TURKEY
Economy battling to recover
The economy slowed in the second quarter, but fared better than forecast, as the country’s recovery struggled to take hold at a time of political uncertainty. GDP expanded a seasonally adjusted 1.2 percent from the previous three months, according to data released yesterday, down from a revised 1.6 percent in the first quarter. From a year earlier, GDP shrank 1.5 percent. The slowdown in quarterly growth was driven by a slump in investments, which shrank 7.4 percent from the previous three-month period, a breakdown of GDP data by the Turkish Statistical Institute showed.
SOUTH KOREA
Export slump continues
Exports extended their slump last month as an escalating feud with Japan adds to uncertainties for the economy already elevated amid the US-China trade dispute. Exports fell 13.6 percent from a year earlier, a ninth consecutive month of contraction, data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy showed on Sunday. Imports fell 4.2 percent, and the trade surplus was US$1.7 billion, the ministry said. Shipments to China dropped 21.3 percent, a reflection of slowing growth in the world’s second-largest economy and South Korea’s biggest export destination. Semiconductor exports fell 30.7 percent by value, while volume was up 4.5 percent.
BANKING
Baring Vostok faces seizure
A court in Russia’s Far East ordered the seizure of a stake in Vostochny Bank held by private equity group Baring Vostok Capital Partners at Vostochny Bank’s request, court documents published yesterday showed. Baring Vostok has been in the spotlight since the arrest earlier this year of several of its executives, including US investor Michael Calvey, on embezzlement charges. They deny wrongdoing and say the case is being used against them in a corporate dispute over control of the bank. Vostochny Bank had requested the seizure of more than 334 billion shares held by a firm controlled by Baring Vostok.
FRANCE
Lottery to be privatized
The country aims to privatize its national lottery company, Francaise des Jeux (FDJ), in November, Minister of Finance Bruno Le Maire said on Sunday. The French state that controls 72 percent of FDJ, has said it plans to retain at least 20 percent of Europe’s second-biggest lottery operator following the sell-off, promised for this year. Le Maire said the privatization would most likely occur “during the month of November” barring any sharp stock-market downturn. He was speaking in an interview with CNEWS televsion, Europe 1 radio and daily Les Echos.
AVIATION
Norwegian Air asks for help
Budget airline Norwegian Air is asking bondholders to extend the maturity of its debt by up to two years, and would in return pledge valuable take-off and landing slots at London Gatwick Airport as security, it said yesterday. While the indebted carrier’s operational performance has improved since mid-July, the company’s working capital has decreased this year amid ongoing engine problems and the grounding of its fleet of Boeing MAX aircraft, it said. Norwegian’s bonds, which mature in December and August next year with a combined outstanding amount of US$380 million, would be extended to November 2021 and February 2022 if bondholders accept the revised terms.
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