08/08/2025

FRIDAY | AUG 8, 2025

17

BIZ & FINANCE

China export growth unexpectedly quickens

Sony hikes profit forecasts after strong quarter for games TOKYO: PlayStation-maker Sony raised its annual profit forecasts yesterday, citing strong performance in its key gaming business and a smaller-than-expected negative impact of US trade tariffs. The Japanese electronics and entertainment conglomerate said“user engagement continued its strong momentum” in the video game sector. Its shares surged more than 6% in Tokyo after the announcement. Monthly active users in June and total gameplay hours on PlayStation consoles in the April-June quarter both increased 6% year-on-year, it said. It added that “the situation surrounding the additional US tariffs is still fluid, and we intend to continue to monitor it and take action to minimise its impact”. “The impact of the additional US tariffs on operating income is estimated to be approximately ¥70 billion (RM2 billion), a decrease of ¥30 billion from the previous forecast.” The firm hiked its net profit forecast for the current 2025-26 financial year to ¥970 billion, up from the previous estimate of ¥930 billion. But even the higher forecast would not top the record net profit of 1.1 trillion yen that Sony logged in the previous financial year. Atul Goyal, an equity analyst at Jefferies, said ahead of the earnings release that the massively anticipated global release of the game Grand Theft Auto VI in May 2026 “could lead to peak game profits” for Sony. – AFP Tokyo Electron sacks staff over TSMC leak TAIPEI: Tokyo Electron said yesterday it has fired an employee at its Taiwan subsidiary who was allegedly involved in a trade secret leak at Taiwanese chipmaking giant TSMC. The Japan firm issued a statement after media reports said Taiwan authorities had searched its Hsinchu office as part of a probe into the breach. Six people were arrested after TSMC discovered the leak involving “national core technology” in July, Taiwan’s High Prosecutors Office said this week. Taiwanese media have reported that the leaked information was related to TSMC’s most advanced 2-nanometre chip technology. A former employee and two current TSMC staff members have been detained, while two other employees were released on bail and another freed without any conditions, prosecutors said. The sacked Tokyo Electron staff member previously worked for TSMC and is among those detained, a source told AFP. Tokyo Electron is a major producer of chipmaking equipment used by TSMC. Tokyo Electron said it sacked its staff member after the worker was “confirmed to be involved in an incident announced by Taiwanese judicial authorities on Aug 5”. – AFP the stablecoin issuer, it’s KYC for every stablecoin holder,” said Ricky Xie, a Hong Kong-based crypto trader, noting that many overseas users may opt out because of this. Market watchers expect the high compliance bar could exclude a wide range of existing stablecoin users who rely on so-called unhosted wallets for trading, usually anonymous. The main HKMA-regulated stablecoins users are likely to be mainland Chinese companies using them for cross-border money transfers, trade, payments and remittances, said Peter Brewin, PwC’s digital assets Asia lead. HKMA expects the first batch of Hong Kong stablecoin issuer licences will be granted early next year and emphasised that only “a handful” of licences will be granted. – Reuters

to reach a deal to lower trade tensions. The two hammered out a 90-day truce in May, and last month in Stockholm agreed to hold further talks on extending the ceasefire past an Aug 12 deadline. That pact has temporarily set fresh US duties on Chinese goods at 30%, while Beijing’s levies on US products stand at 10%. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said following the Stockholm talks that Trump would have the “final say” on any extension of a tariffs truce. Higher tariffs on dozens of trading partners – including a blistering 35% on Canada – also came into force yesterday as Trump seeks to reshape global trade to benefit the US economy. China’s dominance in the critical field of rare earths has also been a key point of contention with Washington, and Beijing’s recent restrictions on their export have sounded alarm bells at factories in the US and elsewhere. Official data showed yesterday that Chinese exports of the elements receded last month from a June spike, though they remained high compared to recent years. Analysts say China’s trade will face significant hurdles in the latter half of the year as uncertainties linger. “Exports look set to remain under pressure in the near-term,” said Zichun Huang, China economist at Capital Economics.. – AFP

o July jump in shipments to EU and Asean offsets US drop

BEIJING: China’s exports rose more than expected last month, with official data yesterday showing a jump in shipments to the European Union and other markets offset a drop in those to the United States. The figures come as Beijing and Washington navigate a shaky trade war truce and will provide a boost to the country’s leaders as they look to kickstart an economy beset by weak domestic consumption. The reading showed that exports jumped 7.2% in July, an improvement on the previous month and much better than the 5.6% forecast in a survey of economists by Bloomberg. The report revealed that US-bound goods sank 21.7%t year-on-year as Donald Trump’s levies – while down from the eye-watering levels initially announced – kicked in. However, exports to the European Union jumped 9.2% and those to the Association of Southeast Asian nations rose 16.6%. Southeast Asia and China have deeply interwoven supply chains and Washington has long accused Chinese manufacturers of “transshipping” – having products pass through a country to avoid harsher trade barriers elsewhere.

In another welcome signal for China’s leaders, imports – a key gauge of struggling domestic demand – jumped 4.1% on-year in July, compared with a Bloomberg forecast of 1% fall. Zhiwei Zhang, president and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, said the data showed “exports supported the economy strongly so far this year”. “Export growth may slow in coming months, as the front loading of exports due to US tariffs fades away. “The big question is how much China’s exports will slow and how it would spill over to the rest of the economy.” Beijing has set an official goal of around 5% growth this year. But it has struggled to maintain a strong economic recovery from the pandemic, as it fights a debt crisis in its massive property sector, chronically low consumption and elevated youth unemployment. Factory output shrank more than expected in July, data showed last week, logging its fourth straight month of contraction in a further sign that trade tensions were hitting the export-dependent economy. But the economic superpowers are working

A container ship waiting to berth at the eastern Chinese port of Qingdao. – AFPPIC

Hong Kong stablecoin bill’s KYC rules spark industry concern HONG KONG: The strict customer identification rules mandated in Hong Kong’s new stablecoin law could hinder adoption of the digital currency and the city’s competitiveness in global digital finance markets, sources from the industry said. industry off guard, the sources said. The de facto central bank, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), said such measures are essential for combating money laundering and terrorism financing as the regulator wants to take a more prudent approach at the initial stage. Market participants warned that the level of scrutiny could discourage usage. real name-based, they lose most advantages over traditional payments such as efficiency and privacy, Tang said. Stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain a constant value and are usually pegged to a fiat currency such as the US dollar.

Hong Kong’s long-awaited stablecoin ordinance took effect on Aug 1 and positions the city as one of the first markets globally to regulate fiat-backed stablecoin issuers, giving it an early-mover advantage that helps its bid to become a virtual asset hub. But the finalised know-your-customer (KYC) rules which require issuers to verify the identity of every stablecoin holder go against the principles of secrecy and privacy in cryptocurrency markets and have caught the

Their underlying blockchain technology enables instant, borderless and round-the-clock transfer of funds at low cost, giving stablecoins the potential to disrupt traditional daily money moves and cross-border payment systems. Some say Hong Kong’s KYC rules are tougher than those in the US, where President Donald Trump signed the Genius Act in July, the country’s first major crypto law with a focus on stablecoins. “It’s not just KYC for those with accounts with

“This is a bit too strict and not good for acquiring users,” said Bo Tang, head and assistant director at HKUST Institute for Financial Research. Tang said such rules could mean if a business is doing cross-border payments using Hong Kong-regulated stablecoins, the client – as a receiver of stablecoins – would need to open an account in Hong Kong just to pass KYC checks. If stablecoin transactions become nearly fully