Tech

Round-up of South Korean financial markets: ** South Korean shares gained for a second straight session, buoyed by Samsung Electronics and other tech stocks, and as the country reported a drop in COVID-19 cases. The won strengthened, while the benchmark bond yield dropped. ** The benchmark KOSPI closed up 17.69 points, or 0.74%, at 2,401.91 on Tuesday, following a 0.67% gain in the previous session. ** Samsung Electronics surged 3.89% to extend gains to a second session after the chip giant won a $6.64 billion supply contract from U.S.-based Verizon. ** Peer SK Hynix rose 1.28% and the sub-index for electric and electronics also jumped 3.03%. ** The country reported 136 new cases, as of Monday, after the rate fell to a three-week low of 119. The daily tally has steadily dropped since reaching a peak last month after the government imposed unprecedented social distancing rules. ** "Today's KOSPI rally is entirely about Samsung Electronics ... A series of news of (Samsung's) … [Read more...] about Samsung-led tech rally boosts South Korea shares for second session

Chinese tech veterans, including former executives at Huawei and SMIC, are planning to launch a "domestic replacement" fund by the end of the year to help create China's next tech giant and support Chinese companies sanctioned by Washington. Venture capital firm China Europe Capital aims to raise 5 billion yuan ($731.46 million) for the fund which will invest in start-ups specialising in technologies including semiconductor, 5G and artificial intelligence, said Zhang Jun, the firm's chairman and a former vice president at telecom equipment maker Huawei. The fund launch comes amid a government-backed investment boom in China's technology sector as Beijing competes with Washington in an increasingly acrimonious "tech war". Relations between the world's two largest economies have nosedived in recent months as they butt heads over the coronavirus pandemic, Hong Kong and trade. "China and the U.S. are in a Great Power rivalry that will end only when there's a knockout," Zhang told … [Read more...] about China tech veterans to launch ‘domestic replacement’ fund amid US sanctions

Japanese shares ended higher on Thursday as better-than-expected machinery orders data and Wall Street's rebound from a three-day losing streak bolstered investor sentiment. The benchmark Nikkei share average closed 0.88 per cent higher at 23,235.47, with 197 advancers on the index against 25 decliners. The broader Topix gained 1.21 per cent to 1,624.86, marking the highest close since Sept. 3. Both the indexes clawed back from a 1-1/2-week low marked in the previous session. Wall Street's main indexes closed higher overnight as investors jumped back in to take advantage of the pullback in tech-related stocks. Also underpinning gains, Japan's core machinery orders, a leading gauge of capital spending, rebounded in July from a sharp fall in the previous month. The Cabinet Office's data showed July's core machinery orders grew 6.3 per cent. Among sectors and shares, shippers, glass and ceramics and other financial were among the top performing sectoral sub-indexes on the main … [Read more...] about Nikkei ends higher on upbeat machinery orders, US tech rebound

Similarly, GlobalData said its latest report into enterprise IT investment trends in Australia for 2020 revealed that about a third of Australian IT enterprise decision-makers have claimed their tech budgets would decline by about 10% due to the aftermath of COVID-19. … [Read more...] about Forrester predicts tech spend to shrink as Australia enters into recession

"There's always been this question about a single point of failure in a supply chain," remarked Adrian Lawrence, Petterd's colleague who heads Asia/Pacific technology for Baker McKenzie. "That is the issue that is coming more and more to the fore, as companies are setting up their supply chains for new products. The pandemic is triggering more of a multiple-sourcing view of the world. Now, that may or may not be possible. There may be an economic impact. But. . . where you can get the same component, is a more important part of the analysis as you're setting up a supply chain in the first place. How much of an impact on cost might you accept, to get that flexibility?" … [Read more...] about Aftershock: COVID-19’s permanent impact on tech supply chains