Business

BLOOMBERG India will likely see below-normal monsoon rain this year, according to a private forecaster, a prospect that could hurt its vast agriculture sector and stoke inflation in Asia’s third-biggest economy. The coming season may bring only 94% of the rain India usually gets from June to September, Skymet Weather Services Pvt said. A lack of rain spells trouble for …

BLOOMBERG Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) missed sales estimates for the second consecutive quarter in a sign of continued weakness in global electronics demand. First-quarter revenue at the world’s biggest contract manufacturer of chips was NT$508.6 billion ($16.7 billion), according to Bloomberg calculations, falling shy of average analyst forecasts of NT$525.5 billion. A sharp slowdown in March contributed to that …

GENEVA / WAM Global trade growth in 2023 is still expected to be subpar despite a slight upgrade to GDP projections since last fall, WTO (World Trade Organization) economists said in a new forecast. Weighed down by the effects of the crisis in Ukraine, stubbornly high inflation, tighter monetary policy and financial market uncertainty, the volume of world merchandise trade …

PARIS / WAM Growth in Emerging Asia is proving resilient with real GDP growth in 2023 projected to 5.3 % on average in Emerging Asian economies (Asean-10, China and India), and by 4.6 % on average in Asean economies alone. The export sector helped boost economic growth and maintain the momentum of the region’s economies, though it has weakened recently. …

BLOOMBERG Britain’s ambition to become a “science superpower” will fail unless the government reverses the country’s reputation as a poor place to invest, the head of the UK’s biggest pharmaceutical lobby group has warned. “I’m very concerned about the sentiment towards the UK among global leadership right now,” Richard Torbett, chief executive officer of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical …

BLOOMBERG China approved its first messenger RNA vaccine for Covid-19, clearing a shot from a local drugmaker that harnesses the powerful technology months after the world’s most-populous nation abandoned pandemic curbs. The mRNA vaccine, developed by CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Ltd and which targets the Omicron variant, has been approved for emergency use, according to a statement from the company to …

BLOOMBERG Hindustan Zinc Ltd’s plan to dole out $1.3 billion in dividends, a fourth such disbursement to shareholders this financial year, is raising concerns over the use of cash at Anil Agarwal’s zinc unit. The Rajasthan-based miner will pay an interim dividend of 26 rupees per share totalling 109.9 billion rupees, according to an exchange filing. Key beneficiaries will be …

BLOOMBERG Sembcorp Industries Ltd, a Singaporean energy company backed by state-owned investor Temasek Holdings Pte, is considering selling its waste management unit, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The company is working with a financial adviser on the potential divestment of SembWaste Pte and could seek as much as $700 million for the unit, the people said. Other …

BLOOMBERG A Singapore-based fintech investment firm is close to raising $100 million to back finance and blockchain startups in China and Southeast Asia. BitRock Capital, backed by logistics real estate operator GLP Pte, targets a closing of the new fund by the third quarter, Alfred Shang, its chief executive officer and co-founding partner, said in an interview. It would more …

BLOOMBERG GoTo Group reported a narrower adjusted loss for the fourth quarter, helped by extensive cost cuts at the Indonesian ride-hailing and e-commerce provider. The adjusted loss before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) shrank to 3.1 trillion rupiah ($202 million) in the quarter through December from 6.5 trillion rupiah a year earlier, the Jakarta-based company said. Net revenue, which …