BANKING
ABN beats expectations
ABN Amro, the Netherlands’ largest domestic lender, yesterday posted fourth-quarter net profit of 333 million euros (US$315.71 million), beating expectations due to strong economic growth in the Netherlands. Analysts had seen profit at 279 million euros, versus 272 million euros in the same period a year prior. “Profitability improved on the back of growth in the loan book — mortgages, small and medium enterprise [borrowers] and corporate loans and significantly lower impairments,” said chief executive officer Kees van Dijkhuizen, who replaced Gerrit Zalm on Jan. 1. Notably, loan impairments fell to 35 million euros from 124 million in the fourth quarter of 2015. Net interest income margin improved to 1.53 percent, from 1.47 percent. Growth in the company’s mortgage book was the first since 2010.
TRANSPORTATION
China’s Didi drivers suffer
China’s ride-sharing boom was once seen as a path to prosperity for thousands of drivers. However, a government crackdown on an industry dominated by Didi Chuxing (滴滴出行) has brought that dream to a screeching halt. In Beijing and other major cities, non-resident drivers are now banned. That has left many struggling to pay off loans they had taken out to buy cars and now drivers must take the risk of getting nabbed without the right permit by staying on the roads. Struggling for money, many live in a drab row of concrete homes known by locals as “Didi village.” Its paths are filled with trash and there is an outdoor toilet, but the rent is cheap. A spokesperson for Didi told Bloomberg they were “optimistic” they would obtain official operating licenses for their drivers.
ENERGY
Developing nations ‘greener’
A range of developing nations have emerged as leaders in a global race to switch to sustainable energy by 2030, by boosting their policies to help improve people’s access to reliable, affordable and clean power, the World Bank said yesterday. However, richer developed nations must do far more to promote energy efficiency or global warming would continue longer with serious consequences, a leading energy group said. About 40 percent of 111 countries surveyed by the World Bank had strong policies to improve people’s access to reliable and affordable energy, make industries and homes more energy efficient and increase countries’ use of renewable energy, the bank said. They include China, India, Vietnam, South Africa, Brazil, Mexico and Turkey, which have emerged as leaders alongside developed countries.
UNITED KINGDOM
Employment near capacity
Unemployment declined and a measure of the number of people in work rose to a record, pushing the labor market closer to “full capacity,” according to the Office for National Statistics. The number of jobless fell 7,000 in the fourth quarter of last year to 1.6 million people, leaving the unemployment rate at 4.8 percent, the lowest in more than a decade. Employment increased by 37,000 to 31.8 million and the rate rose to a record 74.6 percent, the office said yesterday. Despite labor shortages in some areas, firms told Bank of England agents that they expect wage growth to slow to about 2.2 percent this year. While employment is still rising, the pace has cooled over the past year and uncertainty as Britain prepares to begin talks to leave the EU is expected to take a further toll on hiring.
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