SOUTH KOREA
Inflation eases, but still high
Inflation last month eased from the previous month, but stayed above the central bank’s target range for the ninth straight month, official figures showed yesterday. The consumer price index rose 4.3 percent last month compared with a year earlier, a marked slowdown from the 5.3 percent year-on-year increase in August, which was the largest rise in three years. However, last month’s figure still surpassed the central bank’s 2 to 4 percent target range, in a sign of continuing price pressures. Core inflation, which excludes volatile oil and food costs, rose 3.9 percent last month from a year earlier, down slightly from 4 percent in August.
MINING
Hanlong to buy Sundance
Chinese firm Hanlong Mining (漢龍礦業) yesterday announced it had reached an agreement to buy Australia’s Sundance Resources, after sweetening its offer to A$1.65 billion (US$1.57 billion). Hanlong made a A$0.50 per share bid in July to take over Perth-based Sundance, an iron ore, copper and gold miner with projects in central Africa. It said yesterday it would acquire 100 percent of Sundance shares after lifting its offer to A$0.57 cash per share. Sundance shares last traded at A$0.43.
ENERGY
Heritage acquires oil stake
British company Heritage Oil PLC has acquired a controlling interest in a Libyan company licensed to provide oil field services, including offshore and land-based drilling. Heritage yesterday said that it paid US$19.5 million for a 51 percent stake in Sahara Oil Services Holdings Ltd. Heritage said the acquisition would allow it to play a significant role in Libya’s oil and gas industry. Sahara Oil Services was established in 2009 and is based in Benghazi. Heritage says it established a base in Benghazi this year and has been dealing with senior members of the National Transitional Council. Heritage CEO Tony Buckingham said his company was now well placed to win exploration and production licenses.
PORTS
London port to open in 2013
Port operator DP World said it planned to open a long-awaited deep-sea port outside London in 2013. The Dubai-based company yesterday vowed to have the first stage of the massive terminal, known as London Gateway, up and running by the fourth quarter of 2013. DP World said it had been working on the port since early last year and would pump another US$1 billion into the project over the next three years. It didn’t say how much it has spent so far. It expects the project to generate a further 700 construction jobs and 300 port jobs in Britain in the coming months. DP World is the world’s third-largest seaport operator. It is part of Dubai’s indebted state conglomerate Dubai World.
AUTOMAKERS
US auto sales up 9.9%
US auto sales rose almost 10 percent last month, allaying concerns of a double-dip recession as major automakers forecast stronger sales through the remainder of the year. Among the Detroit automakers, General Motors’ sales rose 20 percent, while those at Ford Motor and Chrysler group were up 9 percent and 27 percent respectively. However, sales by Japanese makers Toyota Motor Corp and Honda Motor Co were down almost 18 percent and 8 percent respectively. Industrywide, auto sales rose 9.9 percent last month from a year earlier. The annualized sales rate hit 13.1 million vehicles, the strongest sales rate since April.
TAKING STOCK: A Taiwanese cookware firm in Vietnam urged customers to assess inventory or place orders early so shipments can reach the US while tariffs are paused Taiwanese businesses in Vietnam are exploring alternatives after the White House imposed a 46 percent import duty on Vietnamese goods, following US President Donald Trump’s announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs on the US’ trading partners. Lo Shih-liang (羅世良), chairman of Brico Industry Co (裕茂工業), a Taiwanese company that manufactures cast iron cookware and stove components in Vietnam, said that more than 40 percent of his business was tied to the US market, describing the constant US policy shifts as an emotional roller coaster. “I work during the day and stay up all night watching the news. I’ve been following US news until 3am
UNCERTAINTY: Innolux activated a stringent supply chain management mechanism, as it did during the COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure optimal inventory levels for customers Flat-panel display makers AUO Corp (友達) and Innolux Corp (群創) yesterday said that about 12 to 20 percent of their display business is at risk of potential US tariffs and that they would relocate production or shipment destinations to mitigate the levies’ effects. US tariffs would have a direct impact of US$200 million on AUO’s revenue, company chairman Paul Peng (彭雙浪) told reporters on the sidelines of the Touch Taiwan trade show in Taipei yesterday. That would make up about 12 percent of the company’s overall revenue. To cope with the tariff uncertainty, AUO plans to allocate its production to manufacturing facilities in
Six years ago, LVMH’s billionaire CEO Bernard Arnault and US President Donald Trump cut the blue ribbon on a factory in rural Texas that would make designer handbags for Louis Vuitton, one of the world’s best-known luxury brands. However, since the high-profile opening, the factory has faced a host of problems limiting production, 11 former Louis Vuitton employees said. The site has consistently ranked among the worst-performing for Louis Vuitton globally, “significantly” underperforming other facilities, said three former Louis Vuitton workers and a senior industry source, who cited internal rankings shared with staff. The plant’s problems — which have not
COLLABORATION: Given Taiwan’s key position in global supply chains, the US firm is discussing strategies with local partners and clients to deal with global uncertainties Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) yesterday said it is meeting with local ecosystem partners, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), to discuss strategies, including long-term manufacturing, to navigate uncertainties such as US tariffs, as Taiwan occupies an important position in global supply chains. AMD chief executive officer Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) told reporters that Taiwan is an important part of the chip designer’s ecosystem and she is discussing with partners and customers in Taiwan to forge strong collaborations on different areas during this critical period. AMD has just become the first artificial-intelligence (AI) server chip customer of TSMC to utilize its advanced
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