SINGAPORE
Economy contracts in Q2
Singapore’s trade-driven economy contracted by 1.1 percent in the second quarter from the previous three-month period as debt woes dampened European demand, a government estimate showed yesterday. The unexpected contraction, down from 9.4 percent growth in the preceding quarter, was largely due to an output drop in the biomedical manufacturing industry, the trade ministry said in a statement. Compared to a year ago, GDP grew 1.9 percent, still within the government forecast of 1 percent to 3 percent expansion for the whole year and better than the first-quarter growth rate of 1.4 percent on the year. The economy is seen as a bellwether for Asia due to its sensitivity to demand from key markets like Europe and the US.
UNITED STATES
Senate investigates HSBC
HSBC Holdings PLC’s North American head Irene Dorner and global legal chief Stuart Levey are expected to answer Senate investigators’ questions about the firm’s failure to protect against money laundering, according to two people familiar with the matter. The Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations will question Dorner, president and chief executive of HSBC North America Holdings Inc, and Levey, a former Treasury undersecretary hired by the London-based bank in January, at a hearing on Tuesday next week, according to the people, who asked not to be identified. The panel, working from its own report of about 400 pages, is expected to probe the bank’s dealings with embassy accounts, transactions with Iranian firms and risks of money laundering in its Mexican operations, one of the people said. During the hearing, senators are expected to question a total of six HSBC employees and a number of government officials, including Treasury Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David S. Cohen, according to the person.
UNITED STATEs
Deficit of US$1 trillion likely
The budget deficit grew by nearly US$60 billion last month, remaining on track to exceed US$1 trillion for the fourth straight year. Through the first nine months of the budget year, the federal deficit totaled US$904.2 billion, the Treasury Department reported on Thursday. The Congressional Budget Office predicts the deficit for the full year, which ends on Sept. 30, will total US$1.17 trillion. That would be a slight improvement from the US$1.3 trillion deficit recorded last year, but still greater than any deficit before President Barack Obama took office. One positive sign this year is the deficit is growing more slowly than last year. Last month was 6.8 percent behind the pace for the same period last year. A key reason for that is that revenues are up 5.2 percent this year, while spending is down by 0.9 percent.
SPAIN
ECB loans to Spain hit peak
European Central Bank (ECB) loans to Spain’s battered banks shot up 17.2 percent to a record 337.2 billion euros (US$411 billion) last month, the Bank of Spain said yesterday, as the banks struggle to raise money on wary interbank and debt markets. Borrowings from the ECB, which were up from the previous month’s record of 287.8 billion euros, have risen remarkably from a low point in April last year of 42.2 billion euros. The ECB pumped more than 1.0 trillion euros (US$1.3 trillion) in cheap loans into the European banking system in two operations in December and February, seeking to avert a dangerous credit squeeze.
purpose: Tesla’s CEO sought to meet senior Chinese officials to discuss the rollout of its ‘full self-driving’ software in China and approval to transfer data they had collected Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk arrived in Beijing yesterday on an unannounced visit, where he is expected to meet senior officials to discuss the rollout of "full self-driving" (FSD) software and permission to transfer data overseas, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Chinese state media reported that he met Premier Li Qiang (李強) in Beijing, during which Li told Musk that Tesla's development in China could be regarded as a successful example of US-China economic and trade cooperation. Musk confirmed his meeting with the premier yesterday with a post on social media platform X. "Honored to meet with Premier Li
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: The chipmaker last month raised its capital spending by 28 percent for this year to NT$32 billion from a previous estimate of NT$25 billion Contract chipmaker Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電子) yesterday launched a new 12-inch fab, tapping into advanced chip-on-wafer-on-substrate (CoWoS) packaging technology to support rising demand for artificial intelligence (AI) devices. Powerchip is to offer interposers, one of three parts in CoWoS packaging technology, with shipments scheduled for the second half of this year, Powerchip chairman Frank Huang (黃崇仁) told reporters on the sidelines of a fab inauguration ceremony in the Tongluo Science Park (銅鑼科學園區) in Miaoli County yesterday. “We are working with customers to supply CoWoS-related business, utilizing part of this new fab’s capacity,” Huang said, adding that Powerchip intended to bridge
Dutch brewing company Heineken NV on Friday announced an investment of NT$13.5 billion (US$414.62 million) over the next five years in Taiwan. The first multinational brewing company to operate in Taiwan, Heineken made the statement at a ceremony held at its brewery in Pingtung County. It also outlined its efforts to make the brewery “net zero” by 2030. Heineken has been in the Taiwanese market for 20 years, Heineken Taiwan managing director Jeff Wu (吳建甫) said. With strong support from local consumers, the Dutch brewery decided to transition from sales to manufacturing in the country, Wu said. Heineken assumed majority ownership and management rights
Microsoft Corp yesterday said that it would create Thailand’s first data center region to boost cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, promising AI training to more than 100,000 people to develop tech. Bangkok is a key economic player in Southeast Asia, but it has lagged behind Indonesia and Singapore when it comes to the tech industry. Thailand has an “incredible opportunity to build a digital-first, AI-powered future,” Microsoft chairman and chief executive officer Satya Nadella said at an event in Bangkok. Data center regions are physical locations that store computing infrastructure, allowing secure and reliable access to cloud platforms. The global embrace of AI