■BANKING
Local lenders resolve cases
Taiwanese banks have reached settlements in more than 2,000 cases linked to investments in Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc-related securities, the financial regulator said on Friday. An average of 300 cases are being resolved per week with settlements already reached on investments worth NT$1.6 billion (US$46 million) as of Feb. 20, the Financial Supervisory Commission said in a statement. All cases related to investments made in Lehman-linked notes after Sept. 1 have been resolved, the statement said.
■ELECTRONICS
Micron to transfer patents
Micron Technology Inc will transfer more than 2,500 of its chip patents to local chipmakers in exchange for the government’s financial aid, the Chinese-language Economic Daily News reported yesterday, citing Michael Sadler, excutive vice president of Inotera Memories Inc (華亞科技), a DRAM joint venture between Micron and Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技). The government is planning to form a new DRAM company to consolidate local memory chipmakers. Micron will invest more funds in this new company and start producing its most advanced 50-nanometer chip within a year at the earliest, the newspaper said.
■PETROLEUM
Pemex shows US$7bn loss
Mexican national oil company Pemex on Friday announced a loss of more than US$7 billion for last year, a sixfold increase over the previous year, a company spokesman said. The loss was attributed mainly to the drop in the peso’s value, the spokesman said. Pemex declared a loss of around US$1 billion in 2007. Mexico’s peso was on Friday trading at a record low of 15.22 to the US dollar, despite an injection of cash by the country’s Central Bank (Banxico).
■AVIATION
UK, China firms seal deals
A US$1.2 billion deal between British jet engine maker Rolls-Royce and Hainan Airlines of China was announced on Friday as British and Chinese firms signed deals worth up to US$1.9 billion. The announcements, sealed at a ceremony in London attended by China’s Trade Minister Chen Deming (陳德銘) and Britain’s Business Secretary Peter Mandelson, came on the last leg of a Chinese trade tour of Europe. The US$1.2 billion deal is for the purchase of Rolls-Royce jet engines and a service contract for Hong Kong Airlines planes, it was announced.
■BANKING
HSBC to sell shares
HSBC, Europe’s biggest bank, plans to raise more than £12 billion (US$17 billion) in a share sale aimed at propping up its capital base in order to cope with the economic crisis, the Financial Times reported yesterday. The FT said the share issue would likely be announced alongside its full-year results for last year due tomorrow. The newspaper quoted unidentified people involved in the discussions as saying the offer price for the sale had not been set and the deal could still be postponed.
■INVESTMENT
GE to cut dividend
For the first time since the Great Depression of the 1930s, General Electric Co (GE) is cutting its quarterly dividend, a move that allows the struggling conglomerate to save US$9 billion a year as it braces for a tough year. GE said on Friday it would pay shareholders a US$0.10-per-share dividend beginning in the third quarter, 68 percent lower than the company’s original plan of US$0.31. The dividend cut is the company’s first since 1938.
EARLY TALKS: Measures under consideration include convincing allies to match US curbs, further restricting exports of AI chips or GPUs, and blocking Chinese investments US President Donald Trump’s administration is sketching out tougher versions of US semiconductor curbs and pressuring key allies to escalate their restrictions on China’s chip industry, an early indication the new US president plans to expand efforts that began under former US president Joe Biden to limit Beijing’s technological prowess. Trump officials recently met with their Japanese and Dutch counterparts about restricting Tokyo Electron Ltd and ASML Holding NV engineers from maintaining semiconductor gear in China, people familiar with the matter said. The aim, which was also a priority for Biden, is to see key allies match China curbs the US
The popular Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) arbitrage trade might soon see a change in dynamics that could affect the trading of the US listing versus the local one. And for anyone who wants to monetize the elevated premium, Goldman Sachs Group Inc highlights potential trades. A note from the bank’s sales desk published on Friday said that demand for TSMC’s Taipei-traded stock could rise as Taiwan’s regulator is considering an amendment to local exchange-traded funds’ (ETFs) ownership. The changes, which could come in the first half of this year, could push up the current 30 percent single-stock weight limit
NOT TO WORRY: Some people are concerned funds might continue moving out of the country, but the central bank said financial account outflows are not unusual in Taiwan Taiwan’s outbound investments hit a new high last year due to investments made by contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and other major manufacturers to boost global expansion, the central bank said on Thursday. The net increase in outbound investments last year reached a record US$21.05 billion, while the net increase in outbound investments by Taiwanese residents reached a record US$31.98 billion, central bank data showed. Chen Fei-wen (陳斐紋), deputy director of the central bank’s Department of Economic Research, said the increase was largely due to TSMC’s efforts to expand production in the US and Japan. Investments by Vanguard International
‘SACRED MOUNTAIN’: The chipmaker can form joint ventures abroad, except in China, but like other firms, it needs government approval for large investments Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) needs government permission for any overseas joint ventures (JVs), but there are no restrictions on making the most advanced chips overseas other than for China, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. US media have said that TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker and a major supplier to companies such as Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp, has been in talks for a stake in Intel Corp. Neither company has confirmed the talks, but US President Donald Trump has accused Taiwan of taking away the US’ semiconductor business and said he wants the industry back
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