INDONESIA
Growth slower than expected
The economy expanded at a slower pace in the third quarter than economists expected, a disappointing outcome for the government as it struggles to boost growth. Gross domestic product rose 5.06 percent from a year earlier, according to data released yesterday by the Central Bureau of Statistics. The median estimate of 17 surveyed economists was for growth of 5.2 percent. The economy grew 3.18 percent from the previous quarter, just short of the economists’ estimate of 3.2 percent. “The third-quarter GDP outturn poses downside risks to our forecast of growth accelerating to 5.5 percent in the second half from 5 percent in the first half, hence our full-year 2017 GDP growth of 5.3 percent,” Nomura Holdings Inc economists Euben Paracuelles and Brian Tan said.
E-COMMERCE
NetEase ups global spending
NetEase Inc (網易科技), China’s second-largest video game publisher, is deepening a push into e-commerce with plans to increase spending on products from the US, Europe and Japan to sell to local consumers. The company’s Kaola e-commerce business is to buy about US$11 billion of inventory over the next three years from the US, Europe and Japan to woo customers with everything from Dutch baby formula to Japanese cosmetics, Kaola chief executive Zhang Lei (張蕾) said in an interview. Best known for games, including bringing global title Overwatch to the Chinese market, Netease is bolstering growth by tapping into local demand for established international brands.
GERMANY
Factory orders rise again
Factory orders unexpectedly rose for a second month, adding to signs that Europe’s largest economy is to continue expanding at a solid pace. Orders, adjusted for seasonal swings and inflation, increased 1 percent in September after an upwardly revised surge of 4.1 percent in August, Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy data showed yesterday. The typically volatile reading compares with a median estimate for a 1.1 percent decline in a Bloomberg survey. Demand was up 9.5 percent from the previous year. The nation is on track for continued robust growth in the third quarter, the Bundesbank said, with manufacturing set to remain a “pillar” of the upswing thanks to “vigorous” export demand and an “excellent” level of orders. Strong momentum in the 19-nation euro region and the European Central Bank’s decision to extend asset purchases into next year will also support the economy.
FINANCE
Bad loans upset DBS profits
DBS Group Holdings Ltd chief executive Piyush Gupta was determined to put soured energy-industry loans behind him — even if it meant profit missing the lowest analyst estimate by a wide margin. Southeast Asia’s largest bank yesterday said it boosted bad-loan allowances more than sixfold in the third quarter, resulting in a 23 percent drop in net income to S$822 million (US$602 million). The move “will enable investors to return their focus to our operating performance and digital agenda,” Gupta said in a statement. Not sharing his optimism, investors sent the shares down the most in five weeks. Singapore banks have been struggling with rising provisions against the troubled regional oil and gas sector since Swiber Holdings Ltd filed for judicial management last year. Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp Ltd (華僑銀行) and United Overseas Bank Ltd (大華銀行) said in their quarterly reports that the energy-services industry remains under stress.
MARKET LEADERSHIP: Investors are flocking to Nvidia, drawn by the company’s long-term fundamntals, dominant position in the AI sector, and pricing and margin power Two years after Nvidia Corp made history by becoming the first chipmaker to achieve a US$1 trillion market capitalization, an even more remarkable milestone is within its grasp: becoming the first company to reach US$4 trillion. After the emergence of China’s DeepSeek (深度求索) sent the stock plunging earlier this year and stoked concerns that outlays on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure were set to slow, Nvidia shares have rallied back to a record. The company’s biggest customers remain full steam ahead on spending, much of which is flowing to its computing systems. Microsoft Corp, Meta Platforms Inc, Amazon.com Inc and Alphabet Inc are
Luxury fashion powerhouse Prada SpA has acknowledged the ancient Indian roots of its new sandal design after the debut of the open-toe footwear sparked a furor among Indian artisans and politicians thousands of miles from the catwalk in Italy. Images from Prada’s fashion show in Milan last weekend showed models wearing leather sandals with a braided design that resembled handmade Kolhapuri slippers with designs dating back to the 12th century. A wave of criticism in the media and from lawmakers followed over the Italian brand’s lack of public acknowledgement of the Indian sandal design, which is named after a city in the
INVESTOR RESILIENCE? An analyst said that despite near-term pressures, foreign investors tend to view NT dollar strength as a positive signal for valuation multiples Morgan Stanley has flagged a potential 10 percent revenue decline for Taiwan’s tech hardware sector this year, as a sharp appreciation of the New Taiwan dollar begins to dent the earnings power of major exporters. In what appears to be the first such warning from a major foreign brokerage, the US investment bank said the currency’s strength — fueled by foreign capital inflows and expectations of US interest rate cuts — is compressing profit margins for manufacturers with heavy exposure to US dollar-denominated revenues. The local currency has surged about 10 percent against the greenback over the past quarter and yesterday breached
The US overtaking China as Taiwan’s top export destination could boost industrial development and wage growth, given the US is a high-income economy, an economist said yesterday. However, Taiwan still needs to diversify its export markets due to the unpredictability of US President Donald Trump’s administration, said Chiou Jiunn-rong (邱俊榮), an economics professor at National Central University. Taiwan’s exports soared to a record US$51.74 billion last month, driven by strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) products and continued orders, with information and communication technology (ICT) and audio/video products leading all sectors. The US reclaimed its position as Taiwan’s top export market, accounting for
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