MINING
Glencore losses deepen
Anglo-Swiss mining giant Glencore PLC yesterday said that it plunged deeper into the red last year, hit by the “extraordinary” challenge of COVID-19 and massive write-offs, especially on a mine closure in Zambia. The company said that it had a net loss of US$1.9 billion last year after writing off assets worth US$5.9 billion, compared with a net loss of US$404 million in 2019 following write-downs costing US$2.4 billion. The COVID-19 pandemic and the impact on the global economy amounted to an “extraordinary” challenge for the company, which mines and trades basic raw materials globally. The trading arm of the company saw operating profit soar 41 percent to US$3.3 billion, reflecting the huge volatility of metal and oil prices. However, the mining arm reported a fall in operating profit of 13 percent to US$7.8 billion, it said.
INTERNET
Traveloka plans US IPO
Traveloka, Southeast Asia’s biggest online travel start-up, is planning to list in the US this year to raise funds using a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), CEO Ferry Unardi said. “SPAC is very efficient,” Unardi said in an interview yesterday. “If we can do it faster, we can then focus on execution and growing the company,” Unardi added. Traveloka might consider listing in Indonesia at a later stage, he added. Traveloka adds to a list of Indonesian start-ups seeking similar initial public offerings (IPOs) in the US via the SPAC method, which allows them to use funds raised from the IPOs to buy a private company that then takes over the listing. Investors — including Expedia Group Inc; Rocket Internet SE; GIC Pte, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund; and JD.com — have helped boost Traveloka’s valuation over the years. It was valued at US$3 billion in 2017, CB Insights said.
CRYPTOCURRENCY
Bitcoin nears US$50,000
Bitcoin reached another record, coming ever closer to US$50,000, as the world’s largest cryptocurrency extends its breathtaking rally. The token yesterday climbed as much as 3.6 percent to US$49,913 in Asian trading, a composite of prices showed. Bitcoin’s volatile, fivefold advance over the past year towers above the returns from more traditional investments like stocks, gold and commodities. “Bitcoin volatility is likely to continue rising in the near term and remain elevated until it settles in around its next plateau,” Bloomberg Intelligence commodity strategist Mike McGlone said, adding that US$100,000 might be a long-term target.
UNITED KINGDOM
Tax hike likely needed: IFS
The government could need tax increases of about ￡60 billion (US$83.6 billion) if Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak wants to balance the books, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has said. The warning sets the tone for the Treasury’s budget on March 3, when Sunak is due to outline how he intends to address the ruinous legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has driven government borrowing to its highest in peacetime and forced him to deliver 13 emergency statements since he took office a year ago. The analysis, based on forecasts by Citigroup, indicates that the scarring left by the deepest slump in three centuries might be worse than the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) predicted in November last year. However, the IFS said that now is not the time to be trying to fix the public finances, urging Sunak to bolster the recovery first.
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) is expected to share his views about the artificial intelligence (AI) industry’s prospects during his speech at the company’s 37th anniversary ceremony, as AI servers have become a new growth engine for the equipment manufacturing service provider. Lam’s speech is much anticipated, as Quanta has risen as one of the world’s major AI server suppliers. The company reported a 30 percent year-on-year growth in consolidated revenue to NT$1.41 trillion (US$43.35 billion) last year, thanks to fast-growing demand for servers, especially those with AI capabilities. The company told investors in November last year that
Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) yesterday said it plans to ship its new 1 megawatt charging systems for electric trucks and buses in the first half of next year at the earliest. The new charging piles, which deliver up to 1 megawatt of charging power, are designed for heavy-duty electric vehicles, and support a maximum current of 1,500 amperes and output of 1,250 volts, Delta said in a news release. “If everything goes smoothly, we could begin shipping those new charging systems as early as in the first half of next year,” a company official said. The new
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