SOUTH KOREA
Central bank raises key rate
The Bank of Korea yesterday hiked its key interest rate by half a percentage point to a decade high as it tries to tackle surging inflation and support the plunging won. The central bank lifted borrowing costs to 3 percent — the highest since 2012 — marking the latest in a series of increases since last year, when they were at rock bottom to fight the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the bank’s fifth consecutive hike and a return to a faster pace of tightening, after a quarter point raise in August, highlighting efforts to support the won, which is at a 13-year low.
RUSSIA
Current account surplus falls
The current-account surplus grew less than forecast, in the latest sign that a critical source of hard currency for the government is coming under pressure as the war in Ukraine escalates. The surplus in the current account — roughly the difference between exports and imports — reached an estimated US$51.9 billion in the third quarter, down from a record US$76.7 billion in the previous three months, central bank data published on Tuesday showed. It was the smallest quarterly total so far this year, with the surplus appearing to narrow last month from August.
CONGLOMERATES
Toshiba picks preferred bidder
Toshiba Corp has granted a consortium led by Japan Industrial Partners Inc (JIP) preferred bidder status for a buyout of the iconic Japanese firm, people with knowledge of the situation said. Private equity firm JIP was looking to acquire Toshiba in partnership with multiple domestic companies including Orix Corp and Chubu Electric Power Co, the people said. Toshiba considered that a sale to JIP would keep the company as one entity, according to the people. Midori Hara, a spokeswoman for Toshiba, declined to comment on the matter, saying to do so may undermine a fair process.
AUTOMAKERS
Honda to build battery JV
Honda Motor Co said it would build a US$3.5 billion joint venture (JV) battery factory in rural southern Ohio and hire 2,200 people to staff it as the company starts to turn the state into its North American electric vehicle hub. Honda, which announced its first Ohio factory 45 years ago, also plans to invest US$700 million and add 300 jobs at three of its own Ohio factories to prepare them to start making electric vehicles and components. The battery plant, to be built jointly with LG Energy Solution Ltd of South Korea, could see a total investment of US$4.4 billion.
SINGAPORE
Rental prices jump 31%
The rental market could get even hotter due to the latest property curbs and a tightening housing supply. Rents for private apartments had soared nearly 31 percent by last month compared with a year earlier, jumping for 21 consecutive months, data from real-estate portals 99.co and SRX showed. Property austerity measures last month aimed at housing purchases could cause more people to rent, driving leasing prices higher, 99 Group head of research Pow Ying Khuan (傅穎寬) said. Rents in the core central region, typically popular with expatriates, increased 29 percent during the same period. The city-state tightened home loan limits, raising the interest rate floor used to calculate the total debt-servicing ratio and mortgage-servicing ratio. It also added a 15-month waiting period for private homeowners looking to move into resold public-housing apartments.
ENERGY ISSUES: The TSIA urged the government to increase natural gas and helium reserves to reduce the impact of the Middle East war on semiconductor supply stability Chip testing and packaging service provider ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控) yesterday said it planned to invest more than NT$100 billion (US$3.15 billion) in building a new advanced chip testing facility in Kaohsiung to keep up with customer demand driven by the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. That would be included in the company’s capital expenditure budget next year, ASE said. There is also room to raise this year’s capital spending budget from a record-high US$7 billion estimated three months ago, it added. ASE would have six factories under construction this year, another record-breaking number, ASE chief operating officer Tien Wu
The EU and US are nearing an agreement to coordinate on producing and securing critical minerals, part of a push to break reliance on Chinese supplies. The potential deal would create incentives, such as minimum prices, that could advantage non-Chinese suppliers, according to a draft of an “action plan” seen by Bloomberg. The EU and US would also cooperate on standards, investments and joint projects, as well as coordinate on any supply disruptions by countries like China. The two sides are additionally seeking other “like-minded partners” to join a multicountry accord to help create these new critical mineral supply chains, which feed into
For weeks now, the global tech industry has been waiting for a major artificial intelligence (AI) launch from DeepSeek (深度求索), seen as a benchmark for China’s progress in the fast-moving field. More than a year has passed since the start-up put Chinese AI on the map in early last year with a low-cost chatbot that performed at a similar level to US rivals. However, despite reports and rumors about its imminent release, DeepSeek’s next-generation “V4” model is nowhere in sight. Speculation is also swirling over the geopolitical implications of which computer chips were chosen to train and power the new
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
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