BANKING
Techcombank eyes IPO
Techcombank, the Vietnamese lender backed by Warburg Pincus, and some investors are poised to raise about 21 trillion dong (US$922 million) in a domestic initial public offering (IPO), people with knowledge of the matter said. The bank is planning to price the sale of 164.1 million shares at 128,000 dong each, the top end of a marketed range, the people said. A US$922 million deal would be Vietnam’s biggest initial equity offering ever, data compiled by Bloomberg showed. Techcombank, formally known as Vietnam Technological & Commercial Joint Stock Bank, aims for its shares to begin trading on June 4.
MINERS
Glencore unit to be dissolved
Glencore PLC said the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) state-owned mining company began legal proceedings to dissolve one of its subsidiaries because of a capital shortfall. The Baar, Switzerland-based company said it has several options to remedy the deficit at Kamoto Copper Co (KCC), according to a statement issued on Sunday. Possible courses of action include the conversion of a portion of debt owed by KCC to Katanga Mining Co, the Toronto-listed company that controls KCC, or forgiving that debt, it said. Heavy levels of debt at mining companies are a heated issue in the DRC, the world’s largest source of cobalt and Africa’s biggest copper producer.
IRAN
Bitcoin banned for lenders
The government yesterday banned the use of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies by banks and financial institutions amid ongoing debate over how best to regulate the technology. The government’s money-laundering committee had taken the decision in late December last year and it was now being put into effect, it said. The ban came because “all cryptocurrencies have the capacity to be turned into a means for money laundering and financing terrorism, and in general can be turned into a means for transferring criminals’ money,” it added. Many in the country see great potential in digital currencies as a way to overcome problems related to international sanctions and difficulties facing the country’s ailing banks.
COMPUTERS
Lenovo sinks on ZTE ban
Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) sank to its lowest level since 2009 as a US ban on ZTE Corp (中興) undermined sentiment toward China’s technology sector. The company’s shares dropped 3.4 percent in Hong Kong as of 11:50am. The MSCI China Technology Index slipped 0.8 percent. ZTE shares have been suspended from trading since the US government last week imposed a seven-year ban on its purchases of crucial US components. Bears are targeting Lenovo in particular amid doubts that a company once regarded as a potential challenger to Apple Inc might not be able to revive itself.
ECONOMY
Eurozone keeps steady
Economic momentum in the eurozone kept a steady pace this month after softening earlier in the year, in a sign that growth in the region is set to continue, albeit at a slower pace. A composite Purchasing Managers’ Index remained unchanged at 55.2, IHS Markit said yesterday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg predicted a decline to 54.8. While activity in services picked up, growth in manufacturing slowed to the weakest in more than a year. Slower growth in new orders, as well as weakened optimism about the business outlook, suggests output could decelerate further in coming months, IHS Markit said.
China has claimed a breakthrough in developing homegrown chipmaking equipment, an important step in overcoming US sanctions designed to thwart Beijing’s semiconductor goals. State-linked organizations are advised to use a new laser-based immersion lithography machine with a resolution of 65 nanometers or better, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in an announcement this month. Although the note does not specify the supplier, the spec marks a significant step up from the previous most advanced indigenous equipment — developed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co (SMEE, 上海微電子) — which stood at about 90 nanometers. MIIT’s claimed advances last
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has appointed Rose Castanares, executive vice president of TSMC Arizona, as president of the subsidiary, which is responsible for carrying out massive investments by the Taiwanese tech giant in the US state, the company said in a statement yesterday. Castanares will succeed Brian Harrison as president of the Arizona subsidiary on Oct. 1 after the incumbent president steps down from the position with a transfer to the Arizona CEO office to serve as an advisor to TSMC Arizona’s chairman, the statement said. According to TSMC, Harrison is scheduled to retire on Dec. 31. Castanares joined TSMC in
EUROPE ON HOLD: Among a flurry of announcements, Intel said it would postpone new factories in Germany and Poland, but remains committed to its US expansion Intel Corp chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger has landed Amazon.com Inc’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) as a customer for the company’s manufacturing business, potentially bringing work to new plants under construction in the US and boosting his efforts to turn around the embattled chipmaker. Intel and AWS are to coinvest in a custom semiconductor for artificial intelligence computing — what is known as a fabric chip — in a “multiyear, multibillion-dollar framework,” Intel said in a statement on Monday. The work would rely on Intel’s 18A process, an advanced chipmaking technology. Intel shares rose more than 8 percent in late trading after the
FACTORY SHIFT: While Taiwan produces most of the world’s AI servers, firms are under pressure to move manufacturing amid geopolitical tensions Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) started building artificial intelligence (AI) servers in India’s south, the latest boon for the rapidly growing country’s push to become a high-tech powerhouse. The company yesterday said it has started making the large, powerful computers in Pondicherry, southeastern India, moving beyond products such as laptops and smartphones. The Chinese company would also build out its facilities in the Bangalore region, including a research lab with a focus on AI. Lenovo’s plans mark another win for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who tries to attract more technology investment into the country. While India’s tense relationship with China has suffered setbacks