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.
MULTIFACETED: A task force has analyzed possible scenarios and created responses to assist domestic industries in dealing with US tariffs, the economics minister said The Executive Yuan is tomorrow to announce countermeasures to US President Donald Trump’s planned reciprocal tariffs, although the details of the plan would not be made public until Monday next week, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. The Cabinet established an economic and trade task force in November last year to deal with US trade and tariff related issues, Kuo told reporters outside the legislature in Taipei. The task force has been analyzing and evaluating all kinds of scenarios to identify suitable responses and determine how best to assist domestic industries in managing the effects of Trump’s tariffs, he
TIGHT-LIPPED: UMC said it had no merger plans at the moment, after Nikkei Asia reported that the firm and GlobalFoundries were considering restarting merger talks United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. 4 contract chipmaker, yesterday launched a new US$5 billion 12-inch chip factory in Singapore as part of its latest effort to diversify its manufacturing footprint amid growing geopolitical risks. The new factory, adjacent to UMC’s existing Singapore fab in the Pasir Res Wafer Fab Park, is scheduled to enter volume production next year, utilizing mature 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer process technologies, UMC said in a statement. The company plans to invest US$5 billion during the first phase of the new fab, which would have an installed capacity of 30,000 12-inch wafers per month, it said. The
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
‘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
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