The World Bank on Tuesday said it had increased to US$14 billion the amount of fast-track financing available to members to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, adding US$2 billion to an initial package announced on March 3.
The change would give the World Bank’s International Financing Corp (IFC) a total of US$8 billion to support private companies and their employees hurt by the economic effects of the virus, the bank said.
It said that the bulk of the funding would be used by client financial institutions so they could continue to offer trade financing, working capital and medium-term financing to private firms struggling with disruptions in supply chains.
IFC said the funding would also help existing clients in tourism, manufacturing and other heavily affected sectors pay their bills, while aiding the healthcare industry as it races to meet surging demand for services, equipment and drugs.
World Bank president David Malpass said the bank was committed to providing a fast and flexible response based on the needs of developing countries.
“It’s essential that we shorten the time to recovery,” Malpass said. “Support operations are already underway, and the expanded funding tools approved today will help sustain economies, companies and jobs.”
IFC chief executive officer Philippe Le Houerou said that the institution’s goal was to help clients sustain their operations during the current health emergency phase so they could help economies recover more quickly later.
The Bank said that the boards of directors of the World Bank and the IFC on Tuesday responded to requests from clients and approved the addition of US$2 billion in new funding on top of US$6 billion made available through other IFC instruments.
The new component offers funding from the IFC’s Global Trade Liquidity Program and its Critical Commodities Finance Program, both of which provide support to local banks so they can continue to finance companies in emerging markets.
IFC is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets and works with 2,000 businesses worldwide. Last year, it delivered more than US$19 billion in long-term financing for developing countries.
SEMICONDUCTORS: The German laser and plasma generator company will expand its local services as its specialized offerings support Taiwan’s semiconductor industries Trumpf SE + Co KG, a global leader in supplying laser technology and plasma generators used in chip production, is expanding its investments in Taiwan in an effort to deeply integrate into the global semiconductor supply chain in the pursuit of growth. The company, headquartered in Ditzingen, Germany, has invested significantly in a newly inaugurated regional technical center for plasma generators in Taoyuan, its latest expansion in Taiwan after being engaged in various industries for more than 25 years. The center, the first of its kind Trumpf built outside Germany, aims to serve customers from Taiwan, Japan, Southeast Asia and South Korea,
POWERING UP: PSUs for AI servers made up about 50% of Delta’s total server PSU revenue during the first three quarters of last year, the company said Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) reported record-high revenue of NT$161.61 billion (US$5.11 billion) for last quarter and said it remains positive about this quarter. Last quarter’s figure was up 7.6 percent from the previous quarter and 41.51 percent higher than a year earlier, and largely in line with Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co’s (元大投顧) forecast of NT$160 billion. Delta’s annual revenue last year rose 31.76 percent year-on-year to NT$554.89 billion, also a record high for the company. Its strong performance reflected continued demand for high-performance power solutions and advanced liquid-cooling products used in artificial intelligence (AI) data centers,
Gasoline and diesel prices at domestic fuel stations are to fall NT$0.2 per liter this week, down for a second consecutive week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) announced yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to drop to NT$26.4, NT$27.9 and NT$29.9 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said in separate statements. The price of premium diesel is to fall to NT$24.8 per liter at CPC stations and NT$24.6 at Formosa pumps, they said. The price adjustments came even as international crude oil prices rose last week, as traders
SIZE MATTERS: TSMC started phasing out 8-inch wafer production last year, while Samsung is more aggressively retiring 8-inch capacity, TrendForce said Chipmakers are expected to raise prices of 8-inch wafers by up to 20 percent this year on concern over supply constraints as major contract chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co gradually retire less advanced wafer capacity, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. It is the first significant across-the-board price hike since a global semiconductor correction in 2023, the Taipei-based market researcher said in a report. Global 8-inch wafer capacity slid 0.3 percent year-on-year last year, although 8-inch wafer prices still hovered at relatively stable levels throughout the year, TrendForce said. The downward trend is expected to continue this year,
RSS