SRI LANKA
Visa deals announced
Colombo yesterday said that it would sell long-term visas to attract desperately needed foreign currency after the nation ran out of US dollars to pay for food and fuel. Foreigners who deposit a minimum of US$100,000 locally would be granted permission to live and work in Sri Lanka for 10 years under the “Golden Paradise Visa Program,” the government said. The money should be locked in a local bank account for the duration of the stay, the government said in a statement. The government also approved the granting of five-year visas to any foreigner spending a minimum of US$75,000 to buy an apartment in the nation.
FINANCE
Nomura posts profit
Nomura Holdings Inc posted a fourth straight quarter of profit as Japan’s largest brokerage booked gains from a stake sale in one of its affiliated companies, offsetting further provisions for a legal case in the US. Net income totaled ￥31 billion (US$242 million) in the three months ended March 31, the firm said in a statement yesterday. Revenue in the retail division dropped 27 percent as market volatility arising from the Russia-Ukraine war and uncertainty around the speed of monetary policy tightening in the US kept some individual traders on the sidelines. The firm’s equities and investment banking business also suffered and geopolitical uncertainty is expected to continue, it said.
BANKING
Santander beats expectations
Spanish giant Banco Santander SA yesterday said that net profit exceeded expectations in the first three months of this year thanks to its diversified geographical footprint, rising interest rates and increased customer numbers. Santander said in a statement that its bottom-line net profit jumped by 58 percent to 2.5 billion euros (US$2.7 billion) in the period from January to last month. Santander said that it attracted 7 million new customers in the three-month period, bringing its total number of clients worldwide to 155 million.
AUTOMAKERS
Electric Corvette announced
US firm General Motors Co (GM) on Monday announced that it is developing an electric version of its Chevrolet Corvette. “We will offer an electrified Corvette as early as next year. Details and names to come at a later date,” the Detroit-based auto manufacturer said in a statement. “Yes, in addition to the amazing new Chevrolet Corvette Z06 and other gas-powered variants coming, we will offer an electrified and a fully electric” Corvette in the future, GM president Mark Reuss said on the professional site LinkedIn. GM and Honda Motor Co this month announced that they would codevelop a new line of electric vehicles at “affordable” prices, with production due to begin in 2027.
MEDICAL
Softbank adds start-up
Softbank Group Corp added a Japanese start-up specializing in endoscopy to its list of portfolio companies, making the third Vision Fund investment in its home country. The world’s largest tech fund is leading an ￥8 billion investment in AI Medical Service Inc, which develops systems and software for gastrointestinal diagnostics, using artificial intelligence to help clinicians more reliably identify potential cancers of the stomach and intestines. Softbank Group founder Masayoshi Son said earlier this year that Softbank plans to expand its Japan investment team.
China’s economic planning agency yesterday outlined details of measures aimed at boosting the economy, but refrained from major spending initiatives. The piecemeal nature of the plans announced yesterday appeared to disappoint investors who were hoping for bolder moves, and the Shanghai Composite Index gave up a 10 percent initial gain as markets reopened after a weeklong holiday to end 4.59 percent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dived 9.41 percent. Chinese National Development and Reform Commission Chairman Zheng Shanjie (鄭珊潔) said the government would frontload 100 billion yuan (US$14.2 billion) in spending from the government’s budget for next year in addition
Sales RecORD: Hon Hai’s consolidated sales rose by about 20 percent last quarter, while Largan, another Apple supplier, saw quarterly sales increase by 17 percent IPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) on Saturday reported its highest-ever quarterly sales for the third quarter on the back of solid global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) globally, said it posted NT$1.85 trillion (US$57.93 billion) in consolidated sales in the July-to-September quarter, up 19.46 percent from the previous quarter and up 20.15 percent from a year earlier. The figure beat the previous third-quarter high of NT$1.74 trillion recorded in 2022, company data showed. Due to rising demand for AI, Hon Hai said its cloud and networking division enjoyed strong sales
TECH JUGGERNAUT: TSMC shares have more than doubled since ChatGPT’s launch in late 2022, as demand for cutting-edge artificial intelligence chips remains high Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday posted a better-than-expected 39 percent rise in quarterly revenue, assuaging concerns that artificial intelligence (AI) hardware spending is beginning to taper off. The main chipmaker for Nvidia Corp and Apple Inc reported third-quarter sales of NT$759.69 billion (US$23.6 billion), compared with the average analyst projection of NT$748 billion. For last month alone, TSMC reported revenue jumped 39.6 percent year-on-year to NT$251.87 billion. Taiwan’s largest company is to disclose its full third-quarter earnings on Thursday next week and update its outlook. Hsinchu-based TSMC produces the cutting-edge chips needed to train AI. The company now makes more
Protectionism: US trade chief Katherine Tai said the hikes would help to counter unfair trade practices from China, while boosting domestic clean energy investments US Trade Representative Katherine Tai (戴琪) defended stiff tariff hikes against countries such as China, saying that paired with investment, they were a “legitimate and constructive” tool for reinvigorating domestic industries. Tai’s comments come a week after sharp tariff increases on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), EV batteries and solar cells took effect — with levies down the line on other products also recently finalized. The latest moves targeting US$18 billion in Chinese goods come weeks before next month’s US presidential election, with Democrats and Republicans pushing a hard line on China as competition between Washington and Beijing intensifies. In an interview on Thursday
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