SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
IMF forecasts 3.4% growth
Economic growth is expected to rise to 3.4 percent in sub-Saharan Africa next year, from 2.6 percent this year, the IMF said in a report yesterday, adding that rising debt and political risks in larger economies would weigh down future growth. Nigeria and South Africa are the biggest economies in sub-Saharan Africa, but both nations have been clouded by political uncertainty linked to the tenure of their leaders. The IMF said a good harvest and recovery in oil output in Nigeria would contribute more than half of the growth in the region this year, while an uptick in mining and a better harvest in South Africa, as well as a rebound in oil production in Angola will add to growth. However, political uncertainty loomed large in Nigeria, where Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari is afflicted by illness, causing speculation about whether he is well enough to run Africa’s biggest economy.
COMMODITIES
New metal futures proposed
Buoyed by rebounding trading volumes and signs that commodities are attracting more investors, the London Metal Exchange is considering starting a nickel sulfate contract as part of a trio of new products that take advantage of growing demand for battery metals, chief executive Matthew Chamberlain said. The launch is 18 months away at best, he said in an interview on Friday, ahead of the metal industry’s annual gathering in London. “Electric vehicles are clearly the growth story for our industry,” Chamberlain said.
BANKING
Indian merger called off
The proposed merger between IDFC Group and Shriram Group will be called off as talks between the two parties have failed, people with knowledge of the matter said. Some shareholders of IDFC Ltd were not happy with the valuation proposed, the people said, asking not to be identified because the details are private. The IDFC board met yesterday to discuss second-quarter results, as well as the merger, the people said. A deal to combine Shriram Capital and the group would have created a financial conglomerate with a universal bank and the ability to provide a range of financial products from insurance to vehicle finance.
DEALMAKING
M&A appetite remains high
The appetite for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) remains near a record high as firms try to adapt to fast technological changes — and despite a welter of geopolitical concerns, a survey of executives found yesterday. In its half-yearly report on M&A, EY found that 56 percent of firms are planning a deal within the next 12 months. That is unchanged from an April survey, but far above the survey’s long-run average. The survey showed that the high degree of potential M&A activity runs parallel to rising expectations for the world economy, with all major economies growing synchronously. About 99 percent of global executives believed the M&A market will improve or remain stable this year.
BANKING
Mizuho may slash workforce
Japanese bank Mizuho Financial Group is considering slashing its global workforce by about one-third over a decade, reports said, as it looks to replace clerical jobs with artificial intelligence and other technology. The lender is looking at chopping 19,000 jobs from its current roster of around 60,000 employees in Japan and overseas by March 2027, the Yomiuri Shimbun said on Sunday. It is also eyeing the closure of as many as 30 branches in Japan, out of a total of around 800, the Asahi Shimbun said.
DECOUPLING? In a sign of deeper US-China technology decoupling, Apple has held initial talks about using Baidu’s generative AI technology in its iPhones, the Wall Street Journal said China has introduced guidelines to phase out US microprocessors from Intel Corp and Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) from government PCs and servers, the Financial Times reported yesterday. The procurement guidance also seeks to sideline Microsoft Corp’s Windows operating system and foreign-made database software in favor of domestic options, the report said. Chinese officials have begun following the guidelines, which were unveiled in December last year, the report said. They order government agencies above the township level to include criteria requiring “safe and reliable” processors and operating systems when making purchases, the newspaper said. The US has been aiming to boost domestic semiconductor
Nvidia Corp earned its US$2.2 trillion market cap by producing artificial intelligence (AI) chips that have become the lifeblood powering the new era of generative AI developers from start-ups to Microsoft Corp, OpenAI and Google parent Alphabet Inc. Almost as important to its hardware is the company’s nearly 20 years’ worth of computer code, which helps make competition with the company nearly impossible. More than 4 million global developers rely on Nvidia’s CUDA software platform to build AI and other apps. Now a coalition of tech companies that includes Qualcomm Inc, Google and Intel Corp plans to loosen Nvidia’s chokehold by going
ENERGY IMPACT: The electricity rate hike is expected to add about NT$4 billion to TSMC’s electricity bill a year and cut its annual earnings per share by about NT$0.154 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has left its long-term gross margin target unchanged despite the government deciding on Friday to raise electricity rates. One of the heaviest power consuming manufacturers in Taiwan, TSMC said it always respects the government’s energy policy and would continue to operate its fabs by making efforts in energy conservation. The chipmaker said it has left a long-term goal of more than 53 percent in gross margin unchanged. The Ministry of Economic Affairs concluded a power rate evaluation meeting on Friday, announcing electricity tariffs would go up by 11 percent on average to about NT$3.4518 per kilowatt-hour (kWh)
OPENING ADDRESS: The CEO is to give a speech on the future of high-performance computing and artificial intelligence at the trade show’s opening on June 3, TAITRA said Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) chairperson and chief executive officer Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) is to deliver the opening keynote speech at Computex Taipei this year, the event’s organizer said in a statement yesterday. Su is to give a speech on the future of high-performance computing (HPC) in the artificial intelligence (AI) era to open Computex, one of the world’s largest computer and technology trade events, at 9:30am on June 3, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) said. Su is to explore how AMD and the company’s strategic technology partners are pushing the limits of AI and HPC, from data centers to