$100 million, Bloomberg News reported in September. The firm could seek an initial public offering after the fundraising.

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