BANKING
World Bank invests in RCBC
The World Bank’s investment arm, International Finance Corp (IFC), is to take a minority stake in Philippine lender Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (RCBC). The listed bank told the Philippine Stock Exchange in a disclosure yesterday it had secured central bank approval to sell 73.4 million shares to IFC. Though the terms of the deal were undisclosed, the block purchase would account for just more than 7 percent of RCBC’s outstanding shares and would be worth 2.02 billion pesos (US$46.57 million) based on its closing price on Tuesday.
SINGAPORE
Slower GDP growth forecast
Singapore’s economy will slow this year from last year’s record pace as growth in manufacturing, financial services and construction all wane, according to a central bank survey of analysts released yesterday. The city-state’s GDP will likely expand 5.7 percent this year, according to the median forecast of 20 economists in the quarterly survey, the Monetary Authority of Singapore said. The previous survey in December had forecast economic growth of 5.1 percent this year.
INTEREST RATES
Hanoi hikes rates again
Vietnam has raised interest rates for the second time in less than three weeks, a move which analysts say shows a stronger commitment to fighting rampant inflation. The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), in a notice issued late on Tuesday, said its refinancing rate had risen to 12 percent. That followed an increase on Feb. 17 to 11 percent from 9 percent. The central bank also lifted its discount rate to 12 percent, from 7 percent, but left the base rate at 9 percent.
BANKING
AIG repays partial debt
American International Group Inc (AIG) has paid the federal government nearly US$7 billion this week after selling off assets, trimming its financial bailout balance to just under US$60 billion. The US Department of Treasury says US$6.6 billion comes from AIG’s sale last week of MetLife Inc holdings. Another US$300 million is from AIG’s sale of American Life Insurance Co. AIG has now paid back US$9.1 billion of the US$68 billion in bailout funds it received from the government at the height of the 2008 financial crisis. The Treasury owns 92 percent of AIG through its holdings of the company’s common stock, which it is expected to begin selling in May.
AVIATION
Ferrovial mulling BAA bid
Spain’s Ferrovial said it was studying offers for 10 percent of British airports operator BAA, with sources confirming China’s HNA Group (中國海航集團) was a potential bidder. Two financial sources with knowledge of the situation said airport operator HNA was interested, confirming an earlier Sky News report, but cautioned this might not result in a firm offer. BAA owns London’s Heathrow and Stansted airports, Southampton in south England, as well as Scotland’s Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen airports.
INTERNET
Google updates Chrome
Google on Tuesday released a finished version of its speedy new Chrome Web browsing software for desktops or laptops. The latest version of Chrome promised quick and responsive handling of software running in the Web browser. Google improved settings for bookmarks, passwords, searches and home pages, as well as enhanced protection from Web sites booby-trapped by hackers with malicious code.
ISSUES: Gogoro has been struggling with ballooning losses and was recently embroiled in alleged subsidy fraud, using Chinese-made components instead of locally made parts Gogoro Inc (睿能創意), the nation’s biggest electric scooter maker, yesterday said that its chairman and CEO Horace Luke (陸學森) has resigned amid chronic losses and probes into the company’s alleged involvement in subsidy fraud. The board of directors nominated Reuntex Group (潤泰集團) general counsel Tamon Tseng (曾夢達) as the company’s new chairman, Gogoro said in a statement. Ruentex is Gogoro’s biggest stakeholder. Gogoro Taiwan general manager Henry Chiang (姜家煒) is to serve as acting CEO during the interim period, the statement said. Luke’s departure came as a bombshell yesterday. As a company founder, he has played a key role in pushing for the
China has claimed a breakthrough in developing homegrown chipmaking equipment, an important step in overcoming US sanctions designed to thwart Beijing’s semiconductor goals. State-linked organizations are advised to use a new laser-based immersion lithography machine with a resolution of 65 nanometers or better, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in an announcement this month. Although the note does not specify the supplier, the spec marks a significant step up from the previous most advanced indigenous equipment — developed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co (SMEE, 上海微電子) — which stood at about 90 nanometers. MIIT’s claimed advances last
CROSS-STRAIT TENSIONS: The US company could switch orders from TSMC to alternative suppliers, but that would lower chip quality, CEO Jensen Huang said Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳), whose products have become the hottest commodity in the technology world, on Wednesday said that the scramble for a limited amount of supply has frustrated some customers and raised tensions. “The demand on it is so great, and everyone wants to be first and everyone wants to be most,” he told the audience at a Goldman Sachs Group Inc technology conference in San Francisco. “We probably have more emotional customers today. Deservedly so. It’s tense. We’re trying to do the best we can.” Huang’s company is experiencing strong demand for its latest generation of chips, called
GLOBAL ECONOMY: Policymakers have a choice of a small 25 basis-point cut or a bold cut of 50 basis points, which would help the labor market, but might reignite inflation The US Federal Reserve is gearing up to announce its first interest rate cut in more than four years on Wednesday, with policymakers expected to debate how big a move to make less than two months before the US presidential election. Senior officials at the US central bank including Fed Chairman Jerome Powell have in recent weeks indicated that a rate cut is coming this month, as inflation eases toward the bank’s long-term target of two percent, and the labor market continues to cool. The Fed, which has a dual mandate from the US Congress to act independently to ensure
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