US TREASURIES
China bond holdings drop
China’s holdings of US government debt declined in November last year for a third straight month, reaching the lowest level since January 2013, as Japan’s jumped to a record. China, the largest foreign holder of US Treasuries, had US$1.25 trillion as of November last, US$2.3 billion less than a month earlier, according to US Department of the Treasury data released on Friday in Washington. Japan, the second-biggest, moved to within US$8.9 billion of China’s lead, increasing its ownership by US$19.1 billion to US$1.24 trillion.
RUSSIA
Moody’s cuts bonds rating
Moody’s Investors Service has cut its rating on Russian government bonds one step closer to “junk” status, as the country’s economy worsens under the twin pressures of Western sanctions and declining oil prices. The ruble has lost about half its value against the US dollar since early last year. Moody’s on Friday lowered the rating one notch to “Baa3,” the lowest investment-grade level. The firm says it’s reviewing whether to lower the rating further.
GREECE
Fitch lowers credit outlook
Rating firm Fitch on Friday lowered Greece’s credit outlook to negative from stable, citing rising political uncertainty, but kept the country’s credit rating unchanged at “B,” indicating highly speculative. “The current period of political uncertainty has increased the risks to Greece’s creditworthiness as official financing, and any potential reopening of market access, could be delayed for some months. Early elections to be held on Jan. 25 have made the direction of Greek policymaking more uncertain,” Fitch said in a statement.
PHARMACEUTICALS
Novartis to close plant
Novartis AG is closing its manufacturing plant in Puerto Rico as part of a major overhaul of its business. The Switzerland-based company said in a statement on Friday that the shutdown of its Humacao plant will conclude in early 2019. About 270 employees will be laid off. Novartis says it will transfer some manufacturing and packaging operations to companies including Eli Lilly & Co. Some operations will be transferred to Novartis’ manufacturing plant in Lincoln, Nebraska.
AVIATION
Singapore Air cuts off pilots
Singapore Airlines Ltd said on Friday it will no longer rehire captains beyond the normal retirement age of 62, in fresh cost-cutting measures as competition from rivals hits profits. Previously, pilots with the rank of captain were allowed to fly beyond 62 under a re-employment contract renewable each year until the age of 64. First officers have not been offered re-employment beyond age 62 since January 2013.
TELECOMS
Arroyo set to lead Iusacell
AT&T said on Friday it had appointed company veteran F. Thaddeus Arroyo as the chief executive of Iusacell, Mexico’s No. 3 wireless carrier, which it recently bought. Arroyo, who the company said has been with AT&T for 19 years, was previously president of the technology department and before that served as chief information officer. AT&T agreed to buy Mexico’s Iusacell for US$1.7 billion in November last year.
TARIFF TRADE-OFF: Machinery exports to China dropped after Beijing ended its tariff reductions in June, while potential new tariffs fueled ‘front-loaded’ orders to the US The nation’s machinery exports to the US amounted to US$7.19 billion last year, surpassing the US$6.86 billion to China to become the largest export destination for the local machinery industry, the Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry (TAMI, 台灣機械公會) said in a report on Jan. 10. It came as some manufacturers brought forward or “front-loaded” US-bound shipments as required by customers ahead of potential tariffs imposed by the new US administration, the association said. During his campaign, US president-elect Donald Trump threatened tariffs of as high as 60 percent on Chinese goods and 10 percent to 20 percent on imports from other countries.
Taiwanese manufacturers have a chance to play a key role in the humanoid robot supply chain, Tongtai Machine and Tool Co (東台精機) chairman Yen Jui-hsiung (嚴瑞雄) said yesterday. That is because Taiwanese companies are capable of making key parts needed for humanoid robots to move, such as harmonic drives and planetary gearboxes, Yen said. This ability to produce these key elements could help Taiwanese manufacturers “become part of the US supply chain,” he added. Yen made the remarks a day after Nvidia Corp cofounder and chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said his company and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) are jointly
United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電) expects its addressable market to grow by a low single-digit percentage this year, lower than the overall foundry industry’s 15 percent expansion and the global semiconductor industry’s 10 percent growth, the contract chipmaker said yesterday after reporting the worst profit in four-and-a-half years in the fourth quarter of last year. Growth would be fueled by demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers, a moderate recovery in consumer electronics and an increase in semiconductor content, UMC said. “UMC’s goal is to outgrow our addressable market while maintaining our structural profitability,” UMC copresident Jason Wang (王石) told an online earnings
MARKET SHIFTS: Exports to the US soared more than 120 percent to almost one quarter, while ASEAN has steadily increased to 18.5 percent on rising tech sales The proportion of Taiwan’s exports directed to China, including Hong Kong, declined by more than 12 percentage points last year compared with its peak in 2020, the Ministry of Finance said on Thursday last week. The decrease reflects the ongoing restructuring of global supply chains, driven by escalating trade tensions between Beijing and Washington. Data compiled by the ministry showed China and Hong Kong accounted for 31.7 percent of Taiwan’s total outbound sales last year, a drop of 12.2 percentage points from a high of 43.9 percent in 2020. In addition to increasing trade conflicts between China and the US, the ministry said
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