China expanded efforts to steady the currency markets, with the central bank adding verbal support to the exchange rate after a week that saw it slip past a key level against the US dollar.
The People’s Bank of China will work hard to keep the yuan stable against a basket of currencies, Deputy Governor Chen Yulu (陳雨露) yesterday said at a conference in Beijing, adding that the authority will improve the policy framework for the yuan’s offshore market and cross-border services.
Chen’s comments come after the People’s Bank of China fueled speculation that it was defending a level of 6.7 per US dollar by strengthening its daily reference rate even as a gauge of the greenback rose.
This spurred speculation that the central bank is not sticking to its stated policy of following the direction of the market, which would have resulted in weaker fixings.
The signs of intervention come amid increasing pressure on the currency, with Goldman Sachs Group Inc saying that the yuan’s declines affected sentiment and resulted in a significant pickup in outflows last month.
The threat of capital flight unsettling financial markets is complicating China’s strategy of steadily weakening the yuan to combat a drop in exports as it looks to support growth in the world’s second-largest economy.
The yuan advanced 0.9 percent, the most since October last year, against a 13-currency trade-weighted basket in the five days through Friday. The currency traded onshore posted its first weekly advance against the US dollar since early last month, recovering earlier losses after dropping beyond 6.7 against the US dollar for the first time since 2010.
Chen addressed issues for the bond market as well, saying that the monetary authority will orderly push forward with the opening of financial markets, supporting quality issuers overseas to sell yuan bonds onshore and local issuers to sell yuan notes offshore.
He added that the nation will push forward with the second phase of the China International Payment System — a mechanism providing clearing and settlement services that was started in October last year — and enhance international monetary and financial-policy cooperation and coordination.
China should coordinate capital-account opening with exchange-rate reforms and have a comprehensive monitoring of capital flows, according to a yuan internationalization report yesterday released by the Renmin University of China and Bank of Communications Co.
Chen was speaking at the release of the report.
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
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.
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,
Hypermarket chain Carrefour Taiwan and upscale supermarket chain Mia C’bon on Saturday announced the suspension of their partnership with Jkopay Co (街口支付), one of Taiwan’s largest digital payment providers, amid a lawsuit involving its parent company. Carrefour and Mia C’bon said they would notify customers once Jkopay services are reinstated. The two retailers joined an array of other firms in suspending their partnerships with Jkopay. On Friday night, popular beverage chain TP Tea (茶湯會) also suspended its use of the platform, urging customers to opt for alternative payment methods. Another drinks brand, Guiji (龜記), on Friday said that it is up to individual
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