ECONOMY
M1B, M2 results released
Annual growth of the M1B money supply increased last month, but the M2 money supply dropped, mainly due to continued net foreign capital outflows, the central bank said yesterday. M1B, a narrow measure of the amount of money in circulation, last month rose 5.86 percent from a year earlier, while the broader M2 monetary measurement — which includes M1B, time deposits, foreign currency deposits and mutual funds — increased 6.01 percent, the bank said in its monthly report. That compares with annual growth rates of M1B and M2 at 5.66 percent and 6.06 percent respectively in July. For the first eight months, the average annual growth rates of M1B and M2 were 5.83 percent and 6.36 percent respectively, the central bank said.
MANUFACTURERS
AVY expects share sale profit
AVY Precision Technology Inc (應華精密) yesterday said it would gain NT$173.08 million (US$5.2 million) in profits by selling all the shares it owns in a local metal casing maker as part of the company’s efforts to boost its working capital. AVY Precision Technology plans to sell 1.63 million common shares of Casetek Holdings Ltd (鎧勝) for NT$290 million, or NT$149 per share, AVY said in a filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange. The share sale is expected to contribute NT$1.74 to the company’s earnings per share, AVY said. The company in March sold 970,000 Casetek shares with a gain of NT$137.86 million.
BANKING
Loan service unveiled
In a bid to participate in the push toward the digitization of financial services — known as “bank 3.0” — Citibank Taiwan Ltd (台灣花旗) yesterday unveiled a new Web-based service that is able to complete approval of credit loans of up to NT$2 million in about one hour. The bank said that its service is the fastest in the industry, with competitors taking from one to five days. The loan application can be conducted across all major computing platforms, including smartphones, in less than five minutes and its processing fee of NT$5,999 is among the most attractive in the industry, Citibank said.
BIOTECHNOLOGY
TCI inks Japanese deal
TCI Co Ltd (大江生醫), which manufactures dietary supplements, functional beverages and skincare products, yesterday reached a strategic cooperative agreement with Japan’s Chori Co to jointly develop the biotechnological raw materials market in Japan. The Osaka-based Chori operates textiles, chemicals and machinery businesses. In the first eight months, TCI reported a revenue increase of 39.87 percent from a year earlier to NT$1.27 billion. Its net income was NT$97.35 million, or NT$162 per share, in the first half, up from NT$23.95 million, or NT$0.44 per share, the previous year.
SKINCARE
Chlitina approves bonds
Chlitina Holding Ltd (麗豐), a China-based skincare product vendor, yesterday said its board approved a plan to issue unsecured corporate bonds worth NT$900 million, with the company planning to use the proceeds to purchase office buildings, develop e-commerce and online-to-offline platforms, and construct new logistics centers. Chlitina’s revenue rose 20 percent quarter-on-quarter to NT$992 million last quarter, thanks to higher-than-expected royalty income. With contributions from physical and online stores, revenue for this quarter is expected to rise above 10 percent from last quarter, analysts forecast.
DIVIDED VIEWS: Although the Fed agreed on holding rates steady, some officials see no rate cuts for this year, while 10 policymakers foresee two or more cuts There are a lot of unknowns about the outlook for the economy and interest rates, but US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled at least one thing seems certain: Higher prices are coming. Fed policymakers voted unanimously to hold interest rates steady at a range of 4.25 percent to 4.50 percent for a fourth straight meeting on Wednesday, as they await clarity on whether tariffs would leave a one-time or more lasting mark on inflation. Powell said it is still unclear how much of the bill would fall on the shoulders of consumers, but he expects to learn more about tariffs
NOT JUSTIFIED: The bank’s governor said there would only be a rate cut if inflation falls below 1.5% and economic conditions deteriorate, which have not been detected The central bank yesterday kept its key interest rates unchanged for a fifth consecutive quarter, aligning with market expectations, while slightly lowering its inflation outlook amid signs of cooling price pressures. The move came after the US Federal Reserve held rates steady overnight, despite pressure from US President Donald Trump to cut borrowing costs. Central bank board members unanimously voted to maintain the discount rate at 2 percent, the secured loan rate at 2.375 percent and the overnight lending rate at 4.25 percent. “We consider the policy decision appropriate, although it suggests tightening leaning after factoring in slackening inflation and stable GDP growth,”
Meta Platforms Inc offered US$100 million bonuses to OpenAI employees in an unsuccessful bid to poach the ChatGPT maker’s talent and strengthen its own generative artificial intelligence (AI) teams, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has said. Facebook’s parent company — a competitor of OpenAI — also offered “giant” annual salaries exceeding US$100 million to OpenAI staffers, Altman said in an interview on the Uncapped with Jack Altman podcast released on Tuesday. “It is crazy,” Sam Altman told his brother Jack in the interview. “I’m really happy that at least so far none of our best people have decided to take them
As they zigzagged from one machine to another in the searing African sun, the workers were covered in black soot. However, the charcoal they were making is known as “green,” and backers hope it can save impoverished Chad from rampant deforestation. Chad, a vast, landlocked country of 19 million people perched at the crossroads of north and central Africa, is steadily turning to desert. It has lost more than 90 percent of its forest cover since the 1970s, hit by climate change and overexploitation of trees for household uses such as cooking, officials say. “Green charcoal” aims to protect what
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