AUSTRALIA
Spending boosts economy
The economy in the fourth quarter of last year rebounded from a contraction resulting from fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic as consumers tapped sizeable savings to resume spending, highlighting underlying momentum heading into this year. The country’s GDP rose 3.4 percent from the third quarter, just shy of expectations for a 3.5 percent increase, Bureau of Statistics data showed yesterday. That took annual growth to 4.2 percent, more than double the pre-pandemic pace of about 2 percent and slightly higher than economists’ estimate of 4.1 percent. The rise in fourth-quarter GDP was driven by consumer spending, while exports detracted from growth, the data showed.
GERMANY
LNG terminal prioritized
Hydrogen company Tree Energy Solutions, backed by Belgian investor group AtlasInvest, yesterday said that it would build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in the North Sea town of Wilhelmshaven, business daily Handelsblatt reported. Investors have committed 25 billion euros (US$27.69 billion) to the LNG terminal project by 2045 and the terminal is to go into operation in three years, Handelsblatt added. In the first few years, the terminal could bring up to 30 billion cubic meters of natural gas to the country. Last year, the country consumed about 100 billion cubic meters of natural gas, 38 percent of which came from Russia.
ENERGY
Nord Stream goes belly-up
Swiss-based Nord Stream 2 AG has gone belly-up after Germany halted the gas pipeline following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Berlin halted the project, built to bring Russian gas to Europe, as Moscow faced a barrage of Western sanctions. “Nord Stream became insolvent because of last week’s US sanctions,” Silvia Thalmann-Gut, economics director in the Swiss canton of Zug, where the company is based, told public broadcaster SRF. She said the regional authorities had on Tuesday been informed that the firm had filed for bankruptcy and its entire workforce of 106 people had been laid off.
RETAIL
Target plans rejuvenation
Target Corp this year is to invest up to US$5 billion in physical stores, remodels, new brands and expanding its online fulfillment as the discounter continues to drive sales growth and differentiate itself from rivals. The plans, announced on Tuesday at its annual investor meeting held in New York City, include opening 30 new stores, from midsize locations in dense suburban areas to small stores in cities such as Charleston, South Carolina. It also plans to remodel 200 of its existing stores, reaching more than half of its 1,900 stores this year. The Minneapolis, Minnesota-based retailer also aims to launch brand partnerships, including opening 250 more Ulta Beauty shops in its stores, with plans to eventually operate 800 shops.
INSURANCE
Aviva continues overhaul
Aviva PLC said that it would return ￡4.75 billion (US$6.32 billion) to shareholders, and invest ￡500 million in growth and efficiency efforts in the coming year as it enters the next stage of its overhaul. The UK-based insurer and asset manager also said that it had acquired financial advice firm Succession Wealth for ￡385 million, as it reported full-year results yesterday. The results showed group adjusted operating profit of ￡2.27 billion, slightly below a Bloomberg-compiled analyst consensus of ￡2.33 billion.
To many, Tatu City on the outskirts of Nairobi looks like a success. The first city entirely built by a private company to be operational in east Africa, with about 25,000 people living and working there, it accounts for about two-thirds of all foreign investment in Kenya. Its low-tax status has attracted more than 100 businesses including Heineken, coffee brand Dormans, and the biggest call-center and cold-chain transport firms in the region. However, to some local politicians, Tatu City has looked more like a target for extortion. A parade of governors have demanded land worth millions of dollars in exchange
An Indonesian animated movie is smashing regional box office records and could be set for wider success as it prepares to open beyond the Southeast Asian archipelago’s silver screens. Jumbo — a film based on the adventures of main character, Don, a large orphaned Indonesian boy facing bullying at school — last month became the highest-grossing Southeast Asian animated film, raking in more than US$8 million. Released at the end of March to coincide with the Eid holidays after the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, the movie has hit 8 million ticket sales, the third-highest in Indonesian cinema history, Film
BIG BUCKS: Chairman Wei is expected to receive NT$34.12 million on a proposed NT$5 cash dividend plan, while the National Development Fund would get NT$8.27 billion Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday announced that its board of directors approved US$15.25 billion in capital appropriations for long-term expansion to meet growing demand. The funds are to be used for installing advanced technology and packaging capacity, expanding mature and specialty technology, and constructing fabs with facility systems, TSMC said in a statement. The board also approved a proposal to distribute a NT$5 cash dividend per share, based on first-quarter earnings per share of NT$13.94, it said. That surpasses the NT$4.50 dividend for the fourth quarter of last year. TSMC has said that while it is eager
‘IMMENSE SWAY’: The top 50 companies, based on market cap, shape everything from technology to consumer trends, advisory firm Visual Capitalist said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) was ranked the 10th-most valuable company globally this year, market information advisory firm Visual Capitalist said. TSMC sat on a market cap of about US$915 billion as of Monday last week, making it the 10th-most valuable company in the world and No. 1 in Asia, the publisher said in its “50 Most Valuable Companies in the World” list. Visual Capitalist described TSMC as the world’s largest dedicated semiconductor foundry operator that rolls out chips for major tech names such as US consumer electronics brand Apple Inc, and artificial intelligence (AI) chip designers Nvidia Corp and Advanced
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