AUTOMAKERS
US recalls hit 20 million
Automakers recalled about 20 million vehicles in the US this year, led by high-profile recalls by Toyota that prompted new scrutiny of the auto industry’s safety record. An analysis of federal data shows that the number of recalls this year is the largest since 2004. Toyota recalled about 7.1 million vehicles this year to fix faulty gas pedals, floor mats that could trap accelerators, defective braking and stalling engines. General Motors recalled about 4 million vehicles, while Japanese automakers Honda and Nissan both recalled more than 2 million cars and trucks. The auto industry set a record with 30.8 million recalled vehicles in 2004.
SOUTH KOREA
Industrial output rises
After contracting for three straight months, South Korea’s industrial output rose last month from a month earlier thanks to brisk production of cars, semiconductors and parts, figures showed yesterday. Statistics Korea said that production in mining and manufacturing rose 1.4 percent from October and increased 10.4 percent year-on-year. However, the leading economic composite index, a gauge of economic performance eight to 15 months ahead, dipped 0.8 percentage points from a month earlier, marking its 11th straight month of contraction.
BANKING
Indonesia to tighten rules
Indonesia said it would tighten rules on banks’ foreign exchange holdings and overseas borrowing to cope with capital inflows that have pushed up inflation and strengthened the rupiah this year. Bank Indonesia will also reintroduce a 30 percent cap on lenders’ short-term overseas borrowing to minimize the risk of sudden capital outflows, it said on Wednesday. Banks must set aside 5 percent of their total foreign exchange holdings as reserves as of March next year, up from 1 percent, Bank Indonesia Deputy Governor Budi Mulya said at a press briefing in Jakarta on Wednesday. The reserve requirement will rise to 8 percent effective June next year.
CANADA
Economy doing well: official
Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney said the Canadian economy performed “very well” this year relative to other major economies. “The Canadian economy was, at least relative to its peers, performing very well,” Carney said on Wednesday in an interview with Canadian Broadcasting Corp, adding that the recovery prompted the central bank to unwind exceptional measures and begin raising interest rates. Bank of Canada raised its overnight target rate three times this year to 1 percent, before pausing in September.
SHIPPING
ADT to take control of port
An Abu Dhabi state-run company is taking operational control of the city’s port from neighboring Dubai’s port management firm DP World. DP World and Abu Dhabi Terminals (ADT) said yesterday that ADT will assume management control of the Mina Zayed facility next year, once an existing management services agreement expires.
RETAIL
Carrefour opens India store
Carrefour SA, the world’s second-largest retailer, opened its first wholesale store in India as it seeks to expand in emerging economies amid increased competition that is crimping margins in developed markets. The store is located east of New Delhi in the Shahadra neighborhood, the Paris-based retailer said yesterday in an e-mailed statement.
WASHINGTON’S INCENTIVES: The CHIPS Act set aside US$39 billion in direct grants to persuade the world’s top semiconductor companies to make chips on US soil The US plans to award more than US$6 billion to Samsung Electronics Co, helping the chipmaker expand beyond a project in Texas it has already announced, people familiar with the matter said. The money from the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act would be one of several major awards that the US Department of Commerce is expected to announce in the coming weeks, including a grant of more than US$5 billion to Samsung’s rival, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), people familiar with the plans said. The people spoke on condition of anonymity in advance of the official announcements. The federal funding for
HIGH DEMAND: The firm has strong capabilities of providing key components including liquid cooling technology needed for AI servers, chairman Young Liu said Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday revised its revenue outlook for this year to “significant” growth from a “neutral” view forecast five months ago, due to strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers from cloud service providers. Hon Hai, a major assembler of iPhones that is also known as Foxconn, expects AI server revenues to soar more than 40 percent annually this year, chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) told investors. The robust growth would uplift revenue contribution from AI servers to 40 percent of the company’s overall server revenue this year, from 30 percent last year, Liu said. In the three-year period
LONG HAUL: Largan Energy Materials’ TNO-based lithium-ion batteries are expected to charge in five minutes and last about 20 years, far surpassing conventional technology Largan Precision Co (大立光) has formed a joint venture with the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI, 工研院) to produce fast-charging, long-life lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, mobile electronics and electric storage units, the camera lens supplier for Apple Inc’s iPhones said yesterday. Largan Energy Materials Co (萬溢能源材料), established in January, is developing high-energy, fast-charging, long-life lithium-ion batteries using titanium niobium oxide (TNO) anodes, it said. TNO-based batteries can be fully charged in five minutes and have a lifespan of 20 years, a major advantage over the two to four hours of charging time needed for conventional graphite-anode-based batteries, Largan said in a
Taiwan is one of the first countries to benefit from the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, but because that is largely down to a single company it also represents a risk, former Google Taiwan managing director Chien Lee-feng (簡立峰) said at an AI forum in Taipei yesterday. Speaking at the forum on how generative AI can generate possibilities for all walks of life, Chien said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) — currently among the world’s 10 most-valuable companies due to continued optimism about AI — ensures Taiwan is one of the economies to benefit most from AI. “This is because AI is