DEVELOPMENT
Japan to aid Mekong states
Japan yesterday pledged US$7.4 billion in aid over the next three years to help five Mekong states, in an attempt at fostering development in a resource-rich region also being courted by China. “The stability and prosperity of East Asia will not be possible without the stability and prosperity of the Mekong region,” Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda told a joint press conference after the six-way summit in Tokyo. “The Japanese government will recognize the Mekong region as a significant destination of assistance and continue its cooperation strongly.” Noda met the five government leaders of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, as Japan’s export-dependent economy is on the lookout for cheap labor and investment to power growth.
INDUSTRY
GE tops Wall Street forecasts
General Electric Co topped Wall Street’s profit and revenue forecasts for the first quarter, helped by strong demand for energy equipment and railroad locomotives. The largest US conglomerate said on Friday industrial orders had risen 20 percent in the quarter and that selling prices had improved in most of its businesses. This should help CEO Jeff Immelt achieve his goal of boosting profit margins this year. He confirmed the company’s growth forecast for this year, saying: “Everything we see in the first quarter supports double-digit earnings growth.” GE reported net income of US$3.03 billion, or US$0.29 per share, down from US$3.43 billion, or US$0.31 per share, a year earlier. Factoring out one-time items, earnings came to US$0.34 per share, topping the analysts’ average forecast of US$0.33 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
FOOD
McDonald’s income rises 5%
McDonald’s ever-evolving mix of affordable menu items and new offerings, like the Chicken McBites, is helping the chain solidify its dominance in the fast-food industry. The world’s biggest hamburger chain said on Friday that its net income rose 5 percent in the first quarter, in line with Wall Street expectations. McDonald’s Corp said global sales rose 7.3 percent at stores open at least 13 months, driven by gains from all regions. The figure is key metric because it excludes the impact of newly opened stores. In April, the fast-food chain expects the figure to increase another 4 percent.
BUDGET CUTS
Spain to scrap free medicine
Spain’s cash-strapped government on Friday approved reforms to scrap free medicine for pensioners and charge students higher fees, aiming to save an extra 10 billion euros (US$13 billion) a year. The reforms tread on sensitive ground, since Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy had promised to safeguard pensioners’ purchasing power, while cuts in health and education have already sparked street protests. Traditionally Spaniards do not pay to visit the doctor and only pay part of the cost of medicine, with an exception for pensioners who currently pay nothing. Now pensioners will have to pay 10 percent of the cost at the pharmacy, up to a maximum of 18 euros a month, depending on their income. Spaniards in employment will see their contribution rise from 40 to 60 percent of the cost of the medicine. The government said 3 billion euros will be saved through education reforms, allowing regional governments to expand class sizes by 20 percent and raise university fees to an average 1,500 euros from 1,000 euros.
To many, Tatu City on the outskirts of Nairobi looks like a success. The first city entirely built by a private company to be operational in east Africa, with about 25,000 people living and working there, it accounts for about two-thirds of all foreign investment in Kenya. Its low-tax status has attracted more than 100 businesses including Heineken, coffee brand Dormans, and the biggest call-center and cold-chain transport firms in the region. However, to some local politicians, Tatu City has looked more like a target for extortion. A parade of governors have demanded land worth millions of dollars in exchange
An Indonesian animated movie is smashing regional box office records and could be set for wider success as it prepares to open beyond the Southeast Asian archipelago’s silver screens. Jumbo — a film based on the adventures of main character, Don, a large orphaned Indonesian boy facing bullying at school — last month became the highest-grossing Southeast Asian animated film, raking in more than US$8 million. Released at the end of March to coincide with the Eid holidays after the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, the movie has hit 8 million ticket sales, the third-highest in Indonesian cinema history, Film
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) revenue jumped 48 percent last month, underscoring how electronics firms scrambled to acquire essential components before global tariffs took effect. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp reported monthly sales of NT$349.6 billion (US$11.6 billion). That compares with the average analysts’ estimate for a 38 percent rise in second-quarter revenue. US President Donald Trump’s trade war is prompting economists to retool GDP forecasts worldwide, casting doubt over the outlook for everything from iPhone demand to computing and datacenter construction. However, TSMC — a barometer for global tech spending given its central role in the
Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designer specializing in server chips, expects revenue to decline this year due to sagging demand for 5-nanometer artificial intelligence (AI) chips from a North America-based major customer, a company executive said yesterday. That would be the first contraction in revenue for Alchip as it has been enjoying strong revenue growth over the past few years, benefiting from cloud-service providers’ moves to reduce dependence on Nvidia Corp’s expensive AI chips by building their own AI accelerator by outsourcing chip design. The 5-nanometer chip was supposed to be a new growth engine as the lifecycle
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