ECONOMY
Brokerages boost intake
Nomura Holdings Inc and Daiwa Securities Group Inc have hired the most university graduates in four years, leading a resurgence in recruitment by Japanese brokerages as the economic outlook improves. About 650 recruits joined Nomura’s domestic securities unit yesterday, 6 percent more than last year, with most to be assigned to retail operations, said Kenji Yamashita, a spokesman for Japan’s largest brokerage. Daiwa boosted its intake by 50 percent to about 450, spokesman Hiroharu Misawa said. The country’s seven largest brokerages increased graduate recruitment by 6 percent to 2,150 in total this year, according to company data compiled by Bloomberg.
ECONOMY
S Korea inflation slows
South Korean inflation slowed to its lowest pace for seven months last month, state data showed yesterday, leaving more room for future monetary easing to boost the economy. The consumer price index for last month rose 1.3 percent from a year ago — slower than 1.4 percent reported in February and the slowest on-year growth since August last year — according to data from the state-run Statistics Korea. The index fell 0.2 percent from the previous month, compared to a 0.3 percent monthly increase in February. Core inflation that excludes volatile food and fuel prices rose 1.5 percent on-year last month compared to a 1.3 percent rise in February.
INDONESIA
Inflation surpases limit
Inflation accelerated to 5.90 percent year-on-year last month, surpassing the upper limit of the central bank’s target range due to an increase in food prices, official data showed yesterday. The rise in the consumer price index was well above the bank’s target range of between 3.5 percent and 5.5 percent for this year, and quicker than the 5.31 percent recorded in February. The statistics office said the increase was driven by surging food prices after the government introduced measures several months ago to limit imports of several products.
AUTOMAKERS
Tesla Motors reports profit
Tesla Motors Inc, the electric carmaker headed by billionaire Elon Musk, said it turned profitable in the first quarter, citing higher-than-expected sales of its Model S sedan. Tesla reached “full profitability” as Model S sales were more than 250 units higher than the 4,500 that the company estimated in the middle of February, the automaker said in a statement on Sunday, without specifying the profit figure. The average analyst estimate compiled by Bloomberg calls for a loss of US$0.11 a share, excluding several items. Tesla has forecast deliveries of the battery-powered Model S would rise to a record 20,000 this year.
TRADE
Deal to begin next month
A free-trade agreement between South Korea and Turkey is to go into effect next month, the latest in a wide-ranging series of trade pacts negotiated by export-dependent South Korea, officials said yesterday. The pact is to remove import tariffs on nearly all products of both countries within the next 10 years, the South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said. It deals only with products as the two nations have yet to complete negotiations on services and investment, the ministry said. South Korea has already signed free-trade deals with the US, the EU, India, ASEAN, Singapore, Peru, Chile and the European Free Trade Association.
INVESTOR RESILIENCE? An analyst said that despite near-term pressures, foreign investors tend to view NT dollar strength as a positive signal for valuation multiples Morgan Stanley has flagged a potential 10 percent revenue decline for Taiwan’s tech hardware sector this year, as a sharp appreciation of the New Taiwan dollar begins to dent the earnings power of major exporters. In what appears to be the first such warning from a major foreign brokerage, the US investment bank said the currency’s strength — fueled by foreign capital inflows and expectations of US interest rate cuts — is compressing profit margins for manufacturers with heavy exposure to US dollar-denominated revenues. The local currency has surged about 10 percent against the greenback over the past quarter and yesterday breached
MARKET FACTORS: Navitas Semiconductor Inc said that Powerchip is to take over from TSMC as its supplier of high-voltage gallium nitride chips Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday in a statement said that it would phase out its compound semiconductor gallium nitride (GaN) business over the next two years, citing market dynamics. The decision would not affect its financial targets announced previously, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker said. “We are working closely with our customers to ensure a smooth transition and remain committed to meeting their needs during this period,” it said. “Our focus continues to be on delivering sustained value to our partners and the market.” TSMC’s latest move came unexpectedly, as the chipmaker had said in its annual report that it has
Gudeng Precision Industrial Co (家登精密), the sole extreme ultraviolet pod supplier to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), yesterday said it has trimmed its revenue growth target for this year as US tariffs are likely to depress customer demand and weigh on the whole supply chain. Gudeng’s remarks came after the US on Monday notified 14 countries, including Japan and South Korea, of new tariff rates that are set to take effect on Aug. 1. Taiwan is still negotiating for a rate lower than the 32 percent “reciprocal” tariffs announced by the US in April, which it later postponed to today. The
ELECTRONICS: Strong growth in cloud services and smart consumer electronics offset computing declines, helping the company to maintain sales momentum, Hon Hai said Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) on Saturday announced that its sales for last month rose 10 percent year-on-year, driven by strong growth in cloud and networking products amid the ongoing artificial intelligence (AI) boom. The company, also known internationally as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), reported consolidated sales of NT$540.24 billion (US$18.67 billion) for the month, the highest ever for the period, and a 10.09 percent increase from a year earlier, although it was down 12.26 percent from the previous month. Hon Hai, which is Apple Inc’s primary iPhone assembler and makes servers powered by Nvidia Corp’s AI accelerators, said its cloud
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