Company briefs: Tesla; Jakarta Composite Index; Cathay Pacific Airways

Tesla chief executive Elon Musk exercised 2.15 million stock options in the electric carmaker and then sold stock, shortly after he held a vote over Twitter asking his followers whether he should sell some of his stock.

The billionaire exercised the options on Monday at a price of US$6.24 per contract, according to a regulatory filing on Wednesday. He subsequently sold 934,000 shares to collect a combined US$1.55 billion (S$2.1 billion). It is his first sale since 2016.

Tesla closed on Wednesday at US$1,067.95 after plunging almost 13 per cent this week.

Indonesia's stock benchmark was trading within reach of a record high close yesterday amid signs of an economic recovery. The Jakarta Composite Index of shares rose as much as 0.3 per cent to 6,704.464, which would mark a new all-time high close, before edging slightly lower at the midday break. Bank and consumer stocks were the biggest gainers.

The nation is set for a quicker growth rebound as it eases curbs and reopens borders after reining in Covid-19 cases and deaths. Household spending is showing signs of a pick-up, while the commodities boom is bolstering the economy.

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Cathay Pacific Airways expressed concern that a possible move by Hong Kong to restrict air crew operating cargo flights could reduce the number of available employees and disrupt the supply chain of goods moving in and out of the financial hub.

The airline, Asia's biggest cargo carrier, has been operating a full freighter schedule and a significant number of cargo services on passenger aircraft to ensure supply chains remain intact, it said in a statement yesterday. But passenger operations remain subdued due to existing coronavirus travel restrictions.

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