Latest news with #Japanese
Business Standard
23 minutes ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Yen upbeat as Japan's core inflation accelerates
The Japanese yen stays upbeat against the dollar on Friday following higher inflation data that increases possibility of rate hike by BoJ. Data released earlier today showed that Japan's annual consumer price index (CPI) remained well above the Bank of Japan's (BoJ) target of 2% in May. Japans consumer prices excluding fresh food quickened for a third month to 3.7% from a year earlier in May, according to a Ministry of Internal Affairs released Friday. Thats the fastest pace since January 2023. Food inflation was again a major driver, with the price of rice the nations staple food jumping 102% from a year earlier. Service prices, a metric closely watched by the BOJ, rose 1.4% from a year earlier, slightly more than 1.3% in April. However, the BoJ earlier this week signaled its preference to move cautiously in normalizing still-easy monetary policy and decided to slow the pace of reduction in its bond purchases from fiscal 2026 that could limit gains in the counter. Nevertheless, safe haven demand amidst persistent trade-related uncertainties and rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East could keep the yen supported. Currently, USDJPY is seen quoting at 145.29, down 0.14% on the day. Meanwhile, on the NSE, JPYINR futures are down 0.93% at 59.42.
Nikkei Asia
29 minutes ago
- Business
- Nikkei Asia
Japan weighs 'national shipyard' to revive shipbuilding sector
TOKYO -- The Japanese government and ruling Liberal Democratic Party are drafting policies to revitalize the country's shipbuilding industry, including a plan for the government to construct or rehabilitate shipyards. The proposal will be submitted to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Friday by the LDP's Headquarters for Promoting Economic Security, chaired by Takayuki Kobayashi. It will urge that a detailed plan be produced by the fall that outlines specific support measures, a timeline for implementation, and the predicted levels of private and public sector investment.
Time of India
33 minutes ago
- Business
- Time of India
All routes lead to Mideast and Iran-Israel war won't shut down the 'Silicon Road'
The big theme in Asian supply chains over the past decade has been relocation. Entire industries have sought to pare their reliance on China by shifting manufacturing to other low-cost destinations like Vietnam and India. Japanese carmakers and Indian pharmaceutical firms have chosen Mexico to be closer to American demand. More recently, however, a new route is emerging — from Asia to the Middle East . Speculation that the US is on the verge of joining Israel's attack on Iran may unsettle business leaders' current plans and delay activity along the corridor. However, as long as hostilities don't spiral into a catastrophic event, such as the closing of the all-important Strait of Hormuz to shipping, they are unlikely to derail the economic case for a reprisal of the historic Silk Road. Asian firms are drawn to the Middle East because of the strong appetite in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to leverage their oil resources — and invest trillions of dollars in everything from electric cars to artificial intelligence. The emerging Silicon Road , as I like to think of it, is drawing top executives from Seoul, Shanghai, Taipei and Mumbai to opportunities in Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Doha. Bankers from London, Singapore and Tokyo aren't too far behind. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Cheap Fuerteventura Holidays Await (Take A Look) BestSearches | Search Ads Undo The best evidence for the new passage comes from the 1,500-plus firms that Coalition Greenwich talks to annually across its Asia Large Corporate Banking and Trade Finance studies. In the latter, diversification, which has been high on the executives' priority list since President Donald Trump 's first term, gained momentum last year, with 34% of the 700-plus respondents saying that they were tapping new locations, versus 29% in 2023. India and Vietnam were predictably high on the list of destinations. Japan also received some mentions because of the export advantage accorded by a cheap yen. But the presentation slide that piqued the most interest among Coalition's banking clients is one that showed Asia's burgeoning corporate-banking ties with the Persian Gulf. Live Events You Might Also Like: Warning: Oil giant fears massive disruption if Hormuz shuts amid Iran-Israel conflict The South Korean chaebols are well entrenched in the Middle East, across a gamut of old and new industries. The construction wing of Samsung Group was the primary contractor for Burj Khalifa, the landmark Dubai skyscraper. The Hyundai Motor Group's engineering affiliate has built nuclear-power reactors for the UAE. The conglomerate is now setting up a car-assembly plant in Saudi Arabia. The Korean internet leader Naver Corp. has built large-scale virtual versions of Mecca, Medina and Jeddah for better city planning. The Koreans' success has become a blueprint for others. Compared with 2020, 9% more of Taiwanese and Indian companies, and 5%-6% more of Chinese and Hong Kong firms, point out the Middle East as a market where they have outbound banking activities. This isn't a flash in the pan. 'Not only are more companies citing the corridor, they are using more banks to do business in it,' says Ruchirangad Agarwal, the head of Coalition Greenwich's corporate banking practice for Asia and the Middle East. In terms of usage, European banks' share of this corporate banking market is a stable 29%. That isn't surprising, given the long history of British institutions like HSBC Holdings Plc and Standard Chartered Plc in both Asia and the Middle East. Even BNP Paribas SA — whose predecessor set up operations in China and India in 1860 — came to the Gulf region in the early 1970s in pursuit of petrodollars. You Might Also Like: Strait of Hormuz: Iran threatens 33-km wide key oil lifeline for the world The more interesting bit in the survey is a growing acknowledgement of Chinese and Japanese lenders. About 30% of banking and capital market assets in the Dubai International Financial Center hub are controlled by the top five Chinese banks. The Asia-Middle East corridor has emerged in response to the ambitious Saudi effort to curb the kingdom's reliance on oil. The $2 trillion that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman may end up spending toward this goal will spur demand for everything from physical infrastructure to artificial intelligence software and data centers. Dubai, meanwhile, is getting readying for a flying taxi service. The picks and shovels for the gold rush will come from Asian firms. They will increasingly tap their home-country banks, or a regional lender like Singapore's DBS Group Holdings Ltd., for working capital. The European trade-finance specialists may have to work hard to hold on to their sway.
Economic Times
33 minutes ago
- Business
- Economic Times
All routes lead to Mideast and Iran-Israel war won't shut down the 'Silicon Road'
iStock Asian companies are increasingly drawn to the Middle East, enticed by massive investments in diverse sectors like electric vehicles and AI The big theme in Asian supply chains over the past decade has been relocation. Entire industries have sought to pare their reliance on China by shifting manufacturing to other low-cost destinations like Vietnam and India. Japanese carmakers and Indian pharmaceutical firms have chosen Mexico to be closer to American demand. More recently, however, a new route is emerging — from Asia to the Middle that the US is on the verge of joining Israel's attack on Iran may unsettle business leaders' current plans and delay activity along the corridor. However, as long as hostilities don't spiral into a catastrophic event, such as the closing of the all-important Strait of Hormuz to shipping, they are unlikely to derail the economic case for a reprisal of the historic Silk Road. Asian firms are drawn to the Middle East because of the strong appetite in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to leverage their oil resources — and invest trillions of dollars in everything from electric cars to artificial intelligence. The emerging Silicon Road, as I like to think of it, is drawing top executives from Seoul, Shanghai, Taipei and Mumbai to opportunities in Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Doha. Bankers from London, Singapore and Tokyo aren't too far behind. The best evidence for the new passage comes from the 1,500-plus firms that Coalition Greenwich talks to annually across its Asia Large Corporate Banking and Trade Finance studies. In the latter, diversification, which has been high on the executives' priority list since President Donald Trump's first term, gained momentum last year, with 34% of the 700-plus respondents saying that they were tapping new locations, versus 29% in 2023. India and Vietnam were predictably high on the list of destinations. Japan also received some mentions because of the export advantage accorded by a cheap yen. But the presentation slide that piqued the most interest among Coalition's banking clients is one that showed Asia's burgeoning corporate-banking ties with the Persian Gulf. The South Korean chaebols are well entrenched in the Middle East, across a gamut of old and new industries. The construction wing of Samsung Group was the primary contractor for Burj Khalifa, the landmark Dubai skyscraper. The Hyundai Motor Group's engineering affiliate has built nuclear-power reactors for the UAE. The conglomerate is now setting up a car-assembly plant in Saudi Arabia. The Korean internet leader Naver Corp. has built large-scale virtual versions of Mecca, Medina and Jeddah for better city planning. The Koreans' success has become a blueprint for others. Compared with 2020, 9% more of Taiwanese and Indian companies, and 5%-6% more of Chinese and Hong Kong firms, point out the Middle East as a market where they have outbound banking activities. This isn't a flash in the pan. 'Not only are more companies citing the corridor, they are using more banks to do business in it,' says Ruchirangad Agarwal, the head of Coalition Greenwich's corporate banking practice for Asia and the Middle East. In terms of usage, European banks' share of this corporate banking market is a stable 29%. That isn't surprising, given the long history of British institutions like HSBC Holdings Plc and Standard Chartered Plc in both Asia and the Middle East. Even BNP Paribas SA — whose predecessor set up operations in China and India in 1860 — came to the Gulf region in the early 1970s in pursuit of more interesting bit in the survey is a growing acknowledgement of Chinese and Japanese lenders. About 30% of banking and capital market assets in the Dubai International Financial Center hub are controlled by the top five Chinese banks. The Asia-Middle East corridor has emerged in response to the ambitious Saudi effort to curb the kingdom's reliance on oil. The $2 trillion that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman may end up spending toward this goal will spur demand for everything from physical infrastructure to artificial intelligence software and data centers. Dubai, meanwhile, is getting readying for a flying taxi picks and shovels for the gold rush will come from Asian firms. They will increasingly tap their home-country banks, or a regional lender like Singapore's DBS Group Holdings Ltd., for working capital. The European trade-finance specialists may have to work hard to hold on to their sway.
Kyodo News
36 minutes ago
- Business
- Kyodo News
FOCUS: Nippon Steel buyout spat hints at business fragility in U.S.
By Junko Horiuchi, KYODO NEWS - 7 minutes ago - 13:07 | Japan, All U.S. President Donald Trump's bid to attract investment threatens to undermine the appetite for corporate spending in an ironic twist, with the 18-month saga over Nippon Steel Corp.'s buyout of United States Steel Corp. showing the growing vulnerability of businesses in the U.S. market, according to analysts. The U.S. administration's earlier blocking of the $14.1 billion takeover deal was clearly driven by political motives and corporate executives will no longer be able to make decisions regarding their U.S. operations based only business criteria, they said. The wrangling in the high-profile case could lead global companies to think twice about making sizeable investments and acquisitions in the world's largest economy, with many moving to reduce their exposure to the U.S. market. "I do think many companies are pausing investments and major capital expenditures, not only because of the Nippon-U.S. Steel deal but due to general uncertainty surrounding political and economic dynamics in Washington," said Zack Cooper, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Trump had repeatedly rejected Nippon Steel's plan to take full control of U.S. Steel. But Nippon Steel, the world's fourth-largest steel producer, and U.S. Steel, the 29th largest, said Wednesday following Trump's approval of the buyout plan that they had signed a national security agreement with the U.S. government and finalized the acquisition transaction. Under the deal, the Japanese steelmaker is obliged to invest $11 billion by 2028 on bolstering the U.S. steelmaker's operations, far more than the previously planned $2.7 billion. The U.S. government also obtained a golden share allowing it to veto key management decisions, such as when reducing investment, shedding production capacity in the United States or closing plants. Nippon Steel CEO Eiji Hashimoto told a press conference on Thursday that his company had learned from a year and a half of negotiations with the U.S. government that a flexible management strategy is required. The top executive said it had been believed that governments should not get involved in business deals. "But are strengthening their involvement in economic and business matters through industrial policy," he said. Trump's predecessor, Joe Biden, initially blocked the purchase of U.S. Steel on national security grounds, saying the manufacturing icon, based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania -- a key battleground state in the 2024 presidential election -- should be "American-owned and American-operated." Trump also opposed the deal during the presidential race, saying the acquisition of a minority stake in U.S. Steel would not cause any issues, but foreign ownership of the company would not be good psychologically. He ordered a new review of the deal by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States in April with a deadline for Trump to make a final decision initially set for June 5. "Because predictability is insanely low right now in the United States, Japanese companies are going to cut back the percentage of their business in the country," said Keisuke Hanyuda, the chief executive of Owls Consulting Group. While rising costs must be dealt with, "The last thing a business wants is to lose predictability," said Hanyuda, a former Japanese trade ministry official in charge of trade talks. Nippon Steel is betting on firm demand for high-tensile strength steel in the U.S. market, capitalizing on its advanced production technology for high-end steel plates used in products such as electric vehicles. The United States is one of three growth markets for the Japanese steelmaker, compensating for shrinking domestic demand. Under Trump, the steel, aluminum, auto and semiconductor sectors have been targeted by specific tariffs driven by political pressures and companies in these industries should consider other markets for growth to hedge their risks, analysts say. Earlier this month, Trump signed an order doubling the tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to 50 percent. "I think Japanese companies will have a difficult time purchasing famous American companies in sectors that President Trump prioritizes, such as autos, steel, aluminum, and chipmaking," Cooper at the American Enterprise Institute said, though investment in other sectors may still be viable. "But any Japanese company that is considering a major deal in the United States should develop a detailed political strategy before announcing a deal, lest they suffer similar roadblocks as Nippon Steel," he said. The United States remains a lucrative market with high growth potential but some global companies are beginning to reduce their reliance on it after the tariffs imposed by Trump, Hanyuda said. The European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, for example, have resumed economic partnership negotiations, while the EU is also looking at Japan, which is part of a trans-Pacific free trade pact that took effect in 2018 without the United States. Related coverage: U.S. Steel's strategic importance growing: Nippon Steel CEO Nippon Steel finalizes deal to make U.S. Steel wholly owned Trump effectively approves Nippon Steel's takeover of U.S. Steel
