TELECOMS
Vodaphone investors eye pact
Some of the biggest investors in Vodafone Group PLC say they are open to a European tie-up with Liberty Global PLC, as the British company is now in a stronger position to negotiate a deal with the cable group. Shares in the world’s second-largest mobile operator hit a 14-year high last week after Liberty Global chairman John Malone said a much-mooted union would be a “great fit” for his company. The positive reaction stands in contrast to previous occasions when talk of a deal sent shares in Vodafone tumbling on fears that it, as the suitor, would overpay in order to snare Liberty Global, Europe’s biggest cable operator. “There is a strategic rationale to the combination of the assets,” one top 10 shareholder in Vodafone told reporters on condition of anonymity. “And until last week, the market assumption had been that Vodafone was coming from a position of weakness. What has changed with John Malone’s comments is that the conversation between the two parties might actually be a more equal one.”
STOCK
Nikkei gains continue
The Nikkei 225 chalked up an 11th consecutive daily gain yesterday as the yen dropped to about a 12-year low against the US dollar, while Shanghai extended losses following the previous day’s hefty plunge. The euro continues to face downside pressure over concerns that Greece and its creditors would not reach an agreement on reforming its bailout, with the head of the IMF warning the crisis could end with the country leaving the eurozone. Tokyo pared most of its early losses, but ended marginally higher, adding 11.69 points to end at 20,563.15. The index is now enjoying its best rally since February 1988 at the height of its stock market bubble.
INTERNET
US mulls subsidies
The US’ top telecom regulator on Thursday unveiled plans to subsidize high-speed Internet for low-income households, saying the service was essential for people trying to better themselves. US Federal Communications chairman Tom Wheeler proposed the plan to overhaul the Lifeline program, which provides low-cost telephone services, to include online access as well. “Broadband access is essential to find a job — more than 80 percent of Fortune 500 job openings are online,” Wheeler said in a blog post. However, Wheeler said nearly 30 percent of US citizens, mostly low-income households, still lack broadband access.
INVESTMENTS
Japan Post alters strategy
Japan Post Holdings, the world’s biggest holder of Japanese government bonds (JGB) after the Bank of Japan, said yesterday that it plans to significantly alter its investment strategy as the state-owned group revamps its US$2.4 trillion portfolio. Japan Post president Taizo Nishimuro told a regular news conference that he met with Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda last week and told him that “we will greatly change how we manage the investment of JGBs.” Japan Post owns a bank and an insurance company, and their combined investment portfolio is worth about ￥300 trillion (US$2.4 trillion). That makes the group one of the largest institutional investors in the world. Traditionally, its investment strategy has been conservative, with the low-yielding government bonds making up more than half of its portfolio. The move will likely see a bulk shift of money from the bonds to riskier, but higher-return assets like stocks and foreign bonds.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said its materials management head, Vanessa Lee (李文如), had tendered her resignation for personal reasons. The personnel adjustment takes effect tomorrow, TSMC said in a statement. The latest development came one month after Lee reportedly took leave from the middle of last month. Cliff Hou (侯永清), senior vice president and deputy cochief operating officer, is to concurrently take on the role of head of the materials management division, which has been under his supervision, TSMC said. Lee, who joined TSMC in 2022, was appointed senior director of materials management and
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
MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR: Revenue from AI servers made up more than 50 percent of Wistron’s total server revenue in the second quarter, the company said Wistron Corp (緯創) on Tuesday reported a 135.6 percent year-on-year surge in revenue for last month, driven by strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers, with the momentum expected to extend into the third quarter. Revenue last month reached NT$209.18 billion (US$7.2 billion), a record high for June, bringing second-quarter revenue to NT$551.29 billion, a 129.47 percent annual increase, the company said. Revenue in the first half of the year totaled NT$897.77 billion, up 87.36 percent from a year earlier and also a record high for the period, it said. The company remains cautiously optimistic about AI server shipments in the third quarter,
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Thursday met with US President Donald Trump at the White House, days before a planned trip to China by the head of the world’s most valuable chipmaker, people familiar with the matter said. Details of what the two men discussed were not immediately available, and the people familiar with the meeting declined to elaborate on the agenda. Spokespeople for the White House had no immediate comment. Nvidia declined to comment. Nvidia’s CEO has been vocal about the need for US companies to access the world’s largest semiconductor market and is a frequent visitor to China.
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