METALS
Copper, nickel climb
Base metals yesterday stormed higher, with copper rallying above US$9,000 per tonne on bets that increased demand, driven by the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, would spur a historic deficit, putting the economic bellwether on course for a record run of monthly gains. Nickel topped US$20,000 per tonne. Copper climbed as much as 4 percent and is heading for an unprecedented 11th monthly rise this month. Metals are on a tear on expectations that post-crisis demand would outstrip near-term supply. That might reinforce speculation about a new commodity supercycle and stoke concern about rising price pressures, as the global economy recovers from the pandemic.
FINANCE
EU firms need UK offices
About 1,000 EU finance firms are expected to open their first offices in the UK after losing their passporting rights because of Brexit. About two-thirds of the 1,500 money managers, payment firms and insurers that have applied for regulatory permission to continue operating in the UK previously had no physical operations in the nation, according to British Financial Conduct Authority records obtained by Bovill, a financial consultancy. Irish, French and German companies together accounted for 584 of the 1,500 applications for authorization to do business in the UK. Cyprus, which is a popular venue for trading platforms, was the next most common, with 151.
BANKING
M&T, People’s plan merger
M&T Bank Corp is nearing an agreement to merge with People’s United Financial Inc, with the two firms discussing an all-stock deal that could be finalized as soon as this week, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The banks would have more than US$200 billion in assets combined, it said. People’s United has a market value of about US$6.6 billion, while M&T’s is more than US$19 billion. The combined firm is likely to be led by M&T chief executive Rene Jones and maintain a significant corporate presence in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the newspaper said.
LOGISTICS
Kuehne+Nagel to buy Apex
Kuehne+Nagel International AG has agreed to acquire Apex International Corp in a deal that values the freight forwarder at about US$1.5 billion, people familiar with the matter said. The Swiss logistics firm yesterday announced the transaction without providing any financial terms. Kuehne+Nagel is going to buy a majority stake in Apex Logistics from North Asia-focused private equity firm MBK Partners, which invested in the company in 2015. The management of Apex Logistics would retain a minority stake after the transaction, it said in a statement. The deal is still subject to conditions, including merger clearance by competition authorities, it said.
HONG KONG
Home sales resilient
The property market is showing signs of strength, with weekend home sales reaching an eight-year high. The 10 biggest housing estates tracked by Centaline Property Agency Ltd (中原地產) recorded 37 transactions in the past weekend, a number unseen since 2013, it said. A stabilizing COVID-19 pandemic, relaxed social distancing measures and imminent vaccinations have boosted buyers’ confidence in the housing market, Louis Chan (陳榮威), CEO of Centaline’s residential division, said in an e-mailed statement. Despite experiencing the double whammy of protests and a pandemic, the residential market has remained resilient.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last