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The Star
2 days ago
- Business
- The Star
Asian equities see largest monthly foreign inflow in 15 months
A woman walks past an electronic screen displaying the stock index prices of Asian countries outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan April 24, 2025. REUTERS/Issei Kato ASIAN equities attracted strong foreign inflows in May as concerns over an immediate economic hit from higher U.S. tariffs eased, prompting a return by investors who had previously exited large and concentrated positions in the region. The inflows marked a sharp reversal after four consecutive months of net foreign selling. According to data from LSEG, foreign investors bought approximately $10.65 billion worth of equities across India, Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines, registering their largest monthly net purchase since February 2024. U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of reciprocal tariffs in early April stoked concerns over the impact on Asian exports, exporter margins, and regional supply chains, but a subsequent 90-day pause for most countries later in the month helped ease investor fears and revive interest in regional assets. Goldman Sachs said it has revised its earnings growth forecast for MSCI Asia Pacific ex-Japan (MXAPJ) to 9% for both 2025 and 2026, raising estimates by 2 and 1 percentage points, respectively, citing stronger macro growth in China and U.S.-exposed markets. The upgrade was also supported by $600 billion in AI-related investments from Saudi Arabia to U.S. firms, which are expected to benefit Taiwan and Korea, though the impact may be partially offset by a weaker dollar, the brokerage said. Taiwan equities witnessed $7.28 billion worth of foreign inflows, the largest monthly cross-border net purchase since November 2023. Foreigners also acquired a significant $2.34 billion worth of Indian stocks in their largest monthly net purchase since September 2024. South Korean, Indonesian and Philippine stocks also saw foreign inflows worth a net $885 million, $338 million and $290 million, respectively, while Thai stocks suffered $491 million of net selling. Despite heightened market volatility in the first half of the year driven by concerns over President Trump's trade policies, the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index has risen about 8.8% year-to-date, outperforming both the MSCI World Index , which is up 5.4%, and the S&P 500 Index, which has gained 0.98%. - Reuters
GMA Network
4 days ago
- Business
- GMA Network
Gamers line up for Nintendo Switch 2 launch
A customers holds his Nintendo Switch 2 game consoles as Nintendo starts selling the new consoles globally, at an electronics store in Tokyo, Japan on Thursdaym June 5, 2025. REUTERS/Issei Kato Gaming fans queued up for the launch of Nintendo's Switch 2 on Thursday, which is widely expected to be in short supply globally amid pent-up demand for the more powerful next-generation gaming device. "The level of demand seems to be sky-high," said Serkan Toto, founder of the Kantan Games consultancy. In the Ikebukuro shopping district of Tokyo, dozens of successful applicants to a sales lottery by electronics retailer Bic Camera 3048.T lined up before the store opened to collect their devices. "I feel like I'm going to cry," Yumi Ohi, a 30 year-old delivery contractor, told Reuters. Ohi had missed out in other lotteries and had come from Saitama prefecture, adjacent to Tokyo, to receive her Switch 2. Nintendo has sold 152 million Switch home-portable devices since launching in 2017. It became a games juggernaut with titles including two "The Legend of Zelda" titles and COVID-19 pandemic breakout hit "Animal Crossing: New Horizons". The Switch 2 bears many similarities with its predecessor but offers a larger screen and improved graphics and debuts with titles including "Mario Kart World". "The much larger audience of Switch users should translate to stronger adoption in the opening part of its lifecycle," said Piers Harding-Rolls, an analyst at Ampere Analysis. "Nintendo is better prepared this time around" to deal with the high demand, he said. The launch of the $499.99 Switch 2 is a test of Nintendo's supply chain management during U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war. Nintendo last month forecast sales of 15 million Switch 2 units during the current financial year, as well as 4.5 million Switch units. President Shuntaro Furukawa said Nintendo will strengthen production capacity to respond to strong demand and focus on sales promotion in an effort to exceed the forecast. "Given it's a special occasion, I wanted to buy (the Switch 2) right away on its release date," said Shinichi Sekiguchi, a hotel receptionist in his thirties. Nintendo said it received 2.2 million applications for its Switch 2 sales lottery on its My Nintendo Store in Japan. Pre-orders at Target TGT.N sold out in less than two hours. "You are looking at weeks or months until you can walk into a store and buy a Switch 2," said Toto of Kantan Games. Investor expectations for the new device are similarly lofty. Nintendo's shares are trading near highs and have gained almost 30% this year. Concerns include whether momentum for the Switch 2 will be sustained after hardcore gamers have upgraded. "The volume of first-party games on offer at launch isn't as strong as it could be, so some more casual users may wait and see how the games available build over the next one to two years before making the leap," said Ampere's Harding-Rolls. Ampere forecasts Switch 2 sales to exceed 100 million units in 2030. "Mario Kart World" has a U.S. sticker price of $79.99, generating debate over the price of games. Nintendo is also attracting third-party titles to the system. "I've been around since the era of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and games from (that period) were expensive too so I think it's somewhat within the acceptable range," said Akitomo Takahashi, a salesman in his forties. Takahashi said he was keen to play action role-playing game "Elden Ring" on his Switch 2. —Reuters
The Star
29-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Sony says financial arm spin-off will secure fundraising capabilities
FILE PHOTO: The Sony logo is displayed outside the company's headquarters in Tokyo, Japan February 16, 2023. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) -Sony's CEO said on Thursday the spin-off of the financial services arm will secure that business its own fundraising capabilities. "It is significant that, through the spin-off, Sony (Financial Group) will secure its own fundraising capabilities while continuing to use the Sony brand and collaborate with Sony Group," Sony CEO Hiroki Totoki said at an investor day. Sony plans to distribute just over 80% of its shares to Sony Financial Group, which includes banking and insurance, to shareholders through dividends in kind. It is the first partial spin-off by a company in Japan with a direct listing - the first in Japan in more than two decades - set for September 29. The business plans to repurchase shares totaling some 100 billion yen through to March 2027. Its origins date back to the late 1970s, when Sony co-founder Akio Morita moved to set up a life insurance business selling to consumers. In more recent years Sony sold off struggling hardware operations and focused on entertainment such as the PlayStation games business. More than 60% of the conglomerate's profit came from its entertainment businesses last year. (Reporting by Sam NusseyEditing by Shri Navaratnam)
The Star
14-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Sony sees profits flat this year
FILE PHOTO: The Sony logo is displayed outside the company's headquarters in Tokyo, Japan February 16, 2023. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) -Sony said on Wednesday it expects operating profit to rise 0.3% to 1.28 trillion yen ($8.70 billion) in the financial year ending in March. The Japanese conglomerate has transformed from a maker of household electronics such as the Walkman to an entertainment behemoth spanning games, movies, music and chips. President Hiroki Totoki has strengthened his grip over the conglomerate, taking the CEO role last month. Sony is preparing for a partial spin-off of its financial unit as it focuses on entertainment. Including the financial business, operating profit rose 16% to 1.4 trillion yen, beating analyst estimates. The conglomerate is grappling with the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war. Last month Sony raised PlayStation 5 prices in Europe and Britain last month, citing higher inflation and exchange rate fluctuations. ($1 = 147.1900 yen) (Reporting by Sam Nussey; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
The Star
12-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
SoftBank Group seen booking modest fourth quarter loss as Vision Fund suffers
FILE PHOTO: The logo of SoftBank is displayed at a company shop in Tokyo, Japan January 28, 2025. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo TOKYO: Japanese technology investor SoftBank Group is expected to book a quarterly net loss of 26.9 billion yen ($184.4 million) on Tuesday as early-stage tech startups fell out of favour and losses widened at major portfolio firms. The forecast downgrades are seen by analysts as being partially offset by a stronger yen and the continued rise in the share price of SoftBank's telecommunications holdings, such as T-Mobile, which finished the quarter up more than 20%, close to a record high. The net loss for the January-March quarter is based on the average of five analyst estimates compiled by LSEG and compares to net income of 231 billion yen over the same period the previous year. The share price of portfolio companies such as Swiggy and Ola Electric each fell around 40% over the period. Losses at each have ballooned since their listings last year in the face of intense competition in the quick commerce and electric vehicle sectors. Nomura Securities analyst Daisaku Masuno forecast a collective loss of around $900 million for listed companies held in SoftBank's Vision Fund investment vehicles over the quarter. New venture capital investment concentrated in large established players over the quarter, while investment in earlier stage firms - such as those in the Vision Fund 2 - fell to the lowest level in five quarters, Crunchbase data showed. SoftBank played a part in this, making its largest spending announcements in years, including in ChatGPT maker OpenAI, in which it committed to investing between $20 billion and $30 billion. In March SoftBank also announced its purchase of chip startup Ampere Computing for $6.5 billion. But analysts doubt how much these planned investments in artificial intelligence will benefit its bottom line as these projects are yet to demonstrate tangible successes and competition is fierce. "SoftBank has paid a steep price for ChatGPT perhaps without fully understanding how these increasing number of AI chatbots can coexist and make money," said Amir Anvarzadeh, Japan equity strategist at Asymmetric Investors. Alongside, recent market uncertainty has thrown the initial public offering market into retreat, which may further weigh on valuations in SoftBank's portfolio of unlisted companies. Since the beginning of April SoftBank holdings Klarna - a Swedish fintech firm - and Oyo - an Indian hotel chain - both delayed their listings following the announcement of tariffs by U.S. President Donald Trump. However payments firm Paypay is currently preparing for an IPO, a subsidiary of SoftBank announced at its earnings results last week. ($1 = 145.8500 yen) - Reuters
