RUSSIA
Rebounded ruble wavers
The ruble yesterday weakened sharply in jittery trade, after the central bank decided to relax temporary capital control measures aimed at limiting a drop in the currency. Late on Friday the central bank said it will scrap a 12 percent commission for buying foreign currency through brokerages from April 11 and lift a temporary ban on selling foreign exchange cash to individuals from April 18. The ruble fell to 82.09 against the US dollar at the market opening in Moscow, from the 71 rubles hit on Friday for its strongest since Nov. 11.
TELECOMS
Ericsson pulls from Russia
Swedish network equipment maker Ericsson AB yesterday said it was suspending all of its Russian operations over the war in Ukraine for the foreseeable future. A company spokeswoman said that together with Ukraine, Russia accounts for less than 2 percent of its revenue. The company said it would record a provision for 900 million kronor (US$95.32 million) for the first quarter for “impairment of assets and other exceptional costs,” although no staff redundancy costs were included.
UNITED KINGDOM
February GDP growth lags
Economic growth slowed in February amid declines in the production of vehicles, computers and chemicals. GDP increased just 0.1 percent from a month earlier, down from the 0.8 percent growth reported in January, the Office for National Statistics said yesterday. The output of productive industries, including manufacturing, mining and power generation, dropped 0.6 percent in the month, while construction fell 0.1 percent. The declines largely offset an increase in service industries, driven by an 8.6 percent jump in accommodation and food services. Monthly GDP is now 1.5 percent above pre-pandemic levels, the agency said.
RUSSIA
VTB stripped of EU unit
Germany’s banking regulator on Sunday said it had stripped Russia’s VTB of control over its European subsidiary, as sanctions hit the country’s second-biggest bank over the war in Ukraine. The group “no longer has control” over its Germany-based subsidiary VTB Bank SE after a ban on exercising its right to vote, the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority said in a statement. The regulator said VTB can no longer access the financial assets of its subsidiary, which is now “completely isolated” from the group. The European entity’s activities can continue, but its board cannot follow directives from VTB, the regulator added.
CHINA
Zhenro misses payment
Zhenro Properties Group Ltd (正榮地產) said it was unable to pay interest on two dollar bonds before a grace period ended on Saturday, adding that it might not be able to meet three other coupons because of its liquidity woes. The builder, who in February asked holders of about US$1 billion of bonds set to mature this year for more time to repay, said in a Hong Kong Stock Exchange filing on Sunday that it did not pay a combined US$20.4 million of interest on two dollar bonds, resulting in events of default. Zhenro said that it might not be able to pay a combined US$32.6 million of interest due on three other dollar bonds before grace periods end between Sunday and May 14.
Japanese technology giant Softbank Group Corp said Tuesday it has sold its stake in Nvidia Corp, raising US$5.8 billion to pour into other investments. It also reported its profit nearly tripled in the first half of this fiscal year from a year earlier. Tokyo-based Softbank said it sold the stake in Silicon Vally-based Nvidia last month, a move that reflects its shift in focus to OpenAI, owner of the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot ChatGPT. Softbank reported its profit in the April-to-September period soared to about 2.5 trillion yen (about US$13 billion). Its sales for the six month period rose 7.7 percent year-on-year
CRESTING WAVE: Companies are still buying in, but the shivers in the market could be the first signs that the AI wave has peaked and the collapse is upon the world Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday reported a new monthly record of NT$367.47 billion (US$11.85 billion) in consolidated sales for last month thanks to global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications. Last month’s figure represented 16.9 percent annual growth, the slowest pace since February last year. On a monthly basis, sales rose 11 percent. Cumulative sales in the first 10 months of the year grew 33.8 percent year-on-year to NT$3.13 trillion, a record for the same period in the company’s history. However, the slowing growth in monthly sales last month highlights uncertainty over the sustainability of the AI boom even as
JITTERS: Nexperia has a 20 percent market share for chips powering simpler features such as window controls, and changing supply chains could take years European carmakers are looking into ways to scratch components made with parts from China, spooked by deepening geopolitical spats playing out through chipmaker Nexperia BV and Beijing’s export controls on rare earths. To protect operations from trade ructions, several automakers are pushing major suppliers to find permanent alternatives to Chinese semiconductors, people familiar with the matter said. The industry is considering broader changes to its supply chain to adapt to shifting geopolitics, Europe’s main suppliers lobby CLEPA head Matthias Zink said. “We had some indications already — questions like: ‘How can you supply me without this dependency on China?’” Zink, who also
Tax revenue from securities transactions last month increased 41.9 percent from a year earlier to NT$30.3 billion (US$975.8 million), rising on an annual basis for the third consecutive month and marking the highest for the month of October as Taiwanese stocks continued to perform strongly, data released by the Ministry of Finance showed yesterday. Last month, the TAIEX surged 2,412.81 points, or 9.34 percent, marking its largest-ever monthly rise for October as market sentiment was buoyed by a nearly 15 percent gain in contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which accounts for more than 40 percent of the
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