SOFTWARE
KKR courts MYOB Group
KKR & Co offered to buy MYOB Group Ltd in a deal valuing the Australian business management software company at A$2.2 billion (US$1.6 billion). The US buyout firm offered A$3.70 a share in cash for the rest of MYOB, 24 percent more than Friday’s closing price, the Australian company, which simplifies accounting, payroll and inventory, said in a statement yesterday. MYOB’s board is assessing KKR’s offer and shareholders do not need to take any action, the company said.
BANKING
Schroders, Lloyds in talks
Schroders PLC and Lloyds Banking Group PLC said they are in talks to work closely on the wealth management business as the fund manager vies to win a separate, coveted ￡109 billion (US$143 billion) mandate from the British lender. “Discussions are ongoing and there can be no certainty that these discussions will lead to any formal arrangement,” Schroders said referring to the wealth talks. Lloyds also confirmed the negotiations in a separate statement.
CHINA
FX reserves down on tensions
Foreign-currency holdings fell last month, as heightened trade tensions with the US fueled concerns of capital outflow and further yuan depreciation. Reserves declined by US$22.69 billion to US$3.087 trillion, the People’s Bank of China said on Sunday. That compares with US$3.110 trillion the previous month and the median estimate of US$3.105 trillion in a Bloomberg survey of economists. The small drop in reserves was due to changes in the value of foreign currencies and asset prices, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said in a statement.
GERMANY
Industrial production slips
Industrial production slipped again in August, official data showed yesterday, amid fears that a global trade war could erupt. Production for August declined 0.3 percent from July, well under the expectation of a rebound of 0.15 percent forecasted by analysts surveyed by Factset financial services. However, the fall was less severe than in July, when industrial production dropped 1.3 percent.
AVIATION
Government to shield ADP
France would block any moves by a foreign power to gain control of ADP, the airports company, whose possible privatization has been approved by the government, Minister of Finance Bruno Le Maire said on Sunday. Earlier this month, the lower house of parliament approved plans for the possible privatization of ADP, lottery operator Francaise des Jeux and for a reduction of France’s stake in utility Engie SA. The privatization proposals form part of a broader strategy to raise cash to boost the economy and finance technological innovations in the country.
SUDAN
Local currency devalued
The country on Sunday slashed the official value of its currency against the US dollar by more than half, the third devaluation this year in the face of a mounting economic crisis. The move came just weeks after President Omar al-Bashir replaced the government over its failure to curb economic woes including soaring food prices. The central bank pegged the Sudanese pound at 47.5 against the US dollar. Previously, the official rate was 28 to the US dollar, while the currency had fallen to 45.50 on the black market last week.
POWERING UP: PSUs for AI servers made up about 50% of Delta’s total server PSU revenue during the first three quarters of last year, the company said Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) reported record-high revenue of NT$161.61 billion (US$5.11 billion) for last quarter and said it remains positive about this quarter. Last quarter’s figure was up 7.6 percent from the previous quarter and 41.51 percent higher than a year earlier, and largely in line with Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co’s (元大投顧) forecast of NT$160 billion. Delta’s annual revenue last year rose 31.76 percent year-on-year to NT$554.89 billion, also a record high for the company. Its strong performance reflected continued demand for high-performance power solutions and advanced liquid-cooling products used in artificial intelligence (AI) data centers,
SIZE MATTERS: TSMC started phasing out 8-inch wafer production last year, while Samsung is more aggressively retiring 8-inch capacity, TrendForce said Chipmakers are expected to raise prices of 8-inch wafers by up to 20 percent this year on concern over supply constraints as major contract chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co gradually retire less advanced wafer capacity, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. It is the first significant across-the-board price hike since a global semiconductor correction in 2023, the Taipei-based market researcher said in a report. Global 8-inch wafer capacity slid 0.3 percent year-on-year last year, although 8-inch wafer prices still hovered at relatively stable levels throughout the year, TrendForce said. The downward trend is expected to continue this year,
Vincent Wei led fellow Singaporean farmers around an empty Malaysian plot, laying out plans for a greenhouse and rows of leafy vegetables. What he pitched was not just space for crops, but a lifeline for growers struggling to make ends meet in a city-state with high prices and little vacant land. The future agriculture hub is part of a joint special economic zone launched last year by the two neighbors, expected to cost US$123 million and produce 10,000 tonnes of fresh produce annually. It is attracting Singaporean farmers with promises of cheaper land, labor and energy just over the border.
A proposed billionaires’ tax in California has ignited a political uproar in Silicon Valley, with tech titans threatening to leave the state while California Governor Gavin Newsom of the Democratic Party maneuvers to defeat a levy that he fears would lead to an exodus of wealth. A technology mecca, California has more billionaires than any other US state — a few hundred, by some estimates. About half its personal income tax revenue, a financial backbone in the nearly US$350 billion budget, comes from the top 1 percent of earners. A large healthcare union is attempting to place a proposal before
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