RETAIL
Protests hit Best Mart sales
Snacks chain Best Mart 360 Holdings Ltd (優品360) has seen revenue drop by double digits as its stores came under attack by pro-democracy protests that have gripped Hong Kong. More than 70 of its 102 stores have been vandalized in more than 180 instances, chairman Lin Tsz-fung (林子峰) said in an interview on Monday with Bloomberg TV. The company has been targeted because some protesters believe Lin has ties to pro-Beijing gangs from Fujian Province, which he denies.
BONDS
Japan mulls 50-year bonds
Japanese policymakers are considering a 50-year government bond issue as a long-term means of putting a floor under super-long interest rates, sources said. Selling such bonds would allow the government to lock in cheap long-term funding and give yield-starved investors higher returns. It could also offer the Bank of Japan a new tool for its “yield-curve control” policy by helping prevent excessive declines in super-long bond yields. There are no immediate plans to issue such bonds in Japan, a Ministry of Finance official said.
AVIATION
EasyJet adds A320neos
British budget carrier EasyJet PLC is to buy 12 more A320neos it previously had options to purchase, Airbus SE said yesterday, the third day of the biennial Dubai Airshow. That would push EasyJet’s total order for the single-aisle plane to 159, Airbus said. The list price of the A320neo was US$110.6 million last year, making the order for 12 worth about US$1.3 billion, but airlines typically negotiate better prices.
BANKING
Julius Baer unveils buyback
Julius Baer Group Ltd announced its first share buyback in eight years even as inflows slowed as clients pulled money from a struggling Italian subsidiary. The Swiss private bank presented investors with a mixed bag for the first 10 months of the year, announcing a 400 million Swiss franc (US$404 million) buyback, while also saying it would book a writedown on Italy-based wealth manager Kairos. Outflows at Kairos would lead to a charge of 90 million euros (US$100 million), the bank said.
VIETNAM
Central bank cuts rates
Effective yesterday, the State Bank of Vietnam cut its interest-rate cap for dong deposits and ordered lenders to lower interest rates to support key business sectors. The limit on interest rates was cut to 5 percent from 5.5 percent for dong deposits with maturities of one month to less than six months, the central bank said in a statement on Monday. The regulator also ordered banks to lower the maximum dong lending rate for short-term loans to 6 percent from 6.5 percent, the statement said.
BATTERIES
Tesla to boost capacity
The world’s biggest lithium-ion battery is about to get even bigger, with Tesla Inc set to beef up capacity at the Hornsdale site in South Australia. The system is to be expanded by 50 percent to 150 megawatts, according to an announcement from Neoen SA, the French company that operates the site. The storage site has already saved consumers more than A$50 million (US$34 million) in its first year of operation. Neoen has also outlined plans to build a giant renewables complex in South Australia.
The Eurovision Song Contest has seen a surge in punter interest at the bookmakers, becoming a major betting event, experts said ahead of last night’s giant glamfest in Basel. “Eurovision has quietly become one of the biggest betting events of the year,” said Tomi Huttunen, senior manager of the Online Computer Finland (OCS) betting and casino platform. Betting sites have long been used to gauge which way voters might be leaning ahead of the world’s biggest televised live music event. However, bookmakers highlight a huge increase in engagement in recent years — and this year in particular. “We’ve already passed 2023’s total activity and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) today announced that his company has selected "Beitou Shilin" in Taipei for its new Taiwan office, called Nvidia Constellation, putting an end to months of speculation. Industry sources have said that the tech giant has been eyeing the Beitou Shilin Science Park as the site of its new overseas headquarters, and speculated that the new headquarters would be built on two plots of land designated as "T17" and "T18," which span 3.89 hectares in the park. "I think it's time for us to reveal one of the largest products we've ever built," Huang said near the
China yesterday announced anti-dumping duties as high as 74.9 percent on imports of polyoxymethylene (POM) copolymers, a type of engineering plastic, from Taiwan, the US, the EU and Japan. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce’s findings conclude a probe launched in May last year, shortly after the US sharply increased tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, computer chips and other imports. POM copolymers can partially replace metals such as copper and zinc, and have various applications, including in auto parts, electronics and medical equipment, the Chinese ministry has said. In January, it said initial investigations had determined that dumping was taking place, and implemented preliminary
Intel Corp yesterday reinforced its determination to strengthen its partnerships with Taiwan’s ecosystem partners including original-electronic-manufacturing (OEM) companies such as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) and chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電). “Tonight marks a new beginning. We renew our new partnership with Taiwan ecosystem,” Intel new chief executive officer Tan Lip-bu (陳立武) said at a dinner with representatives from the company’s local partners, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the US chip giant’s presence in Taiwan. Tan took the reins at Intel six weeks ago aiming to reform the chipmaker and revive its past glory. This is the first time Tan
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