SOUTH KOREA
Jobless rate rises further
The unemployment rate ticked higher for a third month, an unexpected outcome that illustrates the challenge of boosting hiring in an economy struggling with slumping exports and weak investment. It climbed to 3.6 percent for last month, seasonally adjusted data from the statistics office showed yesterday. Economists had predicted the rate would stay unchanged at 3.5 percent.
INDONESIA
Forest fires affect growth
The total damage and economic loss from forest fires this year amounted to at least US$5.2 billion, equal to 0.5 percent of the nation’s GDP, the World Bank said in a report yesterday. The estimate was based on the bank’s assessment in eight affected provinces from June to October. The bank cut its GDP growth forecasts by 0.09 and 0.05 percentage points to 5 percent for this year and 5.1 percent for next year because of the fires.
ARGENTINA
Fernandez prioritizes growth
The nation is willing, but unable to pay its debts under current conditions and needs the economy to grow again before meeting its obligations, President Alberto Fernandez said in his first speech after being sworn in. The government would seek “constructive and cooperative” dialogue with the IMF and bondholders to address the debt load, he said, without giving additional details. The outgoing administration of Mauricio Macri had left the nation in “virtual default,” he said.
BEVERAGES
Illycaffe kicks off stake sale
Illycaffe SpA, one of Italy’s largest coffee roasters, has started proceedings for the sale of a minority stake to support its expansion in the US, people familiar with the matter said. The company, known for high-end espresso sold in silver and red cans, has sent preliminary marketing materials to potential investors, the people said. Illycaffe could offer about a 20 percent stake that might value the firm at more than 1 billion euros (US$1.1 billion), the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.
ENERGY
Group to acquire Stoneway
A consortium of Chinese companies led by China Huadian Corp (中國華電) is close to acquiring a controlling stake in Argentine power generator Stoneway Group LP, people familiar with the matter said. Huadian — one of several Chinese state-owned power generation corporations born out of a 2002 industry reform — and its partners are to acquire about 80 percent of Stoneway. The group is to make the acquisition in three tranches through a unit called China Huadian Engineering Co (中國華電工程), the people said, asking not to be identified as the talks are private.
TELECOMS
Telefonica picks 5G partners
Telefonica Deutschland Holding AG yesterday picked Nokia Oyj of Finland and China’s Huawei Technologies Co (華為) to build its 5G network, seeking to get work moving even though Germany has yet to finalize security rules governing the industry. Cooperation with the network vendors would be subject to both receiving the necessary certification in Germany, Telefonica Deutschland said, adding that this would enable it to make a start on building its network early next year. Telefonica Deutschland said it expected to have 5G up and running in Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Cologne and Frankfurt by the end of 2021.
DECOUPLING? In a sign of deeper US-China technology decoupling, Apple has held initial talks about using Baidu’s generative AI technology in its iPhones, the Wall Street Journal said China has introduced guidelines to phase out US microprocessors from Intel Corp and Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) from government PCs and servers, the Financial Times reported yesterday. The procurement guidance also seeks to sideline Microsoft Corp’s Windows operating system and foreign-made database software in favor of domestic options, the report said. Chinese officials have begun following the guidelines, which were unveiled in December last year, the report said. They order government agencies above the township level to include criteria requiring “safe and reliable” processors and operating systems when making purchases, the newspaper said. The US has been aiming to boost domestic semiconductor
Nvidia Corp earned its US$2.2 trillion market cap by producing artificial intelligence (AI) chips that have become the lifeblood powering the new era of generative AI developers from start-ups to Microsoft Corp, OpenAI and Google parent Alphabet Inc. Almost as important to its hardware is the company’s nearly 20 years’ worth of computer code, which helps make competition with the company nearly impossible. More than 4 million global developers rely on Nvidia’s CUDA software platform to build AI and other apps. Now a coalition of tech companies that includes Qualcomm Inc, Google and Intel Corp plans to loosen Nvidia’s chokehold by going
ENERGY IMPACT: The electricity rate hike is expected to add about NT$4 billion to TSMC’s electricity bill a year and cut its annual earnings per share by about NT$0.154 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has left its long-term gross margin target unchanged despite the government deciding on Friday to raise electricity rates. One of the heaviest power consuming manufacturers in Taiwan, TSMC said it always respects the government’s energy policy and would continue to operate its fabs by making efforts in energy conservation. The chipmaker said it has left a long-term goal of more than 53 percent in gross margin unchanged. The Ministry of Economic Affairs concluded a power rate evaluation meeting on Friday, announcing electricity tariffs would go up by 11 percent on average to about NT$3.4518 per kilowatt-hour (kWh)
OPENING ADDRESS: The CEO is to give a speech on the future of high-performance computing and artificial intelligence at the trade show’s opening on June 3, TAITRA said Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) chairperson and chief executive officer Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) is to deliver the opening keynote speech at Computex Taipei this year, the event’s organizer said in a statement yesterday. Su is to give a speech on the future of high-performance computing (HPC) in the artificial intelligence (AI) era to open Computex, one of the world’s largest computer and technology trade events, at 9:30am on June 3, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) said. Su is to explore how AMD and the company’s strategic technology partners are pushing the limits of AI and HPC, from data centers to