GERMANY
Industrial output rises
Industrial production increased for the third consecutive month in July, but the gain was relatively modest following bigger advances in the immediate aftermath of this spring’s shutdowns, official data showed yesterday. Production rose 1.2 percent compared with the previous month, the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy said. That followed gains of 7.4 percent in May and 9.3 percent in June, as activity in Europe’s biggest economy recovered from big drops in March and April. The ministry said that production has returned to nearly 90 percent of its level in last year’s fourth quarter, before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
REAL ESTATE
UK house prices up
UK house prices rose last month, as buyers rushed to take advantage of a post-lockdown tax cut from the government. Average house prices rose 1.6 percent from July to an average of ￡245,747 (US$324,147), mortgage lender Halifax said yesterday. From a year earlier, prices gained 5.2 percent, the strongest since 2016. Despite the housing market’s emergence from the COVID-19 doldrums, the outlook remains uncertain, as the economic hit continues to take hold and joblessness is expected to surge.
NETHERLANDS
Dutch to invest 20bn euros
The nation is set to invest billions of euros in its economy, carrying out a plan announced several months before the COVID-19 outbreak worsened the outlook. The government plans to spend 20 billion euros (US$23.66 billion) over five years to improve its infrastructure and spur research and development, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement yesterday. The money is to be allocated by a national investment fund to help the country address its aging population, climate change and low productivity growth, the ministry said. The government has helped prop up companies, including Air France-KLM, and by the end of July, it had earmarked 37 billion euros for this year to finance emergency measures.
INDIA
State Bank offers low rate
The State Bank of India priced one of the riskiest bank capital securities at a record-low coupon, in the latest sign that investors are confident policymakers’ stimulus steps would help large issuers weather the pandemic. India’s biggest bank is to sell 40 billion rupees (US$545 million) of the so-called Additional Tier 1 (AT1) bonds at a coupon of 7.74 percent. That is the lowest pricing on such debt, which can be fully written down in a crisis, issued by any lender since the country started implementing the stringent Basel III capital rules in 2013. The AT1 offering is rated “AA+” and can be called back by the lender after five years or any year thereafter.
FINANCE
China to cap Ant lending
China’s financial regulators plan to cap the interest rates Ant Group (螞蟻集團) can charge borrowers on quick consumer loans, a move that could curb the fintech giant’s biggest revenue driver as it prepares for a mega initial public offering. Loans made by Ant Group and other consumer lenders would be subject to a ceiling imposed by a Chinese Supreme Court ruling last month, said people familiar with the plans, who asked not to be named as the information is private. Linked to a benchmark rate, the cap is currently 15.4 percent. The court said the rule does not apply to licensed financial institutions, but it so far has not specified whether it would impact fintech firms such as Ant.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said its materials management head, Vanessa Lee (李文如), had tendered her resignation for personal reasons. The personnel adjustment takes effect tomorrow, TSMC said in a statement. The latest development came one month after Lee reportedly took leave from the middle of last month. Cliff Hou (侯永清), senior vice president and deputy cochief operating officer, is to concurrently take on the role of head of the materials management division, which has been under his supervision, TSMC said. Lee, who joined TSMC in 2022, was appointed senior director of materials management and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Thursday met with US President Donald Trump at the White House, days before a planned trip to China by the head of the world’s most valuable chipmaker, people familiar with the matter said. Details of what the two men discussed were not immediately available, and the people familiar with the meeting declined to elaborate on the agenda. Spokespeople for the White House had no immediate comment. Nvidia declined to comment. Nvidia’s CEO has been vocal about the need for US companies to access the world’s largest semiconductor market and is a frequent visitor to China.
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
STABLE RESULTS: Despite June’s lower consolidated revenue, second-quarter sales still reached a record high, driven by demand for chips for AI applications Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday reported consolidated sales of NT$263.71 billion (US$9.02 billion) for last month, its second-lowest monthly result this year. The world’s largest contract chipmaker said in a statement that its revenue last month only fared better than the NT$260.01 billion posted in February. Last month’s figure rose 26.9 percent from a year earlier, but slumped 17.7 percent from May, the company said. However, second-quarter revenue reached NT$933.8 billion, a record high for a single quarter, company data showed. The figure represented growth of 11.26 percent from the first quarter and 38.6 percent from a year earlier. Previously, TSMC said that
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