MYANMAR
World Bank loans approved
The World Bank on Thursday earmarked US$245 million in credit and grant funding for Myanmar under an 18-month plan, the first lending to the southeast Asian nation in 25 years and another sign the country is opening up after years of military rule. The interim country strategy, endorsed by the World Bank board at a meeting in Washington, will guide the institution’s work in Myanmar. The bank also approved an US$80 million grant for community-driven rural projects. Pamela Cox, World Bank vice president for East Asia and the Pacific, said another US$165 million will be made available to Myanmar once the country has cleared its overdue debt to the bank, which totals about US$400 million. Talks on how the US$165 million will be allocated will take place in coming months, she said.
BANKING
RBS facing LIBOR fines
Royal Bank of Scotland PLC (RBS) said it may face fines in relation to how it set LIBOR and other interest rates, and it is keen to settle the matter as soon as possible. RBS is under investigation by US and UK authorities over its part in the interest-rate rigging scandal and is expected to be one of the next banks to settle after its UK rival Barclays PLC was fined US$450 million in June. RBS chief executive Stephen Hester said it was difficult to know if RBS faces a bigger fine than Barclays, which is the only bank to settle. RBS made a third-quarter operating profit of £1.05 billion (US$1.69 billion), up from £2 million in the same period the previous year, as losses from bad debts fell. The part-nationalized bank set aside another £400 million to compensate customers mis-sold loan insurance, bringing its total provisions to £1.7 billion.
RETAIL
Starbucks raises forecast
Starbucks Corp on Thursday raised its forecast for the year after the coffee chain said more customers are going to its cafes, even in the challenging global economy. The Seattle-based company said global revenue at cafes open at least a year rose 6 percent in the fiscal fourth quarter, driven by higher customer traffic. The measure is a key gauge because it strips out the impact of newly opened and closed locations. Starbucks lifted its guidance for the year ending in September next year to between US$2.06 and US$2.15 per share. That was up from its previous outlook of US$2.04 to US$2.14 per share. Analysts expect US$2.14 for the year, according to FactSet. The company also lifted its quarterly dividend 24 percent to US$0.21. In the year ahead, Starbucks said it also plans to open 1,300 new stores, up from the 1,063 it opened in the just-completed fiscal year.
AVIATION
Japan Airlines eyes demand
Japan Airlines yesterday raised its full-year profit forecast to US$1.74 billion as the carrier, which only exited bankruptcy last year, released its first results since relisting on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The airline — whose collapse was one of Japan’s worst-ever corporate failures — said net profit would rise to ¥140 billion (US$1.74 billion) in the year to March as it cuts costs and sees heavy demand for new international routes, but it warned that a simmering trade spat between Tokyo and Beijing has weighed on revenue, as it trimmed its full-year sales target to ¥1.21 trillion from ¥1.22 trillion. Japan Airlines and rival All Nippon Airways both canceled thousands of flights in the wake of huge anti-Japan protests in China after Tokyo in mid-September bought a group of disputed islands in the East China Sea.
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