SINGAPORE
Trade dispute hits exports
Exports plummeted last month amid a worsening trade dispute between the US and China, spelling more bad news for the city-state’s economy. Non-oil domestic exports contracted 17.3 percent from a year ago after falling a revised 16.3 percent in May, Enterprise Singapore said in a statement yesterday. Electronics exports plunged 31.9 percent. The biggest contractions in overall shipments were to Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea, which dropped 38.2 percent, 23.2 percent and 22.7 percent respectively.
AUTOMOBILES
European registrations fall
European vehicle registrations fell sharply last month, resuming a downward spiral for this year. Sales dropped 7.9 percent to 1.49 million vehiles, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association said yesterday, the worst monthly decline since December last year. France and Spain posted declines of more than 8 percent, while German and UK sales fell 4.7 percent and 4.9 percent respectively. The weak showing adds to the gloom enveloping the sector and brings the fall to 3.1 percent since the start of this year.
UNITED STATES
Powell hints at rate cuts
US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell added more weight to expectations the central bank would cut interest rates later this month, saying on Tuesday that the US inflation outlook is near historic lows. Central bankers have “raised concerns about a more prolonged shortfall in inflation below our 2 percent target,” Powell said in a prepared speech at a Bank of France dinner in Paris. Amid continued uncertainty about global growth amid rising trade tensions, Powell said inflation expectations “are near the bottom of their historical ranges.”
MINING
Iron ore output to rise: BHP
BHP Group forecasts iron ore production would rise as much as 6 percent this fiscal year after output posted its first annual decline because of a train derailment and a cyclone that deluged Australian ports. Total production from Australia is estimated to jump to between 273 million and 286 million tonnes in fiscal 2020 after recording its first annual decline since China’s steel boom began at the start of the century. Output fell to 269.6 million tonnes in fiscal 2019, missing an average forecast of 272 million tonnes among five analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
AUTOMOBILES
Toyota, CATL reach deal
Toyota Motor Corp struck a deal to buy electric-vehicle batteries from Contemporary Amperex Technology Co (CATL, 時代新能源) as automakers worldwide race to develop vehicles that meet stricter emission rules. The two companies have also started discussing the development of new technology, and the reuse and recycling of batteries, Toyota said in a statement yesterday. Toyota and CATL plan to work together on specific projects, it said. Terms of the accord were not disclosed.
INVESTMENT
Visa invests in Go-Jek
Visa Inc, the world’s biggest payments network, has invested an undisclosed amount in ride-hailing giant Go-Jek as part of the Indonesian company’s ongoing series F fundraising round, the two companies said yesterday. The move follows Go-Jek’s announcement this month it had secured funding from Thailand’s Siam Commercial Bank PLC, Mitsubishi Motors Corp, Mitsubishi Corp and Mitsubishi UFJ Lease & Finance Co. The terms of that deal were not disclosed.
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