JAPAN
Parliament boosts spending
Parliament yesterday passed a record ￥31.9 trillion (US$296.72 billion) extra budget, to shore up the economy amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The spending provides financing for struggling companies, payroll subsidies and aid to the medical system. It would help fund a ￥117 trillion stimulus package unveiled last month that doubles the scale of Japan’s virus response. The second record extra budget since April comes amid the nation’s worst economic crisis in decades, but it also adds to a mountain of public debt. S&P Global Ratings this week cut its outlook on Japan’s sovereign bond rating, citing the setback to debt stabilization efforts. To fund its additional general account spending, the government is to boost its debt issuance by ￥59.5 trillion, with some of the money used for government-led financing programs, the Ministry of Finance said.
GAMING
Sony reveals PS5
Sony Corp on Thursday unveiled two versions of its upcoming PlayStation 5 (PS5) game console and an array of new games from the virtual stage, showcasing its next-generation lineup for the first time ahead of a holiday season showdown against Microsoft Corp’s Xbox. A new Spider-Man game would be ready for the holidays, alongside the black-and-white home console. Sony next year would also have a new Gran Turismo racing game and an enhanced PS5 version of Take-Two Interactive Software Inc’s bestselling Grand Theft Auto V. The second variant of the PS5, dubbed the Digital Edition, would eschew the Blu-ray disc drive, leaving downloads as the only way to acquire content. This move could cut out retailers like Amazon.com Inc, GameStop Corp and Walmart Inc.
GERMANY
Cabinet primes stimulus
The government is moving to implement the first elements of a sweeping 130 billion euro (US$147.2 billion) stimulus package to help pull its economy out of the worst recession since World War II. At a special meeting yesterday, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Cabinet was due to sign off on several key initiatives agreed last week. The goal is to get the bulk of the plan approved by parliament before a two-month recess. A value-added tax cut designed to reinvigorate demand after weeks of lockdown restrictions is set to go into effect on July 1. The Cabinet is also to consider emergency aid for small and mid-sized companies as well as a family bonus of 300 euros per child. The government intends to increase borrowing this year by at least 30 billion euros, requiring further suspension of constitutional debt restrictions, people familiar with the plan have said.
STOCK MARKETS
Asia has biggest IPO week
China’s No. 2 online retailer JD.com Inc’s (京東) US$3.9 billion Hong Kong listing has given Asia its biggest week for initial public offerings (IPOs) this year, joining a global rebound in initial share sales. Companies priced US$4.37 billion worth of listings, the most since the last week of last year, data compiled by Bloomberg showed. JD makes up the bulk of the volume, with the rest coming from listings in China and South Korea. JD’s share sale, the second-biggest this year globally, follows Chinese gaming giant NetEase Inc’s (網易) US$2.7 billion Hong Kong listing last week. Listings have been rebounding on the back of stronger markets and lower volatility, as issuers look to take advantage of what could be a short-lived window after being forced to sit on the sidelines earlier in the year.
WEAKER ACTIVITY: The sharpest deterioration was seen in the electronics and optical components sector, with the production index falling 13.2 points to 44.5 Taiwan’s manufacturing sector last month contracted for a second consecutive month, with the purchasing managers’ index (PMI) slipping to 48, reflecting ongoing caution over trade uncertainties, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. The decline reflects growing caution among companies amid uncertainty surrounding US tariffs, semiconductor duties and automotive import levies, and it is also likely linked to fading front-loading activity, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) said. “Some clients have started shifting orders to Southeast Asian countries where tariff regimes are already clear,” Lien told a news conference. Firms across the supply chain are also lowering stock levels to mitigate
IN THE AIR: While most companies said they were committed to North American operations, some added that production and costs would depend on the outcome of a US trade probe Leading local contract electronics makers Wistron Corp (緯創), Quanta Computer Inc (廣達), Inventec Corp (英業達) and Compal Electronics Inc (仁寶) are to maintain their North American expansion plans, despite Washington’s 20 percent tariff on Taiwanese goods. Wistron said it has long maintained a presence in the US, while distributing production across Taiwan, North America, Southeast Asia and Europe. The company is in talks with customers to align capacity with their site preferences, a company official told the Taipei Times by telephone on Friday. The company is still in talks with clients over who would bear the tariff costs, with the outcome pending further
Six Taiwanese companies, including contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), made the 2025 Fortune Global 500 list of the world’s largest firms by revenue. In a report published by New York-based Fortune magazine on Tuesday, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), ranked highest among Taiwanese firms, placing 28th with revenue of US$213.69 billion. Up 60 spots from last year, TSMC rose to No. 126 with US$90.16 billion in revenue, followed by Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) at 348th, Pegatron Corp (和碩) at 461st, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) at 494th and Wistron Corp (緯創) at
NEGOTIATIONS: Semiconductors play an outsized role in Taiwan’s industrial and economic development and are a major driver of the Taiwan-US trade imbalance With US President Donald Trump threatening to impose tariffs on semiconductors, Taiwan is expected to face a significant challenge, as information and communications technology (ICT) products account for more than 70 percent of its exports to the US, Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) said on Friday. Compared with other countries, semiconductors play a disproportionately large role in Taiwan’s industrial and economic development, Lien said. As the sixth-largest contributor to the US trade deficit, Taiwan recorded a US$73.9 billion trade surplus with the US last year — up from US$47.8 billion in 2023 — driven by strong
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