CHINA
Tech proposal examined
Beijing is evaluating the potential effects from a US proposal to increase control over technology exports and is to take steps to uphold the legitimate interests of companies, a Ministry of Commerce spokesman said yesterday. On Monday, the US government proposed stepping up scrutiny over technology exports in 14 key high-tech areas, including artificial intelligence and microprocessor technology. A 30-day public consultation period on the proposal is under way and is to end on Dec. 19.
JAPAN
Inflation stays flat
Inflation stood at 1 percent last month, unchanged from the previous month, according to government data published yesterday, as the world’s third-largest economy continues its years-long struggle with deflation. The price rise was in line with market consensus, but still only halfway to the Bank of Japan’s 2 percent target. With fresh food and energy stripped out, prices rose by even less — just 0.4 percent year-on-year last month.
UNITED STATES
Factory orders fall
Orders to factories for big-ticket manufactured goods fell by the largest amount in 15 months, with a key category that tracks business investment showing weakness for the third consecutive month. The Department of Commerce on Wednesday said that orders for durable goods dropped 4.4 percent last month. The drop last month was led by a huge decline in the volatile areas of commercial and military aircraft.
FURNITURE
IKEA to cut jobs
Swedish furniture giant IKEA on Wednesday said it plans to cut 7,500 jobs worldwide by 2020, mainly office jobs, as it reorganizes to focus its business on e-commerce and smaller shops in city centers. The job cuts affect almost 5 percent of staff at Ingka Holding BV, IKEA’s parent group. IKEA is its biggest brand with 367 stores in 30 countries and 160,000 employees. The decision to cut jobs was “based on how to lead a more simple, effective and efficient” business, it said.
TRADE
WTO to hear complaints
The WTO on Wednesday agreed to hear complaints from a range of countries over new US steel and aluminium tariffs, as well as complaints from Washington over retaliatory duties. The WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body agreed to establish panels to review US President Donald Trump’s decision to hit a long line of countries with tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminium. The body is to create separate panels to hear the complaints, which have been laid by the EU, China, Canada, Mexico, Norway, Russia and Turkey.
SOUTH SUDAN
Oil investment sought
The nation is making its first big foreign investment pitch since declaring an end to civil war, but the oil-rich nation faces hesitation from some companies that want to make sure the fragile new peace deal holds. The country is eager to make up for US$4 billion in lost revenue caused by the five-year conflict. The minister of petroleum and mining said that more than 400 international and local companies are attending this week’s Africa Oil & Power Conference in the capital, Juba. That is up from 300 who attended the initial conference last year.
PERSISTENT RUMORS: Nvidia’s CEO said the firm is not in talks to sell AI chips to China, but he would welcome a change in US policy barring the activity Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said his company is not in discussions to sell its Blackwell artificial intelligence (AI) chips to Chinese firms, waving off speculation it is trying to engineer a return to the world’s largest semiconductor market. Huang, who arrived in Taiwan yesterday ahead of meetings with longtime partner Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), took the opportunity to clarify recent comments about the US-China AI race. The Nvidia head caused a stir in an interview this week with the Financial Times, in which he was quoted as saying “China will win” the AI race. Huang yesterday said
Nissan Motor Co has agreed to sell its global headquarters in Yokohama for ￥97 billion (US$630 million) to a group sponsored by Taiwanese autoparts maker Minth Group (敏實集團), as the struggling automaker seeks to shore up its financial position. The acquisition is led by a special purchase company managed by KJR Management Ltd, a Japanese real-estate unit of private equity giant KKR & Co, people familiar with the matter said. KJR said it would act as asset manager together with Mizuho Real Estate Management Co. Nissan is undergoing a broad cost-cutting campaign by eliminating jobs and shuttering plants as it grapples
The Chinese government has issued guidance requiring new data center projects that have received any state funds to only use domestically made artificial intelligence (AI) chips, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. In recent weeks, Chinese regulatory authorities have ordered such data centers that are less than 30 percent complete to remove all installed foreign chips, or cancel plans to purchase them, while projects in a more advanced stage would be decided on a case-by-case basis, the sources said. The move could represent one of China’s most aggressive steps yet to eliminate foreign technology from its critical infrastructure amid a
MORE WEIGHT: The national weighting was raised in one index while holding steady in two others, while several companies rose or fell in prominence MSCI Inc, a global index provider, has raised Taiwan’s weighting in one of its major indices and left the country’s weighting unchanged in two other indices after a regular index review. In a statement released on Thursday, MSCI said it has upgraded Taiwan’s weighting in the MSCI All-Country World Index by 0.02 percentage points to 2.25 percent, while maintaining the weighting in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, the most closely watched by foreign institutional investors, at 20.46 percent. Additionally, the index provider has left Taiwan’s weighting in the MSCI All-Country Asia ex-Japan Index unchanged at 23.15 percent. The latest index adjustments are to
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