Sat, Sep 03, 2022 page10

• World Business Quick Take

  • Agencies
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  SOUTH KOREA

  Inflation eases to 5.7%

  Inflation cooled more than expected last month as energy prices eased, reducing pressure on the Bank of Korea (BOK) to deliver another outsized rate increase in its yearlong tightening cycle. Consumer prices advanced 5.7 percent from a year earlier, slowing from July’s 6.3 percent and coming in below economists’ estimate of 6.1 percent, Statistics Korea data showed yesterday. Compared with the previous month, prices fell 0.1 percent last month, the first decrease since late 2020. While the easing is positive, pricing pressure remains significant and the BOK is unlikely to be diverted from steadily tightening policy. Inflation is still running at almost three times the central bank’s 2 percent target and, like much of the developed world, the BOK is determined to bring it under control. The Ministry of Finance said in a statement after the release that the cooling was mainly due to an easing of the oil price and cuts to fuel taxes.

  E-COMMERCE

  Sea cutting gaming jobs

  Sea Ltd is trimming staff in its money-making gaming arm to rein in costs. It is the e-commerce giant’s second round of job cuts this year, following a string of setbacks that is forcing the firm to shift its focus from unbridled growth to profitability. Southeast Asia’s largest tech firm is planning to reduce headcount in its most profitable division Garena and in new ventures at its research and development arm, people familiar with the matter said. About 40 jobs are to be cut from its game livestream app Booyah! including in teams involved in product management and quality assurance, the people said, asking not to be named because the information is private. The Singapore-based company is also shuttering several of its experimental ventures at its research and development unit Sea Labs, the people said.

  GRAINS

  Russia wheat exports falter

  Russia is struggling to export its record wheat crop, just as the opening of a safe corridor supports an uptick in shipments from the country it invaded more than six months ago. Shipments from Russia in July and last month, the first two months of the new season, fell 22 percent to 6.3 million tonnes from a year earlier, ship lineup data from Logistic OS showed. Last month, Ukraine restarted shipments, exporting 1.5 million tonnes of food through the grain corridors established under a deal brokered by the UN and Turkey. While the cargoes from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports are little more than a quarter of pre-war volumes, the government hopes shipments would pick up in the coming months. By contrast, the slow pace of Russian wheat exports is adding pressure to global supplies as harvests elsewhere are hit by drought.

  AUTOMAKERS

  Tax credits drive Nissan EVs

  Nissan is to more aggressively push electric vehicles (EV) to take advantage of a new US law that gives up to US$7,500 in tax credits, the Japanese automaker said yesterday. US President Joe Biden signed the landmark climate change and healthcare bill into law last month. The tax credit can be used to defray the cost of purchasing an electric vehicle that was made in the US. The Nissan Leaf electric car is among the models that qualifies, but under the law, the vehicles must contain a battery built in North America with minerals mined or recycled on the continent to be eligible. Nissan chief sustainability officer Joji Tagawa said the qualification process was complex, but added that Nissan was eager to take advantage of the law to alleviate costs to the customer.
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