UNITED STATES
Trump content with trade
President Donald Trump on Sunday said that he was “very happy” with the trade situation with China and that Beijing would not become the world’s top superpower under his watch. “We’re taking in billions of dollars,” Trump told Fox News Channel’s Steve Hilton when asked about the end game on the trade dispute. “China is obviously not doing well like us.” Trump’s comments signal that he is in no rush to get back to negotiating with Beijing after talks to end the trade conflict fell apart earlier this month.
REAL ESTATE
Foxtons warns sales low
London-focused real-estate agent Foxtons Group PLC aid yesterday said that the property market had seen record low sales volumes in the first quarter, hurting revenue as ongoing Brexit uncertainty hurt consumer confidence. The warning came months after one of Britain’s best-known property names scrapped its dividend for last year and reported a fall in core earnings, hurt by weaker sales and higher costs in a tough market. Foxtons’ group revenue dipped to ￡23.8 million (US$30.3 million) for the quarter ended March 31, compared with ￡24.5 million a year earlier.
HOTELS
Centricus acquires resort
Centricus has acquired Capri Palace Hotel & Spa as it makes a foray into the high-end hotel and resorts sector. Centricus, a London-based investment firm that oversees more than US$23 billion in assets, has purchased all of the resort in Anacapri, a small town in the northwest of Capri Island off the Italian coast, a statement seen by Bloomberg said. It features 68 guest rooms and is home to Capri’s only two Michelin-starred restaurants.
BANKING
Goldman to test rules
Goldman Sachs Group Inc is to test Saudi Arabia’s new market rules that aim to limit price swings after share sales. The US bank is acting as stabilization agent for mall owner Arabian Centres, which is expected to start trading this week after completing the kingdom’s biggest initial public offering since 2015. Arabian Centres raised about 2.47 billion riyals (US$659 million) after pricing shares at the bottom end of the range.
FINANCIERS
Reliance protests rating
Reliance Capital Ltd, Anil Ambani’s financial services company, protested against a three-step downgrade by Care Ratings that put its credit score two notches above “junk.” Care Ratings cut the firm’s long-term debt program to “BBB” from “A” and kept it on credit watch with developing implications, according to statements from Reliance Capital and the ratings company on Saturday. Reliance Capital said that Care did not fully factor in the effect of its plan to raise more than 100 billion rupees (US$1.42 billion) via asset sales.
CHINA
Yuan stability to be upheld
The central bank is to maintain basic stability of the yuan exchange rate within a reasonable and balanced range, according to comments posted on its Web site on Sunday. People’s Bank of China Deputy Governor Pan Gongsheng (潘功勝) said in an interview that the central bank was confident in its ability to maintain stable operation of the nation’s foreign-exchange market. The bank would also make the necessary counter-cyclical adjustments and strengthen macro-prudential management, Pan said.
Hypermarket chain Carrefour Taiwan and upscale supermarket chain Mia C’bon on Saturday announced the suspension of their partnership with Jkopay Co (街口支付), one of Taiwan’s largest digital payment providers, amid a lawsuit involving its parent company. Carrefour and Mia C’bon said they would notify customers once Jkopay services are reinstated. The two retailers joined an array of other firms in suspending their partnerships with Jkopay. On Friday night, popular beverage chain TP Tea (茶湯會) also suspended its use of the platform, urging customers to opt for alternative payment methods. Another drinks brand, Guiji (龜記), on Friday said that it is up to individual
READY TO BUY: Shortly after Nvidia announced the approval, Chinese firms scrambled to order the H20 GPUs, which the company must send to the US government for approval Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) late on Monday said the technology giant has won approval from US President Donald Trump’s administration to sell its advanced H20 graphics processing units (GPUs) used to develop artificial intelligence (AI) to China. The news came in a company blog post late on Monday and Huang also spoke about the coup on China’s state-run China Global Television Network in remarks shown on X. “The US government has assured Nvidia that licenses will be granted, and Nvidia hopes to start deliveries soon,” the post said. “Today, I’m announcing that the US government has approved for us
The National Stabilization Fund (NSF, 國安基金) is to continue supporting local shares, as uncertainties in international politics and the economy could affect Taiwanese industries’ global deployment and corporate profits, as well as affect stock movement and investor confidence, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement yesterday. The NT$500 billion (US$17.1 billion) fund would remain active in the stock market as the US’ tariff measures have not yet been fully finalized, which would drive international capital flows and global supply chain restructuring, the ministry said after the a meeting of the fund’s steering committee. Along with ongoing geopolitical risks and an unfavorable
MATCHING NEIGHBORS: Taiwan lacks leverage with the US and ‘we should not be optimistic until details are confirmed,’ the Third Wednesday Club’s Lin Por-fong said Taiwan must secure tariff terms from the US that are on par with those granted to key export rivals such as Japan and South Korea or risk ceding competitiveness in global markets, a leading industrialist said yesterday, as concerns mount over trade barriers and currency volatility. Lin Por-fong (林伯豐), chairman of Taiwan Glass Industry Corp (台灣玻璃) and head of the Third Wednesday Club (三三會) — an exclusive body for Taiwan’s top 100 business leaders — said that Taiwan cannot afford to be optimistic ahead of Washington’s release of “reciprocal” tariff rates. “Taiwan lacks bargaining leverage with the US and we should not
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