CHINA
Factory prices surge
Factory prices kept surging last month as authorities curb production in smokestack industries to combat pollution. The producer price index rose 6.9 percent from a year earlier, versus a projected 6.6 percent rise in a Bloomberg survey and matching September’s pace. The National Bureau of Statistics of China yesterday said that consumer price index climbed 1.9 percent, from 1.6 percent in September and also slightly beating Bloomberg’s forecast of 1.8 percent.
MALAYSIA
Interest rates on hold
The central bank left interest rates unchanged and said it might consider the degree of monetary accommodation as economic growth gains momentum. Its overnight policy rate was held at 3 percent, Bank Negara Malaysia said in a statement yesterday. The Monetary Policy Committee said that the assessment is for growth to remain strong next year, with domestic demand the key source. Headline inflation is projected to moderate next year, it said.
INDUSTRY
Siemens beats its forecast
Industrial behemoth Siemens AG reported a leap in profits in its 2016 to 2017 financial year, meeting its own forecasts as the group continues a long-term restructuring. Net profits at the group, whose products range from wind turbines to trains to medical equipment, grew to 6 billion euros (US$7 billion), up 11 percent compared with the previous year. Operating profit grew 12 percent year-on-year, to 8.3 billion euros, while revenues added 4.3 percent to top 83 billion euros.
APPAREL
Adidas profits surge on shoes
Adidas AG yesterday reported a jump in third-quarter profits, lifted by strong demand for its own-brand trainers and apparel in China and North America. The German company said net profit soared to 526 million euros between July and September, up 36 percent on the same period last year. Group revenues grew by nearly 9 percent to 5.7 billion euros, driven by online sales and the success of its retro-inspired Originals trainers and its Neo urban fashion line.
ELECTRONICS
Toshiba logs losses
Toshiba Corp yesterday said it logged a net loss of US$436 million for the fiscal first half of the year, as it moves to complete the multibillion dollar sale of its chip business to restore its balance sheet. The Tokyo-based firm said the loss was mainly due to the tax impact associated with a controversial deal to sell the chip unit to a consortium led by Bain Capital LP. Sales over the six-month period came in at ￥2.39 trillion (US$21.1 million), a 5.1 percent rise from a year ago, while operating profit rose to a record ￥231.8 billion, more than double the same period last year.
MERGERS
EU probe steel giant bid
EU anti-trust authorities have opened an investigation into global steel giant ArcelorMittal SA’s bid to buy struggling Italian steel producer Ilva, officials said on Wednesday. The 1.8 billion euros deal would see ArcelorMittal join forces with Italy’s Marcegaglia SpA to snap up the heavily indebted company, which employs 14,000 people. The commission now has until March 23 next year to decide on whether competition rules would be violated and approve or reject the proposed merger.
Real estate agent and property developer JSL Construction & Development Co (愛山林) led the average compensation rankings among companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) last year, while contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) finished 14th. JSL Construction paid its employees total average compensation of NT$4.78 million (US$159,701), down 13.5 percent from a year earlier, but still ahead of the most profitable listed tech giants, including TSMC, TWSE data showed. Last year, the average compensation (which includes salary, overtime, bonuses and allowances) paid by TSMC rose 21.6 percent to reach about NT$3.33 million, lifting its ranking by 10 notches
Popular vape brands such as Geek Bar might get more expensive in the US — if you can find them at all. Shipments of vapes from China to the US ground to a near halt last month from a year ago, official data showed, hit by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and a crackdown on unauthorized e-cigarettes in the world’s biggest market for smoking alternatives. That includes Geek Bar, a brand of flavored vapes that is not authorized to sell in the US, but which had been widely available due to porous import controls. One retailer, who asked not to be named, because
SEASONAL WEAKNESS: The combined revenue of the top 10 foundries fell 5.4%, but rush orders and China’s subsidies partially offset slowing demand Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) further solidified its dominance in the global wafer foundry business in the first quarter of this year, remaining far ahead of its closest rival, Samsung Electronics Co, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. TSMC posted US$25.52 billion in sales in the January-to-March period, down 5 percent from the previous quarter, but its market share rose from 67.1 percent the previous quarter to 67.6 percent, TrendForce said in a report. While smartphone-related wafer shipments declined in the first quarter due to seasonal factors, solid demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) devices and urgent TV-related orders
MINERAL DIPLOMACY: The Chinese commerce ministry said it approved applications for the export of rare earths in a move that could help ease US-China trade tensions Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰) is today to meet a US delegation for talks in the UK, Beijing announced on Saturday amid a fragile truce in the trade dispute between the two powers. He is to visit the UK from yesterday to Friday at the invitation of the British government, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. He and US representatives are to cochair the first meeting of the US-China economic and trade consultation mechanism, it said. US President Donald Trump on Friday announced that a new round of trade talks with China would start in London beginning today,
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