BANKING
Bangladesh mulls Fed suit
Bangladesh’s central bank has hired a US lawyer for a potential lawsuit against the Federal Reserve Bank of New York after hackers stole US$81 million from its account with the US bank, while US Representative Carolyn Maloney called for a probe of last month’s cyberattack on Bangladesh Bank. The FBI is helping investigate the heist, which led to the ouster of Bangladesh’s central bank governor. Bangladesh Bank criticized the New York Fed in an internal report, saying the latter allowed five of 35 fraudulent payment instructions to go through.
PHILIPPINES
BSP maintains rates
The central bank left its benchmark interest rate unchanged for a 12th straight meeting, as an anticipated boost to the economy from a May election allows policymakers to resist joining a wave of monetary easing. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) kept the rate it pays lenders for overnight deposits at 4 percent, it said yesterday. BSP also held the rate on so-called special deposit accounts at 2.5 percent. The Philippine economy is forecast to expand 5.9 percent this year, helped by domestic consumption.
THAILAND
Thailand keeps key rate
The central bank kept its key interest rate unchanged for a seventh straight meeting as policymakers expect that the economy would soon start to see the benefit of stimulus measures introduced by the military government. The Bank of Thailand held its one-day bond repurchase rate at 1.5 percent, with committee members voting unanimously in favor, it said yesterday.
TECHNOLOGY
Oracle sues HP over OS
Oracle Corp accused Hewlett Packard (HP) Enterprise Co in a lawsuit of helping a partner company illegally sell software support for the Solaris operating system. Oracle claims HP Enterprise knew that Terix Computer Co was marketing its support services without authorization and was also aware that Oracle required customers who installed Solaris updates to pay for technical support, according to a complaint on Tuesday in federal court in San Jose, California. Oracle alleges copyright infringement and seeks a court order barring HP Enterprise from distributing its software code.
HEALTHCARE
Origin raises Affymetrix bid
Origin Technologies Corp increased its all-cash offer to buy Affymetrix Inc to US$17 a share, as it seeks to top an agreed deal between the medical technology company and Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. The new bid is 21 percent more than the US$1.3 billion that Thermo Fisher proposed in January, a statement from Origin Technologies on Tuesday said. Origin Technologies also upped the reverse termination fee — the amount it would pay if it pulled out of a deal — to US$100 million from US$75 million.
ENERGY
Enel net profit quadruples
Italian energy company Enel SpA on Tuesday said its net profit more than quadrupled to 2.2 billion euros (US$2.5 billion), although operating profit and sales both dipped. Despite the leap in net profit, the figure was still below the 2.9 billion euros expected by analysts surveyed by Factset Estimates. Sales slipped 0.2 percent to 75.7 billion euros and operating earnings as measured before taxes, depreciation and amortization slid 2.9 percent to 15.3 billion euros.
Three experts in the high technology industry have said that US President Donald Trump’s pledge to impose higher tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors is part of an effort to force Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to the negotiating table. In a speech to Republicans on Jan. 27, Trump said he intends to impose tariffs on Taiwan to bring chip production to the US. “The incentive is going to be they’re not going to want to pay a 25, 50 or even a 100 percent tax,” he said. Darson Chiu (邱達生), an economics professor at Taichung-based Tunghai University and director-general of
‘LEGACY CHIPS’: Chinese companies have dramatically increased mature chip production capacity, but the West’s drive for secure supply chains offers a lifeline for Taiwan When Powerchip Technology Corp (力晶科技) entered a deal with the eastern Chinese city of Hefei in 2015 to set up a new chip foundry, it hoped the move would help provide better access to the promising Chinese market. However, nine years later, that Chinese foundry, Nexchip Semiconductor Corp (合晶集成), has become one of its biggest rivals in the legacy chip space, leveraging steep discounts after Beijing’s localization call forced Powerchip to give up the once-lucrative business making integrated circuits for Chinese flat panels. Nexchip is among Chinese foundries quickly winning market share in the crucial US$56.3 billion industry of so-called legacy
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday held its first board of directors meeting in the US, at which it did not unveil any new US investments despite mounting tariff threats from US President Donald Trump. Trump has threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, prompting market speculation that TSMC might consider boosting its chip capacity in the US or ramping up production of advanced chips such as those using a 2-nanometer technology process at its Arizona fabs ahead of schedule. Speculation also swirled that the chipmaker might consider building its own advanced packaging capacity in the US as part
A move by US President Donald Trump to slap a 25 percent tariff on all steel imports is expected to place Taiwan-made steel, which already has a 25 percent tariff, on an equal footing, the Taiwan Steel & Iron Industries Association said yesterday. Speaking with CNA, association chairman Hwang Chien-chih (黃建智) said such an equal footing is expected to boost Taiwan’s competitive edge against other countries in the US market, describing the tariffs as "positive" for Taiwanese steel exporters. On Monday, Trump signed two executive orders imposing the new metal tariffs on imported steel and aluminum with no exceptions and exemptions, effective
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