CHINA
PBOC injects US$13.9bn
The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) yesterday injected short-term cash into the financial system in a sign the authorities are seeking to soothe market nerves frayed by concern over quarter-end funding needs and China Evergrande Group’s (恆大集團) debt crisis. The central bank added 90 billion yuan (US$13.9 billion) of funds on a net basis via seven-day and 14-day reverse repurchase agreements, the most since February. It was the first time this month the authorities added more than 10 billion yuan of short-term liquidity into the banking system in a single day. The funds come as the crisis facing Evergrande fuels concern over the health of the nation’s real-estate and credit markets. Adding to the stress is a seasonal spike in demand for cash as banks become less willing to lend toward quarter-end as they prepare for regulatory checks. Liquidity also tends to diminish at this time of year as the Mid-Autumn Festival approaches.
TECHNOLOGY
S4 Capital to buy Zemoga
Martin Sorrell’s S4 Capital has struck a deal to buy Zemoga, a technology services company that provides a new route for the rapidly growing digital advertising group to win work from multinational clients. Sorrell, the founder of WPP, has turned S4 into a US$6 billion company in the three years since its launch by acquiring businesses to combine data with digital content and serve the likes of Facebook, Google, Burberry and Netflix. The move into tech services is to enable it to better compete with companies like Accenture and Globant, which can sell digital advertising services and advice to clients. Zemoga provides product design, engineering and delivery services to clients such as Bridgestone, Sony, Roku and Morningstar.
SINGAPORE
Fund aims to boost market
Singapore is looking to set up a S$1.5 billion (US$1.1 billion) fund backed by state investment firm Temasek Holdings Pte to bolster its stock market, which has struggled with tepid listings and poor trading volumes. The fund is to invest in high-growth companies and initial public offerings. Separately, the investment arm of the Economic Development Board, a government agency promoting foreign investment, is to invest up to S$500 million into a fund aimed at companies looking to list in two to five years. The plan aims to increase Singapore’s attractiveness as a location for raising capital for local and regional companies, the government said.
STEEL
US Steel to build mini-mill
US Steel Corp is to spend about US$3 billion to build a new mill, the latest sign that steelmakers are growing more comfortable that higher prices will last. The so-called mini-mill is to combine two electric arc furnaces, which primarily use steel scrap and are far more energy-efficient than traditional integrated plants that are fed by coal. The company expects to begin construction in the first half of next year and start producing in 2024. US Steel’s announcement comes as domestic futures prices have more than tripled in the past year. While this has produced a windfall for domestic suppliers, it is driving up the cost of everything from automobiles to wind turbines to kitchen appliances as the world recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. The company forecast that it would report record earnings for the third quarter on the back of the strong prices, which would allow it to reduce debt.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”