BANKING
Spanish bank taken over
Banco Popular Espanol SA was taken over by larger Spanish competitor Banco Santander SA after European regulators determined that Banco Popular was likely to fail. Banco Popular will continue to operate under “normal business conditions” after its shares and capital instruments were transferred to Santander, the EU’s Single Resolution Board said in a statement yesterday. The purchase price was 1 euro, the statement said. Santander plans to raise about 7 billion euros (US$7.9 billion) of capital as part of the transaction. Banco Popular had been looking for a buyer or a possible share sale after its balance sheet was battered by soured real-
estate loans that are eroding capital.
CHINA
Foreign reserves rise
Foreign-exchange reserves last month rose modestly for a fourth straight month and by more than markets had expected, as stringent capital control measures and a weakening dollar helped staunch outflows. Reserves rose US$24 billion last month to US$3.054 trillion, compared with an increase of US$21 billion in April to US$3.03 trillion, central bank data showed yesterday. It was the first time that reserves had climbed for four months in a row since June 2014. Economists polled by Reuters had expected reserves to rise US$10 billion to US$3.04 trillion.
ECONOMY
US debt rating affirmed
Standard & Poor’s rating agency has affirmed the US’ long-term debt rating at “AA+,” but said that the world’s largest economy faced uncertain fiscal policy. The rating, one notch below the top grade, is justified by the “resilient” US economy, flexible monetary policy and the nation’s unique position as the issuer of the global currency of reserve, It said in a statement. S&P said the high level of US government debt and uncertainty about the future of economic policy constrains the rating, even while it also affirmed a “stable” outlook.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Pinterest raises US$150m
Pinterest Inc raised US$150 million in venture funding from a group of existing investors at the same share price as two years ago, the company said on Tuesday. The last fundraising round was in April 2015, valuing the business at about US$11 billion. Because the number of shares in the company has grown, the new valuation is US$12.3 billion, Pinterest said. By raising money, Pinterest is choosing to delay a potential initial public offering as its business model matures. The company makes money by selling ads that look like posts on its site.
REAL ESTATE
Emaar plans debut
Emaar Properties PJSC, the Dubai-based developer of the world’s tallest skyscraper, plans to sell as much as 30 percent of its real-estate development business in the United Arab Emirates in an initial public offering. The funds raised are primarily to be distributed as dividends to Emaar’s shareholders, the company said in a statement yesterday. Emaar shares jumped as much as 7.1 percent, the most since January last year, in Dubai trading. The shares of the unit will also be listed on the Dubai Financial Market and the sale is subject to market conditions. The debut would be the largest in the UAE since Emaar Malls PJSC raised US$1.58 billion in an offering in 2014.
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