ECONOMY
Seoul sets surplus record
South Korea’s current account surplus rose to a monthly record last month as slumping oil prices slashed the value of imports, South Korean data showed yesterday. The preliminary figure of US$11.4 billion shattered the previous monthly record of US$11.1 billion set in October last year, according to data from the Bank of Korea. The current account — the broadest measure of foreign trade in goods and services — has been in the black for two years and nine months. The nation has racked up a current account surplus of US$81.9 billion this year and is on course to meet or exceed the central bank’s target surplus of US$84 billion for this year — an annual record.
ECONOMY
Brazil to miss fiscal target
After enduring a fourth year of low growth, Brazil will miss its fiscal target for this year by a wide margin, its central bank said on Monday. Last month, the world’s No. 7 economy’s public sector primary fiscal balance — a deficit of 8.1 billion reais (US$3.1 billion) — was worse than forecast and the worst November on record. The nation’s accumulated January-to-November deficit hit 19.642 billion reais, with growth forecast barely to creep above zero this year. Incoming Brazilian Minister of Finance Joaquim Levy on Monday said that the government had targeted a primary fiscal surplus for the year of 0.2 percent of GDP — about 10 billion reais.
ECONOMY
Argentine growth declines
Argentina’s economy contracted 0.8 percent late this year, amid weaker industrial output and weaker exports, authorities said on Monday. The negative growth in the last four months of the year continued a downward trend after a 0.8 percent rise in the first four months, followed by stagnation in the second four, Argentina’s Statistics and Census Office said. The IMF said earlier this month that the nation, censured for failing to meet IMF statistical quality standards, was making progress in improving its data, but more was needed.
TRADE
Beijing to speed Gulf talks
China’s government will speed up free-trade talks with six nations on the Arabian Peninsula and begin trade negotiations with Israel next year, Chinese media outlets said yesterday, as Beijing accelerates efforts to sign such agreements. Beijing and members of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — started free-trade talks in 2004, and a deal is expected to help China cut costs on energy imports from the region, the China Daily newspaper said. China inked major free-trade agreements with Australia and South Korea this year.
MERGERS
Alliance Boots bid backed
Shareholders in US pharmacy chain Walgreens Co on Monday approved a US$16 billion takeover of European rival Alliance Boots GmbH that creates a global leader in the pharmacy business. Walgreens said that 97 percent of its shareholders approved its acquisition of the remaining 55 percent of Alliance Boots that it does not currently own. Walgreens has more than 8,200 US stores. The combined company is to have more than 11,000 stores in 10 nations. The wholesale operations will have a presence in about 20 countries.
BUSINESS UPDATE: The iPhone assembler said operations outlook is expected to show quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year growth for the second quarter Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday reported strong growth in sales last month, potentially raising expectations for iPhone sales while artificial intelligence (AI)-related business booms. The company, which assembles the majority of Apple Inc’s smartphones, reported a 19.03 percent rise in monthly sales to NT$510.9 billion (US$15.78 billion), from NT$429.22 billion in the same period last year. On a monthly basis, sales rose 14.16 percent, it said. The company in a statement said that last month’s revenue was a record-breaking April performance. Hon Hai, known also as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), assembles most iPhones, but the company is diversifying its business to
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
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
Qualcomm Inc, the world’s biggest seller of smartphone processors, gave an upbeat forecast for sales and profit in the current period, suggesting demand for handsets is increasing after a two-year slump. Revenue in the three months ended in June will be US$8.8 billion to US$9.6 billion, the company said in a statement Wednesday. Excluding certain items, earnings will be US$2.15 to US$2.35 a share. Analysts had projected sales of US$9.08 billion and earnings of US$2.16 a share. The outlook signals that the smartphone market has begun to bounce back, tracking with Qualcomm’s forecast that demand would gradually recover this year. The San