14/01/2026

BIZ & FINANCE WEDNESDAY | JAN 14, 2026

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Japan snap election bets push stocks to record highs

India’s palm oil imports drop to 8-month low MUMBAI: India’s palm oil imports fell to an eight-month low in December, as refiners increased purchases of rival oils such as soyoil and sunflower oil amid weaker seasonal demand during the winter months, a leading trade body said yesterday. Lower palm oil imports by India, the world’s largest buyer of vegetable oils, could lift inventories in top producers Indonesia and Malaysia, weighing on benchmark Malaysian palm oil futures, while lending support to US soyoil futures. India’s palm oil imports in December fell about 20% from the previous month to 507,204 metric tons, the lowest since April 2025, the Mumbai-based Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA) said in a statement. India imported an average of about 632,000 tons of palm oil each month during the marketing year that ended in October 2025, according to SEA. Imports of soyoil rose 36% to 505,112 tons in December, the highest in three months, and sunflower oil imports were up about 145% to a 17-month high 349,929 tons, the SEA said. Total vegetable oil imports rose 17% to 1.38 million tons, the statement added. India buys palm oil mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia, and imports soyoil and sunflower oil from Argentina, Brazil, Russia and Ukraine. “Palm oil demand was hit by seasonal slowdown during the winter months,” said a Mumbai-based dealer with a global trade house. India’s palm oil imports typically moderate during the winter months, as the tropical oil solidifies at lower temperatures, limiting its use in northern parts of the country. Palm oil’s discount to rival soyoil and sunflower oil has widened in recent weeks, which is expected to push India’s imports above 700,000 tons in January, the dealer said. In a separate development a senior official said in Jakarta, yesterday the launch of Indonesia’s B50 biodiesel mandate will depend on the price gap between crude oil and crude palm oil Indonesia, the world’s largest producer of palm oil, previously said it would start its B50 mandate, which requires a 50-50 blend of palm-based fuel and diesel, in the second half of 2026. The current mandate calls for biodiesel that is 40% palm-based. “This year, the guidance from the president is to maintain B40,” said Airlangga Hartarto, the coordinating minister for economic affairs. “For B50, reviews are being continuously conducted and we must monitor the difference between crude oil and crude palm oil prices.” – Reuters SK hynix to spend RM52b on new chip packaging plant SEOUL: South Korean chip giant SK hynix said yesterday it would spend 19 trillion won (RM52.2 billion) building an advanced chip packaging plant as the firm rides a global artificial intelligence (AI) boom. SK hynix is one of the world’s leading memory chip makers, manufacturing chips essential for artificial intelligence products and the data centres that the fast-evolving industry relies on. “As global competition in AI accelerates, demand for memory used in AI is surging worldwide,” the company said. “SK hynix has decided to make a new investment in an advanced packaging fab,” it said. “The importance of pre-emptively responding to rising HBM (high-bandwidth memory) demand is critical.” The company is a supplier to the US giant Nvidia and remains one of the biggest manufacturers of the product. – AFP

33 industry groups yesterday, with a nearly 5% jump. Elsewhere, Hong Kong stocks hit a two month high yesterday but China stocks took a breather after hitting a decadal high the previous session on record turnover. Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index climbed 0.9%, or 239.99 points, to 26,848.47, having touched the highest level since Nov 13, 2025. In China, both the blue-chip CSI300 Index and the Shanghai Composite Index ended about 0.6% lower. In Seoul, South Korean shares rose to their highest level on record, as Hyundai Motor rallied on optimism around its robot business and battery makers jumped after a supply chain meeting. The benchmark Kospi ended 67.85 points, or 1.47%, higher at 4,692.64, its highest closing level on record. The index extended gains for an eighth straight session. In Sydney, Australian shares closed at a two-month high yesterday, as easing expectations of imminent rate hikes and firmer commodity prices lifted heavyweight banking and mining stocks. The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.6% to end at 8,808.50, a peak since Nov 11. The benchmark also logged its biggest gain in three weeks. It has risen 1.1% so far this month. – Reuters

o Super-long JGB yields at new peak on fiscal stimulus concerns, yen dives to all-time lows against euro, Swiss franc

TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei share average surged to a record high yesterday, while the yen sank to an all-time low against the euro and the Swiss franc as investors bet on more fiscal stimulus amid reports the government may call a snap election next month. Japanese government bonds tumbled, pushing up yields on 20-year paper to a record peak as local media said Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi plans to dissolve parliament when it reconvenes on Jan 23, setting up a for general election as soon as Feb 8. The Nikkei jumped as much as 3.6% to a record 53,814.79, and hovered near that level throughout the session. The broader Topix rose as much as 2.4% to 3,599.31, also an all-time peak. A public holiday on Monday augmented the buying, as Japanese equities caught up with Wall Street’s two-day rally to record highs. Equity market sentiment was also supported by a rapid decline in the yen since the end of last week, as a softer currency increases the value of overseas earnings at

Japan’s heavyweight exporters. The yen tumbled to an unprecedented 185.28 per euro and to 199.12 per Swiss franc yesterday, and dropped to a 1½-year low of 158.925 per US dollar. “It’s widely believed in markets that if Takaichi dissolves parliament, the result will be a weaker yen, higher equities and lower bond prices,” based on the idea that “early elections mean proactive fiscal spending”, said Maki Sawada, an equities strategist at Nomura Securities. Yields on the longest-dated JGBs jumped yesterday, with the 20-year yield spiking 8 basis points (bps) to hit an unprecedented 3.135%, and 30-year yields surging 12 bps to match a record peak of 3.52% seen last week. So-called superlong bonds are most sensitive to the fiscal outlook. Yields rise when bond prices fall. The 10-year yield climbed 6 bps to a 27-year high of 2.15%. Transport equipment, which includes automakers and their suppliers, was the best performer among the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s

Zhu speaking during GigaDevice’s listing ceremony at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange yesterday. – REUTERSPIC

GigaDevice soars in HK debut amid China’s chip self-sufficiency drive HONG KONG/SINGAPORE: Shares of

chairman, noted that the company had grown from a business formed in a garage in 2004 to become the first domestic chip design company to list on the main board ten years ago. It was now well positioned as “a chip department store”, he added. “In the future, we will actively embrace AI, expand our product categories, and actively develop new business groups,” he said at the Hong Kong listing ceremony. Proceeds from the Hong Kong share sale are due to be used for research and development as well as strategic and industry investments, including potential acquisitions. – Reuters

globally with a market share of 18.5%, the company said, citing research from consultancy Frost & Sullivan. “GigaDevice is a chip company with testing and assembly capabilities, as well as strong earnings and good future development prospects,” said Kenny Ng, strategist at China Everbright Securities International. GigaDevice’s net profit climbed nearly seven times to 1.1 billion yuan (RM639 million) in 2024 on a 28% jump in revenue, according to its Hong Kong listing prospectus. Its NOR and other chips are used in areas such as consumer electronics, the auto industry and industrial automation. Zhu Yiming, GigaDevice’s founder and

GigaDevice Semiconductor soared 40% in their Hong Kong trading debut yesterday, with investors latching on to a company with surging earnings as China pushes for chip self sufficiency amid tensions with the United States. GigaDevice, which raised HK$4.68 billion (RM2.43 billion) in a second listing, is a fabless integrated circuit design house that also trades on the Shanghai bourse and was founded in 2005. Its shares opened at HK$235, 45.1% above their offer price of HK$162. In NOR flash memory – which is used for storing code that runs devices, it ranks second