PHILIPPINES
Fuel tax hike put on hold
The government on Sunday said it would suspend the implementation of a further increase in excise tax on fuel products, set to take effect in January next year, to stem rising inflation expectations. The Department of Finance expects foregone revenues of up to 40 billion pesos (US$740 million) a year from the suspension. The amount is part of the crucial funding for President Rodrigo Duterte’s US$180 billion “Build, Build, Build” program, which aims to upgrade the country’s infrastructure.
ENERGY
Cepsa listing postponed
Spanish oil company Cepsa SAU yesterday said it had postponed a market listing planned for Thursday, blaming global market conditions. The firm said in a statement that Abu Dhabi-based owner Mubadala Investment Co had “decided to desist” on a planned market listing, citing “the current state of international capital markets.” Madrid-based Cepsa’s activities are concentrated on refining and distribution in Spain, but it is also present in oil and gas exploration and production in Latin America and North Africa.
GERMANY
IPO upends wealth ranking
The country’s largest-ever listing of a family-owned business has reordered the country’s wealth rankings. Heinz Hermann Thiele is US$5.7 billion richer following last week’s initial public offering (IPO) of his largest asset, Knorr-Bremse AG, the world’s biggest maker of truck and train braking systems. The IPO makes him the country’s fourth-richest person, with a net worth of US$15 billion. Knorr-Bremse has expanded its global presence to more than 30 countries and posted sales of 6.2 billion euros (US$7 billion) last year.
TELECOMS
StarHub to share network
StarHub Ltd chief executive officer Peter Kaliaropoulos said the company, Singapore’s No. 2 telephone carrier, is looking to pare costs even further by sharing infrastructure, after announcing he would trim the company’s workforce by about 12 percent. The company might reach a commercial agreement on network sharing next year or earlier, Kaliaropoulos said in an interview on Thursday last week. Financial benefits could be seen by the end of next year, he said.
SINGAPORE
Home sales jump 51 percent
Private home sales in the city-state last month jumped 51 percent as developers marketed more projects after Ghost Month and as buyers moved past the additional cooling measures imposed in July. Developers in the city-state sold 932 units, the Urban Redevelopment Authority said in a statement yesterday. That compares with 617 units in August, the data show. Total apartments launched for sale last month more than doubled to 1,169.
UNITED STATES
Kudlow defends Trump
White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow defended his boss on Sunday, saying that President Donald Trump respects the Federal Reserve’s autonomy, despite last week’s remark that the Fed had “gone crazy” raising interest rates. Kudlow, speaking on Fox News Sunday, said that Trump was “giving his opinion” on interest rates based on his background “as a successful businessman and investor.” Trump is “not impinging on Fed independence. He didn’t say: ‘I want you to change your plan,’” Kudlow said.
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