SOUTH KOREA
Trade data slow
Trade data for early this month add to evidence that the US-China trade dispute and softening economic growth are taking a toll on global demand. Growth in exports and imports slowed sharply during the first 20 days of the month, preliminary data showed, with shipments to China, the nation’s largest trading partner, falling 14 percent, a second straight monthly drop. Semiconductor exports — a main driver of the nation’s growth — fell 9.8 percent. Overall exports rose 1 percent, the slowest rate since a decline in June. Imports rose 2.2 percent, the lowest in two years. Seoul expects economic growth this year and next year to be the slowest since 2012.
GERMANY
Consumers remain wary
Consumers remain in the mood to shop heading into next year, but concerns about external risks to the economy are mounting, a survey showed yesterday. Market research firm GfK said its forward-looking barometer stood at 10.4 points for next month, unchanged from this month, when morale dipped slightly on the previous month. The survey of about 2,000 people showed a mixed picture, as respondents were more optimistic about their income expectations, but their outlook for the economy fell to a near two-year low, GfK said.
INSURANCE
FTLife deal discussed
Chow Tai Fook (Holding) Ltd (周大福控股), a Hong Kong conglomerate known for its chain of jewelry shops across China, is in exclusive talks to buy FTLife Insurance Co (富通保險), people familiar with the matter said. Chinese investment firm JD Capital Co (九鼎投資), the insurer’s owner, and Chow Tai Fook are aiming to reach an agreement as soon as next week, the people said. A deal could value FTLife at close to US$3 billion, the people said. JD Capital bought Ageas SA’s Hong Kong life insurance unit in 2015 for US$1.38 billion and later rebranded it FTLife.
TOBACCO
Altria eyes Juul stake
US tobacco giant Altria Group Inc, maker of major brands such as Marlboro and Chesterfield, announced on Thursday that it would buy a 35 percent stake in popular e-cigarette maker Juul Labs Inc for US$12.8 billion. Altria has taken a US$14.6 billion loan facility to finance the Juul deal and a US$1.8 billion acquisition of a 45 percent stake in Canadian cannabis company Cronos Group announced earlier this month. The tobacco giant, which had revenue of US$25.6 billion last year, plans US$500 million to US$600 million in annual cost savings through job cuts and other measures.
AVIATION
Probe prompts Airbus slump
Airbus SE shares tumbled following a report that the US Department of Justice has officially started an investigation into the European planemaker in parallel with British and French bribery probes. The stock fell 4.4 percent, the biggest drop in two-and-a-half years. Le Monde reported that Airbus was informed at the end of the summer about the move by US authorities. The newspaper added, without saying where it got the information, that the company could face fines of several billion US dollars from the probes. “Airbus is cooperating with the US authorities in close coordination” with investigators in the UK and France, the company said in a statement.
TECH PARTNERSHIP: The deal with Arizona-based Amkor would provide TSMC with advanced packing and test capacities, a requirement to serve US customers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is collaborating with Amkor Technology Inc to provide local advanced packaging and test capacities in Arizona to address customer requirements for geographical flexibility in chip manufacturing. As part of the agreement, TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, would contract turnkey advanced packaging and test services from Amkor at their planned facility in Peoria, Arizona, a joint statement released yesterday said. TSMC would leverage these services to support its customers, particularly those using TSMC’s advanced wafer fabrication facilities in Phoenix, Arizona, it said. The companies would jointly define the specific packaging technologies, such as TSMC’s Integrated
An Indian factory producing iPhone components resumed work yesterday after a fire that halted production — the third blaze to disrupt Apple Inc’s local supply chain since the start of last year. Local industrial behemoth Tata Group’s plant in Tamil Nadu, which was shut down by the unexplained fire on Saturday, is a key linchpin of Apple’s nascent supply chain in the country. A spokesperson for subsidiary Tata Electronics Pvt yesterday said that the company would restart work in “many areas of the facility today.” “We’ve been working diligently since Saturday to support our team and to identify the cause of the fire,”
China’s economic planning agency yesterday outlined details of measures aimed at boosting the economy, but refrained from major spending initiatives. The piecemeal nature of the plans announced yesterday appeared to disappoint investors who were hoping for bolder moves, and the Shanghai Composite Index gave up a 10 percent initial gain as markets reopened after a weeklong holiday to end 4.59 percent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dived 9.41 percent. Chinese National Development and Reform Commission Chairman Zheng Shanjie (鄭珊潔) said the government would frontload 100 billion yuan (US$14.2 billion) in spending from the government’s budget for next year in addition
Sales RecORD: Hon Hai’s consolidated sales rose by about 20 percent last quarter, while Largan, another Apple supplier, saw quarterly sales increase by 17 percent IPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) on Saturday reported its highest-ever quarterly sales for the third quarter on the back of solid global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) globally, said it posted NT$1.85 trillion (US$57.93 billion) in consolidated sales in the July-to-September quarter, up 19.46 percent from the previous quarter and up 20.15 percent from a year earlier. The figure beat the previous third-quarter high of NT$1.74 trillion recorded in 2022, company data showed. Due to rising demand for AI, Hon Hai said its cloud and networking division enjoyed strong sales
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