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Nvidia boss Jensen Huang expressed confidence Wednesday that the artificial intelligence (AI) chip giant can handle US President Donald Trump’s trade war.”We have a really agile network of suppliers; they are not just in Taiwan or Mexico or Vietnam,” Huang said while meeting with journalists at Nvidia’s annual developers conference in San Jose, California.”If we add onshore manufacturing by the end of this year, we should be quite good.”Nvidia is not expecting tariffs to significantly affect its financial performance in the short term, according to Huang.He noted that the tariff situation is evolving, and that what it does to Nvidia costs will depend on which countries are targeted by Trump.Trump has threatened to slap extra tariffs on imports of computer chips to the United States, which will heap pressure on Nvidia’s business, which depends on imported components mainly from Taiwan.Since returning to power in January, Trump has imposed tariffs on Washington’s three main trading partners, Mexico, Canada, and China.Trump has talked of imposing “reciprocal tariffs” against other countries in early April, creating uncertainty for businesses and financial markets.The White House recently put out a release saying Trump is intent on making the US a “manufacturing superpower,” ramping up pressure to shift production back to this country.However, chip fabrication facilities can take years to build.Since its founding in 1993, Nvidia has specialized in graphics processing units (GPUs) coveted by video game enthusiasts.GPUs are also ideally suited for AI and the rise of that technology has catapulted the Silicon Valley-based chip maker into the spotlight.”We’re not making chips anymore; those were the good old days,” Huang quipped. “What we do now is build AI infrastructure.”High-end versions of Nvidia’s chips face US export restrictions to the major market of China, part of Washington’s efforts to slow its Asian adversary’s advancement in the strategic technology.Asked about this, Huang replied that his company is not alone in needing to respect each country’s laws.

US stocks jumped while European indexes were mixed Wednesday as the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady after a policy meeting — and gold hit a new record as geopolitical concerns returned to the fore.The US central bank’s rate decision was widely expected, although it also cut its growth forecast for 2025 and hiked its inflation outlook.The Fed has nonetheless penciled in two rate cuts this year.But yields on the 10-year US Treasury note, a closely watched proxy of monetary policy, dropped sharply as the Fed slowed the rate at which it will shrink the size of its balance sheet.”I think the market liked hearing the Fed Chair sound reasonably upbeat about the economy,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare.He noted that the drop in Treasury yields boosts expectations that mortgage rates will also fall.On Wednesday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said “uncertainty today is unusually elevated” and noted that at least part of a recent inflation uptick was related to US President Donald Trump’s tariff policies.He also signaled some confidence about the US economic outlook, noting that key indicators have stayed solid despite surveys showing weakening consumer confidence.Investors have been eagerly awaiting Powell’s comments about how the bank seeks to chart a path through the economic turbulence unleashed by Trump’s ever-changing tariffs approach.Many economists have warned that the tariffs — which are being met with retaliation by some countries — will tip the US economy, and possibly others, into recession.Wall Street stocks closed notably higher.In Europe, Paris rose, London was flat and Frankfurt succumbed to profit-taking.Official data showed eurozone inflation eased more than previously estimated in February, driven by a slowdown in consumer price increases in Germany.Inflation in the single currency area slowed to 2.3 percent last month, a slight change from the 2.4 percent figure published on March 3. Meanwhile, the price of gold, seen as a safe-haven investment, struck a record high above $3,045 an ounce.That came on fears of a fresh upsurge in hostilities in the Middle East after Israel launched its most intense strikes on Gaza since a ceasefire with Hamas took effect.Oil prices edged higher, even as Hamas said it remained open to negotiations while calling for pressure on Israel to implement a Gaza truce.Separately, Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that the United States could own and run Ukraine’s nuclear power plants as part of his latest bid to secure a ceasefire in Russia’s invasion of its neighbor.Zelensky said following their call that Kyiv was ready to pause attacks on Russia’s energy network and infrastructure, a day after Vladimir Putin agreed to halt similar strikes on Ukraine.Elsewhere, the Turkish lira plunged to an all-time low against the dollar, after police raided the home of Istanbul’s powerful opposition mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu.The currency hit a low of more than 40 liras per dollar after the mayor, a key opponent of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was detained over a corruption probe — a move denounced by his opposition CHP party as a “coup.”Trading on the Istanbul stock exchange was temporarily halted and it finished the day 8.7 percent lower.The yen gave up initial gains against the dollar after the Bank of Japan kept interest rates on hold, warning about “high uncertainties” including over trade.- Key figures around 2125 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 0.9 percent at 41,964.63 points (close)New York – S&P 500: UP 1.1 percent at 5,675.29 (close)New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 1.4 percent at 17,750.79 (close)London – FTSE 100: FLAT at 8,706.66 (close)Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.7 percent at 8,171.47 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.4 percent at 23,288.06 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.3 percent at 37,751.88 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.1 percent at 24,771.14 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,426.43 (close)Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0903 from $1.0944 on TuesdayPound/dollar: DOWN at 1.3002 from 1.3003Dollar/yen: DOWN at 148.71 yen from 149.36 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 83.82 pence from 84.16 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.4 percent at $67.16 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.3 percent at $70.78 per barrelburs-rl/jj/bys/jgc

European and US stocks mostly rose on Wednesday a Fed rate decision, while gold set a new record high as geopolitical concerns returned to the fore.”There is a modicum of buy-the-dip interest in the mega-cap stocks, which led yesterday’s slide” on Wall Street said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare.The US Federal Reserve was widely expected to extend its rate cut pause later on Wednesday Investors were eagerly awaiting comments from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell about how the bank seeks to chart a path through the economic turbulence unleashed by US President Donald Trump’s ever-changing approach to tariffs.”One should expect the overarching message from Fed Chair Powell to be that the Fed is waiting to see what policies are enacted, and their effects on economic activity, before making any additional policy moves,” said O’Hare.That may make the Fed’s updated Summary of Economic Projections the main event for investors. The previously quarterly summary, issued in December, predicted two interest rate cuts in 2025. But Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said the possibility of more cuts may not cheer investors. “Even the prospect of lowering borrowing costs unlikely to provide much solace given that they would be seen as indicating increasing weakness in the US economy,” she said.Many economists have warned that the tariffs — which are being met with retaliation by some countries — will tip the US economy, and possibly others, into recession.Wall Street stocks were higher in early afternoon trading.In Europe, Paris rose, London was flat and Frankfurt succumbed to profit-taking.Official data showed eurozone inflation eased more than previously estimated in February, driven by a slowdown in consumer price increases in Germany.Inflation in the single currency area slowed to 2.3 percent last month, a slight change from the 2.4 percent figure published on March 3. Meanwhile, the price of gold, seen as a safe-haven investment, struck a record high above $3,045 an ounce. That came on fears of a fresh upsurge in hostilities in the Middle East after Israel launched its most intense strikes on Gaza since a ceasefire with Hamas took effect.Oil prices edged higher, even as Hamas said it remained open to negotiations while calling for pressure on Israel to implement a Gaza truce.In Moscow, Russia accused Ukraine of trying to “derail” agreements reached between Vladimir Putin and Trump to halt strikes on energy infrastructure.Elsewhere, the Turkish lira plunged to an all-time low against the dollar on Wednesday, after police raided the home of Istanbul’s powerful opposition mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu.The currency hit a low of more than 40 liras per dollar after the mayor, a key opponent of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was detained over a corruption probe, a move denounced by his opposition CHP party as a “coup”.Trading on Istanbul stock exchange was temporarily halted and it finished the day 8.7 percent lower.The yen gave up initial gains against the dollar after the Bank of Japan kept interest rates on hold, warning about “high uncertainties” including over trade.Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock index also gave up gains to end lower.- Key figures around 1630 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 0.7 percent at 41,873.08 pointsNew York – S&P 500: UP 0.8 percent at 5,661.64New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 1.1 percent at 17,699.44London – FTSE 100: FLAT at 8, (close)Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.7 percent at 8,171.47 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.4 percent at 23,288.06 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.3 percent at 37,751.88 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.1 percent at 24,771.14 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,426.43 (close)Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0884 from $1.0944 on TuesdayPound/dollar: DOWN at 1.2973 from 1.3003Dollar/yen: UP at 149.88 yen from 149.36 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 83.89 pence from 84.16 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.3 percent at $66.93 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.3 percent at $70.77 per barrelburs-rl/jj

Global stock markets diverged on Wednesday while gold set a new record high as investors looked forward to a US Fed rate decision and geopolitical concerns returned to the fore.European and Asian stock markets traded mixed, while Wall Street rebounded following Tuesday’s tech-led losses.”There is a modicum of buy-the-dip interest in the mega-cap stocks, which led yesterday’s slide,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare.The US Federal Reserve was widely expected to extend its rate cut pause later on Wednesday and investors were eagerly awaiting comments from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell about how the bank seeks to chart a path through the economic turbulence unleashed by US President Donald Trump’s ever-changing approach to tariffs.”One should expect the overarching message from Fed Chair Powell to be that the Fed is waiting to see what policies are enacted, and their effects on economic activity, before making any additional policy moves,” said O’Hare.That may make the Fed’s updated Summary of Economic Projections the main event for investors. The previously quarterly summary, issued in December, predicted two interest rate cuts in 2025. But Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said the prospect of more cuts may not cheer investors. “Even the prospect of lowering borrowing costs unlikely to provide much solace given that they would be seen as indicating increasing weakness in the US economy,” she said.Many economists have warned that the tariffs — which are being met with retaliation by some countries — will tip the US economy, and possibly others, into recession.Meanwhile, the price of gold, seen as a safe-haven investment, struck a record high above $3,045 an ounce on fears of a fresh upsurge in hostilities in the Middle East after Israel launched its most intense strikes on Gaza since a ceasefire with Hamas took effect.Oil prices edged higher, even as Hamas said it remained open to negotiations while calling for pressure on Israel to implement a Gaza truce.Over in Moscow, Russia accused Ukraine of trying to “derail” agreements reached between Vladimir Putin and Trump to halt strikes on energy infrastructure.In afternoon trading in Europe, London dipped and Frankfurt fell while Paris gained.Official data showed eurozone inflation eased more than previously estimated in February, driven by a slowdown in consumer price increases in Germany.Inflation in the single currency area slowed to 2.3 percent last month, a slight change from the 2.4 percent figure published on March 3. Elsewhere, the Turkish lira plunged to an all-time low against the dollar on Wednesday, after police raided the home of Istanbul’s powerful opposition mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu.The currency was trading at 39 liras per dollar after the mayor, a key opponent of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was detained over a corruption probe, a move denounced by his opposition CHP party as a “coup”.The yen gave up initial gains against the dollar after the Bank of Japan kept interest rates on hold, warning about “high uncertainties” including over trade.Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock index also gave up gains to end lower.Elsewhere in Asia, Jakarta’s stock market rebounded only slightly, having plummeted more than seven percent Tuesday in the biggest plunge since September 2011, over concerns about Indonesia’s economy amid weak consumer spending. – Key figures around 1330 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 0.3 percent at 41,689.29 pointsNew York – S&P 500: UP 0.4 percent at 5,636.37New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.6 percent at 17,601.05London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 8,696.32Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.3 percent at 8,142.52Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.9 percent at 23,179.04Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.3 percent at 37,751.88 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.1 percent at 24,771.14 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,426.43 (close)Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0897 from $1.0944 on TuesdayPound/dollar: DOWN at 1.2962 from 1.3003Dollar/yen: UP at 149.90 yen from 149.36 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 84.08 pence from 84.16 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP less than 0.1 percent at $66.81 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.1 percent at $70.65 per barrelburs-rl/giv

Chinese internet and gaming giant Tencent said on Wednesday that profits in the fourth quarter of 2024 surged 90 percent as the firm accelerates a push into artificial intelligence (AI).The publication of quarterly and annual results came after weeks of robust investor confidence in Chinese technology stocks, and in AI in particular, following January’s shock emergence of local startup DeepSeek on the global stage.Shenzhen-based Tencent is the operator of China’s all-purpose WeChat app and a major player in the global gaming industry.Its net profits in the three months ending on December 31 totalled 51.3 billion yuan ($7.1 billion), up 90 percent year-on-year, according to a statement on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange website.The statement also showed that Tencent’s revenue in the period reached 172.4 billion yuan, a rise of 11 percent year-on-year that outpaced a Bloomberg forecast.Tencent CEO Pony Ma said the double-digit revenue growth was down to using AI to enhance the firm’s advertising platform, higher video account engagement and growth in its gaming arm.He said Tencent had “reorganised our AI teams” around fast product innovation and deep model research, while also boosting AI-related spending.Tencent brought in revenue of 660.3 billion yuan for the whole year, increasing eight percent from 2023.Net profits jumped 68 percent to 194.1 billion yuan.The strong results came after the company’s stock price soared this month to its highest level in nearly four years.- AI frenzy -Chinese tech giants have been funnelling resources into the competitive field of AI since the release of DeepSeek’s chatbot in January.The little-known Chinese company caused a global stir because it appeared to have developed the chatbot at a fraction of the price of Western industry leaders such as the United States’s OpenAI.Ma told a news conference on Wednesday that Tencent had “actively embraced” DeepSeek across multiple services.”I think it’s a very great thing. We have a lot of respect for them and we also embrace them,” Ma said.Tencent said last month that it had started trialling its own AI reasoning model called “Hunyuan Thinker”, which will offer a more “professional” format for answering questions and a more “human” writing style.Rival Alibaba also said it would spend more than $50 billion on AI and cloud computing over the next three years.Investors were also heartened by a rare meeting last month between Chinese President Xi Jinping and a gathering of prominent entrepreneurs that included Tencent’s Ma.However, the company continues to face challenges, including a sluggish domestic economy and political pressure from Washington.In January, US authorities added Tencent to a list of firms it says are affiliated with Beijing’s military.Tencent described the move as a “mistake” and China’s foreign ministry accused Washington of “suppression”.

Distraught Myanmar relief camp dwellers received final handouts from the World Food Programme on Wednesday as the UN agency begins halting aid to a million people in the country because funding has dried up.President Donald Trump’s slashing of the US aid budget has contributed to “critical funding shortfalls” for WFP, forcing it to make sweeping cuts in Myanmar, which has been racked by a four-year, multi-sided civil war.”I pray every night that this news is not true,” said Byar Mee, who on Tuesday received the last of her monthly payouts worth around $50, which she uses to feed her family of five.”I pray to God that the donors are blessed and are able to help us again,” she told AFP in a camp outside the northeastern city of Myitkyina. “Please help us and pity us.”Since the military toppled a civilian government in 2021, Myanmar has been in the grip of a conflict that has killed thousands, displaced millions and pushed the poverty rate up to 50 percent.Because of cuts, WFP says it will only serve around 35,000 people in April — a fraction of the 15 million people unable to meet their daily food needs.One person in need, Zi Yay Tar, has been displaced from his home by landmines and fighting for more than a year.His family of seven have scraped by alongside Byar Mee’s in the relief camp run by the Waingmaw Lisu Baptist Association in Kachin state, 25 miles (40 kilometres) from the border with China.”We are struggling because we don’t have any other income,” the 32-year-old told AFP. “The World Food Programme was our biggest hope.”WFP Myanmar chief Michael Dunford told AFP last week the organisation was being forced to winnow down aid because donors including the United States were no longer forthcoming.Since returning to office in January, Trump has overseen a crusade to dismantle federal spending spearheaded by his top donor and the world’s richest person Elon Musk.The US Agency for International Development (USAID) — formerly a major WFP donor — has had its $42.8 billion budget eviscerated.- ‘We are going to starve’ -There are 379 households — more than 1,800 people — living in the Waingmaw Lisu Baptist Association camp, which has been supported by WFP since July, according to Le Tarr, a community organiser among its residents.”After we heard the WFP announcement, all the people in the camp are depressed and are having trouble sleeping,” he said.”Without food and supplies, we are going to starve. After we heard this announcement, we felt hopeless.”Trump has presented the cuts as part of his campaign to undo bloated government spending.But USAID accounted for only between 0.7 and 1.4 percent of total US government spending in the last quarter century, according to the Pew Research Center.The United Nations’ special rapporteur on Myanmar Tom Andrews on Monday said the United States’ “sudden, chaotic withdrawal of support” was having a “crushing impact” on people in the country.”The abrupt termination of this support is going to kill them,” he told a press conference in Geneva.

Equity markets were mixed and gold hit another record high on Wednesday as trade war worries cast a shadow and geopolitical concerns returned to the fore.The tepid start to the day followed tech-led losses on Wall Street, while an agreement between US President Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin that Russia would stop targeting Ukrainian energy was met with a shrug.The yen gave up initial gains against the dollar after the Bank of Japan kept interest rates on hold, warning about the outlook amid “high uncertainties” including over trade.Investors are also gearing up for central bank decisions in the United States, the United Kingdom and Indonesia, where stocks tanked Tuesday on concerns about Indonesia’s economy.Fresh pledges by China to boost domestic consumption and welcome data out of the United States that eased recession worries helped Asian markets to a strong start to the week.But Trump’s scattergun trade policies, which have seen him impose measures on some key partners but delay others, have stoked uncertainty.While no new levies have been announced in recent days, the next key date is April 2, when sweeping reciprocal measures are due to kick in, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent telling Fox Business “each country will receive a number that we believe represents their tariffs”. “We are going to go to them and say, look, here’s where we think the tariff levels are, non-tariff barriers, currency manipulation, unfair funding, labour suppression,” he said on “Mornings With Maria”.Many economists have warned that the tariffs — which are being met with retaliation by some countries — will tip the US economy, and possibly others, into recession.With that in mind, the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting, which ends later Wednesday, is being closely followed by traders hoping for an idea about officials’ plans to deal with any negative impact.- Gold hits new record -The Bank of Japan, as expected, stood pat on interest rates, having hiked them last month amid concerns over the outlook, particularly with regard to trade.”There remain high uncertainties surrounding Japan’s economic activity and prices, including the evolving situation regarding trade,” the bank warned in a statement after its announcement.Stefan Angrick of Moody’s Analytics wrote in a note ahead of the decision that “a wave of tariff measures and threats from Washington have kept financial markets on edge”.The yen rose against the dollar initially but later resumed the downward path it had started the day on, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock index also gave up gains to end lower.Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore, Manila, Mumbai and Bangkok edged up. Jakarta gained more than one percent, clawing back some of the painful losses suffered Tuesday, when it shed more than seven percent at one point on economic fears.But Shanghai, Sydney, Wellington and Taipei dipped.London, Frankfurt and Paris slipped at the open.Gold struck another record high above $3,045 on fears of a fresh upsurge in hostilities in the Middle East after Israel launched its most intense strikes on Gaza since a ceasefire with Hamas took effect.Those concerns helped dampen sentiment on Wall Street, where all three main indexes resumed a sell-off after a two-day recovery from recent losses.Trump’s talks with Putin failed to yield a full ceasefire, with the Russian leader instead only agreeing to halt attacks against Ukrainian energy targets for 30 days. While the White House hailed the talks as “good and productive”, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pledged to continue fighting in Russia’s Kursk region.Top US envoy Steve Witkoff told Fox News that fresh talks had been planned to take place on Sunday in Jeddah.However, Chris Weston at Pepperstone Group said: “While Russia-Ukraine ceasefire talks are ongoing, most feel that we’re no closer to anything truly tangible and a lasting agreement.”- Key figures around 0815 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.3 percent at 37,751.88 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.1 percent at 24,771.14 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,426.43 (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 8,688.39Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0900 from $1.0944 on TuesdayPound/dollar: DOWN at 1.2969 from 1.3003Dollar/yen: UP at 149.50 yen from 149.36 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 84.05 pence from 84.16 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.5 percent at $66.58 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.4 percent at $70.27 per barrelNew York – Dow: DOWN 0.6 percent at 41,581.31 (close)

The Bank of Japan left its key interest rate unchanged Wednesday and warned about the economic outlook amid global uncertainty fuelled by Donald Trump’s trade war.Officials began lifting borrowing costs last year after nearly two decades of ultra-loose monetary policies aimed at kickstarting torpid growth in the world’s number four economy.But since coming to office in January the Trump administration has embarked on a hardball campaign to rectify what it says are unfair trade imbalances, and imposed levies on multiple trading partners and imports including steel.The uncertainty unleashed by that has forced central banks around the world to reassess their recent monetary policies. On Wednesday the BoJ, after a two-day meeting, said it would stand pat on its key rate, having lifted it to a 17-year high of around 0.5 percent in January. In a statement it said: “There remain high uncertainties surrounding Japan’s economic activity and prices, including the evolving situation regarding trade.”Later, governor Kazuo Ueda told reporters: “Tariffs can directly affect the economy through trade — especially production volumes, inflation and prices.”On the other hand, tariffs, or even the prospect of tariffs, can affect the mindset or confidence of households and businesses, which could directly impact spending.”Stefan Angrick of Moody’s Analytics said the BoJ statement “paints a fairly upbeat picture of the economy, which suggests the central bank is looking to tighten monetary policy further”.But “with the dust still settling from January’s rate hike… the BoJ wants to gauge the impact of recent policy changes before tightening further”, he wrote in a note.- ‘Pulse check’ -SPI Asset Management’s Stephen Innes said the Federal Reserve and Bank of England were also expected to hold rates this week “as policymakers take their first collective pulse check on the fallout from Trump’s trade policies”.Headline inflation in Japan has been above the bank’s two-percent target every month since April 2022, and a year ago it finally lifted its interest rates above zero, before increasing them to 0.25 percent in July.Wage trends are also key, after trade unions said early data showed they had secured an average 5.5 percent pay rise for members this year, a three-decade high and up from last year’s preliminary reading of 5.3 percent.The BoJ said on Wednesday that in Japan, “the employment and income situation has improved moderately”.”If the annual spring labour negotiations lead to significantly higher wages then we believe there is a possibility for an interest rate hike in the summer and another one six months later,” Katsutoshi Inadome of SuMi TRUST said.Prices excluding fresh food rose 3.2 percent on-year in January, accelerating from 3.0 percent in December. February inflation figures are due on Friday.The BoJ is aware that rising prices “are contributing negatively to people’s lives”, Ueda said on Wednesday.”A rise in food prices, including rice… can affect the basic pace of inflation through a change in households’ mindset and expectation of future inflation,” he said.

Malaysia is making great strides in its effort to become a major player in the global semiconductor industry as it looks to capitalise on a surge in demand driven by the AI explosion but analysts warn it faces headwinds.Malaysia’s signing of a major deal with British chip giant Arm this month was the latest step towards achieving the country’s goal of producing its own top-end chips in the next five to seven years.But experts say internal constraints such as a talent crunch, funding problems and other supply chain gaps are key hurdles the country must overcome if it is to compete with top regional industry giants such as Taiwan, South Korea and Japan.Shafiq Kadir, an equity analyst at CGS International, said local integrated circuit (IC) design houses had narrow access to large capital, and lacked a strong track record and an established pool of experienced engineers.”We still lack sufficient talent, as our tertiary education is less prepared in producing graduates with the right skill set,” Shafiq told AFP.Malaysia Semiconductor Industry Association president Wong Siew Hai also said there was a “shortage of those suitable for the specific experience and skill sets that we are looking for”.Although there are experienced Malaysians who have worked with multinational firms, many of them chose to work abroad for better pay and opportunities, among other factors, Wong said.”We lose an average 15 percent of our talent in the semiconductor industry every year to brain drain,” he told AFP.In the deal signed on March 5, Malaysia will pay Softbank-owned Arm $250 million over a decade to access its intellectual property, including seven high-end chip design blueprints and other technology.The aim is to help Malaysia move into more value-added production such as wafer fabrication and IC design.The deal also includes the training of 10,000 local semiconductor engineers, while Arm will establish its first office in Southeast Asia in Kuala Lumpur.- ‘White elephants’ -Farlina Said, a cyber and technology policy fellow at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies Malaysia, said building semiconductor ecosystems would require time and careful planning.”These would have to be mapped against resource availability and market conditions. Building the infrastructure without sufficient players can create white elephants for the industry,” she told AFP.”Moving up the value chain means first, Malaysia has to find means of transferring knowledge to develop local capacities.”Second, funds are needed to develop the ecosystem surrounding the knowledge transfer. This includes technology transfers, talent pipelines and R&D sustainability,” she added.Wong, the industry group chief, said the government’s $5.3-billion allocation over the next decade to upscale Malaysia’s semiconductor sector is small compared with state investments by China and the United States.Shafiq, the analyst, said the tools and equipment required for chip production could run into the billions of dollars — apart from the need for highly skilled engineers and operators.”Achieving a certain level of production yield on those high-end chips… has proven to be very challenging even for established fabs like Samsung and Intel,” he said.   – 2030 sales target -Expert Farlina said competing with semiconductor powerhouses in the region will not be a walk in the park as they have “developed the ecosystems to support technological leadership in the past few decades”. Malaysia, however, is not starting from scratch, the analysts said.The country has long been a key player in the chips sector, with its northern state of Penang — often called the nation’s Silicon Valley — at the heart of its success, although focused on the back end of the industry such as assembly and testing. “Key (multinational corporations) such as Intel and AMD both have integrated circuit design operations in Penang… and this has somewhat generated the development of IC design among local engineers for decades,” Shafiq said.”We stand to benefit from this as more capital and focus are being put into the IC design area.”Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech firm Bosch.And Malaysia’s semiconductor exports were valued at 387.98 billion ringgit ($87.48 billion) in 2024, the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation said, making the country one of the world’s top 10 chip exporters.The industry association is aiming for the country’s chip exports to reach $270 billion by 2030, which Wong said would allow the country to “maintain its relative position in the world” as a top semiconductor exporter.  

The Bank of Japan left its key interest rate unchanged Wednesday in a widely expected move given the global economic uncertainty fuelled by US trade tariffs.Following a two-day policy meeting, the central bank said it was keeping its key interest rate at around 0.5 percent.”There remain high uncertainties surrounding Japan’s economic activity and prices, including the evolving situation regarding trade,” a BoJ statement said.The bank hiked rates in January to their highest level in 17 years on the back of bumper inflation in the world’s fourth largest economy.Since then US President Donald Trump has imposed levies on multiple trading partners and imports including steel.”I am worried about uncertainty regarding overseas economic and price trends,” BoJ chief Kazuo Ueda told a parliament session last week when asked what concerned him the most.”With the dust still settling from January’s rate hike… the BoJ will want to gauge the impact of recent monetary policy changes on the economy before making its next move,” Stefan Angrick of Moody’s Analytics wrote in a note ahead of the policy decision.”At the same time, a wave of tariff measures and threats from Washington have kept financial markets on edge, adding to the reasons for the BoJ to stand pat,” he said.SPI Asset Management’s Stephen Innes said the Federal Reserve and Bank of England were also expected to hold rates this week “as policymakers take their first collective pulse check on the fallout from Trump’s trade policies”.The BoJ is gradually normalising its policies following years of aggressive monetary easing to try to jump-start the stagnant economy.But headline inflation has been above the bank’s two-percent target every month since April 2022, and a year ago it finally lifted its interest rates above zero, before increasing them to 0.25 percent in July.Ueda said after the January decision that the pace and timing of future increases would be decided after studying “the impact of this rate hike”.Wage trends are also key, after trade unions said early data showed they had secured an average 5.5 percent pay rise for members this year, a three-decade high and up from last year’s preliminary reading of 5.3 percent.The bank said on Wednesday that in Japan, “the employment and income situation has improved moderately”.”If the annual spring labour negotiations lead to significantly higher wages then we believe there is a possibility for an interest rate hike in the summer and another one six months later,” Katsutoshi Inadome of SuMi TRUST said.