UNITED KINGDOM
Tax paves way for surplus
The UK last month posted a surplus as the government’s tax take was boosted by the first payments under a surcharge on banks introduced last year. Government income exceeded spending by £977 million (US$1.28 billion), compared with £1.17 billion a year earlier, the Office for National Statistics said yesterday. Receipts rose 3.4 percent, while spending was up 1.3 percent. Income was boosted by an 8.4 percent jump in corporation tax to £7.5 billion. Half of the increase was due to the Bank Corporation Tax surcharge of 8 percent.
TOURISM
Mauritius raises forecast
Mauritius yesterday said that tourism revenue this year will be 1.8 percent higher than it had previously forecast, after a surge in visitors during the first half. Earnings from the sector are now expected to reach 56 billion Mauritian rupees (US$1.6 billion) this year, up from an earlier forecast of 55 billion rupees in May, according to Statistics Mauritius. Last year, tourism earnings totaled 50.2 billion rupees. The statistics agency also raised its forecast for this year’s arrivals from 1.24 million tourists to 1.25 million. Visitors numbered 1,151,723 last year. In the first half of this year, Mauritius attracted 586,464 tourists, up 9.9 percent from a year earlier.
AIRLINES
Thai eyes new planes
Thai Airways International PCL plans to add routes and buy new, more fuel-efficient aircraft to replace aging jets, president Charamporn Jotikasthira said in an interview in Bangkok on Wednesday. The airline, which last ordered planes in 2011, is drawing up a 10-year plan through 2027 that will include the aircraft purchases to help boost passenger growth, he said. Thai Airways still has 14 new aircraft due to be delivered through 2018 and the carrier has 94 planes in operation. Cost cuts and a decline in oil prices helped Thai Airways return to profit in the first half and have fueled a 191 percent surge in the company’s shares this year. The stock slumped 37 percent last year.
MOTORCYCLES
Harley settles suit with US
US motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson on Thursday entered a US$15 million settlement with US authorities, who accused the company of making and selling illegal devices that increased air pollution from its bikes. The company agreed to buy back and cease selling so-called “super tuners,” which improved performance, but increased hydrocarbon and nitrogen oxide emissions. The company has produced and sold about 340,000 of the devices, which are prohibited according to the US Clean Air Act, the US Department of Justice said. Last year, the company sold about 265,000 motorcycles worldwide and 168,000 in the US.
BANKING
Fired official refuses reward
A former Deutsche Bank AG risk officer said he was refusing an US$8.25 million reward from the Securities and Exchange Commission for blowing the whistle on the lender overvaluing a derivatives portfolio, because of his concern that the commission did not go after senior executives. The US$55 million fine that Deutsche Bank paid in a settlement announced by the commission in May last year had penalized shareholders, while top executives retired with their multimillion dollar bonuses intact, Eric Ben-Artzi wrote in a Financial Times column published yesterday. Ben-Artzi sued Deutsche Bank for wrongful dismissal in 2012.
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
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
Sales RecORD: Hon Hai’s consolidated sales rose by about 20 percent last quarter, while Largan, another Apple supplier, saw quarterly sales increase by 17 percent IPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) on Saturday reported its highest-ever quarterly sales for the third quarter on the back of solid global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) globally, said it posted NT$1.85 trillion (US$57.93 billion) in consolidated sales in the July-to-September quarter, up 19.46 percent from the previous quarter and up 20.15 percent from a year earlier. The figure beat the previous third-quarter high of NT$1.74 trillion recorded in 2022, company data showed. Due to rising demand for AI, Hon Hai said its cloud and networking division enjoyed strong sales
Protectionism: US trade chief Katherine Tai said the hikes would help to counter unfair trade practices from China, while boosting domestic clean energy investments US Trade Representative Katherine Tai (戴琪) defended stiff tariff hikes against countries such as China, saying that paired with investment, they were a “legitimate and constructive” tool for reinvigorating domestic industries. Tai’s comments come a week after sharp tariff increases on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), EV batteries and solar cells took effect — with levies down the line on other products also recently finalized. The latest moves targeting US$18 billion in Chinese goods come weeks before next month’s US presidential election, with Democrats and Republicans pushing a hard line on China as competition between Washington and Beijing intensifies. In an interview on Thursday