Taiwan lagged behind Asian countries in the first half of the year in both the number of cross-border acquisitions in Asia and their total worth, a media report said yesterday.
The Chinese-language Commercial Times yesterday cited statistics from the Council for Economic Planning and Development to report that Taiwan had closed only 10 acquisitions in the Asia-Pacific region in the first six months of the year, or 4.4 percent of all deals closed in Asia during the period — lower than Malaysia’s 37 deals, Hong Kong’s 28 deals, South Korea’s 26 deals, Singapore’s 21 deals and Thailand’s 12 deals.
STILL GAINING
That was, however, up from 2.4 percent last year, 1.1 percent in 2007 and 0.5 percent in 2006, despite Taiwan being a laggard in this regard since 2006, the report said.
In terms of transaction value, domestic companies totaled US$46 million in Asia-based acquisition deals for the first six months of the year, also lower than the total US$429 million in acquisitions completed by Hong Kong companies at the same time, South Korean companies’ US$1.13 billion or Singaporean companies’ US$1.9 billion, the report said.
The council’s statistics were based on the World Investment Report, published by the UN Conference on Trade and Development annually, the report said.
STIMULUS PLANS: An official said that China would increase funding from special treasury bonds and expand another program focused on key strategic sectors China is to sharply increase funding from ultra-long treasury bonds this year to spur business investment and consumer-boosting initiatives, a state planner official told a news conference yesterday, as Beijing cranks up fiscal stimulus to revitalize its faltering economy. Special treasury bonds would be used to fund large-scale equipment upgrades and consumer goods trade-ins, said Yuan Da (袁達), deputy secretary-general of the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission. “The size of ultra-long special government bond funds will be sharply increased this year to intensify and expand the implementation of the two new initiatives,” Yuan said. Under the program launched last year, consumers can
Citigroup Inc and Bank of America Corp said they are leaving a global climate-banking group, becoming the latest Wall Street lenders to exit the coalition in the past month. In a statement, Citigroup said while it remains committed to achieving net zero emissions, it is exiting the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA). Bank of America said separately on Tuesday that it is also leaving NZBA, adding that it would continue to work with clients on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The banks’ departure from NZBA follows Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Wells Fargo & Co. The largest US financial institutions are under increasing pressure
TRENDS: The bitcoin rally sparked by US president-elect Donald Trump’s victory has slowed down, partly due to outflows from exchange-traded funds for the token Gold is heading for one of its biggest annual gains this century, with a 27 percent advance that has been fueled by US monetary easing, sustained geopolitical risks and a wave of purchases by central banks. While bullion has ticked lower since US president-elect Donald Trump’s sweeping victory in last month’s election, its gains this year still outstrip most other commodities. Base metals have had a mixed year, while iron ore has tumbled, and lithium’s woes have deepened. The varied performances highlight the absence of a single, over-riding driver that has steered the complex’s fortunes, while also putting the spotlight
Twenty years after he was a young, struggling actor in Toronto, Thomas Lo (盧瑞麟) is now the one giving young Asian actors their big breaks. He just had to go to Hong Kong to do it. The Chinese Canadian has been the creative director of one of the territory’s biggest TV broadcasting companies for only a few years, but is already making original English-language content to reach viewers around the world. “It was a bit of a full-circle moment for me,” Lo said. “You see more Asians, but you’re still seeing the same Asians on screen, right? We’re looking for more opportunities
RSS