10/03/2026

BIZ & FINANCE TUESDAY | MAR 10, 2026

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Global arms exports soar on European demand

South Korean committee backs bill to enable US$350b US investment SEOUL: A South Korean parliamentary committee yesterday agreed on the final wording of a special bill, paving the way for a plenary vote this week to enable US$350 billion of US investments under a bilateral trade deal between the countries. The special committee, comprising lawmakers from the ruling Democratic Party and the opposition People Power Party, approved the bill unanimously during a livestreamed general meeting. The bill is expected to be put to a full National Assembly vote on March 12, as the US ally responds to pressure from Washington over perceived delays in enacting the deal. The “Special Act on Investment in the US” will set up an investment vehicle, as well as a risk management committee to implement last year’s agreement for South Korea to invest in sectors such as shipbuilding and chips in return for lower US tariffs. US President Donald Trump threatened in January to hike tariffs on imports from South Korea, accusing the country’s parliament of delays in enacting the trade deal. Top South Korean officials have said the America-South Korea trade deal remains valid despite a US Supreme Court decision in February that struck down a large swath of Trump’s tariffs. Officials in Seoul have, however, voiced concerns about the impact of US investments on an already weak won currency and said that projects would be based on consideration of commercial feasibility and foreign exchange market conditions. South Korea’s Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan on Sunday said the US is unlikely to slap higher tariffs on South Korea should the Korean parliament move swiftly to implement investment legislation sought by Washington next week as scheduled.

European countries accounted for only a fifth of flows in the region. “European suppliers are still supplying majorly outside of Europe rather than within,” George said. Germany did overtake China to become the fourth-largest arms exporter in 2021-2025, with 5.7% of global arms exports. Almost a quarter of German exports went to Ukraine as aid and only 17% went to other European states, meaning more than half left the continent. US dominance in supplying Europe was likely to continue for the foreseeable future, George said, pointing out that more than 460 F-35 fighter jets were pending delivery. Arms imports to the Middle East shrank by 13 percent between 2016-2020 and 2021-2025. But three of the world’s top importers still came from the region, which received more than half of its imports – 54% – from the United States. Saudia Arabia accounted for 6.8% of global imports, while Qatar and Kuwait accounted for 6.4% and 4.8% respectively. “Moving forward, we do see a

whole list of things that are pending for delivery to the Middle East. “So when they are delivered, then we can see those numbers potentially go up,” George told AFP. When it comes to exports, the United States is in a class of its own, George noted. The second-largest exporter, France – which saw its exports grow 21% – accounted for just 9.8% of global arms exports in 2021-2025. Russia, the third-largest exporter, was the only one of the world’s top 10 to see exports fall. Its weapons sales fell 64% by volume in 2021-2025 compared to the previous five years, reducing its global share of exports from 21% in 2016-2020 to 6.8% in 2021-2025. The drop in Russian exports can be explained in part by the fact that Moscow is using more of the equipment it produces for its war in Ukraine, and also because the United States and Europe have been pushing third countries to not purchase Russian arms, George said. Additionally, the two main importers of Russian weaponry, China and India, “are looking at domestic development and production of defence technology”, George said. In India’s case, the country has also “looked at diversifying who they’re getting their arms from”. China’s move towards more domestic production and away from Russian imports led its overall imports to drop by 72%. The country fell out of the top 10 importers for the first time since the early 1990s, according to SIPRI. While the Asia and Oceania region was the second-largest importer, China’s reduced imports contributed to a 20% drop in volume in the region in 2021-2025 compared to 2016-2020. That said, China has not stopped investing in its military capabilities, leading some of its neighbours to follow suit. “Fears over China’s intentions and its growing military capabilities continue to influence armament efforts in other parts of Asia and Oceania, which often still depend on imported arms,” said Siemon Wezeman, a senior researcher with SIPRI.

o America accounts for 42% of international weapons transfers in 2021-2025

STOCKHOLM: Global weapons flows grew by almost 10 percent in the past five years, with Europe more than tripling imports, a report showed yesterday. The surge in European countries can be explained, in part at least, by the fact they are buying in weapons to supply to Ukraine and because they are seeking to boost their own military capabilities against a perceived threat from Russia, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said. The volume of worldwide arms flows grew by 9.2% in the period 2021 to 2025 compared to the preceding five-year period, according to SIPRI’s new report. SIPRI analyses trends over half-decades because a few deliveries of major contracts can tilt yearly figures. While imports of weapons to Europe are still not at the levels seen

during the Cold War, “Europe is now the largest recipient of arms”, Mathew George, director of SIPRI’s Arms Transfers Programme, told AFP. “Deliveries to Ukraine since 2022 are the most obvious factor but most other European states have also started importing significantly more arms to shore up their military capabilities against a perceived growing threat from Russia,” he said in a statement. European countries accounted for 33% of global arms imports, increasing their imports by 210% from the previous five-year period. Almost half of weapons to Europe, 48%, came from the United States. The US dominated weapons exports, accounting for 42% of all international arms transfers in the period – up from 36% in the previous five years. Despite talk of Europe needing to become more self-sufficient, George noted that transfers between

“The US expressed gratitude for (South Korea’s) upcoming plans to approve the US investment act and the way I heard things from them is that there won’t be an official announcement to raise tariffs if what we discussed from the deal gets implemented.” – Reuters Washington, Tokyo may partner with Japan Display for new US plant A P1-Sun FPV interceptor drone takes off during a test fly in an undisclosed location in Ukraine. – REUTERSPIC Between 2016-2020 and 2021-2025, Japan increased its arms imports by 76% while Taiwan increased its purchases by 54%. – AFP

TOKYO : Tokyo and Washington are looking at building a display factory in the US in partnership with Japan Display as part of Japan’s planned US$550 billion investment package, two sources with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. The plan is aimed at strengthening American display manufacturing amid Washington’s concerns over reliance on China for display technologies used in military systems at a time when fierce price

domestic plants to focus resources on automotive displays and is ending OLED panel production for the Apple Watch. The Japanese government invested more than 460 billion yen in Japan Display but exited last year, losing about a third of its investment. Research firm Counterpoint forecasts China will continue to dominate global display capacity, expanding its share from 68% in 2023 to 75% in 2028. – Reuters

display units of Sony Group, Toshiba and Hitachi, was once one of the world’s top vendors of liquid crystal display (LCD) panels and the primary screen supplier for Apple’s iPhones. But Apple’s shift to organic light-emitting displays (OLED), combined with price competition from Chinese players, has left Japan Display struggling with losses for more than a decade. The company is consolidating its

The display project is among several deals under discussion between the United States and Japan, said one of the sources, who declined to be identified. Reuters has reported that the two sides are working to include a nuclear power project involving Westinghouse in a second round of deals which are part of investment commitments Tokyo made in its US tariff agreement. Japan Display, formed in 2012 in a government-backed merger of the

competition has pushed most Japanese manufacturers out of the market. Japan Display declined to comment. Its shares surged 80% yesterday, valuing the long loss-making company at ¥190 billion (RM3.9 billion). The news was first reported by Nikkei Asia , which said the project was expected to be worth roughly US$13 billion.