TRADE
US, Japan hopeful over TPP
US Trade Representative Michael Froman and Japanese Minister for National Strategy and Economic Policy Akira Amari yesterday said they still hoped to bridge significant differences over opening markets under the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade pact. The two were meeting in Tokyo after talks earlier in the week appeared to stall. A meeting planned between Froman and Japanese Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry Toshimitsu Motegi was canceled, according to the ministry for unspecified reasons. “There is still a big gap. We need to mutually, I said mutually, consider how to overcome that,” said Amari, who is in charge of Japan’s TPP negotiations.
TAXATION
US profit abroad doubles
Foreign profits held overseas by US corporations to avoid taxes at home nearly doubled from 2008 to last year to top US$2.1 trillion, research firm Audit Analytics said in a report issued last week, citing federal financial filings for companies listed in the Russell 1000 index of US corporations. Conglomerate General Electric Co had the biggest pile of earnings stored abroad, at US$110 billion, the firm said. Next were software maker Microsoft Corp, with US$76.4 billion; drugmakers Pfizer Inc, with US$69 billion, and Merck & Co Inc, with US$57.1 billion; and high-tech group Apple Inc, with US$54.4 billion, it said.
RETAIL
Wal-Mart to add India stores
US retail giant Wal-Mart Stores plans to add 50 new wholesale stores in India, as it seeks growth in a key market where it has been unable to launch retail stores. Wal-Mart said it would open the new “cash and carry” stores over the next four to five years, adding to its 20 existing stores. It also plans to extend its e-commerce platform to members of the existing stores, which operate under the name Best Price Modern Wholesale.
INTERNET
Facebook hits 100m in India
Facebook has hit more than 100 million users in India, making it only the second country after the US to achieve the milestone, the social network company has said. The mobile phone market was driving growth in India along with better Internet coverage across the country of 1.2 billion people, said Kevin D’Souza, Facebook India’s head of growth and mobile partnerships. India is expected later this year to overtake the US as the country with the most Facebook users, with the figure forecast to pass 150 million, analysts have said.
MACROECONOMICS
S Korea jobless rate falls
South Korea’s unemployment rate fell to 3.5 percent last month thanks to new jobs created in agriculture and social services, state data showed yesterday. The seasonally adjusted figure compares with 3.9 percent posted a month earlier, Statistics Korea said. The total number of people in work stood at 25.2 million compared with 24.8 million in February. The youth jobless rate (aged 25 to 29) stood higher at 8.8 percent, but lower than February’s 9.8 percent.
TRADE
Germany surplus shrinks
Germany’s trade surplus shrank 9 percent in February from the January level, allowing for seasonal blips, the federal statistics office Destatis said yesterday. The surplus dip for Europe’s biggest economy — to 15.7 billion euros (US$21.6 billion) from 17.3 billion the month before — was the result of higher imports of 77.6 billion euros against slightly lower exports of 93.3 billion euros.
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