INDIA
IMF warns over economy
The government must take steps quickly to reverse the economic slowdown of an economy that has been one of the engines of global growth, the IMF said on Monday. Declining consumption and investment, and falling tax revenue, have combined with other factors to put the brakes on one of the fastest growing economies in the world, the IMF said in its annual review.
THAILAND
Inflation target narrowed
The central bank plans to narrow its inflation target from next year as consumer-price growth remains subdued in the Southeast Asian nation. Its new goal is to keep annual headline inflation within a range of 1 to 3 percent compared with 1 to 4 percent previously, Narumon Pinyosinwat, a government spokeswoman, said yesterday after a cabinet meeting in which the change was approved. The new midpoint of the target is 2 percent, down from 2.5 percent before. The medium-term goal would be flexible to provide economic stability, Narumon said.
MEDIA
Mogul sued over CBS merger
Media mogul Shari Redstone and other Viacom Inc directors have been accused by a pension fund of selling out the entertainment company’s shareholders by ramming through an US$11.7 billion merger with CBS Corp. Redstone, who also is CBS’ controlling shareholder, and her colleagues on Viacom’s board “expropriated potentially billions of dollars from Viacom’s minority stockholders” by agreeing to a deal that was unfavorable to investors, lawyers for the fund said in an unsealed Delaware Chancery Court suit on Monday.
AUTOMAKERS
Start-up raises US$2.85bn
Rivian Automotive Inc, the electric-truck start-up already backed by Amazon.com Inc and Ford Motor Co, raised another US$1.3 billion from investors led by T. Rowe Price to support the rollout of its debut vehicles next year. The funds generated from Rivian’s fourth major investment this year boosts the total raised to US$2.85 billion. The Plymouth, Michigan-based manufacturer said that Amazon, Ford and funds managed by BlackRock Inc also participated in the round.
TECHNOLOGY
Apple, Google remove ToTok
A popular mobile application developed in the United Arab Emirates has been removed from both Apple Inc’s and Google’s online marketplaces following a report it was used for widespread government spying. The moves come after the New York Times on Saturday reported that the app ToTok allowed the United Arab Emirates government to track the conversations, movements, and other details of people who installed it on their phone.
JAPAN
Postal share sale on hold
The government is considering holding off on its plan to sell about US$10 billion worth of shares in Japan Post Holdings Co through this fiscal year following scandals involving its insurance unit, people familiar with the situation said. Concern over corporate governance and the tumbling stock price have made it difficult to sell the third and final tranche of the shares, the people said. The timing of share sales for next fiscal year onward is also still unclear, they said. Japan’s financial regulator is considering penalties against the postal group after reports of misconduct in selling insurance policies.
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
Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) suffered its biggest stock decline in more than a month after the company unveiled new artificial intelligence (AI) chips, but did not provide hoped-for information on customers or financial performance. The stock slid 4 percent to US$164.18 on Thursday, the biggest single-day drop since Sept. 3. Shares of the company remain up 11 percent this year. AMD has emerged as the biggest contender to Nvidia Corp in the lucrative market of AI processors. The company’s latest chips would exceed some capabilities of its rival, AMD chief executive officer Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) said at an event hosted by
AVIATION: Despite production issues in the US, the Taoyuan-based airline expects to receive 24 passenger planes on schedule, while one freight plane is delayed The ongoing strike at Boeing Co has had only a minor impact on China Airlines Ltd (CAL, 中華航空), although the delivery of a new cargo jet might be postponed, CAL chairman Hsieh Su-chien (謝世謙) said on Saturday. The 24 Boeing 787-9 passenger aircraft on order would be delivered on schedule from next year to 2028, while one 777F freight aircraft would be delayed, Hsieh told reporters at a company event. Boeing, which announced a decision on Friday to cut 17,000 jobs — about one-tenth of its workforce — is facing a strike by 33,000 US west coast workers that has halted production
TECH JUGGERNAUT: TSMC shares have more than doubled since ChatGPT’s launch in late 2022, as demand for cutting-edge artificial intelligence chips remains high Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday posted a better-than-expected 39 percent rise in quarterly revenue, assuaging concerns that artificial intelligence (AI) hardware spending is beginning to taper off. The main chipmaker for Nvidia Corp and Apple Inc reported third-quarter sales of NT$759.69 billion (US$23.6 billion), compared with the average analyst projection of NT$748 billion. For last month alone, TSMC reported revenue jumped 39.6 percent year-on-year to NT$251.87 billion. Taiwan’s largest company is to disclose its full third-quarter earnings on Thursday next week and update its outlook. Hsinchu-based TSMC produces the cutting-edge chips needed to train AI. The company now makes more
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