MACAU
Virus curbs eased
The territory’s government yesterday said that people could enter the neighboring mainland Chinese city of Zhuhai without quarantine, a further relaxation of stringent COVID-19 policies as the world’s biggest gambling hub seeks a return to normalcy. Authorities reopened public services and entertainment facilities in the territory on Tuesday. People leaving Macau for Zhuhai must have a certificate that shows a negative COVID-19 test within the past 24 hours and take a further two tests within three days of arriving in the Chinese city.
BANGLADESH
Dhaka seeks US$2bn loan
The country is seeking US$2 billion from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank amid efforts to bolster its foreign exchange reserves, Bloomberg reported. The country’s US$416 billion economy has been one of the fastest-growing in the world for years, but rising energy and food prices because of the Russia-Ukraine war have inflated its import bill and the current account deficit. The government wrote letters to the two lenders seeking US$1 billion each, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.
TURKEY
Inflation stabilizes near 80%
The country’s annual inflation rate last month stabilized at just under 80 percent, official data showed yesterday, helping support President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s pledges that runaway prices increases would soon stop. The official annual rate of consumer price increases reached 79.6 percent last month, compared with 78.6 percent in June. The country plunged into a fresh economic crisis when Erdogan set off on an unusual economic experiment nearly a year ago that attempted to bring down chronically high inflation by slashing interest rates.
BANKING
Lender outlines targets
Societe Generale SA outlined new revenue targets and pledged higher profitability as rising interest rates and a global trading rally provide a tailwind to outgoing chief executive officer Frederic Oudea. The Paris-based lender yesterday set a goal for average annual top-line growth of at least 3 percent over the next three years, after second-quarter revenue and operating profit beat analyst estimates.
RETAIL
Starbucks profit falls
Starbucks Corp on Tuesday reported lower quarterly profits, despite higher sales, as strong demand and price increases in North America mitigated the hit from Chinese COVID-19 lockdowns. The US coffee giant said North American comparable sales in the latest quarter jumped 9 percent, while China’s slumped 44 percent. Profit for the quarter ending June 27 was US$912.9 million, down 21 percent from a year earlier. Meanwhile, revenue jumped 9 percent to US$8.2 billion.
TECHNOLOGY
Uber revenue beats forecast
Uber Technologies Inc reported better-than-expected revenue on Tuesday, fueled by demand for its ride-hailing and food delivery services that have drawn a surge in drivers looking to offset inflation’s bite. Revenue more than doubled to US$8.1 billion in the three months through June, a 105 percent increase, at a time when many tech companies are struggling to navigate global economic turbulence. Still, the firm posted a net loss of US$2.6 billion, but investors shrugged it off and the shares closed up about 19 percent.
Anna Bhobho, a 31-year-old housewife from rural Zimbabwe, was once a silent observer in her home, excluded from financial and family decisionmaking in the deeply patriarchal society. Today, she is a driver of change in her village, thanks to an electric tricycle she owns. In many parts of rural sub-Saharan Africa, women have long been excluded from mainstream economic activities such as operating public transportation. However, three-wheelers powered by green energy are reversing that trend, offering financial opportunities and a newfound sense of importance. “My husband now looks up to me to take care of a large chunk of expenses,
SECTOR LEADER: TSMC can increase capacity by as much as 20 percent or more in the advanced node part of the foundry market by 2030, an analyst said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to lead its peers in the advanced 2-nanometer process technology, despite competition from Samsung Electronics Co and Intel Corp, TrendForce Corp analyst Joanne Chiao (喬安) said. TSMC’s sophisticated products and its large production scale are expected to allow the company to continue dominating the global 2-nanometer process market this year, Chiao said. The world’s largest contract chipmaker is scheduled to begin mass production of chips made on the 2-nanometer process in its Hsinchu fab in the second half of this year. It would also hold a ceremony on Monday next week to
TECH CLUSTER: The US company’s new office is in the Shalun Smart Green Energy Science City, a new AI industry base and cybersecurity hub in southern Taiwan US chip designer Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) yesterday launched an office in Tainan’s Gueiren District (歸仁), marking a significant milestone in the development of southern Taiwan’s artificial intelligence (AI) industry, the Tainan City Government said in a statement. AMD Taiwan general manager Vincent Chern (陳民皓) presided over the opening ceremony for the company’s new office at the Shalun Smart Green Energy Science City (沙崙智慧綠能科學城), a new AI industry base and cybersecurity hub in southern Taiwan. Facilities in the new office include an information processing center, and a research and development (R&D) center, the Tainan Economic Development Bureau said. The Ministry
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday signed a letter of intent with Alaska Gasline Development Corp (AGDC), expressing an interest to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) and invest in the latter’s Alaska LNG project, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement. Under the agreement, CPC is to participate in the project’s upstream gas investment to secure stable energy resources for Taiwan, the ministry said. The Alaska LNG project is jointly promoted by AGDC and major developer Glenfarne Group LLC, as Alaska plans to export up to 20 million tonnes of LNG annually from 2031. It involves constructing an 1,290km
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