JAPAN
China imports fall by half
Imports from China almost halved last month from a year earlier, as the nation logged the steepest fall since 1986 as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted trade, official data showed yesterday. Last month’s imports from China, Japan’s biggest trade partner along with the US, fell 47.1 percent to ￥673.4 billion (US$6.27 billion) while exports slipped 0.4 percent to ￥1.14 trillion. In trade with the rest of the world, Japan posted an overall surplus of ￥1.11 trillion, more than a three-fold jump from a year earlier and the first black-ink figure in four months.
NORWAY
Central bank to buy more
The central bank is to increase its daily purchase of Norwegian kroner to 1.6 billion (US$151.68 million) per day from 500 million kroner earlier, selling foreign currency to secure funds for government spending, it said yesterday. “The effects of the coronavirus outbreak on the Norwegian economy and the measures implemented to limit the consequences of the outbreak entail an increase in government spending and a decline in government revenues,” Norges Bank said.
STOCK EXCHANGES
Italy bans short selling
Italy’s market regulator banned short selling for three months as it attempts to curb volatility amid a sell-off caused by the coronavirus pandemic. France and Belgium imposed similar prohibitions for a month each. The Italian ban started yesterday and applies to all stocks, a statement from the regulator said. France’s AMF said its ban would last 30 days, while Belgium’s FSMA said its decision would be in force until April 17. Greece’s securities regulator also banned short-selling on the Athens Stock Exchange effective from yesterday until April 24.
RETAIL
Adidas closes stores
German sportswear maker Adidas AG on Tuesday joined rivals in announcing store closures in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Adidas and Reebok-owned stores in Europe, North America and Canada are to close temporarily, the company said in an e-mailed statement. Stores would be closed from yesterday to March 29 in Europe. In the US and Canada they would be closed from Tuesday to March 29.
RETAIL
Laura Ashley talks collapse
Long-struggling clothing and household goods retailer Laura Ashley Holdings PLC on Tuesday collapsed into near bankruptcy as refinancing talks failed on coronavirus turmoil, risking 2,700 jobs. The British company said that “increased uncertainty” arising from the COVID-19 outbreak meant it was unable to secure necessary funds from stakeholders. Laura Ashley said it had hired advisers from financial services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers to oversee administration. Despite some poor trading, the retailer said it had experienced rising sales in recent weeks.
BANKING
HSBC names CEO
Asia-focused banking giant HSBC Holdings PLC on Tuesday appointed Noel Quinn as its chief executive, ending months of speculation as the COVID-19 crisis hits banks hard. Quinn had been serving as interim CEO and has already launched a broad restructuring plan for the troubled bank. He took over as acting CEO after John Flint’s ousting in August last year, and was tasked with transforming the sprawling international bank, which spans more than 50 countries, but makes the vast majority of its profit in Asia.
Japanese technology giant Softbank Group Corp said Tuesday it has sold its stake in Nvidia Corp, raising US$5.8 billion to pour into other investments. It also reported its profit nearly tripled in the first half of this fiscal year from a year earlier. Tokyo-based Softbank said it sold the stake in Silicon Vally-based Nvidia last month, a move that reflects its shift in focus to OpenAI, owner of the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot ChatGPT. Softbank reported its profit in the April-to-September period soared to about 2.5 trillion yen (about US$13 billion). Its sales for the six month period rose 7.7 percent year-on-year
CRESTING WAVE: Companies are still buying in, but the shivers in the market could be the first signs that the AI wave has peaked and the collapse is upon the world Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday reported a new monthly record of NT$367.47 billion (US$11.85 billion) in consolidated sales for last month thanks to global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications. Last month’s figure represented 16.9 percent annual growth, the slowest pace since February last year. On a monthly basis, sales rose 11 percent. Cumulative sales in the first 10 months of the year grew 33.8 percent year-on-year to NT$3.13 trillion, a record for the same period in the company’s history. However, the slowing growth in monthly sales last month highlights uncertainty over the sustainability of the AI boom even as
AI BOOST: Next year, the cloud and networking product business is expected to remain a key revenue pillar for the company, Hon Hai chairman Young Liu said Manufacturing giant Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday posted its best third-quarter profit in the company’s history, backed by strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers. Net profit expanded 17 percent annually to NT$57.67 billion (US$1.86 billion) from NT$44.36 billion, the company said. On a quarterly basis, net profit soared 30 percent from NT$44.36 billion, it said. Hon Hai, which is Apple Inc’s primary iPhone assembler and makes servers powered by Nvidia Corp’s AI accelerators, said earnings per share expanded to NT$4.15 from NT$3.55 a year earlier and NT$3.19 in the second quarter. Gross margin improved to 6.35 percent,
BUST FEARS: While a KMT legislator asked if an AI bubble could affect Taiwan, the DGBAS minister said the sector appears on track to continue growing The local property market has cooled down moderately following a series of credit control measures designed to contain speculation, the central bank said yesterday, while remaining tight-lipped about potential rule relaxations. Lawmakers in a meeting of the legislature’s Finance Committee voiced concerns to central bank officials that the credit control measures have adversely affected the government’s tax income and small and medium-sized property developers, with limited positive effects. Housing prices have been climbing since 2016, even when the central bank imposed its first set of control measures in 2020, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lo Ting-wei (羅廷瑋) said. “Since the second half of
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