16/07/2026

BIZ & FINANCE THURSDAY | JULY 16, 2026 ASML raises 2026 forecast,

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Australian premier says to enact laws to govern AI

expands capacity on chip demand THE HAGUE: ASML, the world’s biggest supplier of computer chip manufacturing equipment, raised its 2026 financial forecasts yesterday and will expand capacity after artificial intelligence demand drove better-than-expected second-quarter earnings. Europe’s largest company by market capitalisation said it now expects full-year 2026 net revenue of €43 billion to €45 billion (RM200 billion to RM208 billion), an increase of 16% at the midpoint from its earlier forecast range of €36 billion to €40 billion. Revenue for the three months ended June 30 was €9.33 billion, topping analysts’ estimates of €8.80 billion, while net income was €2.92 billion, above expectations of €2.62 billion, according to LSEG data. “Blowout results across the board, I wonder where they found this much new capacity,“ said Michael Roeg, senior equity analyst at Degroof Petercam. Shares rose 5.7% in early trading in Amsterdam. The Dutch company is the world’s only maker of extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) tools, which are essential for making cutting-edge chips. Its customers including TSMC, Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron are racing to add capacity for AI-related demand. Chief executive Christophe Fouquet flagged “extremely strong” order intake due to demand for AI chips. “Our customers in turn continue to accelerate their capacity expansion plans ... providing ASML with increased visibility into longer-term demand,“ he said in a statement. ASML said it intended to expand capacity by 30% in each of the next two years for its flagship EUV tools, as well as for deep ultraviolet (DUV) tools needed for less advanced chips and by customers in China. Analysts from JPMorgan said they believed yesterday’s results would help ASML close a valuation gap with U.S. peers. “The message from bears has been that they are capacity-limited or that they don’t grow ... (but) the company is virtually guiding 30% growth in the next two years,“ they said. Separately, Fouquet said Intel will use ASML’s new High-NA tool to make some of its most advanced “Panther Lake” chips, marking a first for the technology. CFO Roger Dassen reiterated ASML’s estimate that Chinese customers will account for about 20% of sales this year – less in percentage terms than in the past several years, but increasing in absolute terms as ASML’s sales rise. “The Chinese market is moving in sync with the overall behaviour that we see globally,“ he said in a video statement. ASML is barred from selling EUV tools and its best DUV tools in China due to US-led export restrictions, but it does sell less-capable DUV machines to customers there that are capable of making relatively advanced chips. Dassen said demand is strong from Chinese makers of logic chips, which are used in AI, computers and smartphones for the Chinese domestic market. US lawmakers have proposed a law that could further restrict the company’s China sales, a continuing business risk for ASML. – Reuters

o New rules to regulate use of power and water, and to protect creative copyright SYDNEY: Australia will enact laws to regulate how artificial intelligence data centres use power and water, and to protect creative copyright, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said yesterday. In a landmark speech setting out his government’s policies, Albanese sought to allay public concern over AI, saying it could be adopted in a way that enhanced the national interest. The centre-left leader said he would meet Australia’s state and territory leaders next month to discuss the proposed laws, which would be introduced next year to build trust in AI and protect national security. Australia had led other countries in imposing limits on social media use for children, but the challenge to shape AI in Australia’s interest was greater and demanded action now, he said. Letting others write the AI rules “would mean subcontracting our national sovereignty and security to the control of foreign monopolies”, he said in a speech at the University of Sydney. “Our great country can be much more than a data warehouse for AI products made overseas.” Albanese’s speech came after it emerged this week that US startup Anthropic had lobbied Australian officials to change copyright laws to assist the training of AI models, as it considered investing in data centres in the country. Musicians, writers and publishers have urged the government to resist such pressure and protect their work. Australian creative content was not “up for grabs”, and the new laws will provide “the strongest possible protection for Australian artists and Australian media”, Albanese said. “No company should use Australian

Albanese speaks with students after speaking at an official event at University of Sydney. – AFPPIC

Albanese said Australia “cannot settle for a short-term boom in capital expenditure and construction”. Government data showed Australia had not yet seen the impact of AI on the jobs market. “We should not treat AI as a threat to good jobs. We should use it as an instrument to create them,” he said. The government will elevate its response to artificial intelligence with a dedicated office in his department to oversee policy. “Getting this right will enhance our appeal to international investors, by delivering greater clarity and speed for approvals, and a streamlined process for verifying compliance,” he said. – AFP

books, music, art or news to build or train AI without the artist’s control. That includes the artist’s control of the price and value of their work. Anything less is theft,” he said. The new standards would set clear legal obligations for large data centres, requiring them to put more power into the electricity grid than they take out so AI does not increase power prices for Australians, and ensuring they do not compete for land with housing. Data centres will also be required to minimise water usage. Investment in data centres was the largest contributor to the country’s economic growth in the three months to March, although most of the equipment was imported, according to government figures.

China’s economic growth hits slowest pace in three years BEIJING: China’s economy grew at its weakest pace in more than three years during the second quarter, data showed yesterday, missing expectations even as strong exports driven by the global AI boom helped offset trade disruptions caused by the Middle East war. contradiction of strong supply and weak demand is prominent. The foundation for the economy to improve still needs to be consolidated,“ it added. The NBS data also showed retail sales grew 1 per cent year-on-year in June, beating a Bloomberg forecast of a 0.1 per cent drop. target they set at 4.5-5 per cent,“ Zhang wrote in a note. “The export boom just continues to beat expectations, and it will likely remain strong in the short term,“ he added.

The closely watched figures followed data Tuesday that showed exports surged a forecast-topping 27 per cent year-on-year in June as the global AI boom helped fuel demand for chips and computing equipment. China’s semiconductor exports more than doubled in value in June year-on-year, while data-processing equipment shipments rose 53.1 per cent from a year earlier. But that expansion was “entirely a price story caused by the ongoing shortage of memory chips”, Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics said on Tuesday, noting that the volume of semiconductor exports actually fell year-on-year in June. Tensions with the United States and European Union remain a source of friction. China remains locked in a simmering trade feud with the EU, with which it recorded a trade surplus of US$32.9 billion in June. And while ties between Washington and Beijing have stabilised since US President Donald Trump visited Beijing in May, a trade imbalance and rivalry over chip production persist. – AFP

And industrial production rose 5.3 per cent last month, topping a Bloomberg estimate of 4.6 percent. But in a gloomy sign, fixed-asset investment slid 5.7 per cent on-year in the first half. Domestic demand dampened by low income expectations remains China’s “weakest link”, Yue Su of The Economist Intelligence Unit told AFP. “We therefore expect policymakers to place greater emphasis on boosting consumption in the second half of the year and into early 2027” through fiscal stimulus packages, increased minimum wages or directing wage growth towards frontline workers, she said. But analyst Zhang Zhiwei said the government was unlikely to change its policy stance in the coming months as a result of the latest figures. “We need to keep in mind that the first quarter GDP growth was strong at five percent. This means the government is still on track to deliver growth in line with the official (annual)

The 4.3 per cent year-on-year expansion reported by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) for April-June, was short of the 4.5 per cent forecast in an AFP survey of economists and the slowest growth since the fourth quarter of 2022. It was also short of the 4.5-5 per cent annual rate targeted by Beijing, which is the lowest in decades. A years-long crisis in the property sector and a persistent slump in domestic spending have left leaders reliant on exports to meet growth targets. However, the US-Israeli war on Iran has threatened that as it chokes shipping through the Strait of Hormuz – a vital transit route through which a fifth of global oil and natural gas normally passes. “In the first half of the year, the national economy operated within a reasonable range,“ the NBS said in a statement. “There are many unstable and uncertain external factors, and the domestic