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Betashares Asia Technology Tigers ETF (ASX: ASIA) could be one of the most interesting exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to think about right now.

It’s an ETF that’s offered by Betashares, one of the largest providers in Australia. As the name might suggest, it is focused on Asian technology businesses.

Here are a number of factors why it could be a useful consideration:

Asian exposure

As Betashares points out, this ETF gives exposure to 50 leading technology businesses in Asia. Technology is under-represented in Australia compared to other global share markets.

The ETF can be used to provide a complement for investors that already have an existing allocation to US-listed technology businesses.

This investment gets ASX investors access to different areas such as e-commerce, telecommunications, IT, software, data processing and computer communications industries in Asia, excluding Japan.

According to BetaShares, Asia has a younger and more tech-savvy population which means that its population is leading the way in terms of technological adoption. That’s why the Asian tech sector is expected to remain a growth sector.

China is expected to have over 1.1 billion internet users by 2025.

Strong businesses

The businesses in Betashares Asia Technology Tigers ETF’s portfolio are some of the strongest in the world at what they do.

Looking at the holdings of this ETF, its biggest 10 positions are: Tencent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Alibaba, Samsung Electronics, Meituan, Pinduoduo, JD.com, Sea, Infosys and Netease.

Alibaba is the world’s largest retailer, its online sales and profits reportedly surpassed all US retailers combined in 2015. Tencent is the owner of Wechat, the most popular social app in China. Samsung is one of the world’s biggest smartphone manufacturers. Baidu, another holding, is the number one search engine in China with a 55% market share. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturer is the world’s largest dedicated independent semiconductor foundry with customers like Nvidia and Qualcomm.

Historical returns

Past performance is not an indicator of future performance. But it can show the type of growth and investor excitement that an investment has seen over a given timeframe.

Since inception in September 2018 to 30 April 2021, the Betashares Asia Technology Tigers ETF had delivered a net return of 30.5% per annum. That’s including the annual management fee of 0.67% per annum.

The index that the ETF tracks has been around for longer than three years – over the last five years that index has returned an average of 27.2% per annum.

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Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) shares finished up today despite the Conservation Council of Western Australia (CCWA) releasing its findings on the company’s Scarborough project.

By today’s market close, the Woodside share price was trading at $23.85 – up by 3.11% for the day.

Scarborough is a joint project between Woodside Petroleum and BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP). It’s set to target a liquified natural gas (LNG) resource off the coast of Western Australia. Woodside Petroleum is seeking a final investment decision on the project in the second half of 2021.

The CCWA states the project will have major impacts on WA’s environment and World Heritage sites. It has begun WA Supreme Court action to overturn the approvals given to the companies to build the project.

Let’s look at the CCWA’s report into the project’s impacts.

The Scarborough project’s potential impacts

According to the CCWA, the Scarborough project will produce as much greenhouse gas as 15 new coal fired power stations. It will also increase WA’s carbon emissions by almost 5%.

The Scarborough project has received approvals from both the Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority and the Commonwealth Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment.

Woodside Petroleum has previously stated LNG has an important role in minimising Australia’s future greenhouse gas emissions. The company has also set up a carbon offset project which it says has already created more than 850,000 tonnes of carbon offsets.

The CCWA found these offsets only target a portion of the project’s future carbon emissions and aren’t as effective as the company had hoped.

Additionally, the CCWA stated WA’s LNG industry is producing damaging acids within the globally significant Indigenous heritage site, the petroglyphs of Murujuga on the Burrup Peninsula.

Through freedom of information, the CCWA retrieved Department of Environment and Energy notes stating the department recognised that noxious emissions from LNG production may impact the petroglyphs by speeding up their weathering.

But according to the Woodside Petroleum website, there is no peer-reviewed evidence finding LNG production has any effect on rock art on the Burrup Peninsula.

Finally, the CCWA reported the Scarborough project’s dredging needs, dumping operations, and shipping channels will negatively impact WA’s marine diversity.

Woodside Petroleum is yet to respond to the CCWA’s report.

Woodside Petroleum share price snapshot

Today’s gains have helped boost the year-to-date gains for the Woodside share price. Currently, the company’s shares are trading 4.88% higher than they were at the start of 2021. They’ve also gained 1.49% since this time last year.

The company has a market capitalisation of around $23 billion, with approximately 963 million shares outstanding.

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The Bega Cheese Ltd (ASX: BGA) share price has closed higher today after the company provided an update on its legal proceedings with US food and beverage giant Kraft Heinz Co (NASDAQ: KHC).

The dairy and food manufacturer’s share price finished the day up by 0.86% at $5.85.

Going nuts over labelling

It’s been a long road for Bega but it appears to be the end of Kraft’s tantrum. It all began when ASX-listed Bega Cheese acquired the peanut butter business from Mondelez Australia in 2017.

While the acquisition itself posed no issues, the labelling of the peanut butter jars did – well, Kraft Heinz thought so. See, branding is everything and the iconic yellow label and lid of Kraft looked very similar to what Bega acquired.

Four years seems to have been enough for Kraft to concede. Judgements handed down during the past twelve months have all ruled in Bega’s favour. These judgements confirmed the Aussie company had the right to use the current packaging for its smooth and crunchy peanut butter.

However, today’s announcement says Kraft has entered a confidential settlement regarding the issues of monetary relief and legal costs payable in respect of the proceedings. As part of the settlement, the US giant will pay $9.25 million.

Furthermore, all legal proceedings will be discontinued once Bega receives the payment. Kraft shouldn’t have any problems with coughing up $9.25 million. Over the last 12 months, the company has made US$541 million in earnings.

How has the Bega share price been doing?

Unfortunately for Bega shareholders, the cheesemaker has underperformed the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) in the last year. While the benchmark returned a mighty 22.2%, Bega climbed 16.17%. Still, that’s not a bad return, especially when dividends are factored in — taking it to around 18%.

However, the dairy food producer has had a rough couple of months. The Bega share price is down more than 10% since 21 April 2021. That’s when the company disclosed that an agreement had been terminated, removing access to a spray dryer and finishing plant it had sold in 2017.

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Utter the word Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) and most people think of the Model S or X electric car, or even the futuristic (and not yet available) Cybertruck. They might also picture Tesla’s eccentric CEO Elon Musk, who loves keeping us on our toes with his antics, including his now-famous spruiking of Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) on Saturday Night Live. 

So, that’s why today’s Tesla news is both out of the blue and just another Elon moment at the same time.

According to a report in the Australian Financial Review (AFR) today, Musk has filed applications with the US Patent and Trademark Office to use Tesla logos and branding in the food industry. Yes, the food industry, of all things. A surprising new frontier indeed.

Electric restaurants for Tesla?

The AFR reports that the 3 patent applications are for “restaurant services, pop-up restaurant services, self-service restaurant services, take-out restaurant services”.

Musk has reportedly been floating the idea for years. The article stated that Musk tweeted in 2018 that he was going to put an “old-school drive-in, roller skates & rock restaurant at one of the new Tesla Supercharger locations in LA”.

As recently as April, he also tweeted: “Major new Supercharger station coming to Santa Monica soon! Hoping to have 50’s diner & 100 best movie clips playing too. Thanks Santa Monica city!”

It’s not Tesla’s first foray into the world of food and drinks. As we covered last November, Tesla launched a self-branded tequila called Tesla Tequila (or ‘Teslaquila’). Priced at US$250, it came in a lightning-shaped bottle and sold out within hours of its launch. That was despite it only being available in a few US states and a 2-bottle limit per customer.

Musk has also previously sold flamethrowers. That was through another one of his companies called The Boring Company, which is not publicly listed.

So, there is evidently a lot of demand for the Tesla brand out there. We’ll have to keep an eye on this space, and see if Tesla does indeed launch a 1950s diner in the future.

The Tesla share price finished trading on the US NASDAQ down 3.01% to $605.12 yesterday. 

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Looking for growth shares to buy? Then you might want to consider adding the two listed below to your portfolio.

Here’s why they have been tipped as growth shares to buy:

PointsBet Holdings Ltd (ASX: PBH)

The first ASX growth share to look at is PointsBet. It is one of the world’s leading sports betting companies with operations in the ANZ and US markets.

PointsBet has been growing at an explosive rate over the last couple of years thanks to the growing popularity of mobile sports betting and innovative products like same game multis.

Pleasingly, the company’s growth is showing no signs of slowing. For example, during the third quarter, the company reported a 236% increase in turnover to $905.2 million. This comprises Australian turnover of $423.2 million (up 137%) and US turnover of $482 million (up 431%). 

Even better, though, was that its net win metric is growing at an even quicker rate. During the quarter, PointsBet’s net win lifted 246% to $64.9 million. This was driven by a 147% increase in Australian net win to $38.2 million and a 716% jump in US net win to $26.7 million.

And with the company only scratching at the surface of its massive US market opportunity, it looks well-placed to continue its growth in the coming years. Especially given recent partnerships with sports teams and broadcasters and the easing of gambling restrictions across the US.

Goldman Sachs is very positive on the company. It currently has a buy rating and $17.20 price target on its shares.

Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P)

Another ASX growth share to look at is this buy now pay later (BNPL) provider.

Like PointsBet, Zip has been growing at a rapid rate in recent years. This has also been driven largely by growth in Australia and the United States. For example, during the third quarter, Zip’s US based QuadPay’ business reported transaction volume growth of 234% to $762 million, revenue growth of 188% to $54.4 million, and customer growth of 674,000 or 153% to 3.8 million.

The good news is that this is still only a tiny fraction of a $5 trillion market opportunity in the United States, which gives Zip plenty of room for growth in the future.

In addition to this, the company has just extended its total addressable market by expanding into mainland Europe and the Middle East via acquisitions. If these acquisitions are half as successful as the QuadPay purchase, then the company’s growth could be given a huge boost.

Morgans is a fan of Zip. Its analysts currently have an add rating and $10.39 price target on its shares.

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) hit another record today, it ended the day 0.6% higher to 7,260 points.

Here are some of the highlights from the ASX:

Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES)

The diversified ASX 200 business held an investor day and outlined its various business strategies as well as giving an insight into how trading is going in a presentation.

Wesfarmers’ share price dropped over 2% seemingly in response to what the company said regarding trading conditions.

The company said that its retail businesses are now beginning to cycle against the impacts of COVID-19 in the prior year from mid-March, leading to significant volatility in monthly sales growth results.

On a two-year basis, all of the retail businesses have continued to achieve strong sales growth, according to Wesfarmers. Management said this reflected the company’s ability to provide safe and trusted environments while delivering greater value, quality and convenience for customers.

Customer demand has remained resilient, but year on year growth has “generally moderated” and some businesses have seen sales decline in some months due to the strong sales a year ago.

Online sales growth has also slowed as customers return to stores. The online percentage of sales has reduced compared to total sales, but remains above pre-COVID levels.

However, one positive from the ASX 200 share was that the industrial businesses are seeing “good operating performances and pleasing trading”.

Sezzle Inc (ASX: SZL)

The Sezzle share price jumped more than 22% after announcing it had entered into a three-year agreement with Target Corporation (the US-listed business).

Sezzle has concluded its proof of concept with Target. Under the agreement, Sezzle’s product will be used in-store and across Target’s digital platforms, providing guests access to interest-free payment plans.

Target is one of the biggest retailers in North America with close to 2,000 stores in the US.

Mesoblast Limited (ASX: MSB)

The Mesoblast share price fell around 3% after giving an update about its performance in the quarter ending 31 March 2021.

Mesoblast CEO Silviu Itescu said:

We are pleased with the recent clinical outcomes regarding our lead product candidate remestemcel-L and continue to progress our regulatory discussions with the aim of achieving approval. Our focus and top priority remains on successfully bringing remestemcel-L to children with the devastating complication of steroid-refractory acute graft versus host disease and adults fighting COVID-19 acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Looking at the financial highlights, TEMCELL royalties for the quarter were US$1.9 million.

It also successfully completed a US$110 million placement, ending the period with a cash balance of US$158.3 million. The private placement was led by US investor SurgCenter Development, one of the largest private operators of ambulatory surgical centres in the US specializing in spine, orthopaedic and total joint replacement.

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If you’re interested in bolstering your portfolio with some dividend shares, then the two listed below could be worth considering.

Here’s what you need to know about these ASX dividend shares:

Aventus Group (ASX: AVN)

The first ASX dividend share to look at is Aventus. It is a fully integrated owner, manager, and developer of large format retail centres that has been performing very positively over the last 12 months. This has been driven by its exposure to the booming household goods sector and everyday needs.

Demand for tenancies has been robust, underpinning strong rental collections and a 6.5% increase in funds from operations (FFO) to $55.9 million during the first half. Positively, more of the same is expected in the second half.

Morgans has been pleased with the company’s performance this year. Its analysts currently have an add rating and $3.12 price target on its shares.

In respect to dividends, the broker is forecasting a 17.4 cents per share distribution in FY 2021 and then a 17.7 cents per share distribution in FY 2022. Based on the latest Aventus share price, this represents 5.75% and 5.85% dividend yields, respectively.

BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP)

Another ASX dividend share to look at is this mining giant. Thanks to its solid production performance, its diverse operations, and favourable commodity prices, the Big Australian has been a strong performer over the last 12 months.

Positively, with the iron ore price trading around the US$200 a tonne level and oil prices hitting two-year highs this week, BHP looks well-placed to deliver a record result in August. And thanks to its strong balance sheet and generous dividend policy, this is likely to lead to bumper dividends for investors in the near term.

Macquarie is bullish on BHP. It currently has an outperform rating and $57.00 price target on its shares. It is also forecasting dividends per share of ~$3.44 and ~$2.91 over the next two years. Based on the current BHP share price of $49.59, this equates to fully franked yields of 6.9% and 5.9%, respectively.

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ASX coal shares are largely charging higher today.

The New Hope Corp Ltd (ASX: NHC) share price is up 3.87% in afternoon trading and up 16.1% so far in 2021.

Fellow ASX coal share Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) is also gaining. Its shares are up 0.57% today and up 7.0% year-to-date.

Meanwhile, Yancoal Australia Ltd (ASX: YAL) is up 2.9% today, though shares remain down 14.8% for the calendar year.

Headwinds and tailwinds for ASX coal shares

The rebounding share prices come as welcome news to ASX coal share investors. Particularly to those who’ve watched Aussie miners struggle with issues recently. Notably, these issues range from China’s import bans on Australian coal to activists pressing for an end to Australia’s coal industry.

Inclement weather has also hampered ASX coal shares, with heavy rains creating logistics issues. This setback happened as the miners were overcoming earlier COVID restrictions.

The supply-side issues, however, have mostly served to ramp up thermal and coking coal prices. And global demand remains strong.

This has seen the price of high-quality New South Wales thermal coal – with an energy content above 6,000 kilocalories per kilogram – more than double over the last 10 months.

According to the Australian Financial Review, “Top quality NSW coal… was fetching $US122 per tonne in recent days, the highest levels since July 2018.”

As recently as last August that same tonne of top-notch coal was selling for less than US$50 per tonne.

Now, you might think that demand for thermal coal – the kind used to generate energy, as opposed to coking coal which is mostly used in steel production – would be lower in northern summer than winter. Coal creates heat when it burns, after all.

But demand tends to rise in hot weather. This is because it’s still widely used in coal-fired power plants, generating electricity for millions of air conditioners. And it’s more than the existing and ageing power plants we’re talking about here. The world’s 2 most populous nations, India and China, are still rolling out new coal-fired power stations every year.

The China angle

The Chinese government may have opted to eschew Aussie coal. But China’s voracious demand for coal hasn’t gone away. The Middle Kingdom has simply been buying it in other markets. Often of inferior quality and at higher costs than Aussie coal would have cost.

That’s creating some big issues inside China.

According to Wood Mackenzie’s analyst Rory Simington (quoted by the AFR):

China’s domestic coal market is currently very tight due to significant demand increases and constrained domestic supply and a lower than usual level of imports. With supply improvement unlikely until at least July, seasonal demand increases during the summer will make the situation worse.

While we’ve grown accustomed to sky-high electricity prices Down Under, rocketing thermal coal prices are likely to see Chinese businesses and households shelling out more to keep the lights on as well.

“Chinese importers have had difficulty replacing Australian coal,” Simington added. “One thing appears certain; Chinese consumers will be paying significantly more for coal than consumers elsewhere who are able to take Australian material.”

What’s next?

While it’s impossible to predict what the Chinese government will do next, rising coal prices certainly are creating issues it would rather not have.

That’s led Wood Mackenzie to predict China will ease its restrictions on imported coal as electricity demand ramps up heading into summer.

Coal magnate Nick Jorss has a bullish outlook for coking coal prices, which would offer additional tailwinds for ASX coal shares. According to Jorss:

With the China landed price still being substantially higher than the Aussie export price equivalent, some dislocation still exists, creating the potential for further price improvements for Australian coking coal.

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The Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) share price has surged ~20% since last Tuesday.

This marks 8 consecutive green days for the bullish lithium miner. Today, the Pilbara Minerals share price has edged 0.39% higher to close at $1.30.

Why the sudden surge in the Pilbara share price?

Lithium prices edge higher

Lithium prices have continued to trend higher, with carbonate and hydroxide prices pushing more than 50% off November 2020 lows.

The latest update from Fastmarkets highlighted “lithium hydroxide price ex China edged higher on tight supply and robust buying appetite, while the lithium carbonate price softened”. Seaborne lithium prices were steady amid tight supply.

Positive investor strategy and outlook announcement

Pilbara released an in-depth strategy and outlook announcement on 11 May. Included in the presentation was the company’s plans to increase production to support growth in customer sales.

This will be achieved through the restart of the Altura Mining Ltd (ASX: AJM) mine, prospective partnerships to handle mid-stream products and downstream processing, and several initiatives to transition to renewable energy.

Broad based lithium rally

The Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF (NYSEARCA: LIT) invests in the “full lithium cycle, from mining and refining the metal, through battery production”. Its involvement in lithium from mining through to its end-users makes it a useful indicator for how the broader lithium sector is performing.

Included in the exchange-traded fund‘s 40 holdings are Pilbara Minerals, Galaxy Resources Ltd (ASX: GXY) and Orocobre Ltd (ASX: ORE).

The Lithium ETF has been on a tear since 13 May, lifting 16% to a 4-month high. The uplift in the ETF broadly coincides with the resurgence in the Pilbara share price.

Within arm’s reach of record all-time highs

The Pilbara Minerals share price surged to a record all-time high of $1.465 on 22 January. After stalling throughout February and May, its shares have attempted to retest record highs in both late April and early May.

Having struggled to break out on both occasions, the Pilbara Minerals share price is closing in again on a chance to break above the clouds.

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The St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) share price was on course to record a decent gain on Thursday before a late announcement.

This ultimately led to the gold miner’s shares ending the day with a 0.5% decline to $1.88.

What did St Barbara announce?

This afternoon St Barbara provided an update on its Simberi operations in Papua New Guinea following a tragic fatality on 21 May.

According to the release, the Mineral Resources Authority (MRA) investigation into the incident remains ongoing, with the company’s full cooperation.

And while the MRA has advised that specific activities relating to site maintenance, grade control drilling, and drill and blast activities can resume, it has not permitted mining operations to restart.

In addition to this, the company advised that a recent scheduled inspection of Simberi’s deep sea tailings placement (DSTP) pipeline by a remotely operated vehicle observed a failure of the pipeline at an approximate water depth of 54 metres. The cause of the failure is not yet known.

As a result, the Simberi operation has ceased placement of tailings through the DSTP pipeline and the Conservation and Environmental Protection Authority (CEPA) has been notified. The CEPA has now commenced an investigation of its own at the operation.

Positively, no environmental harm has been reported, nor has pluming of tailings been observed. Though, sampling and monitoring activities are ongoing.

Guidance withdrawn

Prior to these incidents, the Simberi operation was on track to achieve its downgraded forecast FY 2021 guidance of between 80,000 and 90,000 ounces at an all-in sustaining cost between A$1,790 and A$2,030 per ounce.

However, in light of the uncertain timeframe for MRA approval to restart mining, together with the DSTP pipeline failure, St Barbara has decided to withdraw its FY 2021 guidance for Simberi.

This comes just a few weeks after the company downgraded both its Leonora and Simberi guidance. The former was due to recruitment issues and the latter was caused by ore variability issues.

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