FRANCE
Slight pickup expected
The French economy is to exit a six-month stagnation with slight growth at the start of this year, according to the Bank of France’s monthly business survey. Activity levels advanced in services last month, but were little changed in industry. For this month, business leaders in the central bank survey expect a pickup in industry and a smaller expansion in services. Based on those results and other indicators, the institution estimates the economy will expand between 0.1 percent and 0.2 percent in the first quarter. “There is a slow economic situation, but we will escape the bleak scenario that some feared,” Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau said in an interview with regional newspaper Ouest-France published on Thursday. The Bank of France survey indicated better news on inflation as fewer companies raised prices last month than at the same time in the previous two years.
UNITED STATES
CEOs turn positive
An index of sentiment among chief executive officers of US companies has turned positive for the first time in two years, according to the Conference Board. The group’s Measure of CEO Confidence rose to 53 in the first quarter, up from 46 in the final three months of last year, the Conference Board said on Thursday. Readings above 50 indicate more optimistic than pessimistic responses. About a third of company bosses surveyed considered current economic conditions to be better than they were six months ago — up from only 18 percent in the final quarter of last year — while fewer said conditions were worse. Meanwhile, 36 percent said they expect economic conditions to improve over the next six months — up from 19 percent in the fourth quarter — and only 27 percent said they expect conditions to worsen, down from 47 percent in the last poll.
BANKING
Barclays to buy Tesco Bank
British bank Barclays PLC on Friday said it had agreed to buy the retail banking operations of Tesco PLC, as the supermarket giant concentrates on its core food business. Barclays is to pay up to US$884 million for Tesco Bank — handing it a portfolio of credit cards, other loans and deposits, according to statements from the two companies. Barclays added that it would retain Tesco Bank’s 2,800 staff, including senior management, as well as the brand representing Britain’s largest retailer. Tesco said it would return the majority of cash proceeds from the sale to its shareholders. The deal is due to complete in the second half of this year, subject to regulatory approvals.
TELECOMS
India to auction airwaves
India’s federal Cabinet on Thursday approved a plan for selling airwaves in an auction to improve quality and coverage of networks in the world’s second-biggest telecom market. The government is to sell airwaves valued at 963.2 billion rupees (US$11.6 billion) at reserve price, according to a statement from India’s Ministry of Communications. A total 10,523.15 megahertz airwaves in eight bands — 800, 900, 1800, 2100, 2300, 2500, 3300MHz and 26GHz — will be up for sale. The airwaves auction is to bolster government finances and help narrow budget deficit in the South Asian nation. The auction is to also help major Indian wireless carriers Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, Bharti Airtel Ltd and Vodafone Idea Ltd to boost services.
REAL ESTATE
Goldman releases HK space
Goldman Sachs Group Inc has given up some office space in Hong Kong, according to people familiar with the matter. The US investment bank is relinquishing a floor in Lee Garden Three in the Causeway Bay area, the people said. Goldman Sachs leased five floors in the building for its back office in 2018. Banks including Goldman Sachs and Citigroup Inc have been cutting staff in Asia in the past couple of years after revenue from stock sales and mergers fell. That is adding to pressure on the office market in Hong Kong, which is among cities worldwide facing a commercial real estate slump stemming from the pandemic and rising interest rates. Hong Kong’s vacancy rate increased to an unprecedented 16.4 percent at the end of last year, CBRE data showed. Grade A office rents could fall as much as 10 percent this year after slipping 6 percent last year, it estimated.
CREDIT
China growth hits record
China’s credit growth surged to a record high last month as demand for financing showed signs of improvement in the wake of government measures to support the economy. Aggregate financing was 6.5 trillion yuan (US$903 billion), the People’s Bank of China said yesterday. That compared with 1.94 trillion yuan in December and 6 trillion yuan in the same month last year. Financial institutions offered 4.92 trillion yuan of new loans in the month, versus a projected 4.5 trillion yuan. The spike in loans reflected seasonal factors as banks tend to boost lending at the start of the year, when they have abundant loan quotas to tap. They were likely also helped by stimulus measures as Beijing seeks to shore up the economy and halt a US$7 trillion stock-market rout.
THAILAND
Rate cut mulled
A top Thai monetary policymaker said the central bank is willing to lower borrowing costs if it is convinced that the weakness in the economy is persistent and not transitory. Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy is currently witnessing softness due to a mixture of cyclical factors as well as structural ones, Bank of Thailand’s Assistant Governor Piti Disyatat said yesterday. The rate panel is trying to disentangle the two effects, he added. The central bank this week kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged for a second straight time. A rate cut is “conditional on how the economy progresses going forward and how we disentangle the softness that we see — if it’s a temporary thing or something more persistent,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg Television.
COSMETICS
Shiseido China sales recover
Japanese cosmetics maker Shiseido Co said yesterday its sales in China are recovering as shoppers move past concerns about the release of treated radioactive water at Fukushima. The company expects a 5 percent increase in sales in China this year, with demand to fully recover from the second quarter, according to an earnings briefing. Sales in the country are forecast to reach ￥253 billion (US$1.7 billion) this year, about a quarter of its total expected revenue of ￥1 trillion, it said. The company’s core operating profit dropped 22 percent to ￥39.8 billion in the year ended on Dec. 31, it said. The firm forecast full-year core operating profit this year to rise 38 percent to ￥55 billion on a sales rebound and as it cuts costs.
UNCERTAINTY: Innolux activated a stringent supply chain management mechanism, as it did during the COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure optimal inventory levels for customers Flat-panel display makers AUO Corp (友達) and Innolux Corp (群創) yesterday said that about 12 to 20 percent of their display business is at risk of potential US tariffs and that they would relocate production or shipment destinations to mitigate the levies’ effects. US tariffs would have a direct impact of US$200 million on AUO’s revenue, company chairman Paul Peng (彭雙浪) told reporters on the sidelines of the Touch Taiwan trade show in Taipei yesterday. That would make up about 12 percent of the company’s overall revenue. To cope with the tariff uncertainty, AUO plans to allocate its production to manufacturing facilities in
TAKING STOCK: A Taiwanese cookware firm in Vietnam urged customers to assess inventory or place orders early so shipments can reach the US while tariffs are paused Taiwanese businesses in Vietnam are exploring alternatives after the White House imposed a 46 percent import duty on Vietnamese goods, following US President Donald Trump’s announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs on the US’ trading partners. Lo Shih-liang (羅世良), chairman of Brico Industry Co (裕茂工業), a Taiwanese company that manufactures cast iron cookware and stove components in Vietnam, said that more than 40 percent of his business was tied to the US market, describing the constant US policy shifts as an emotional roller coaster. “I work during the day and stay up all night watching the news. I’ve been following US news until 3am
Taiwan will prioritize the development of silicon photonics by taking advantage of its strength in the semiconductor industry to build another shield to protect the local economy, National Development Council (NDC) Minister Paul Liu (劉鏡清) said yesterday. Speaking at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee, Liu said Taiwan already has the artificial intelligence (AI) industry as a shield, after the semiconductor industry, to safeguard the country, and is looking at new unique fields to build more economic shields. While Taiwan will further strengthen its existing shields, over the longer term, the country is determined to focus on such potential segments as
COLLABORATION: Given Taiwan’s key position in global supply chains, the US firm is discussing strategies with local partners and clients to deal with global uncertainties Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) yesterday said it is meeting with local ecosystem partners, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), to discuss strategies, including long-term manufacturing, to navigate uncertainties such as US tariffs, as Taiwan occupies an important position in global supply chains. AMD chief executive officer Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) told reporters that Taiwan is an important part of the chip designer’s ecosystem and she is discussing with partners and customers in Taiwan to forge strong collaborations on different areas during this critical period. AMD has just become the first artificial-intelligence (AI) server chip customer of TSMC to utilize its advanced
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