PHILIPPINES
Fuel tax hike put on hold
The government on Sunday said it would suspend the implementation of a further increase in excise tax on fuel products, set to take effect in January next year, to stem rising inflation expectations. The Department of Finance expects foregone revenues of up to 40 billion pesos (US$740 million) a year from the suspension. The amount is part of the crucial funding for President Rodrigo Duterte’s US$180 billion “Build, Build, Build” program, which aims to upgrade the country’s infrastructure.
ENERGY
Cepsa listing postponed
Spanish oil company Cepsa SAU yesterday said it had postponed a market listing planned for Thursday, blaming global market conditions. The firm said in a statement that Abu Dhabi-based owner Mubadala Investment Co had “decided to desist” on a planned market listing, citing “the current state of international capital markets.” Madrid-based Cepsa’s activities are concentrated on refining and distribution in Spain, but it is also present in oil and gas exploration and production in Latin America and North Africa.
GERMANY
IPO upends wealth ranking
The country’s largest-ever listing of a family-owned business has reordered the country’s wealth rankings. Heinz Hermann Thiele is US$5.7 billion richer following last week’s initial public offering (IPO) of his largest asset, Knorr-Bremse AG, the world’s biggest maker of truck and train braking systems. The IPO makes him the country’s fourth-richest person, with a net worth of US$15 billion. Knorr-Bremse has expanded its global presence to more than 30 countries and posted sales of 6.2 billion euros (US$7 billion) last year.
TELECOMS
StarHub to share network
StarHub Ltd chief executive officer Peter Kaliaropoulos said the company, Singapore’s No. 2 telephone carrier, is looking to pare costs even further by sharing infrastructure, after announcing he would trim the company’s workforce by about 12 percent. The company might reach a commercial agreement on network sharing next year or earlier, Kaliaropoulos said in an interview on Thursday last week. Financial benefits could be seen by the end of next year, he said.
SINGAPORE
Home sales jump 51 percent
Private home sales in the city-state last month jumped 51 percent as developers marketed more projects after Ghost Month and as buyers moved past the additional cooling measures imposed in July. Developers in the city-state sold 932 units, the Urban Redevelopment Authority said in a statement yesterday. That compares with 617 units in August, the data show. Total apartments launched for sale last month more than doubled to 1,169.
UNITED STATES
Kudlow defends Trump
White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow defended his boss on Sunday, saying that President Donald Trump respects the Federal Reserve’s autonomy, despite last week’s remark that the Fed had “gone crazy” raising interest rates. Kudlow, speaking on Fox News Sunday, said that Trump was “giving his opinion” on interest rates based on his background “as a successful businessman and investor.” Trump is “not impinging on Fed independence. He didn’t say: ‘I want you to change your plan,’” Kudlow said.
STILL HOPEFUL: Delayed payment of NT$5.35 billion from an Indian server client sent its earnings plunging last year, but the firm expects a gradual pickup ahead Asustek Computer Inc (華碩), the world’s No. 5 PC vendor, yesterday reported an 87 percent slump in net profit for last year, dragged by a massive overdue payment from an Indian cloud service provider. The Indian customer has delayed payment totaling NT$5.35 billion (US$162.7 million), Asustek chief financial officer Nick Wu (吳長榮) told an online earnings conference. Asustek shipped servers to India between April and June last year. The customer told Asustek that it is launching multiple fundraising projects and expected to repay the debt in the short term, Wu said. The Indian customer accounted for less than 10 percent to Asustek’s
‘DECENT RESULTS’: The company said it is confident thanks to an improving world economy and uptakes in new wireless and AI technologies, despite US uncertainty Pegatron Corp (和碩) yesterday said it plans to build a new server manufacturing factory in the US this year to address US President Donald Trump’s new tariff policy. That would be the second server production base for Pegatron in addition to the existing facilities in Taoyuan, the iPhone assembler said. Servers are one of the new businesses Pegatron has explored in recent years to develop a more balanced product lineup. “We aim to provide our services from a location in the vicinity of our customers,” Pegatron president and chief executive officer Gary Cheng (鄭光治) told an online earnings conference yesterday. “We
LEAK SOURCE? There would be concern over the possibility of tech leaks if TSMC were to form a joint venture to operate Intel’s factories, an analyst said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday stayed mum after a report said that the chipmaker has pitched chip designers Nvidia Corp, Advanced Micro Devices Inc and Broadcom Inc about taking a stake in a joint venture to operate Intel Corp’s factories. Industry sources told the Central News Agency (CNA) that the possibility of TSMC proposing to operate Intel’s wafer fabs is low, as the Taiwanese chipmaker has always focused on its core business. There is also concern over possible technology leaks if TSMC were to form a joint venture to operate Intel’s factories, Concord Securities Co (康和證券) analyst Kerry Huang (黃志祺)
It was late morning and steam was rising from water tanks atop the colorful, but opaque-windowed, “soapland” sex parlors in a historic Tokyo red-light district. Walking through the narrow streets, camera in hand, was Beniko — a former sex worker who is trying to capture the spirit of the area once known as Yoshiwara through photography. “People often talk about this neighborhood having a ‘bad history,’” said Beniko, who goes by her nickname. “But the truth is that through the years people have lived here, made a life here, sometimes struggled to survive. I want to share that reality.” In its mid-17th to
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