TOURISM
Singapore hotel prices surge
Hotel rooms in Singapore are now the most expensive in almost a decade as the city-state seeks to position itself as a tourism and business destination in Asia. At S$259 (US$184.19) per night, the average hotel room rate in July rose nearly 70 percent year-on-year to the highest since Sept. 2012, as visitor arrivals continue to accelerate amid easing COVID-19 restrictions, the latest data from the Singapore Tourism Board showed. Visitor arrivals in Singapore rose for the sixth straight month in July to 726,601, up from 543,733 in June, the tourism board said.
INDIA
Services sector gains pace
Activity in the dominant services sector gathered pace last month, driven by an upturn in business activity and the sharpest rise in employment in over 14 years amid easing cost pressures. S&P Global India Purchasing Managers Index for services rose to 57.2 last month from a four-month low of 55.5 in July. A number above 50 shows expansion, while a print below that shows contraction in activity. “The pickup in growth stemmed from a rebound in new business gains as firms continued to benefit from the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions and ongoing marketing efforts,” S&P Global Market Intelligence Pollyanna economics associate director De Lima said.
BANKING
UBS exits Wealthfront deal
UBS Group AG has abandoned its plan to acquire US robo-adviser Wealthfront, unwinding what would have been the Swiss bank’s first major acquisition under chief executive officer Ralph Hamers. The companies together decided to terminate their January merger agreement, valued at US$1.4 billion, statements from both of them on Friday said, without specifying a reason. UBS would purchase a US$69.7 million note convertible into Wealthfront shares. Founded in 2008, Wealthfront was an early robo-adviser, using algorithms to help users manage money.
BANKING
HSBC trims HK staff
HSBC Holdings PLC is trimming the number of bankers focused on Chinese debt issuance amid a slump in bond deals from the world’s second-largest economy. Two vice presidents, who covered China debt markets, are leaving the firm, according to people familiar with the matter. With that, the Hong Kong-based team covering Greater China debt capital markets would shrink to one managing director and five directors, the people said. Banks have been reviewing headcount and cutting bankers in the Greater China region. UBS Group AG is letting go of half a dozen mainland China-focused employees in Hong Kong — including debt capital markets bankers.
TURKEY
Inflation rises slightly
The official inflation rate yesterday barely changed in a sign that a year-long crisis that has seen prices soar by 80 percent might finally be starting to ease. The Turkish Statistical Institute said that consumer prices rose by 80.2 percent last month from a year earlier. The figure was fractionally higher than the 79.6 percent reported in July and only a small bump up from the 78.6 percent reading in June. Turkey’s prices have been steadily rising since a low of 16.6 percent in May last year. The central bank said over the weekend it expects the inflation rate to fall to 65 percent by the end of the year.
US SANCTIONS: The Taiwan tech giant has ended all shipments to China-based Sophgo Technologies after one of their chips was discovered in a Huawei phone Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) suspended shipments to China-based chip designer Sophgo Technologies Ltd (算能科技) after a chip it made was found on a Huawei Technologies Co (華為) artificial intelligence (AI) processor, according to two people familiar with the matter. Sophgo had ordered chips from TSMC that matched the one found on Huawei’s Ascend 910B, the people said. Huawei is restricted from buying the technology to protect US national security. Reuters could not determine how the chip ended up on the Huawei product. Sophgo said in a statement on its Web site yesterday that it was in compliance with all laws
SPEED OF LIGHT: US lawmakers urged the commerce department to examine the national security threats from China’s development of silicon photonics technology US President Joe Biden’s administration on Monday said it is finalizing rules that would limit US investments in artificial intelligence (AI) and other technology sectors in China that could threaten US national security. The rules, which were proposed in June by the US Department of the Treasury, were directed by an executive order signed by Biden in August last year covering three key sectors: semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies and certain AI systems. The rules are to take effect on Jan. 2 next year and would be overseen by the Treasury’s newly created Office of Global Transactions. The Treasury said the “narrow
TECH TITANS: Nvidia briefly overtook Apple again on Friday after becoming the world’s largest company for a short period in June, as Microsoft fell to third place Nvidia Corp dethroned Apple Inc as the world’s most valuable company on Friday following a record-setting rally in the stock, powered by insatiable demand for its specialized artificial intelligence (AI) chips. Nvidia’s stock market value briefly touched US$3.53 trillion, slightly above Apple’s US$3.52 trillion, London Stock Exchange Group data showed. Nvidia ended the day up 0.8 percent, with a market value of US$3.47 trillion, while Apple’s shares rose 0.4 percent, valuing the iPhone maker at US$3.52 trillion. In June, Nvidia briefly became the world’s most valuable company before it was overtaken by Microsoft Corp and Apple. The tech trio’s market capitalizations have been
SPECIALIZIATION: OpenAI is designing a new type of semiconductor with Broadcom that would run artificial intelligence software and respond to user requests OpenAI is working with Broadcom Inc to develop a new artificial intelligence (AI) chip specifically focused on running AI models after they have been trained, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The AI start-up and chipmaker are also consulting with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest chip contract manufacturer, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. OpenAI has been planning a custom chip and working on such uses for the technology for about a year, but the discussions are still at an early stage, the sources said. OpenAI declined