INFRASTRUCTURE
China to invest US$158bn
An estimated 55 infrastructure projects announced by China this week could require investment of more than 1 trillion yuan (US$158 billion), state media said yesterday. The China Securities Journal said the figure was a “conservative estimate” for spending on projects announced on Wednesday and Thursday by the top economic planner, the National Development and Reform Commission. On Wednesday, the commission announced it had approved 25 new urban railway projects, including subways and light railways in 18 cities across China, at more than 800 billion yuan. The commission on Thursday also unveiled another 30 infrastructure works — including 13 highway projects, 10 waste treatment projects and seven port or waterway projects — but gave no value.
TRADE
France’s deficit shrinks
France’s trade deficit narrowed to 4.27 billion euros (US$5.4 billion) in July from 6.07 billion euros in June, the customs office said in an e-mailed statement. Exports rose 0.8 percent from the previous month to 36.58 billion euros, while imports fell 3.5 percent to 40.85 billion euros. For the first seven months of the year, the deficit narrowed 10.5 percent from a year ago to 40 billion euros.
TRADE
German exports up in July
The Federal Statistical Office said German exports inched up unexpectedly in July despite weakening demand within the eurozone, where several countries are in recession. Exports rose 0.5 percent in July from the previous month to 92.9 billion euros, while imports rose 0.9 percent to 76.8 billion euros over June, figures adjusted for seasonal and calendar variations showed yesterday. Economists had been predicting both to drop slightly. From January to July, total exports were up 5.4 percent over the same period last year to 644.1 billion euros. While exports to countries using the euro dipped 0.6 percent, exports to the EU overall rose 1.2 percent.
INFLATION
Britons expect smaller rise
Britons’ expectations for inflation fell last month as officials struggled to pull the economy out of a double-dip recession. Consumers anticipated prices would increase 3.2 percent in the coming 12 months, down from a prediction of a 3.7 percent gain in May, the Bank of England said in a quarterly survey published in London yesterday. A measure of net satisfaction with the way the bank is doing its job fell to the lowest on record. Inflation accelerated to 2.6 percent in July from 2.4 percent in June, delaying the return to target of 2 percent forecast by policymakers. The poll of 1,929 people aged 16 or over was conducted by GfK NOP Ltd from Aug. 9 to Aug. 14.
TIMBER
Russia, China invest in RFP
China and Russia’s sovereign wealth funds’ joint US$2 billion investment pool will invest about US$200 million in a timber processing company in Russia. The investment in RFP Group, Russia’s second-largest forestry products company, was announced yesterday by Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) chief executive Kirill Dmitriev yesterday at the APEC summit in Vladivostok, Russia. RDIF and China Investment Corp (中國投資公司) contributed US$1 billion each to the joint fund, which plans to put 70 percent of its money in Russia and 30 percent in China.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last