JAPAN
GDP down less than forecast
The economy contracted in the first quarter, but at a slower pace than earlier estimated, the government said yesterday. The world’s third-largest economy contracted at an annual rate of 0.5 percent, Cabinet Office data showed. That was smaller than the 1 percent contraction in the preliminary estimate for Japan’s real GDP released last month. The economy contracted 0.1 percent quarter-on-quarter in the January-to-March period, better than the 0.2 percent quarterly contraction in the preliminary data.
APPAREL
Nike terminates China app
Nike Inc yesterday discontinued its popular Nike Run Club App in China, the company said. The US sportswear brand did not give a reason for the decision, but a company spokesperson yesterday said that it planned to provide Chinese runners with an “enhanced and localized solution in the future.” The app allows users to track their runs and challenge friends to compete. It has more than 8 million users in China, the company’s most profitable market.
APPAREL
Inditex net profit up 80%
Global clothing giant Inditex SA, which owns Zara, yesterday posted a surge in its first-quarter profits, despite closing its stores in Russia over the country invading Ukraine. The world’s biggest fashion retailer said its net profit increased 80 percent to 760 million euros (US$815 million) in the first three months of its financial year to April 31, from 440 million euros during the same period last year, when it was heavily effected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
AUTOMAKERS
BYD touts Tesla battery deal
BYD Co (比亞迪), the automaker backed by Warren Buffett, is readying to sell its own batteries to Tesla Inc, an executive at the Chinese company has told state media. “We are good friends with [Tesla chief executive officer] Elon Musk and we are preparing to supply batteries to Tesla,” BYD executive vice president Lian Yu-bo (廉玉波) told state television broadcaster CGTN yesterday. Tesla counts Contemporary Amperex Technology Co (新能源科技), LG Energy Solution Ltd and Panasonic Holdings Corp among its other suppliers.
JAPAN
Credit Suisse expects loss
Credit Suisse Group AG expects a loss at the groupwide level and its investment bank in the second quarter, adding to the Swiss lender’s woes after a string of profit warnings and hits. Market conditions have remained challenging after the invasion of Ukraine and monetary tightening across the world, leading to weak customer flows and ongoing client deleveraging, the bank said yesterday. While advisory revenues at the investment bank were resilient, low levels of capital markets issuance and widening credit spreads hit the unit’s financial performance in April and last month, the bank said.
SINGAPORE
Land sale plan boosted
The city-state plans to increase the supply of private homes by 26 percent as demand remains resilient and inventory continues to decline. Its land sale plan for the July-to-December period would add 3,505 private houses, up from 2,785 units in the first-half plan, the Ministry of National Development said on Tuesday. Singapore plans to sell five private residential sites, totaling an area of about 6.7 hectares. Two projects are estimated to launch in August, one in October and the remaining two in December, the ministry said.
PROTECTIONISM: China hopes to help domestic chipmakers gain more market share while preparing local tech companies for the possibility of more US sanctions Beijing is stepping up pressure on Chinese companies to buy locally produced artificial intelligence (AI) chips instead of Nvidia Corp products, part of the nation’s effort to expand its semiconductor industry and counter US sanctions. Chinese regulators have been discouraging companies from purchasing Nvidia’s H20 chips, which are used to develop and run AI models, sources familiar with the matter said. The policy has taken the form of guidance rather than an outright ban, as Beijing wants to avoid handicapping its own AI start-ups and escalating tensions with the US, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the
Taipei is today suspending its US$2.5 trillion stock market as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed-income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Yesterday, schools and offices were closed in several cities and counties in southern and eastern Taiwan, including in the key industrial port city of Kaohsiung. Taiwan, which started canceling flights, ship sailings and some train services earlier this week, has wind and rain advisories in place for much of the island. It regularly experiences typhoons, and in July shut offices and schools as
Her white-gloved, waistcoated uniform impeccable, 22-year-old Hazuki Okuno boards a bullet train replica to rehearse the strict protocols behind the smooth operation of a Japanese institution turning 60 Tuesday. High-speed Shinkansen trains began running between Tokyo and Osaka on Oct. 1, 1964, heralding a new era for rail travel as Japan grew into an economic superpower after World War II. The service remains integral to the nation’s economy and way of life — so keeping it dazzlingly clean, punctual and accident-free is a serious job. At a 10-story, state-of-the-art staff training center, Okuno shouted from the window and signaled to imaginary colleagues, keeping
FALLING BEHIND: Samsung shares have declined more than 20 percent this year, as the world’s largest chipmaker struggles in key markets and plays catch-up to rival SK Hynix Samsung Electronics Co is laying off workers in Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand as part of a plan to reduce its global headcount by thousands of jobs, sources familiar with the situation said. The layoffs could affect about 10 percent of its workforces in those markets, although the numbers for each subsidiary might vary, said one of the sources, who asked not to be named because the matter is private. Job cuts are planned for other overseas subsidiaries and could reach 10 percent in certain markets, the source said. The South Korean company has about 147,000 in staff overseas, more than half
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