SRI LANKA
Rates hit record high
Interest rates yesterday hit their highest level in two decades despite a devastating economic crisis, as the central bank sought to dampen record inflation of 54.6 percent. Inflation touched a year-on-year record last month, with food prices rising by 80.1 percent, prompting the central bank to raise rates to address the rise in prices. The central bank increased its standing lending facility rate by 100 basis points to 15.50 percent, while the standing deposit facility rate was similarly raised to 14.50 percent, the highest since August, 2001.
INDIA
Central bank spurs cash inflow
The central bank mounted a fresh defense of the beleaguered rupee, announcing a raft of measures to boost foreign-exchange inflows. The steps include doubling corporate overseas borrowing limits to US$1.5 billion per financial year, temporarily removing interest-rate ceilings for banks to attract deposits from non-residents, and liberalizing rules for foreigners to invest in local-currency bonds, the Reserve Bank of India said in a statement on Wednesday. The new rules should “further diversify and expand the sources of forex funding so as to mitigate volatility and dampen global spillovers,” it said
EUROPEAN UNION
Price fixing alleged in raids
Antitrust investigators on Wednesday raided the offices of German online app Delivery Hero, a company spokesman said, over suspicions the company was part of a price-fixing cartel. Delivery Hero said it “is committed to cooperating fully with the commission.” The European Commission said raids had taken place against companies in two EU countries, and the companies concerned were suspected of breaking an EU antitrust law that bans cartels. Such inspections did not mean that the companies were guilty of anti-competitive behavior “nor does it prejudge the outcome of the investigation itself,” the commission said.
PRIVATE EQUITY
Carlyle cuts China exposure
Carlyle Group Inc’s new US$8.5 billion Asia fund aims to limit its Chinese exposure to about half of previous funds, driven by investors’ concerns regarding rising geopolitical risks and regulatory uncertainty in Beijing, people familiar with the matter said. The Washington-based asset manager is telling investors that the targeted China exposure for its sixth Asia fund will be about 20 percent to 40 percent, compared with 40 percent to 50 percent on average for predecessor funds, they said. The latest fund is Carlyle’s biggest in Asia, they said.
BATTERIES
W-Scope eyes higher revenue
W-Scope Chungju Plant Co, the South Korean battery-parts maker seeking to raise as much as 1 trillion won (US$769 million) in an initial public offering (IPO) predicts operating margins greater than 30 percent by 2025 given robust demand for electric vehicles, CEO Choi Won-kun said. The company also expects revenue should increase about 40 percent to US$200 million this year, Choi said in an interview earlier this week. “We’re all set for production plans for the next five years and we’re in talks with potential partners for new orders,” Choi said. W-Scope Chungju Plant, which makes the separators used in electric-vehicle batteries, plans to use cash from the IPO to build a new plant in Hungary, he said.
Taiwan’s foreign exchange reserves fell below the US$600 billion mark at the end of last month, with the central bank reporting a total of US$596.89 billion — a decline of US$8.6 billion from February — ending a three-month streak of increases. The central bank attributed the drop to a combination of factors such as outflows by foreign institutional investors, currency fluctuations and its own market interventions. “The large-scale outflows disrupted the balance of supply and demand in the foreign exchange market, prompting the central bank to intervene repeatedly by selling US dollars to stabilize the local currency,” Department of Foreign
Intel Corp is joining Elon Musk’s long-shot effort to develop semiconductors for Tesla Inc, Space Exploration Technologies Corp and xAI, marking a surprising twist in the chipmaker’s comeback bid. Intel would help the Terafab project “refactor” the technology in a chip factory, the company said on Tuesday in a post on X, Musk’s social media platform. That is a stage in the development process that typically helps make chips more powerful or reliable. The chipmaker’s shares jumped 4.2 percent to US$52.91 in New York trading on Tuesday. The Terafab project is a grand plan by Musk to eventually manufacture his own chips for
Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) yesterday said it plans to resume operations at two coal-fired power generators for three months to boost security of electricity supply as liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply risks are running high due to the Middle East conflict. The two coal-fired power generators are at Mailiao Power Plant in Yunlin County’s Mailiao Township (麥寮). The plant, operated by Formosa Plastics Group (台塑集團), supplied electricity to Taipower’s power grid until the end of last year. Taipower’s decision came about one month after Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) on March 10 said that the nation had no imminent
Some robotaxi passengers were left stranded in the middle of fast-moving traffic in a major Chinese city after their driverless vehicles stopped running, according to police and media reports on Wednesday. A preliminary investigation indicates more than 100 robotaxis came to a halt because of a “system malfunction,” police in the city of Wuhan said in a statement, without elaborating. No injuries were reported. One passenger told Chinese media that their robotaxi stopped after turning a corner. An instruction on a screen read: “Driving system malfunction. Staff are expected to arrive in 5 minutes.” After no one showed up, the passenger pushed
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