GERMANY
Consumer confidence rises
Consumer confidence in the nation is on the rise as households feel that robust domestic demand, rising wages and low inflation will keep Europe’s biggest economy on a growth path, a poll found yesterday. “In contrast to the weather, German consumer sentiment is showing itself from its sunny side,” market research company GfK said in a statement. “The favorable consumer climate is being driven mainly by the excellent domestic economic conditions, such as the high level of employment, very good income developments and the near absence of inflation,” it said. Looking to next month, GfK’s headline household confidence index was forecast to rise to 10.1 points from 9.8 points this month, the institute said.
RETAIL
Japan sales unchanged
Japan’s retail sales were unchanged last month, underscoring the challenge Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe faces in boosting consumer spending and reviving the economy. Sales were flat last month from the previous month, when they dropped, the trade ministry reported yesterday. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for no gain. Favorable factors included sales of machinery and equipment, while sectors including food and beverages were negative. Year-on-year sales fell 1.9 percent, compared with a forecast decline of 1.6 percent in the survey. The biggest contributor to the drop was fuels, reflecting declines in oil prices. Even as oil prices have risen recently the level is still lower compared with last year.
Vietnam
Economy slows in H1
Vietnam’s economy slowed in the first half, official figures showed yesterday, with a severe regional drought and a spate of fish deaths adding to losses caused by turmoil in global markets. GDP growth dropped to 5.52 percent in the first six months compared to 6.32 percent in the same period last year. The country grew at its fastest pace for five years last year thanks to strong exports and a flurry of foreign investment.
HOME RENTALS
Airbnb seeking funds
Airbnb is in talks to secure a new round of investment that would value the company at about US$30 billion, the New York Times reported yesterday. If it succeeds in securing the new funds, the short-term home rental company will have tripled its valuation in two years, the report said, citing anonymous sources. The report said that the San Francisco-based Airbnb plans to use the financing for additional growth, including plans to expand internationally. News reports earlier this month said Airbnb already has secured a US$1 billion debt facility.
AUSTRALIA
Vocus to buy networks
Vocus Communications Ltd agreed to buy one of the nation’s largest fiber networks and two sub-sea cable projects for about A$861 million (US$639.4 million) from Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board and CIMIC Group Ltd. Vocus is set to buy Nextgen Networks, the North West Cable System and the Australia Singapore Cable project for A$807 million and a deferred consideration of as much as A$54 million, the Sydney-based company said yesterday. The deal will give Vocus a fiber backhaul network that covers 17,000km and connects state capitals in the nation to remote and regional areas.
PERSISTENT RUMORS: Nvidia’s CEO said the firm is not in talks to sell AI chips to China, but he would welcome a change in US policy barring the activity Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said his company is not in discussions to sell its Blackwell artificial intelligence (AI) chips to Chinese firms, waving off speculation it is trying to engineer a return to the world’s largest semiconductor market. Huang, who arrived in Taiwan yesterday ahead of meetings with longtime partner Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), took the opportunity to clarify recent comments about the US-China AI race. The Nvidia head caused a stir in an interview this week with the Financial Times, in which he was quoted as saying “China will win” the AI race. Huang yesterday said
Japanese technology giant Softbank Group Corp said Tuesday it has sold its stake in Nvidia Corp, raising US$5.8 billion to pour into other investments. It also reported its profit nearly tripled in the first half of this fiscal year from a year earlier. Tokyo-based Softbank said it sold the stake in Silicon Vally-based Nvidia last month, a move that reflects its shift in focus to OpenAI, owner of the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot ChatGPT. Softbank reported its profit in the April-to-September period soared to about 2.5 trillion yen (about US$13 billion). Its sales for the six month period rose 7.7 percent year-on-year
Nissan Motor Co has agreed to sell its global headquarters in Yokohama for ￥97 billion (US$630 million) to a group sponsored by Taiwanese autoparts maker Minth Group (敏實集團), as the struggling automaker seeks to shore up its financial position. The acquisition is led by a special purchase company managed by KJR Management Ltd, a Japanese real-estate unit of private equity giant KKR & Co, people familiar with the matter said. KJR said it would act as asset manager together with Mizuho Real Estate Management Co. Nissan is undergoing a broad cost-cutting campaign by eliminating jobs and shuttering plants as it grapples
MORE WEIGHT: The national weighting was raised in one index while holding steady in two others, while several companies rose or fell in prominence MSCI Inc, a global index provider, has raised Taiwan’s weighting in one of its major indices and left the country’s weighting unchanged in two other indices after a regular index review. In a statement released on Thursday, MSCI said it has upgraded Taiwan’s weighting in the MSCI All-Country World Index by 0.02 percentage points to 2.25 percent, while maintaining the weighting in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, the most closely watched by foreign institutional investors, at 20.46 percent. Additionally, the index provider has left Taiwan’s weighting in the MSCI All-Country Asia ex-Japan Index unchanged at 23.15 percent. The latest index adjustments are to
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