BANIKING
ADB shares climate program
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced a new program aimed at financing efforts to counter climate change, stepping up its attempt to back one of its main focuses in the region. The Innovative Finance Facility for Climate Change in Asia and the Pacific (IF-CAP) could create up to US$15 billion in new loans, through a goal of US$3 billion in guarantees, ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa told a news conference in Incheon, South Korea. “The region needs trillions in investment to combat climate change,” Asakawa said. “To help reach that level, we need to maximize our capital in new ways — the IF-CAP will multiply ADB’s lending capacity through leverage,” making it possible to take climate action across sectors and regions, he said.Partner countries including the US and Japan would guarantee a portfolio of ADB’s sovereign loans, helping shoulder some of the losses in case of a credit event in one of its borrowers, the bank said.
ENERGY
BP profits after record loss
British energy giant BP PLC yesterday posted net profit of US$8.2 billion for the first quarter, compared with a record loss a year earlier as it ended operations in Russia. In the first three months of this year, BP recorded its biggest quarterly loss after tax, at US$20.4 billion, as Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine caused its exit from Russian business. A year ago, BP had booked a pre-tax charge of $25.5 billion after abandoning its 19.75 percent stake in energy group Rosneft PJSC, ending more than three decades of investment in Russia. BP CEO Bernard Looney called this year’s first-quarter performance “strong” as the group focuses “on safe and reliable operations.” The company added that it would return US$1.75 billion to shareholders.
AVIATION
JAL recovers from pandemic
Japan Airlines Co (JAL) yesterday logged an annual net profit for the first time in three years, buoyed by soaring domestic and international demand for travel after COVID-19 restrictions were eased. The carrier, Japan’s second-largest by market share, said that net profit for the year to March was ￥34.4 billion (US$250.4 million) — a turnaround from a net loss of ￥177 billion in the previous financial year. “Air passenger demand recovered steadily as the shift toward balancing the COVID-19 pandemic’s prevention and socioeconomic activities gained momentum,” a company statement said. Japan Airlines said that its return to profitability was in part because of “comprehensive cost-cutting efforts and maximizing sales in the cargo business domain.” Last week, rival ANA Holdings Inc reported profitability for the first time in three years, logging a full-year net profit of ￥89 billion.
BANKING
Morgan Stanley to cut staff
Morgan Stanley is planning to cut more jobs after reporting a decline in profit during the first three months of the year, US media reported on Monday. The bank aims to trim its headcount by nearly 4 percent this quarter after ending March with more than 82,000 employees, the reports said. The US investment and financial services giant said in a recent earnings report that its profit dropped 20 percent in the first three months of this year amid a slowdown in mergers and acquisition advising. The global financial institution at the end of last year trimmed about 2 percent of its staff or about 1,600 positions, CNBC reported at the time. Morgan Stanley’s next round of cuts is expected to involve about 3,000 jobs.
NEW MARKET: The partnership opens up India to the Dutch company, which already has a strong hold in the semiconductor market of South Korea, Taiwan and China ASML Holding NV entered into a partnership agreement with Tata Electronics Pvt Ltd aimed at ramping up India’s goal to develop domestic chip-manufacturing capabilities. The Dutch company’s technology would help power Tata Electronics’ planned 300 millimeter (mm) semiconductor foundry in Gujarat, according to a joint statement from the two companies on Saturday. The signing of a memorandum of understanding coincides with a visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Netherlands, which is looking to deepen bilateral relations with New Delhi. ASML, whose top customers include Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co, makes lithography machines that can print
PORTFOLIO REBALANCING: The adjustments in three global equity indices reflect rising investor appetite for semiconductor and artificial intelligence-related stocks Taiwan’s weighting in major global equity indices compiled by MSCI Inc is to rise modestly following the latest quarterly review, underscoring the market’s expanding role in emerging-market portfolios, as global investors continue to favor the nation’s technology sector. Taiwan’s weighting in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index is to increase by 0.30 percentage points to 23.76 percent, after the changes take effect at the close of the May 29 session. Its weighting in the MSCI All-Country Asia ex-Japan Index is to rise 0.37 percentage points to 27.16 percent, while that in the MSCI All Country World Index is to edge up slightly to
The Hsinchu County Government’s Labor Affairs Department yesterday said that it has received a plan from cosmetics brand Taiwan Shiseido Co (台灣資生堂) detailing mass layoffs at its plant in Hukou Township (湖口). While the labor authorities did not disclose the number of employees to be laid off, Japanese news media earlier in the day reported that the closure of the company’s factory in Hukou would result in 170 employees losing their jobs. Shiseido followed the law by reporting its layoff plan, the department said, adding that authorities would closely monitor negotiations between the management and affected employees and step in if any
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) on Tuesday confirmed a cyberattack targeting some of its North American facilities, but said the affected factories were gradually returning to normal. The company, known globally as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), said that its cybersecurity team “activated the response mechanism and implemented operational measures to ensure the continuity of production and delivery.” “The affected factories are resuming normal production,” the company said in a statement. Hon Hai had previously described it as a “technical issue,” when news of the cyberattack first surfaced. The confirmation followed media reports of a large-scale information technology system incident that broke out at
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