MANUFACTURING
Indian PMI hits recent low
Factory output last month eased to a three-month low as new business slowed, a key survey showed yesterday, suggesting that more steps are needed from New Delhi to boost growth. Banking giant HSBC said that its purchasing managers’ index (PMI) fell to 52.9 points last month, down from a two-year high of 54.5 the previous month. “The slip can partly be attributed to consolidation after two months of impressive upticks. New orders, both from domestic and international sources, also continued to grow, though at a slower pace than in December [last year],” HSBC chief India economist Pranjul Bhandari said, adding that she hoped the Reserve Bank of India would announce “upfront rate cuts,” as growth in Asia’s No. 3 economy continues to be “sluggish” amid cooling inflation and falling global commodity prices.
ECONOMY
Indonesian inflation slows
The inflation rate slowed last month, official data showed yesterday, after the cost of fuel in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy fell amid lower oil prices. Inflation rose 6.96 percent year-on-year, slowing from an 8.36 percent rise in December last year, according to data from Statistics Indonesia. The rate had accelerated in recent months after the new government reduced huge subsidies on gasoline and diesel, pushing up the cost of transportation and delivering goods. However, after the price of oil began its slide, the government scrapped the gasoline subsidy and put a fixed subsidy on diesel. Due to lower global oil prices letting fuel float with the market reduced costs, which has fed through to lower inflation, analysts said.
GAMBLING
Macau maintains slide
Casino revenues in the world’s top global gambling market fell for an eighth straight month last month as Chinese high-rollers were deterred by China’s economic slowdown and Beijing’s corruption crackdown. Data posted yesterday on the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau Web site showed that gross gambling revenue last month declined 17.4 percent from a year earlier to 23.7 billion patacas (US$2.97 billion). Annual revenue last year fell 2.6 percent to US$44 billion. The decline came after a decade of supercharged growth that began when the former Portuguese colony ended a 40-year casino monopoly, opening the door to foreign operators. Chinese patrons have powered Macau’s casino growth, but started staying away last year, as the nation’s economy sputtered and Beijing’s massive corruption crackdown forced many to rein in spending.
THAILAND
Fire hits Chinese factory
A massive fire that engulfed a tire plant in an industrial park in eastern Thailand caused about US$40 million in losses for one of China’s largest tire exporters, officials said yesterday. The fire, which started on Sunday night, destroyed six out of 15 warehouses in the Linglong International Tire (Thailand) (玲瓏輪胎) compound in Chonburi Province, part of Thailand’s eastern seaboard, Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand Governor Verapong Chaiperm said. He said the cause of the blaze was not immediately known, as police officers were waiting for plumes of smoke to die down before investigating the scene. Verapong said that no casualties were reported, but added that the fire forced the company to shut the plant for two days. Linglong is one of China’s biggest tire makers and exporters. The plant is the firm’s first outside of China and started producing tires for vehicles last year.
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