SOUTH KOREA
Current account improves
Strong exports caused a jump in the nation’s current account surplus last month from February, despite rising oil and other raw material prices, the central bank said yesterday. The account surplus, the broadest measure of trade with the rest of the world, was US$1.43 billion last month compared to a revised US$1.13 billion in February. The surplus in March last year stood at US$1.20 billion. The account remained in the black for a 13th consecutive month, boosted by robust exports amid the global economic recovery.
TELECOMS
Nokia to outsource Symbian
Nokia will axe 7,000 jobs and outsource its Symbian software development unit to cut 1 billion euros (US$1.46 billion) in costs as it struggles to compete in the smartphone market. Nokia, the world’s largest phone maker by volume, said on Wednesday the move would include laying off 4,000 staff and transferring another 3,000 to services firm Accenture — a total of 12 percent of its phone unit workforce. Accenture is to take over Nokia’s Symbian software activities and will become a primary software partner for future smartphones running on Microsoft’s Windows platform.
AUTOMOBILES
Q1 net profit down at Honda
Japanese auto giant Honda yesterday said net profit for the first quarter of this year fell 38.3 percent from a year earlier due to costs related to last month’s earthquake as well as the strong yen. Net profit for the quarter totaled ￥44.5 billion (US$536 million), the auto giant said. Net profit doubled year-on-year from last year to this year to ￥534.1 billion, but the automaker gave no forecast for the current year as it continue to gauge the impact of the March 11 disasters on production. Honda said quake-related losses totaled about ￥45.7 billion.
CHEMICALS
Bayer posts profit increase
German chemical and pharmaceutical group Bayer posted an 8.4 percent increase in first quarter net profit yesterday, while signaling improvement in its agricultural products division. Bayer, the maker of pain-killer Aspirin, said that net profit rose to 684 million euros (US$1 billion) and also raised its full-year forecast. First quarter sales gained 13.2 percent to 9.415 billion euros and operating profit rose by 4 percent to 1.148 billion.
OIL
Earnings up 60% at Shell
Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell announced a 60 percent increase in first-quarter earnings yesterday as the company benefited from the steep rise in oil in recent months. Net profit rose to US$8.78 billion, up from US$5.48 billion a year earlier, the company said in a statement. Revenues rose 28 percent to US$110 billion.
INTERNET
EBay Q1 profit up 20%
EBay Inc says its first-quarter profit rose 20 percent on reinvigorated growth at its namesake auction site. Late on Wednesday, the company reported net income of US$475.9 million, or US$0.36 per share, compared with US$397.7 million and US$0.30 per share in the first quarter of last year. Excluding special items, eBay earned US$0.47 per share — US$0.01 more than analysts polled by FactSet expected. Revenue rose 16 percent to US$2.5 billion, essentially in line with analyst’s expectations. The company also predicted that its second-quarter revenue could beat Wall Street estimates.
TECH PARTNERSHIP: The deal with Arizona-based Amkor would provide TSMC with advanced packing and test capacities, a requirement to serve US customers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is collaborating with Amkor Technology Inc to provide local advanced packaging and test capacities in Arizona to address customer requirements for geographical flexibility in chip manufacturing. As part of the agreement, TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, would contract turnkey advanced packaging and test services from Amkor at their planned facility in Peoria, Arizona, a joint statement released yesterday said. TSMC would leverage these services to support its customers, particularly those using TSMC’s advanced wafer fabrication facilities in Phoenix, Arizona, it said. The companies would jointly define the specific packaging technologies, such as TSMC’s Integrated
China’s economic planning agency yesterday outlined details of measures aimed at boosting the economy, but refrained from major spending initiatives. The piecemeal nature of the plans announced yesterday appeared to disappoint investors who were hoping for bolder moves, and the Shanghai Composite Index gave up a 10 percent initial gain as markets reopened after a weeklong holiday to end 4.59 percent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dived 9.41 percent. Chinese National Development and Reform Commission Chairman Zheng Shanjie (鄭珊潔) said the government would frontload 100 billion yuan (US$14.2 billion) in spending from the government’s budget for next year in addition
Sales RecORD: Hon Hai’s consolidated sales rose by about 20 percent last quarter, while Largan, another Apple supplier, saw quarterly sales increase by 17 percent IPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) on Saturday reported its highest-ever quarterly sales for the third quarter on the back of solid global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) globally, said it posted NT$1.85 trillion (US$57.93 billion) in consolidated sales in the July-to-September quarter, up 19.46 percent from the previous quarter and up 20.15 percent from a year earlier. The figure beat the previous third-quarter high of NT$1.74 trillion recorded in 2022, company data showed. Due to rising demand for AI, Hon Hai said its cloud and networking division enjoyed strong sales
Protectionism: US trade chief Katherine Tai said the hikes would help to counter unfair trade practices from China, while boosting domestic clean energy investments US Trade Representative Katherine Tai (戴琪) defended stiff tariff hikes against countries such as China, saying that paired with investment, they were a “legitimate and constructive” tool for reinvigorating domestic industries. Tai’s comments come a week after sharp tariff increases on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), EV batteries and solar cells took effect — with levies down the line on other products also recently finalized. The latest moves targeting US$18 billion in Chinese goods come weeks before next month’s US presidential election, with Democrats and Republicans pushing a hard line on China as competition between Washington and Beijing intensifies. In an interview on Thursday
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