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Tag: asia

  • Nearly 8,000 Vietnamese farmers take to online sales

    Nearly 8,000 Vietnamese farmers take to online sales

    Nearly 8,000 Vietnamese farmers started trading on e-commerce platforms in the first six months, up 191 percent year-on-year, as authorities pushed the development of the digital economy.

    The total value of agriculture produce on e-commerce platforms in the period tripled to VND944 billion ($41 million), according to a Ministry of Information and Communications report.

    It stated this was the result of the ministry and municipal authorities pushing postal companies to partner with e-commerce platforms to help distribute produce.

    This year, Vietnam’s lychees became the first agricultural produce to be exported to Europe via a domestic e-commerce platform.

    Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung said e-commerce and logistics is the future of the postal sector, thanks to technology paving the way.

    Vietnam’s digital economy is forecast to grow by 29 percent annually from 2020 to $52 billion by 2025, according to a study by Google, Temasek Holdings and Bain & Co.

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  • Vietnam pledges not to devalue currency in agreement with US Treasury

    Vietnam pledges not to devalue currency in agreement with US Treasury

    Vietnam has pledged not to deliberately weaken its dong currency, reaching an agreement with the U.S. Treasury to make its monetary and exchange rate policies more transparent.

    The agreement, announced in a joint statement by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and State Bank of Vietnam Governor Nguyen Thi Hong after a virtual meeting on Monday, follows months of U.S. pressure on Vietnam over its currency practices and ballooning U.S. trade surplus.

    The Trump administration in its final weeks had declared Vietnam a currency manipulator and had threatened to impose punitive tariffs on imports from Vietnam.

    Vietnam, which benefited from the shift of U.S. supply chains away from China amid a tariff war, saw its goods trade surplus with the United State jump 25 percent in 2020 to $69.7 billion despite the Covid-19 pandemic. Vietnam is a growing source of U.S. imports of furniture, electronics, computers and apparel.

    In the joint statement, Vietnam confirmed its commitment under International Monetary Fund rules “to avoid manipulating its exchange rate in order to prevent effective balance of payments adjustment or to gain an unfair competitive advantage and will refrain from any competitive devaluation of the Vietnamese dong.”

    The Vietnamese central bank said the focus of its monetary policy framework is “to promote macroeconomic stability and to control inflation.”

    But the central bank agreed to “improve exchange rate flexibility over time,” allowing the dong to move in line with the development of the country’s markets and economic fundamentals, and to further modernize and make more transparent its monetary policy and exchange rate framework.

    The Treasury said it would inform other U.S. government agencies about the agreement to address U.S. concerns.

    “I believe the State Bank of Vietnam’s attention to these issues over time not only will address Treasury’s concerns, but also will support the further development of Vietnam’s financial markets and enhance its macroeconomic and financial resilience,” Yellen said in the statement.

    The Treasury under Yellen in April removed a “currency manipulator” label from Vietnam that had been imposed by the Trump administration last December. But the Treasury said that Vietnam, along with Taiwan and Switzerland, had tripped its thresholds for the designation under a 2015 law.

    The department at the time said it would commence “enhanced engagement” with Hanoi to correct the situation, which led Vietnam’s foreign currency intervention and global current account surplus to exceed 2 percent of its GDP.

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  • Taxi firm Vinasun continues to remain in the red

    Taxi firm Vinasun continues to remain in the red

    Taxi operator Vinasun reported a loss of VND66 billion ($2.87 million) for the second quarter, its sixth consecutive quarterly loss as Covid-19 continued to wreck its business.

    Revenues were VND150 billion, the lowest since the company listed on the stock market in 2008.

    Before the fourth wave of Covid began at the end of April Vinasun had said its financial structure was “stable and healthy” and it hoped to increase market share in the recovering market by investing in 500 new cars to take its fleet size to 3,368 by the end of the year.

    It targeted revenues of VND1.05 trillion this year, up 4 percent from 2020, and expected to reduce its losses to VND79 billion from VND210 billion last year.

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  • Cargo could be as powerful as our passenger services says Airasia chief

    Cargo could be as powerful as our passenger services says Airasia chief

    Air cargo has been a “diamond in the rough” for AirAsia during the Covid-19 pandemic and is likely to retain a high importance to the business in the longer term, according to group chief executive Tony Fernandes.

    “What was a ‘nice to have’ has become something that could be as powerful as our passenger services,” Fernandes said during a CAPA Live event on 14 July. “Covid has driven e-commerce to another level, and hence air cargo has become much more valuable.”

    Amid that change, AirAsia is expecting to receive its first dedicated freighter in the third quarter of this year and is currently removing the seats from two of its Airbus A320s before deploying them as temporary freight-only aircraft.

    Air cargo is “no more a stepchild” in AirAsia’s business, Fernandes says. “I never thought we’d have freighters, I never thought we’d be taking seats off the planes to do cargo.

    The move towards cargo has been made easier by AirAsia already having air freight expansion plans in place as the pandemic hit, he explains.

    “Prior to Covid, I began to see the eCommerce revolution and I started building a separate company called Teleport,” Fernandes says of AirAsia’s logistics arm.

    His aim is to do to cargo operations “what we did to passengers… and eliminate the middlemen”. As part of that process, AirAsia began to deal more with freight forwarders, then direct customers. At the same time, Fernandes says AirAsia “consolidated all our space across all the airlines”.

    “We built a blockchain to deal with that, so there was one airline, as opposed to five different airlines,” he says in reference to the freight capacity across AirAsia Group’s carriers.

    “Five our six other airlines have joined us now in selling space together,” he adds.

    Amid that growth, Fernandes is also cautious about the longevity of current market dynamics.

    “There is a false market out there, so we shouldn’t all get carried away, because [the return of] belly space is going to change the economics again,” he states.

    Regardless, air freight is now front and centre of the carrier’s planning.

    ”When a budget plan is put in front of me, it’s now ‘where are the cargo routes, where are the cargo-only routes?’,” Fernandes says. “Models have to be redone, [but] it’s easier at AirAsia because we are a very nimble even though we are big. I’ve always been a change agent so the staff are used to that.”

    And his ambitions stretch to the “whole logistics chain”, he says: “I also want to be in the warehouse game. We are going to cover everything.”

    AirAsia Group has focused on diversifying away from its core passenger-airline business during the pandemic, and in September last year launched AirAsia Digital, of which Teleport is one of three key focus areas.

    The others are an ecommerce-focused ”AirAsia Super App” and a Fintech company that provides payment, remittance and lending solutions.

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  • Leaked promo confirms when Samsung will unveil two new foldables and a pair of new watches

    Leaked promo confirms when Samsung will unveil two new foldables and a pair of new watches

    A week ago, we passed along images of the devices we expect Samsung to introduce at its next Unpacked event, the second for 2021. Those products include the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3, the Galaxy Z Flip 3, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4, and the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic. The huge leak had been posted on Twitter by tipster Evan Blass.

    On Saturday, Blass posted a promo from Samsung Russia that confirms that the next Unpacked will take place on Wednesday August 11th. The promo says that the event will start at 17:00 Moscow time (or 5 pm ). That equates to 10 am Wednesday Eastern Daylight Time.Leaked promo confirms when Samsung will unveil two new foldables and a pair of new watches

  • Apple removes app at Amazon’s request

    Apple removes app at Amazon’s request

    Last month, the Fakespot Secure Shopping app was launched in the App Store. With the app, users get to experience shopping on Amazon “as it should be, with genuine products and reviews, reliable sellers, great prices and fewer returns,” the app developer said. Earlier today, Apple removed the app from the App Store at the request of Amazon. The latter said that it was concerned that a new update to its iOS app allowed Fakespot to “wrap” the Amazon app without permission which could lead to the collection of data belonging to Amazon customers.

    Such data includes email, addresses, credit card info, and the browser histories of Amazon users. However, the online retailer admits that it doesn’t know for sure whether Fakespot is using this information.

    Apple never gave fakespot a reason why it removed his company’s app from the App Store. However, a few hours ago Apple disseminated a terse statement in which it said that it regretted the lack of an amicable solution to the issue and that it removed Fakespot from its iOS app storefront. Khalifah, obviously not happy with Apple’s decision, said, “Apple hasn’t even given us the ability to solve this. We just dedicated months of resources and time and money into this app.”

    Amazon says that Fakespot violates Apple guideline 5.2.2 which states that “If your app uses, accesses, monetizes access to, or displays content from a third-party service, ensure that you are specifically permitted to do so under the service’s terms of use. Authorization must be provided upon request.” Considering that Fakespot is an overlay that “wraps” around Amazon and that “hell no” is not permission, it would seem that the online retailer has a good case.

    In a statement, Amazon said, “The app in question provides customers with misleading information about our sellers and their products, harms our sellers’ businesses, and creates potential security risks. We appreciate Apple’s review of this app against its App Store guidelines.” The Fakespot is still available for Android devices from the Google Play Store.

  • Instagram tests banner reminding subscribers to use Facebook

    Instagram tests banner reminding subscribers to use Facebook

    In April 2012, Facebook purchased Instagram for $1 billion in cash and stock. At the time, many analysts felt that Facebook had overspent since Instagram was a photo-sharing app known mostly for its filters. But the last laugh belongs to Facebook as Instagram has matured to become one of the most visited social media destinations online with an estimated valuation of $102 billion.

    Instagram is testing a new banner at the top of users’ feeds that suggests that they check out features that are “only available” on Facebook. In a statement, an Instagram spokesperson said, “We’re testing a way to let people who have connected their Instagram accounts to Facebook know about features only available there, such as how to find a job, date online, buy and sell goods, or catch up on the latest news.”

    “A very small group” of Instagram users who have agreed to link their accounts will see the banner according to Facebook. Those Instagram users tired of being reminded over and over again that Facebook exists can dismiss the banner. And despite the limited nature of this test, it is another attempt by Facebook to bring the two apps closer together.

    It appears that the goal here is for Instagram, with over 500 million average daily users, to promote Facebook and bring users back to the mothership. Facebook had 1.88 billion daily average users during the first quarter of this year. An unnamed book published last year said that Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg is jealous of Instagram’s success leading the executive to fret that Instagram could eventually cannibalize Facebook.

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  • Kiwi coffee brand Allpress launches capsules in Australia

    Kiwi coffee brand Allpress launches capsules in Australia

    Kiwi coffee brand Allpress has created its first capsule espresso, designed, it says, to deliver an accessible solution for those seeking to enjoy the brand’s coffee at home. 

    According to the company, the capsule took years of innovation to create and uses the same specialty grade coffee used by its cafes worldwide.

    The capsules were crafted by reformulating its Allpress Espresso Blend to highlight the “caramel sweetness”, increase depth, and ground it “super-finely” for slower extraction. The grounds were then roasted at high temperatures to maximize the coffee’s solubility, recreating the same flavor of its cafe’s coffee, the brand added.

    Allpress head roaster Zach Dowse says most coffee pods aren’t able to meet customers’ expectations when it comes to flavor, so the brand worked to create one product that could.  

    “This meant going back to the basics and thinking about how the Allpress Espresso Blend could be adjusted to work best as a pod,” said Dowse. 

    “We had to think about the roast profile, the mix of origins in the capsule and finally, finding the correct grind size that allowed the right amount of water contact and gave us the most balance to our cup.” 

    Founded in 1989, Allpress says creating the capsule coffee is one of the brand’s biggest ventures yet. 

    Allpress Espresso Specialty Coffee Capsule is available from its online store, in Allpress Roastery Cafes, from cafe partners, and specialty grocery stores nationwide for RRP $12 for a 10-piece pack and $70 for a 60-piece pack.

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  • Big Gap Opens Up Between UBS, Credit Suisse

    Big Gap Opens Up Between UBS, Credit Suisse

    A big gap has opened up not only between UBS and Credit Suisse’s share prices but also between expectations for their second-quarter earnings.

    Ahead of the publication of their second-quarter results there really is no comparison. Looking at the share prices of the two big Swiss banks, UBS, whose results are due out on Tuesday, has risen just under 10 percent since the beginning of the year; and the bank is by no means one of the star performers on the Swiss stock exchange.

    However, you would have to look long and hard to find a worse performer than Credit Suisse, whose results are set to be published on July 29. Its shares have dropped 27 percent over the same period.

    Credit Suisse was in a world of pain in the second quarter. There is a great deal of uncertainty about its medium-term future after it lost billions in the collapse of Archegos Capital and no end in sight to the flood of employees heading for the exit at its investment bank. The lack of clarity about its prospects of recouping all the money from the Greensill funds is a source of disaffection to both staff and those asset management and private banking clients affected.

    Its battered reputation makes if difficult for Credit Suisse to acquire new clients and funds. The investigations into the Greensill and Archegos debacles by and the instruction from Swiss financial watchdog Finma only to do low-risk business are complicating its operations.

    Compared with UBS and the competition across the Atlantic, Credit Suisse is wrestling with both new and legacy problems at the worst possible moment.

    Credit Suisse is in danger of sliding into a completely different league to UBS. This is despite 800 million Swiss francs ($873 million) of UBS’ money going down the drain when Archegos collapsed.

    As far as banks with which Credit Suisse likes to compare itself such as Goldman Sachs or J.P. Morgan go, this has already happened.

    Last week, Goldman Sachs reported a second-quarter profit of $5.5 billion, J.P. Morgan made almost $12 billion. This was down to a U.S. economy going full steam ahead, strong results from their investment banks as well as mergers and acquisitions activity.

    The second-quarter forecasts for Credit Suisse are a tiny fraction of that.

    The consensus estimate is for a pre-tax profit of just over 840 million francs and a net profit of just over 330 million francs. The one-off effect of a further loss of 600 million francs due to Archegos is expected to weigh on the second-quarter numbers.

    Credit Suisse was still a money-making machine in the first quarter – apart from the debacles which cost billions – especially the investment bank, but the forecasts for the second quarter are very different indeed. Analysts are predicting revenues of around 1.75 billion francs offset by expenses of around 1.7 billion francs. The investment bank is expected to post a loss in the second quarter.

    Expectations for the wealth management business and client acquisition are also very subdued. A cash outflow is expected in Asset Management and an increase of around 3 billion francs across all units.

    The expectations for UBS are nothing to write home about but much better. The consensus forecast is for a second-quarter profit of just over $1.3 billion, significantly less than in the first quarter but still higher year on year.

    In its core business of Global Wealth Management, significantly less volatile markets hit client activity. Revenues will be significantly lower than in the first quarter. The focus will therefore be on implementing the cost-cutting program. The aim is to save $1 billion by 2023. However, there are likely to have been restructuring costs of around $300 million in the second quarter.

    The big gap between UBS and Credit Suisse not only lies in their share prices and results but also in the base from which they are starting, which has changed yet again since the spring.

    While UBS is pursuing a strategy for the future under its new CEO Ralph Hamers and has the means and capacity to invest in a technological transformation, Credit Suisse is dealing with its past. It has to resolve legacy issues that affect its corporate culture and, more specifically, the shortcomings in risk management.

    New Chairman António Horta-Osório has made it clear that this will take time and that no decisions on changes to the bank’s strategy are expected before the end of the year. In other words, UBS is building its future, something Credit Suisse can only dream of.

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  • India’s software market revenue projected to reach US$7.6 billion by year end

    India’s software market revenue projected to reach US$7.6 billion by year end

    According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Semiannual Software Tracker 2H20 (July–December), the India software market is estimated to reach US$7.6 billion by the end of 2021. The India software market was pegged at US$7.0 billion in 2020, registering a growth of 13.4% year-over-year (YoY) compared with that in 2019. India accounted for 17.5% share of the overall Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan and China) (APEJC) region software market in 2020. Microsoft, Oracle, and SAP maintained their leadership positions in the India market during the same year. 

    Shweta Baidya, Senior Research Manager for Software and IT Services at IDC India says, “Although the pandemic had a minor impact on the overall growth of the India software market, it acted as a catalyst for strong growth across some of the software segments as enterprises reevaluated their IT strategies and took concrete steps to move toward digital business models. Digitally matured enterprises were able to smoothly navigate through the crisis and maintain business continuity and operational resilience. However, enterprises with traditional business models charted out new strategies to leverage cloud and digital to stay relevant and consistent. Investment in collaborative platforms, network transformation, and security re-architecture witnessed a spike during the last few quarters.”

    IDC classifies the software market into three primary categories: applications, application development and deployment (AD&D), and systems infrastructure (SI) software. Applications contributed 60.4% to the overall market revenue, followed by AD&D and SI software with shares of 21.6% and 18.0%, respectively, in 2020.

    As per IDC’s current estimates, engineering applications, collaborative applications, customer relationship management (CRM) applications, enterprise resource management (ERM) applications, and content workflow and management applications are the leading software segments in terms of revenue. The collaborative applications market witnessed the highest growth of 36.7% in 2020, followed by artificial intelligence (AI) platforms and system and service management software at 30.9% and 24.8%, respectively.

    India Market Forecast

    IDC estimates India’s overall software market to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.6% from 2020 to 2025. India enterprises will continue to invest in technologies that will help them spur innovation to improve operational efficiency and employee productivity, and in turn, maintain business momentum. IDC expects acceleration in demand for technologies, such as robotic process automation (RPA) software, conferencing and collaborative applications, AI platforms, digital commerce applications, and IT service management (ITSM) software, among others. Additionally, cloud is also becoming one of the critical elements of enterprises’ digital strategy. IDC expects the contribution of platform-as-a-service (PaaS) and software-as-a-service (SaaS) markets to the overall software market to increase from 36.8% in 2020 to 57.1% in 2025.

    “In spite of the adverse impact of the pandemic, India continued to be one of the most resilient markets across the APEJC region. India software market registered a growth of 13.4%, which was the highest in the region. Enterprise sentiments improved during the second half of the year and investments were ramped up quickly on digital work models to enable smooth transition to a remote work environment. IT budgets were re-apportioned and allocated in accordance with the increased spending on emerging technologies. Software vendors have been aggressively acquiring customers by supporting them in the digital journey with flexible and scalable options,” adds Baidya.

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  • ZTE’s BIERin6 multicast approved by IEFT

    ZTE’s BIERin6 multicast approved by IEFT

    ZTE Corporation announced that the BIERin6 (BIER in IPv6 Networks) multicast solution led by ZTE has been approved as Proposed Standard by the IETF(Internet Engineering Task Force).

    The approval indicates that the telecommunications industry has reached an agreement on the technical principles of BIERin6, which is a key step towards commercial applications.

    In the 5G era, large-bandwidth services, such as network live streaming, multi-party conference, and IPTV live broadcasting, are booming rapidly. A growing number of users bring enormous bandwidth pressure and challenges to the networks. However, most services adopt the unicast. Therefore, with the aim of networks optimization, the multicast has become an inevitable trend.

    Bit Index Explicit Replication (BIER), as a new type of multicast technology, provides simple deployment, stable network status and high service scalability, and allows operators’ IP networks to provide users with flexible and controllable multicast services. Currently, BIERin6 is the best option for BIER deployment in the IPv6 networks, and also paves the way for the operators’ future IP network architecture.

    ZTE has been taking the leading position in the field of BIER multicast. In October 2017, ZTE worked out the BIERin6 solution together with its partners. After extensive and in-depth discussions, by July 2019, more vendors had become supporters. In November 2020, ZTE released the white paper on BIER Multicast solution.

    In December 2020, ZTE and the Nanjing Purple Mountain Laboratories jointly completed the first BIER multicast field trial in China, and first deployed and tested BIER multicast services in the existing network.

    Moving forward, with the end-to-end service capability of BIER and BIERin6 multicast, ZTE will be committed to the network construction of its partners in the 5G era, and accelerating the commercialization of BIER and BIERin6 multicast.

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  • Electric cars fail to get charged up without policy support

    Electric cars fail to get charged up without policy support

    A lack of policies promoting battery production and building a charging station network is preventing the electric car market in Vietnam from hitting the road running.

    At the end of March, automaker VinFast began accepting pre-orders for its first electric cars. More than 4,000 orders were placed on the very first day.

    The company has requested several incentives for electric vehicle development, including scrapping special consumption tax and registration fees on electric cars for five years.

    Some brands have imported electric and hybrid vehicles into Vietnam earlier.

    In August last year, Toyota started selling its first hybrid cars in Vietnam with low fuel consumption, giving 100 km for 4.6 liters of fuel.

    Mitsubishi also distributed its i-MiEV cars in Vietnam in 2017 and installed charging stations in some localities. However, after 10 years of making efforts to distribute them to many different markets, the company has stopped manufacturing the vehicles now.

    Last year, around 1,000 electric and hybrid vehicles were sold in Vietnam, with the latter accounting for 99 percent. The figure for gas powered vehicles was over 296,000 units.

    The Ministry of Industry and Trade said in a recent report to the government that there has not been real support policy for electric cars.

    Apart from VinFast which is manufacturing the vehicles, foreign brands like Honda, Toyota and Mitsubishi have mostly been importing electric vehicles without any concrete plan to make them in Vietnam.

    Experts say that the lack of a systemic policy to support the industry concerning the manufacturing of battery, the development charging infrastructure, prices and emission.

    “Batteries need to have high durability and have quick charge function, while the charging station network should be widespread. These factors are what missing in Vietnam’s electric car industry,” said an expert in the auto industry who asked not be identified.

    VinFast is set to tackle these challenges with plans to set up over 2,000 charging stations nationwide by the end of this year.

    The industry ministry report said that prices for electric vehicles are not enticing enough compared to fuel vehicles.

    A 15 percent special consumption tax on electric cars, compared to 30-50 percent on fuel cars, is not enough to bring electric car prices down to an attractive level to customers, it said.

    Another challenge is electric vehicles will still be using coal-fired and oil-fired electricity which has high emission, as renewable energy is not stable and has high price tag, the it added.

    Dau Anh Tuan, head of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s legal department, proposed that cars be applied a special consumption tax based on how much carbon dioxide they release into the environment, which will help encourage people to switch to electric vehicles.

    Policies should focus on supporting Vietnamese companies to make electric vehicles, not foreign ones, he added.

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  • Vietnam Embassy requests hastening nonstop Bamboo Airways flight to US

    Vietnam Embassy requests hastening nonstop Bamboo Airways flight to US

    The Vietnam Embassy in the U.S. expects further favorable conditions from US agencies for Bamboo Airways to operate its inaugural non-stop flight connecting Vietnam and the States.

    In the official dispatch on July 9, the embassy expresses its gratitude to the Department of Homeland Security, Department of State, and Federal Aviation Administration for supporting and facilitating flights to repatriate thousands of Vietnamese citizens stranded in the U.S. due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

    While international commercial flights remain suspended, Bamboo Airways has been granted permission to conduct charter flights to transport goods and passengers to the U.S., the foreign mission of Vietnam emphasized.

    Regarding the plan, the embassy requests continued support from all concerned parties. On Nov. 6, 2020, Bamboo Airways was licensed to conduct flights connecting the States and Vietnam by the U.S. Department of Transport. On June 23, 2021, the airline submitted the necessary documents to the Federal Aviation Administration of the U.S. to complete procedures for its first charter flight.

    “The embassy would appreciate it if the relevant U.S. agencies could consider all the submitted documents by the Bamboo Airways on June 23 at their earliest convenience,” the dispatch stated.

    In fact, Bamboo Airways was officially designated to exploit charter flights to the U.S. in May 2021. The airline has acquired slots to conduct regular non-stop flights from Ho Chi Minh City to San Francisco and Los Angeles.

    As of now, Bamboo Airways has fulfilled technical requirements to conduct non-stop charter flights to the U.S. with its wide-body Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner fleet, approved by the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam.

    The airline is rushing to establish a representative office in the U.S., in cooperation with San Francisco International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport.

    According to a Bamboo Airways representative, the carrier is working with U.S. agencies to complete procedures for its first non-stop flight to depart at the end of July or early August.

    Bamboo Airways has officially entered into cooperation with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to pilot the digital health passport IATA Travel Pass, marking significant progress in the airline’s preparation for international routes reopening. Besides, the carrier is implementing Covid-19 vaccinations for all employees and related affiliates, creating perimeter protection for seamless operation. Bamboo Airways’s Covid-19 prevention process is considered the most comprehensive and effective, achieving an absolute level of 7/7.

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  • Mapmaker TomTom Lowers Forecasts As Chips Shortage Weighs

    Mapmaker TomTom Lowers Forecasts As Chips Shortage Weighs

    Dutch navigation and digital mapping company TomTom on Thursday cut its 2021 outlook, amid a global shortage in semiconductor chips that has disrupted auto supply chains and could eat into its revenues from carmakers. TomTom now anticipates revenues of 500-530 million euros ($592-$627 million), compared to the 520-570 range it had previously guided, and cut its free cash flow guidance from around 6% to around 5%.

    The company, which has posted a quarterly net loss for the last two years, reported a loss of 23.6 million euros – deeper than the 15 million analysts had predicted.

    “When we gave our guidance early this year we knew the semiconductor shortage could have an effect, but it is very difficult to know when the worst part is over and we start to see recovery,” finance chief Taco Titulaer told Reuters in an interview.

    Titulaer now expects it will take until at least the end of the year for automotive supply chains to start normalizing, though the situation should improve from the third quarter.

    The shortage has had the twin effect of cutting car production, he added, and pushing manufacturers to prioritize simpler cars that use fewer chips.

    In the second quarter, TomTom nevertheless saw revenues from its automotive business jump 18% compared to last year, when the first wave of lockdowns shut down large parts of the industry.

    Major carmakers have again had to cut back production this year due to the coronavirus-sparked chips shortage – including major TomTom customers such as Stellantis.

    Titulaer said that though volumes of car sales were showing strong improvement on 2020, the previous year had been “quite dire”.

    With volumes still below 2019 levels, he said it could take a couple quarters for these to get back to normal.

  • HSBC sees challenges to Vietnam economy in H2

    HSBC sees challenges to Vietnam economy in H2

    HSBC expects Vietnam’s economy to face challenges related to foreign exchange and interest rates in the second half of this year.

    Ngo Dang Khoa, head of global markets at HSBC Vietnam, said recent outbreaks of Covid-19 have sparked worries about production being interrupted for a long time, which would affect the country’s recovery.

    “With many industrial parks being closed down and social distancing prolonging, growth momentum in the third quarter, in particular, will surely face many challenges.”

    Social distancing to prevent the disease from spreading has affected consumer outlook and the recovery of services and tourism, while the new coronavirus mutants and slow vaccination would delay the reopening of borders to foreign investors and tourists, he said.

    “It is necessary to adopt timely fiscal and monetary policies to safeguard the economy.”

    It would be difficult to maintain a stable dong-U.S. dollar exchange rate in the second half unlike in the first mainly because of Vietnam’s trade deficit, inflation worries and the possible rise in U.S. interest rates, he said.

    He predicted the exchange rate to be VND23,100 to the dollar by year-end.

    Asian countries including Vietnam have yet to see inflationary pressure, but if prices continue to increase, it might have to increase interest rates, he said. Vietnam should not increase interest rates too early or too quickly since its economy has been severely affected by the pandemic, he said.

    HSBC recently revised upward its forecast for Vietnam’s economic growth next year to 6.8 percent from the earlier 6.5 percent but lowered it to 6.1 percent from 6.6 percent for this year.

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