COTTON
Egypt agrees to export
Egypt agreed to export 1,193 tonnes of cotton in the week ended on Thursday, the Alexandria Cotton Exporters Association said in its weekly bulletin yesterday. The country has shipped 91,588.5 tonnes of cotton valued at US$344.4 million since the marketing year began on Sept 1. Of last week’s sales, Egypt will ship 432 tonnes of Giza 88 cotton variety and 761 tonnes of Giza 86, the association said. Egypt produces the world’s finest extra-long staple cotton, which is stronger and softer than shorter staple cotton.
INDIA
Sugar controls to continue
India deferred a plan to end controls on sugar producers as rising food prices fuel inflation, the Business Standard reported, citing Farm Minister Sharad Pawar. The Indian Sugar Mills Association last year asked the government to stop setting the benchmark price for sugar cane and the monthly sales quota for mills, which are required to sell 10 percent of their output at below-market prices to the government for resale to the poor.
PORTUGAL
Deals signed with Qatar
Portugal and Qatar signed memorandums of understanding for cooperation in renewable energy and tourism, Prime Minister Jose Socrates said in Doha yesterday. The two countries also discussed investment opportunities, Socrates said, adding that his country plans to open an embassy in the Gulf Arab country.
TELECOMS
Emirates extends deadline
Emirates Telecommunications Corp extended a deadline to reach an accord on its US$12 billion offer for control of Kuwait’s Zain, saying there were “unforeseeable delays” to complete the diligence process. The bid by Abu Dhabi-based Emirates Telecom, also known as Etisalat, to buy about 46 percent of Zain, Kuwait’s largest mobile phone operator, expired on Saturday. Etisalat got commitments from Zain investors holding about 40 percent of the company, three people involved in the talks said on Friday, declining to be identified because the talks are confidential. Etisalat didn’t set a new deadline in its statement yesterday. Etisalat’s effort to purchase Zain is aimed at deepening its presence in the Middle East, where Zain operates in countries from Kuwait and Iraq to Bahrain after selling most of its African assets last year to Indian billionaire Sunil Mittal’s Bharti Airtel Ltd for US$9 billion.
PHILIPPINES
Tetangco can stay on
Central bank Governor Amando Tetangco “has done an excellent job” and can stay for a second term after his fixed, six-year term ends by mid-year, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said yesterday. A veteran of the central bank for more than three decades, Tetangco, 58, has kept inflation below 5 percent in the past 21 months, allowing Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to keep its benchmark interest rate at a record low since July 2009.
AVIATION
Garuda to launch IPO
Indonesia’s national carrier Garuda Indonesia will this week launch its initial public offering (IPO) around Hong Kong, London and New York. Its scheduled listing on Feb. 11 may raise up to 10.3 trillion rupiah (US$1.1 billion) through the sale of 9.32 billion shares, or 36 percent of its capital, at between 750 and 1,100 rupiah each, likely to be the biggest listing on the Indonesian share market.
The Eurovision Song Contest has seen a surge in punter interest at the bookmakers, becoming a major betting event, experts said ahead of last night’s giant glamfest in Basel. “Eurovision has quietly become one of the biggest betting events of the year,” said Tomi Huttunen, senior manager of the Online Computer Finland (OCS) betting and casino platform. Betting sites have long been used to gauge which way voters might be leaning ahead of the world’s biggest televised live music event. However, bookmakers highlight a huge increase in engagement in recent years — and this year in particular. “We’ve already passed 2023’s total activity and
BIG BUCKS: Chairman Wei is expected to receive NT$34.12 million on a proposed NT$5 cash dividend plan, while the National Development Fund would get NT$8.27 billion Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday announced that its board of directors approved US$15.25 billion in capital appropriations for long-term expansion to meet growing demand. The funds are to be used for installing advanced technology and packaging capacity, expanding mature and specialty technology, and constructing fabs with facility systems, TSMC said in a statement. The board also approved a proposal to distribute a NT$5 cash dividend per share, based on first-quarter earnings per share of NT$13.94, it said. That surpasses the NT$4.50 dividend for the fourth quarter of last year. TSMC has said that while it is eager
‘IMMENSE SWAY’: The top 50 companies, based on market cap, shape everything from technology to consumer trends, advisory firm Visual Capitalist said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) was ranked the 10th-most valuable company globally this year, market information advisory firm Visual Capitalist said. TSMC sat on a market cap of about US$915 billion as of Monday last week, making it the 10th-most valuable company in the world and No. 1 in Asia, the publisher said in its “50 Most Valuable Companies in the World” list. Visual Capitalist described TSMC as the world’s largest dedicated semiconductor foundry operator that rolls out chips for major tech names such as US consumer electronics brand Apple Inc, and artificial intelligence (AI) chip designers Nvidia Corp and Advanced
Pegatron Corp (和碩), an iPhone assembler for Apple Inc, is to spend NT$5.64 billion (US$186.82 million) to acquire HTC Corp’s (宏達電) factories in Taoyuan and invest NT$578.57 million in its India subsidiary to expand manufacturing capacity, after its board approved the plans on Wednesday. The Taoyuan factories would expand production of consumer electronics, and communication and computing devices, while the India investment would boost production of communications devices and possibly automotive electronics later, a Pegatron official told the Taipei Times by telephone yesterday. Pegatron expects to complete the Taoyuan factory transaction in the third quarter, said the official, who declined to be
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