JAPAN
Exports fail to improve
Exports declined the most since 2009, with shipments down for a 10th consecutive month. The continued drop highlights the difficulty of stimulating growth and pulling the economy out of the doldrums. Overseas shipments fell 14 percent last month from a year earlier, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg indicated a 13.7 percent decline. Imports dropped 24.7 percent, leaving a trade surplus of ￥513.5 billion (US$5.1 billion). Exports to the US fell 11.8 percent from a year earlier, while those to the EU dropped 6.5 percent and shipments to China, Japan’s largest trading partner, fell 12.7 percent.
Philippines
Economy rapidly expanding
The economy grew 7 percent in the second quarter from the same period last year, the fastest quarterly growth in three years, officials said. Expansion in the services industry, investments and election-year spending boosted growth. The number brought first-half GDP growth to 6.9 percent from a year earlier. Last year, the economy grew 5.9 percent in the second quarter and 5.5 percent in the first six months. Secretary of Socio-economic Planning Ernesto Pernia yesterday said that the growth increases the probability of attaining the full-year target of 6 to 7 percent growth. The economy has grown by an annual average of 6.2 percent in the past six years.
FOOD
URC to buy Snack Brands
Philippine food giant Universal Robina Corp (URC) on Wednesday said it would buy Snack Brands Australia for US$460 million, the latest big deal in a global shopping spree by Philippine firms reflecting the nation’s economic rise. URC said it had sealed an agreement to buy the Australian company — maker of local brands including Kettles, Thins, CC’s and Cheezels — for A$600 million (US$460 million) as part of its ambitions to expand throughout the Asia-Pacific region. URC already has a large presence in Southeast Asian markets and in 2014 it bought 150-year-old New Zealand snack company Griffin’s for NZ$700 million (US$610 million).
FOOD and Beverage
Tax deferral sees Nestle dip
Swiss food and beverage giant Nestle SA said first-half profits dipped due to a one-time tax expense even as revenues edged up behind growth in its key North American food business and despite a slowdown in the Chinese market. The maker of Kit Kats, Lean Cuisine meals, Maggi noodles and Gerber baby foods said net profit came in at 4.10 billion Swiss francs (US$4.28 billion), down from SF4.52 billion a year earlier, due to a SF400 million deferred tax adjustment. Sales rose under 1 percent to SF43.16 billion.
TECHNOLOGY
Cisco announces job cuts
Cisco Systems said it would lay off 5,500 employees as the Internet gear maker scrambles to adapt to technology changes that have reduced demand for its main products. The shake-up announced on Wednesday means about 7 percent of Cisco’s roughly 74,000 workers are to lose their jobs beginning this summer. The company’s fiscal fourth-quarter results, also released on Wednesday, showed revenue increased by just 2 percent from last year to US$12.6 billion. Previous cost cutting helped boost Cisco’s profit 21 percent to US$2.8 billion, or US$0.56 per share.
FALLING BEHIND: Samsung shares have declined more than 20 percent this year, as the world’s largest chipmaker struggles in key markets and plays catch-up to rival SK Hynix Samsung Electronics Co is laying off workers in Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand as part of a plan to reduce its global headcount by thousands of jobs, sources familiar with the situation said. The layoffs could affect about 10 percent of its workforces in those markets, although the numbers for each subsidiary might vary, said one of the sources, who asked not to be named because the matter is private. Job cuts are planned for other overseas subsidiaries and could reach 10 percent in certain markets, the source said. The South Korean company has about 147,000 in staff overseas, more than half
TECH PARTNERSHIP: The deal with Arizona-based Amkor would provide TSMC with advanced packing and test capacities, a requirement to serve US customers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is collaborating with Amkor Technology Inc to provide local advanced packaging and test capacities in Arizona to address customer requirements for geographical flexibility in chip manufacturing. As part of the agreement, TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, would contract turnkey advanced packaging and test services from Amkor at their planned facility in Peoria, Arizona, a joint statement released yesterday said. TSMC would leverage these services to support its customers, particularly those using TSMC’s advanced wafer fabrication facilities in Phoenix, Arizona, it said. The companies would jointly define the specific packaging technologies, such as TSMC’s Integrated
An Indian factory producing iPhone components resumed work yesterday after a fire that halted production — the third blaze to disrupt Apple Inc’s local supply chain since the start of last year. Local industrial behemoth Tata Group’s plant in Tamil Nadu, which was shut down by the unexplained fire on Saturday, is a key linchpin of Apple’s nascent supply chain in the country. A spokesperson for subsidiary Tata Electronics Pvt yesterday said that the company would restart work in “many areas of the facility today.” “We’ve been working diligently since Saturday to support our team and to identify the cause of the fire,”
China’s economic planning agency yesterday outlined details of measures aimed at boosting the economy, but refrained from major spending initiatives. The piecemeal nature of the plans announced yesterday appeared to disappoint investors who were hoping for bolder moves, and the Shanghai Composite Index gave up a 10 percent initial gain as markets reopened after a weeklong holiday to end 4.59 percent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dived 9.41 percent. Chinese National Development and Reform Commission Chairman Zheng Shanjie (鄭珊潔) said the government would frontload 100 billion yuan (US$14.2 billion) in spending from the government’s budget for next year in addition
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