ELECTRONICS
ASMPT draws interest
ASMPT Ltd (先進太平洋股份有限公司), a semiconductor and electronics equipment maker, is attracting takeover interest from private equity firms, people with knowledge of the matter said. Alternative investment firm PAG is among those that have expressed interest in taking the Hong Kong-listed company private, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information. PAG has sounded out several lenders about financing the potential deal, the people said. Founded in 1975, Singapore-headquartered ASMPT has more than 12,000 employees and operates in more than 30 countries, its Web site says.
ENERGY
Subsidies to hit US$1.65tn
The amount of money spent by governments subsidizing energy costs since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is set to reach US$1.65 trillion by the end of the year, credit ratings agency S&P Global estimated. The firm calculated the total soared to US$10 trillion once COVID-19 pandemic spending was added on and that this year would see the overall stock of global sovereign debt reach a record US$65 trillion in absolute terms. S&P based the figures on the 137 countries that it provides credit scores for. It forecast those countries would borrow the equivalent of US$10.5 trillion this year, below the record US$11.5 trillion set in 2021, but 40 percent higher than the pre-pandemic average. Commercial sovereign debt as a proportion of world GDP would increase to about 66 percent this year from just under 64 percent last year, although that would be well below the pandemic-induced peak of 74 percent of GDP in 2020.
AVIATION
Boeing expands in India
Boeing Co yesterday said it would set up a facility in India to convert 737 passenger planes into dedicated freighters to tap into regional and global demand for the service. The investment, which adds to the US manufacturer’s expansion into India on top of a record plane order by flag carrier Air India, comes despite a global economic slowdown that has weakened the global air cargo market. The International Air Transport Association said global cargo demand in January fell almost 15 percent year-on-year. Air freight rates were 28 percent below the levels seen at the same time last year, data provider WorldACD said on Thursday. Boeing said it would set up the conversion facility in Hyderabad with Indian maintenance, repair and overhaul provider GMR Aero Technic. The deal adds to Boeing’s US$1 billion supply chain sourcing from India and should help support India’s ambitions to become a global cargo hub.
AUTOMAKERS
Nissan EV stalls
Nissan Motor Co’s new Ariya electric vehicle (EV) has been hampered by problems at its high-tech production line, four people familiar with the matter said, slowing delivery of a car designed to put the automaker on the road to a comeback. Unveiled in 2020 to strong reviews, the crossover was Nissan’s first all-new global car in five years and signaled an intent to turn the corner on the turmoil that followed the ouster of former head Carlos Ghosn. However, production is running at least one-third below plan, keeping the Ariya from shipping to new customers, according to three of the people and production planning notes reviewed by Reuters. The shortfall represents a lost opportunity to capitalize on the Ariya’s buzz and test demand for the first of 19 new EVs Nissan plans to roll out by 2030.
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his
ADVERSARIES: The new list includes 11 entities in China and one in Taiwan, which is a local branch of Chinese cloud computing firm Inspur Group The US added dozens of entities to a trade blacklist on Tuesday, the US Department of Commerce said, in part to disrupt Beijing’s artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced computing capabilities. The action affects 80 entities from countries including China, the United Arab Emirates and Iran, with the commerce department citing their “activities contrary to US national security and foreign policy.” Those added to the “entity list” are restricted from obtaining US items and technologies without government authorization. “We will not allow adversaries to exploit American technology to bolster their own militaries and threaten American lives,” US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said. The entities
Minister of Finance Chuang Tsui-yun (莊翠雲) yesterday told lawmakers that she “would not speculate,” but a “response plan” has been prepared in case Taiwan is targeted by US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, which are to be announced on Wednesday next week. The Trump administration, including US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, has said that much of the proposed reciprocal tariffs would focus on the 15 countries that have the highest trade surpluses with the US. Bessent has referred to those countries as the “dirty 15,” but has not named them. Last year, Taiwan’s US$73.9 billion trade surplus with the US
Prices of gasoline and diesel products at domestic gas stations are to fall NT$0.2 and NT$0.1 per liter respectively this week, even though international crude oil prices rose last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices continued rising last week, as the US Energy Information Administration reported a larger-than-expected drop in US commercial crude oil inventories, CPC said in a statement. Based on the company’s floating oil price formula, the cost of crude oil rose 2.38 percent last week from a week earlier, it said. News that US President Donald Trump plans a “secondary
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