TRADE
US trade gap broadens
The US trade gap broadened in September as US companies increased their imports of semiconductors, aircraft and petroleum products, the US Department of Commerce reported on Friday. The September trade gap rose 1.7 percent to US$43.5 billion, in line with analyst expectations. So far this year, the US trade deficit is up 9.3 percent over the same period last year. The US deficit with China was under US$30 billion, while the deficit with Germany expanded US$1.1 billion to US$5.9 billion for the latest month.
E-COMMERCE
Alibaba starts Malaysian hub
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (阿里巴巴) on Friday launched an electronic trading hub in Malaysia aimed at helping small and medium-sized businesses, a first for the Chinese Internet giant outside its home country. The hub, part of a “digital free trade zone” near Kuala Lumpur International Airport, went live during a ceremony attended by Alibaba founder Jack Ma (馬雲) and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.
TRADE
Vietnam seeks to amend TPP
Vietnam is hoping that leaders of the remaining 11 member countries of a Pacific Rim trade pact, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), might be able to discuss during next week’s regional summit a revised deal following the US’ withdrawal. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son on Friday said that he hoped talks held in Japan last week would narrow differences enough to allow trade ministers and leaders to endorse an amended TPP agreement during the Asia Economic Cooperation forum.
INVESTMENT
Berkshire profit falls 43%
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc on Friday said its third-quarter profit fell 43 percent because of a US$1.4 billion insurance underwriting loss from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria and earthquakes in Mexico. The Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate owns Geico and several other insurers, including General Reinsurance. Berkshire said it earned US$4.07 billion, or about US$1.65 per Class B share.
BANKING
Societe Generale profit slips
French bank Societe Generale SA on Friday said that ultra-low interest rates and falling market activity hit its earnings in the third quarter. France’s third-largest bank said in a statement that net profit declined by 15.2 percent to 932 million euros (US$1.1 billion) in the period from July to September, far short of analysts’ expectations. Nevertheless, Societe Generale insisted that it was in fundamentally good shape.
COFFEE
Nestle acquires Chameleon
Nestle SA is still thirsty for craft coffee. The Swiss food and beverage giant agreed to purchase Chameleon Cold-Brew, bolstering its portfolio of premium java in the US. Austin, Texas-based Chameleon leads the nation’s organic cold-brew coffee market, a segment that has grown significantly as more consumers choose to take their caffeine fix cold. The deal marks Nestle’s second investment in premium US coffee in three months — it agreed to pay US$425 million for a 68 percent stake in Oakland, California-based Blue Bottle Coffee in September.
SEMICONDUCTORS: The German laser and plasma generator company will expand its local services as its specialized offerings support Taiwan’s semiconductor industries Trumpf SE + Co KG, a global leader in supplying laser technology and plasma generators used in chip production, is expanding its investments in Taiwan in an effort to deeply integrate into the global semiconductor supply chain in the pursuit of growth. The company, headquartered in Ditzingen, Germany, has invested significantly in a newly inaugurated regional technical center for plasma generators in Taoyuan, its latest expansion in Taiwan after being engaged in various industries for more than 25 years. The center, the first of its kind Trumpf built outside Germany, aims to serve customers from Taiwan, Japan, Southeast Asia and South Korea,
Gasoline and diesel prices at domestic fuel stations are to fall NT$0.2 per liter this week, down for a second consecutive week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) announced yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to drop to NT$26.4, NT$27.9 and NT$29.9 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said in separate statements. The price of premium diesel is to fall to NT$24.8 per liter at CPC stations and NT$24.6 at Formosa pumps, they said. The price adjustments came even as international crude oil prices rose last week, as traders
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which supplies advanced chips to Nvidia Corp and Apple Inc, yesterday reported NT$1.046 trillion (US$33.1 billion) in revenue for last quarter, driven by constantly strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) chips, falling in the upper end of its forecast. Based on TSMC’s financial guidance, revenue would expand about 22 percent sequentially to the range from US$32.2 billion to US$33.4 billion during the final quarter of 2024, it told investors in October last year. Last year in total, revenue jumped 31.61 percent to NT$3.81 trillion, compared with NT$2.89 trillion generated in the year before, according to
PRECEDENTED TIMES: In news that surely does not shock, AI and tech exports drove a banner for exports last year as Taiwan’s economic growth experienced a flood tide Taiwan’s exports delivered a blockbuster finish to last year with last month’s shipments rising at the second-highest pace on record as demand for artificial intelligence (AI) hardware and advanced computing remained strong, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. Exports surged 43.4 percent from a year earlier to US$62.48 billion last month, extending growth to 26 consecutive months. Imports climbed 14.9 percent to US$43.04 billion, the second-highest monthly level historically, resulting in a trade surplus of US$19.43 billion — more than double that of the year before. Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) described the performance as “surprisingly outstanding,” forecasting export growth
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