06/08/2025

BIZ & FINANCE WEDNESDAY | AUG 6, 2025

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Global M&As surpass US$2.6 trillion year to date

Nissan begins talks with union over Europe job cuts TOKYO: Nissan Motor has begun negotiations with the union representing staff at its European regional office about changes that will include job losses, according to a company document and internal emails. The struggling Japanese automaker, which has embarked on a major restructuring, confirmed it has entered consultations with staff representatives at Nissan Automotive Europe, its regional office in Montigny-le-Bretonneux, France, which has around 560 staff. The office, which also oversees Nissan’s operations for Africa, the Middle East, India and Oceania, is set to undergo major changes, according to a person with knowledge of the issue who declined to be identified. Management and the union agreed to discuss voluntary redundancies before any forced layoffs, the document seen by Reuters showed. Talks are expected to conclude by Oct 20, with full details to be shared with staff in November, the document and the emails said. “We are working diligently and respectfully with all parties to ensure that this process is conducted with care, transparency and in full compliance with legal requirements,“ Massimiliano Messina, Nissan’s vice-chairperson for the region, said in a July 31 email. Messina also said in the email that no decisions had yet been made. After taking the helm in April, CEO Ivan Espinosa announced a sweeping restructuring that includes cutting about 15% of Nissan’s workforce, slashing global production capacity by nearly 30% to 2.5 million vehicles and the number of its manufacturing sites to 10 from 17. The automaker, which has seen weak sales in China and the US compound pain brought on from an expansionist strategy, hopes to save ¥500 billion (RM14.4 billion) with the restructuring. Meanwhile, Nissan will halt production at its Civac plant in Mexico by March 2026. – Reuters TSMC takes legal action over suspected trade secret leak TAIPEI: TSMC, the world’s main producer of advanced AI chips, has launched legal proceedings and taken disciplinary action against employees involved in potential trade secret leaks after detecting unauthorised activities during routine monitoring. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company in an emailed statement to Reuters said yesterday that its “comprehensive and robust monitoring mechanisms” enabled early identification of the issue, leading to swift internal investigations and strict measures against the personnel involved. The case, now under judicial review, prevents the company from providing further details, TSMC said. Nikkei Asia earlier reported that several former staff were suspected of trying to access TSMC’s 2-nanometer chip technology. It remains unclear what the former employees intended to do with the information or whether it was leaked to external parties, with investigations ongoing to determine the scope of the leak, and whether additional parties were involved in the matter, the Nikkei report said. TSMC’s 2-nanometer chip technology is the most advanced technology in the semiconductor industry in terms of both density and energy efficiency, according to the company’s website. The contract manufacturer, which counts AI industry darling Nvidia, iphone maker Apple, and Qualcomm among its customers, highlighted its zero-tolerance policy for trade secret violations, and said it would pursue offenders to the full extent of the law. – Reuters

“Boardrooms M&A opportunity of a more stable economic environment and positive regulatory signals. But it is not a frothy market.” While the healthcare sector drove M&A in the years after the pandemic, the computer and electronics industry has produced more takeover bids in the US and the UK in the last two years, according to Dealogic. Artificial intelligence is expected to drive more dealmaking. M&A activity has increased around data centre usage, such as Samsung’s US$1.7 billion acquisition of Germany’s FlaktGroup, a data centre cooling specialist. Palo Alto Networks US$25 billion deal for Israeli cybersecurity peer CyberArk was the largest deal in Europe, Middle East and Africa so far this year as rising AI-driven threats push companies to adopt stronger defences. Private equity, which had been sitting on the sidelines, has once again been active, with Sycamore Partners’ US$10 billion deal to take private Walgreens Boots Alliance and rivalling £4.8 billion (RM27 billion) offers from KKR and Advent for UK scientific instrument maker Spectris. are seeing the

o AI wave, growth ambitions spark worldwide rebound, led by megadeals and US market dominance

LONDON: Global dealmaking has reached US$2.6 trillion (RM11 trillion), the highest for the first seven months of the year since the 2021 pandemic-era peak, as a quest for growth in corporate boardrooms and the impact of a surge in AI activity has overcome the uncertainty caused by US tariffs. The number of transactions to Aug 1 is 16% lower than the same time last year, but their value is 28% higher, according to Dealogic data, boosted by US megadeals valued at more than US$10 billion. They include Union Pacific Corp’s proposed US$85 billion acquisition of small rival Norfolk Southern and OpenAI’s US$40 billion funding round led by Softbank Group. The upsurge will be a relief to bankers who began the year with expectations the administration of US President Donald Trump would lead to a wave of consolidation. Instead, his trade tariffs and geopolitical uncertainty made companies pause until renewed confidence in corporate boardrooms and the US administration’s anti trust agenda changed the mood. “What you’re seeing in terms of deal SINGAPORE: Asia-US sea freight rates are set to drop further in 2025 as shipping capacity outpaces demand and trade routes shift due to tariffs and geopolitical tensions, though vessel rerouting is expected to limit some losses, industry experts said. Average spot rates for containers from Asia to the US west and east coasts have slumped by 58% and 46% respectively, since June 1 and are expected to fall further, according to shipping analytics firm Xeneta. Adding to uncertainty are unresolved trade talks between the US and China. Officials from the world’s top two economies last week agreed to seek an extension of their 90-day tariff truce. The China-US trade lane remains one of the most profitable for container ship operators. Sea freight saw a brief uptick in late May and early June as shippers took advantage of a 90-day pause in US President Donald Trump’s tariffs, but rates quickly fell as capacity outweighed demand, Xeneta data showed. “There is significant overcapacity globally and this will continue to shape the market,“ said Erik Devetak, Xeneta’s chief technology and data officer. “China-to-US trade is dampened and the EU economy is not exactly hot, so blanked sailings and cancellations will become a recurring theme as carriers desperately try to keep freight rates up,“ Devetek said. Blanked sailing refers to cancelled port calls or voyages. Logistics major DHL noted that spot rates, which rose in the early summer surge of traffic from Asia to North America, have since reversed. “Carriers rushed to add capacity on the transpacific to chase early gains, but oversupply is becoming apparent as the momentum fades,“ said Niki Frank, CEO of DHL Global Forwarding Asia Pacific. Jarl Milford, maritime analyst at Veson Nautical, expects rates to decline steadily in the second half when more vessels are

rationale for transactions right now is that it’s heavily growth-motivated, and it’s increasing,” Andre Veissid, EY Global Financial Services Strategy and Transactions Leader, told Reuters. “Whether it’s artificial intelligence (AI), the change in the regulatory environment, we see our clients not wanting to be left behind in that race and that’s driving activity.” Compared with August 2021, when investors, rebounding from pandemic lockdowns drove the value of deals to US$3.57 trillion, this year’s tally is nearly a US$1 trillion, or 27%, lower. Still, deal-makers at JP Morgan Chase have said there is more to come, with companies pursuing bigger deals in the second half of the year as executives adapt to volatility. “People have got used to the prevailing uncertainty, or maybe the unpredictability post-US election is just more predictable now,” Simon Nicholls, co-head of Slaughter and May Corporate and M&A group, said. Nigel Wellings, partner at Clifford Chance said the market was moving beyond tariffs.

The US was the biggest market for M&A, accounting for more than half of the global activity. Asia Pacific’s dealmaking doubled over the same year to date period last year, outpacing the EMEA region. Asia-US shipping rates to fall further amid tariff turmoil

Trade tensions and shifting routes weigh on transport costs, but vessel rerouting may ease the slide. – UNSPLASH PIX expected to enter the market.

These longer voyages are soaking up more ships and helping provide a floor for rates, analysts said. “These diversions continue to soak up in excess of 10% of containership supply, leading capacity utilisation to a healthy level in the 86 87% range,“ analysts at Jefferies Research wrote, referring to the Red Sea. And while China’s exports to the US have fallen, shipments elsewhere have climbed. Jefferies analysts said spot bookings to the US in recent weeks suggest July volumes are likely to be down, pushing transpacific freight rates to their lowest this year, but rates to markets such as Europe and Latin America remain elevated. – Reuters

“Ongoing uncertainty, including tariff policy and slowing global demand, adds continued pressure,“ Milford said. Ocean Network Express, a joint venture between Japan’s Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and Nippon Yusen, said last week that “recent trade uncertainties further complicate visibility for the latter half of the fiscal year”. A key factor helping absorb some of the excess capacity, however, is the rerouting of vessels from traditional sailings. Carriers are diverting from the Red Sea following attacks by Yemeni Houthis, and some are bypassing US ports to avoid tariffs.