INVESTMENTS
FDI in China falls 7.3%
Foreign direct investment (FDI) in China declined last month, official data showed yesterday, extending a downward trend after falling on an annual basis last year for the first time in three years. FDI, which excludes financial sectors, fell 7.3 percent from the year before to US$9.27 billion, the Ministry of Commerce announced. It was also down from December’s US$11.7 billion. The comparison with January last year is affected by seasonal factors as the Lunar New Year holiday fell in that month, but came in February this year. However, as there were more business days in January this year, the year-on-year decline underscores the weakness. Ministry spokesman Shen Danyang (沈丹陽) acknowledged the decline was “not small,” but added that the number of new foreign investors in China rose 34.3 percent to 1,883 during the month.
MACROECONOMICS
German optimism surges
Optimism that the worst of the eurozone debt crisis is over has helped German investor and analyst sentiment soar to its highest level in nearly three years this month. In the latest sign that Europe’s largest economy is bouncing back after a dismal end last year, the Mannheim-based ZEW think tank said on Tuesday its monthly poll of economic sentiment rose to 48.2 points this month from 31.5 last month. It was above the highest forecast in a Reuters poll and much higher than the consensus of 35 points. The news, along with other recent data suggesting the German economy will avoid recession, will come as a relief to the government of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is campaigning to win a third term in a September election.
AUTOMAKERS
BMW recalls 750,000 cars
BMW is recalling about 750,000 of its vehicles in the US, Japan, Canada and South Africa as a potential electrical failure may cause the cars to stall unexpectedly, US regulators and the company said. Vehicles sold in Germany, BMW’s home market, and the rest of Europe are not involved in the recall. The recall affects BMW’s popular 3-Series sedans, convertibles, coupes and sports wagons, as well as its 1-Series coupes and convertibles and Z4 two-seat roadsters. In some markets, the X1 crossover vehicle is also part of the recall. The affected vehicles were built between March 2007 and July 2011. A battery cable connection with a fuse box on the cars may degrade over time, which could cause the engine to stall because of a loss of electric power, increasing the risk of a crash, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a report issued on Monday. Among major BMW markets, the company is recalling 504,545 cars in the US, 100,000 in Japan, 65,285 in Canada and 50,000 in South Africa, the company said.
TELECOMS
UK 4G auction disappoints
The British government raised less than expected from its 4G mobile auction, with five companies providing the country with super-fast mobile Internet services, telecoms watchdog Ofcom said yesterday. Ofcom said the total bidding came to £2.341 billion (US$3.615 billion), significantly less than the £3.5 billion forecast last year by the government. The licence fees cover a period of 20 years. “After more than 50 rounds of bidding, Everything Everywhere Ltd, Hutchison 3G UK Ltd, Niche Spectrum Ventures Ltd (a subsidiary of BT Group PLC), Telefonica UK Ltd and Vodafone Ltd have all won spectrum,” Ofcom said. Vodafone, which successfully bid £790 million for its licenses, welcomed the outcome.
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
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
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