MACROECONOMICS
No new stimulus from BOJ
The Bank of Japan (BOJ) yesterday held off announcing any fresh measures to stimulate the economy, offering the upbeat view that it was “recovering moderately” while efforts to stoke inflation were taking hold. The decision comes despite a sharp slowdown in July-to-September growth that raised concerns about the strength of recovery in the world’s third-largest economy and fueled speculation that the BOJ would expand its asset-purchasing scheme. “Japan’s economy has been recovering moderately,” the BOJ said in a statement, adding that “inflation expectations appear to be rising on the whole.”
TRADE
Brazil says WTO compliant
Brazil on Thursday denied EU charges it engages in protectionism and said it would show its trade programs conform to WTO rules. The EU took Brazil to the WTO on Thursday, complaining it was using taxes to discriminate against imports and illegally help its exporters. The European Commission cited a 2011 case in which Brazil imposed a 30 percent tax increase on imported vehicles. The tax was due to expire at the end of last year, but was extended in amended form for five further years.
MACROECONOMICS
Germany to borrow less
The German government says it will borrow less money than planned this year, as low unemployment fuels a steady increase in tax income. Current plans call for new borrowing this year of 25.1 billion euros (US$34.3 billion). In its monthly report yesterday, the finance ministry said it now “appears assured” that the government will not need to borrow all of that. Tax revenue last month was up 3.9 percent from a year earlier at 39.48 billion euros. For the first 11 months, it rose 3.3 percent to nearly 495 billion euros.
ENERGY
S Africa halts exploration
South Africa has suspended oil and gas exploration off the east coast following a complaint over the impact of underwater sound pollution on sea life, an official said on Thursday. The government-run Petroleum Agency of South Africa halted seismic surveys along a pristine stretch of coast pending discussions between global oil firms and an environmentalist who blew the whistle on the out-of-season tests.
TELECOMS
Telstra selling CSL stake
Australia’s Telstra Corp yesterday said it was selling its Hong Kong mobile phone business to billionaire Richard Li’s (李澤楷) telecom company in a deal worth US$2.4 billion. Telstra said it would earn about A$2 billion (US$1.8 billion) from selling its 76.4 percent stake in CSL to Li’s HKT Ltd, which is also buying the other 23.6 percent from another company, New World Development. The deal allows Li’s company, which already owns a separate mobile operator, to beef up its presence in the territory’s saturated mobile market. It also lets Telstra make a profitable exit ahead of a shakeup by Hong Kong’s telecommunications regulator aimed at boosting competition.
SPORTING GOODS
Nike Q2 beats estimates
Nike Inc, the world’s largest sporting-goods company, posted second-quarter profit that topped analysts’ estimates as higher-priced shoes boosted sales. Net income in the three months through November rose 40 percent to US$537 million, or US$0.59 a share, from US$384 million, or US$0.42, a year earlier, the company said in a statement. Profit excluding some items was US$0.59 a share.
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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