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India’s plans to massively expand coal-based steel and iron production threaten global efforts to reduce the sector’s carbon emissions, a key contributor to climate change, a report said Tuesday.The sector accounts for 11 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions, and India aims to double production by 2030.Switching from coal-dependent blast furnaces to electric arc furnaces (EAFs), which produce significantly fewer emissions, could reduce that figure.EAF production is projected to make up 36 percent of the sector by 2030, but that falls short of the 37 percent the International Energy Agency (IEA) says is needed to stay on track for net-zero by 2050.”The only realistic way to meet that 37 percent goal is with a change of plans from India,” said Astrid Grigsby-Schulte from the Global Energy Monitor (GEM) think tank.That seemingly marginal one-percent difference “represents tens of millions of tonnes of CO2 generation”, Grigsby-Schulte told AFP.EAFs generally rely on melting scrap steel, a process that does not use coal. They produce significantly fewer emissions, even when they rely on electricity from coal-dependent grids.Meeting the 2030 target is “critical”, she said, “not only because of emissions immediately avoided, but also because it means we are laying the necessary groundwork for broader decarbonisation by 2050.”China currently dominates global steel production, but its sector is stagnant. Meanwhile India, which targets carbon neutrality only by 2070, plans to massively expand domestic capacity.And the majority of India’s announced steel development plans involve higher-emissions blast furnace production, in a country whose steel industry is already the world’s most carbon intensive.However, there is a growing gap between India’s steel capacity plans and actual developments on the ground, GEM said.Just 12 percent of its announced new capacity has come online since the country released its 2017 National Steel Policy. The comparable figure for China is 80 percent, GEM said.That suggests India’s “ambitious growth plans are more talk than action thus far,” the group added.And it “leaves a huge percentage of their development plans that could still shift to lower-emissions technologies,” added Grigsby-Schulte.Demand for steel is continuing to grow, and the iron and steel industry is expected to be one of the last to continue using coal in the IEA’s 2050 net-zero pathway.The organisation has warned that the sector needs to “accelerate significantly” to meet 2050 targets, including with innovative production methods that are currently in their infancy.

Shares in Chinese battery giant CATL soared more than 13 percent on its Hong Kong debut Tuesday after raising US$4.6 billion in what is said to be the world’s biggest initial public offering this year.A global leader in the sector, CATL produces more than a third of all electric vehicle (EV) batteries sold worldwide.The firm has been buoyed by a rapid growth in China’s domestic electric vehicle sector and it now works with major brands including Tesla, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Volkswagen.It is already traded in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, and its plan for a secondary listing in Hong Kong was announced in December.In morning trade its Hong Kong shares hit a high of HK$299.80 (US$38.4), up 13.7 percent from its listing price of HK$263.00.Founded in 2011 in the eastern Chinese city of Ningde, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL) has been aided by strong financial support from Beijing, which has sought in recent years to shore up domestic strength in certain strategic high-tech sectors.It has also weathered a fierce price war in China’s expansive EV sector that has put smaller firms under huge pressure to compete while remaining financially viable.Its net profit jumped 32.9 percent in the first quarter, with sales up 6.2 percent year-on-year to 84.7 billion yuan (US$11.7 billion).And funds raised from a secondary listing could be used to accelerate CATL’s overseas expansion, particularly in Europe.The battery giant is building its second factory on the continent in Hungary after launching its first in Germany in January 2023.CATL announced in December that it would work with automotive giant Stellantis on a US$4.6 billion factory to make EV batteries in Spain, with production to begin by the end of 2026.Tuesday’s blockbuster listing comes as Hong Kong’s stock exchange is eager for the return of big-name Chinese listings in hopes of regaining its crown as the world’s top IPO venue.The Chinese finance hub saw a steady decline in new offerings after Beijing’s regulatory crackdown starting in 2020 led some mainland mega-companies to put their plans on hold.In a list issued in January by the US Defense Department, CATL was designated as a “Chinese military company”.The UHouse Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party highlighted this inclusion in letters to two US banks in April, urging them to withdraw from the IPO deal with the “Chinese military-linked company”.But the two banks — JPMorgan and Bank of America — are still onboard.Beijing has denounced the list as “suppression”, while CATL denied engaging “in any military related activities”.According to Bloomberg, CATL plans to make the deal as a “Reg S” offering, which does not allow sales to US onshore investors, limiting the company’s exposure to legal risks in the United States.

Chinese battery giant CATL makes its debut on the Hong Kong stock exchange on Tuesday, with the firm aiming to raise $4 billion in the largest initial public offering (IPO) in the city so far this year.A global leader in the sector, CATL produces more than a third of all electric vehicle (EV) batteries sold worldwide.Buoyed by a rapid growth in China’s domestic electric vehicle sector, it now works with major brands including Tesla, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Volkswagen.The company is already listed in Shenzhen, and its plan for a secondary listing in Hong Kong was announced in a December filing with the stock exchange.According to a prospectus filed last week, the firm will offer approximately 117.9 million units priced at up to HK$263 per share ($33.8) for total expected proceeds of HK$31.01 billion.Founded in 2011 in the eastern Chinese city of Ningde, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL) has been aided by strong financial support from Beijing, which has sought in recent years to shore up domestic strength in certain strategic high-tech sectors.It has also weathered a fierce price war in China’s expansive EV sector that has put smaller firms under huge pressure to compete while remaining financially viable.Its net profit jumped 32.9 percent in the first quarter, with sales rising by 6.2 percent year-on-year to 84.7 billion yuan.And funds raised from a secondary listing could be used to accelerate CATL’s overseas expansion, particularly in Europe.The battery giant is building its second factory on the continent in Hungary after launching its first in Germany in January 2023.In December, CATL announced that it would work with automotive giant Stellantis on a $4.6 billion factory to make EV batteries in Spain, with production to begin by the end of 2026.Tuesday’s blockbuster listing comes as Hong Kong’s stock exchange is eager for the return of big-name Chinese listings in hopes of regaining its crown as the world’s top IPO venue.The Chinese finance hub saw a steady decline in new offerings since Beijing’s regulatory crackdown starting in 2020 led some Chinese mega-companies to put their plans on hold.In a list issued in January by the US Defense Department, CATL was designated as a “Chinese military company”.The United States House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party highlighted this inclusion in letters to two US banks in April, urging them to withdraw from the IPO deal with the “Chinese military-linked company”.But the two banks — JPMorgan and Bank of America — are still on the deal.Beijing has denounced the list as “suppression”, while CATL denied engaging “in any military related activities”.According to Bloomberg, CATL plans to make the deal as a “Reg S” offering, which doesn’t allow sales to US onshore investors, limiting the company’s exposure to legal risks in the United States.

Wall Street stocks finished a meandering session higher Monday, shrugging off Moody’s downgrade of US sovereign debt, which could balloon further.Yields of US Treasury bonds spiked early in the day in a dynamic that revived talk of the “Sell America” narrative that unsettled markets in early April following President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff announcements.But US Treasury yields subsequently eased as markets concluded that Moody’s analysis contained no surprises.After the knee-jerk reaction, “the market settles down and focuses on the economic fundamentals,” said Subadra Rajappa, head of US rates strategy at Societe Generale.The downgrade reflects serious concerns about the US’ fiscal picture, but these were well known prior to the Moody’s downgrade, Rajappa said.All three major US indices finished with modest gains.The dollar retreated somewhat against the euro and other major currencies. But the move was less substantial than during most volatile stretches earlier this year.In comparison with that turbulent period, a closely-watched volatility index remained relatively stable on Monday. Stocks have rallied since Trump suspended many of his most onerous tariff measures.Gold, seen as a safe haven investment, jumped more than one percent.In Europe, London and Frankfurt erased early losses to close higher after UK and EU leaders reached a series of defense and trade accords at a landmark summit, the first since Britain’s acrimonious exit from the European Union.British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said leaders had agreed a “win-win” deal that his office said would add nearly £9 billion ($12 billion) to the British economy by 2040.The euro, meanwhile, strengthened despite a cut to the eurozone’s 2025 economic growth forecast due to global trade tensions sparked by Trump’s tariffs.The European Commission said the 20-country single currency area’s economy should grow 0.9 percent in 2025 — down from a previous forecast of 1.3 percent — due to “a weakening global trade outlook and higher trade policy uncertainty”.”Underpinned by a robust labor market and rising wages, growth is expected to continue in 2025, albeit at a moderate pace,” EU economy chief Valdis Dombrovskis said.In company news, Walmart returned to the list of firms feeling a rollercoaster effect under Trump, after the US president slammed the retail giant for warning of price increases due to his tariffs.Trump called on the company to “EAT THE TARIFFS” on social media, adding, “I’ll be watching.”Walmart shares finished slightly lower on Monday.- Key figures at around 2030 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 0.3 percent at 42,792.07 (close)New York – S&P 500: UP 0.1 percent at 5,963.60 (close)New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP less than 0.1 percent at 19,104.28London – FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 8,699.31 (close)Paris – CAC 40: FLAT at 7,883.63 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.7 percent at 23,934.98 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.7 percent at 37,498.63 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.1 percent at 23,332.72 (close)Shanghai – Composite: FLAT at 3,367.58 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1244 from $1.1163 on FridayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3360 from $1.3283Dollar/yen: DOWN at 144.87 yen from 145.70 yenEuro/pound: UP at 84.14 pence from 84.04 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.3 percent at $62.69 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude:  UP 0.2 percent at $65.54 per barrelburs-jmb/dw

US stocks fell with the dollar Monday as markets reacted to the United States losing its last gold-standard sovereign bond rating over a debt pile that could balloon further.The downgrade by Moody’s dealt a blow to markets, which had enjoyed a healthy run-up last week after Washington and China reached a deal to temporarily slash tit-for-tat tariffs.US stocks were down in midday trading, led by the tech-heavy Nasdaq, which fell around half a percent.That mirrored losses in Asia, where Tokyo and Hong Kong closed down.In Europe, London and Frankfurt erased early losses to close higher after UK and EU leaders reached a series of defence and trade ties at a landmark summit, the first since Britain’s acrimonious exit from the European Union.British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said leaders had agreed a “win-win” deal that his office said would add nearly £9 billion ($12 billion) to the British economy by 2040.The euro powered ahead despite the EU cutting its 2025 growth forecast for the eurozone, blaming US tariffs.The dollar slid nearly one percent against the euro and also fell heavily against the pound and yen.Analysts said the downgrade by Moody’s late Friday — which follows similar moves by S&P in 2011 and Fitch in 2023 — could indicate investors will demand higher yields on US Treasuries, pushing up the cost of government debt. Yields rose on Monday.”It seems like the ‘Sell America’ narrative is making a comeback,” said Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at City Index and FOREX.com.The downgrade is “sending tremors through some global markets,” he said.”Investors are increasingly jittery about the cost implications of higher borrowing, especially given the backdrop of (US President) Donald Trump’s ongoing trade disputes and proposals for unfunded tax cuts.”Gold, seen as a haven investment, jumped more than one percent.- ‘EAT THE TARIFFS’ -After a markets rout sparked by Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs bazooka, investors had in recent weeks raced back to buy up beaten-down stocks as the White House tempered its hardball tariff approach.But the selling returned after Moody’s cut its US debt rating to Aa1 from Aaa, noting “the increase over more than a decade in government debt and interest payment ratios to levels that are significantly higher than similarly rated sovereigns”.Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent dismissed the announcement, saying it was “a lagging indicator” and blaming Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden.The news added to a frustrating time for Trump as his “big, beautiful bill” to extend tax cuts from his first term and impose new restrictions on welfare programmes faces scrutiny in the Republican-controlled Congress.Independent congressional analysts say the package would add more than $4.8 trillion to the federal deficit over the coming decade.In company news, Walmart returned to the list of firms feeling a rollercoaster effect under Trump, after the US president slammed the retail giant for warning of price increases due to his tariffs.Trump called on the company to “EAT THE TARIFFS” on social media, adding, “I’ll be watching.”Walmart shares fell Monday.- Key figures at around 1530 GMT -New York – Dow: DOWN 0.2 percent at 42,559.81 pointsNew York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.4 percent at 5,936.86New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.6 percent at 19,104.28London – FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 8,699.31 (close)Paris – CAC 40: FLAT at 7,883.63 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.7 percent at 23,934.98 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.7 percent at 37,498.63 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.1 percent at 23,332.72 (close)Shanghai – Composite: FLAT at 3,367.58 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1259 from $1.1154 on FridayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3366 from $1.3278Dollar/yen: DOWN at 144.85 yen from 145.92 yenEuro/pound: UP at 84.19 pence from 83.97 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.2 percent at $62.06 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.1 percent at $65.46 per barrelburs-jhb/js

Chinese tech giant Xiaomi will invest 50 billion yuan ($6.9 billion) in developing high-end smartphone chips, the firm’s founder said on Monday.Xiaomi, which sells goods from smartphones to vacuum cleaners and EVs, is one of China’s most prominent consumer electronics firms.”Chips are the underlying core track for Xiaomi to break through in cutting-edge technology, so we will definitely make an all-out effort,” founder Lei Jun said on social media, marking the company’s 15th year since its establishment.In pursuit of Xiaomi’s semiconductor ambitions, the firm has developed a plan involving “at least 10 years of investment and at least 50 billion yuan”, he added.Xiaomi took initial steps into semiconductors for smartphones with the launch of the firm’s first in-house chip — the Surge S1 — in 2017.But the group was forced to halt production of the chip due to technical and financial obstacles, and has since refocused on other components as well as EVs.”That is not our ‘dark history’. That is the path we have travelled,” Lei wrote on Monday.Xiaomi’s chip development programme has received 13.5 billion yuan in research and development funds since 2021 for a team of more than 2,500 employees, said the billionaire entrepreneur.The announcement comes as both China and the United States seek to ensure access to the most advanced components.”Xiaomi has always had a ‘chip dream’,” Lei wrote, adding, “I earnestly request everyone to give us more time and patience to support our continued exploration on this road.”A number of Chinese firms are racing to develop their own chips with the aim of freeing themselves from reliance on foreign suppliers in the face of that rivalry.In 2023, tech giant and Xiaomi competitor Huawei unveiled a high-performance smartphone equipped with a chip that experts say would be impossible to produce without foreign technologies, raising questions about the effectiveness of US restrictions.The move “could potentially lead to the emergence of new champions capable of competing with American companies like Qualcomm,” Pascal Viaud, CEO of the consulting firm Ubik, told AFP.Beijing has also pushed companies to reduce their dependence on foreign technologies.Last month, Chinese leader Xi Jinping urged them to pursue “self-reliance” in the sector.

Nvidia boss Jensen Huang announced plans for Taiwan’s first “AI supercomputer”, as he showcased on Monday the company’s latest advances in artificial intelligence.Global chip giants have gathered in Taiwan for the island’s top tech expo, Computex, as the sector grapples with the impact of US tariffs and disrupted supply chains.Huang said Nvidia would work with Taiwanese tech giants Foxconn and TSMC as well as the government to build Taiwan’s “first giant AI supercomputer here for the AI infrastructure and the AI ecosystem”.”Taiwan doesn’t just build supercomputers for the world… we’re also building AI for Taiwan,” Huang said in a keynote address, describing the island as the “centre” of the industry.”Having a world-class AI infrastructure in Taiwan is really important.” Taiwan-born Huang also spotlighted a further upgrade to Nvidia’s Blackwell processing platform, as well as new hardware and software for robotics and “AI agents” that can perform company tasks.And he announced a new version of Nvidia’s NVLink technology, enabling customers to build semi-custom AI infrastructure.”In 10 years time, you will look back and you will realise that AI has now integrated into everything and in fact we need AI everywhere,” Huang said, wearing his trademark black leather jacket.Computex will draw computer and chip companies from around the world to Taiwan, whose semiconductor industry is critical to the production of everything from iPhones to the servers that run ChatGPT.Taiwan produces the bulk of the world’s most advanced chips, including those needed for the most powerful AI applications and research.Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon announced the company planned to expand into data centres, but he did not elaborate.Top executives from MediaTek and Foxconn will also speak at Computex, where advances in moving AI from data centres into laptops, robots and cars are in the spotlight.Tech expert Paul Yu told AFP the industry was at a “critical juncture” for AI hardware development.”Over the past two and a half years, significant investment has driven rapid advances in AI technology,” said Yu, of Witology Markettrend Research Institute.He added that “2025 to 2026 will be the crucial period for transitioning AI model training into profitable applications”.- ‘Taiwan to continue to thrive’ -While US tariffs were the biggest issue facing the sector, most companies at Computex “will shy away from addressing tariffs directly as the situation is too uncertain”, said Eric Smith of specialist platform TechInsights.Last month, Washington announced a national security probe into imports of semiconductor technology, which could put the industry in the crosshairs of President Donald Trump’s trade bazooka and inflict potentially devastating levies.Since taking office in January, Trump has threatened hefty tariffs against many of America’s biggest trade partners with the aim of forcing companies to move production to US soil.Export-dependent Taiwan has pledged to increase investment in the United States as it seeks to avoid a 32 percent US tariff on its shipments.But there are concerns the island could lose its dominance of the chip sector — the so-called “silicon shield” protecting it from an invasion or blockade by China and an incentive for the United States to defend it.TSMC, the Taiwanese contract chipmaking giant, has unveiled plans to inject an additional US$100 billion into the United States, on top of the US$65 billion already pledged.TSMC-supplier GlobalWafers also announced plans last week to increase its US investment by US$4 billion as the Taiwanese company opened a wafer facility in the US state of Texas.Competition is intensifying as US export restrictions on certain AI chips to China drives local players to develop their own. Chinese tech giant Xiaomi will invest nearly US$7 billion in developing high-end smartphone chips, the firm’s founder said on Monday.Huang was optimistic on Friday when asked about the impact of tariffs on Taiwan, saying the island would “remain at the centre of the technology ecosystem”.”I fully expect Taiwan to continue to thrive… before, after, throughout,” Huang told reporters.

Asian stocks fell with the dollar Monday after Moody’s removed the United States’ last gold standard sovereign bond rating, citing the growing debt pile that it warned could balloon further.The move dealt a blow to markets, which had enjoyed a healthy run-up last week after Washington and China hammered out a deal to temporarily slash tit-for-tat tariffs, dialling down the tensions in a painful trade war between the superpowers. After the rout sparked by US President Donald Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs bazooka, investors have in recent weeks raced back to buy up beaten-down stocks as the White House tempered its hardball tariff approach and then announced the agreement with China.But selling pressure returned Monday after Moody’s cut its rating on US debt to Aa1 from Aaa, noting “the increase over more than a decade in government debt and interest payment ratios to levels that are significantly higher than similarly rated sovereigns”.It added that it expected federal deficits to widen to almost nine percent of economic output by 2035, up from 6.4 percent last year, “driven mainly by increased interest payments on debt, rising entitlement spending, and relatively low revenue generation”.Analysts said the cut in the gold standard rating — which follows S&P in 2011 and Fitch in 2023 — could indicate investors will want higher yields on Treasuries, pushing up the cost of government debt.Still, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent dismissed the announcement, saying it was “a lagging indicator” and blaming Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden.”We didn’t get here in the past 100 days,” he told CNN. “It’s the Biden administration and the spending that we have seen over the past four years that we inherited, 6.7 percent deficit-to-GDP, the highest when we weren’t in a recession, not in a war.”And White House communications director Steven Cheung hit out at Moody’s Analytics on X, singling out its chief economist Mark Zandi.”Nobody takes his ‘analysis’ seriously. He has been proven wrong time and time again,” Cheung posted.The news added to a frustrating time for the US president after Congress failed to pass his “big, beautiful bill” to extend tax cuts passed in his first term and impose new restrictions on welfare programmes.Independent congressional analysts say the package would add more than $4.8 trillion to the federal deficit over the coming decade.The bill came up short in a key vote owing to opposition from several Republican fiscal hawks.Republican congressman French Hill, who chairs the House Financial Services Committee, said the downgrade “is a strong reminder that our nation’s fiscal house is not in order”.House Speaker Mike Johnson told “Fox News Sunday” that he plans for a floor vote on the package by the end of the week.Equities in Hong Kong and Shanghai fell as below-forecast Chinese retail sales figures reinforced the view that the world’s number two economy continues to struggle even after officials unveiled fresh stimulus measures. However, factory output picked up more than expected.Tokyo, Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Wellington, Taipei and Jakarta all fell, while US futures were also well down.The dollar was also down against its peers.Gold recovered some recent losses owing to its safe haven appeal, rising to $3,225 per ounce.Still, National Australia Bank’s Ray Attrill said: “Moody’s actions will have zero impact on any investor’s ability or willingness to continue holding US Treasuries — that would likely require downgrades of four or five more notches.”And SPI Asset Management’s Stephen Innes said investors would be more interested in upcoming data that would provide a better idea about the state of the world’s top economy.”Moody’s may have dropped the mic, but for equity traders, the real test this week will be Main Street,” he wrote in a note.”We’re heading into a make-or-break retail earnings slate — Target, Home Depot, Lowe’s, TJX, Ralph Lauren all report — and this is where tariff theory collides with checkout-line reality.”Yes, the S&P has clawed back 18 percent since the ‘Liberation Day’ tariff blitz, but the consumer has been the market’s unsung hero. Now they’re about to be audited.”He said the “downgrade is more psychological than mechanical”.- Key figures at around 0230 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.4 percent at 37,617.63(break)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.6 percent at 23,211.29Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.2 percent at 3,361.55Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1180 from $1.1154 on FridayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3300 from $1.3278Dollar/yen: DOWN at 145.09 yen from 145.92 yenEuro/pound: UP at 84.05 from 83.97 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.1 percent at $62.41 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.2 percent at $65.27 per barrelNew York – Dow: UP 0.8 percent at 42,654.74 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.6 percent at 8,684.56 (close)

Factory output in China grew at a faster rate than expected last month, official data showed Monday, weathering a brutal trade war with Washington.Industrial production in the export powerhouse grew 6.1 percent on-year in April, according to figures published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).The reading was higher than the 5.7 percent forecast in a Bloomberg survey, but still lower than the 7.7 percent jump recorded for March.”The national economy withstood pressure and grew steadily in April,” the NBS said, acknowledging a “complex situation of increasing external shocks and layered internal difficulties and challenges”.China and the United States last week agreed to slash sweeping tariffs on each other’s goods for 90 days, raising hopes the global economy can avoid a major downturn.In addition to heightened trade tensions, Beijing has also been battling a persistent slump in domestic spending, threatening its official growth target for this year of around five percent.Data on Monday showed retail sales, a key gauge of domestic demand, grew 5.1 percent year-on-year last month, short of the 5.8 percent growth forecast by Bloomberg.The reading also marked a slowdown from March’s 5.9 percent growth.Meanwhile, China’s surveyed unemployment rate edged down slightly to 5.1 percent, from 5.2 percent in March, according to the NBS.”Economic activities softened only marginally in April as exports stayed resilient despite higher US tariffs,” Zhiwei Zhang, president and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, wrote in a note.”Now that the tariffs have been cut significantly, I expect exports to remain strong,” Zhang said, adding that “economic momentum in the second quarter will likely be stable”.Adding to woes is a years-long downturn in the once-booming property market, which previously represented a key engine for the country’s economy.April saw the price of new residential properties contract in 67 out of 70 surveyed cities, reflecting continued consumer caution, according to the data.

Global semiconductor chip giants will gather at Taiwan’s top tech expo this week to showcase “the next frontier” for an industry dominated by artificial intelligence.Nvidia boss Jensen Huang will make a keynote speech on Monday, the eve of Computex, as the tech sector grapples with the impact of US tariffs and disrupted supply chains. The four-day event will draw computer and chip companies from around the world to Taiwan, whose semiconductor industry is critical to the production of everything from iPhones to the servers that run ChatGPT.Taiwan produces the bulk of the world’s most advanced chips, including those needed for the most powerful AI applications and research.”I have many amazing announcements to make,” Huang told reporters in Taipei on Friday.”We are at the heart of the technology ecosystem and so there are many partners of ours here and we’re looking forward to announcing many collaborations, many new projects, many new technologies and initiatives together.” Top executives from Qualcomm, MediaTek and Foxconn will also speak at Computex, where advances in moving AI from data centres into laptops, robots and cars will be in the spotlight.”From Agentic AI driving smarter personal devices to Physical AI reshaping autonomy, the show maps out the next frontier,” specialist research firm Counterpoint said in a note.Tech expert Paul Yu told AFP the industry was at a “critical juncture” for AI hardware development.”Over the past two and a half years, significant investment has driven rapid advances in AI technology,” said Yu, of Witology Markettrend Research Institute.”2025 to 2026 will be the crucial period for transitioning AI model training into profitable applications.”- ‘Taiwan to continue to thrive’ -While US tariffs were the biggest issue facing the sector, most companies at Computex “will shy away from addressing tariffs directly as the situation is too uncertain,” said Eric Smith of specialist platform TechInsights.Last month, Washington announced a national security probe into imports of semiconductor technology, which could put the industry in the crosshairs of President Donald Trump’s trade bazooka and inflict potentially devastating levies.Since taking office in January, Trump has threatened hefty tariffs against many of America’s biggest trade partners with the aim of forcing companies to move production to US soil.Export-dependent Taiwan has pledged to increase investment in the United States as it seeks to avoid a 32 percent US tariff on its shipments.But there are concerns the island could lose its dominance of the chip sector — the so-called “silicon shield” protecting it from an invasion or blockade by China and an incentive for the United States to defend it. TSMC, the Taiwanese contract chipmaking giant, has unveiled plans to inject an additional $100 billion into the United States, on top of the $65 billion already pledged. TSMC-supplier GlobalWafers also announced plans last week to increase its US investment by $4 billion as the Taiwanese company opened a wafer facility in the US state Texas.But Huang was optimistic on Friday when asked about the impact of tariffs on Taiwan, saying the island would “remain at the centre of the technology ecosystem”.”There are so many smart companies here, there are so many innovative and spirited companies,” Huang said.”I fully expect Taiwan to continue to thrive… before, after, throughout.”