Real-time News

Bank of Thailand Governor: It is not advisable to cut interest rates at present.

Bank of Thailand Governor: There is still room for interest rate cuts.

Central Bank of Malaysia: At the current benchmark interest rate level, the Monetary Policy Committee believes that the monetary policy stance is consistent with the prospect of continued price stability.

The Central Bank of Malaysia kept its overnight policy rate unchanged at 2.75%.

September 3rd - ByteDance is reportedly set to secure a $29.6 billion syndicated loan. Initially planning to raise $20 billion, the loan was increased to $29.6 billion due to strong demand from banks. The funds will primarily be used for general corporate purposes. The deal is not yet formally signed, and banks are still confirming allocations. Upon completion, this loan will be the second-largest dollar-denominated syndicated loan in Asia this year, second only to SoftBank Group's $40 billion bridge loan in March. ByteDance is accelerating its AI investment, considering increasing its capital expenditure to a maximum of $70 billion by 2026, more than double last year's figure, primarily for expanding data centers and other AI infrastructure. ByteDance's last large-scale overseas loan occurred in 2024, raising approximately $10.8 billion.

On September 3, the Securities Association of China (SAC) issued a notice to securities firms, soliciting industry opinions on the "Securities Industry Demonstration Practice No. 7 – Securities Company Mergers and Acquisitions (Draft for Comment)". The main text of the demonstration practice is divided into three chapters: the preparation stage, the merger and acquisition transaction stage, and the integration stage. In the summary of the integration stage, the SAC made three suggestions: First, strengthen overall coordination, focusing on major special tasks such as the switching of legal entities and systems, customer migration, and subsidiary integration, and enhance target and process management to ensure that work objectives are achieved on schedule and without errors; second, strengthen internal and external coordination, addressing difficulties and bottlenecks in integration by effectively communicating with external entities such as regulatory agencies and coordinating across units internally to ensure timely resolution of problems; and third, strengthen task supervision, dynamically tracking task progress through special supervision, regular reports, and thematic meetings to ensure orderly and comprehensive integration throughout the entire process.

Russian President Vladimir Putin: The budget deficit is not serious.

September 3 – Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) is in talks with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix regarding a multi-billion dollar prepayment plan for electricity bills to raise funds for the construction of the power grid needed for a new semiconductor industry cluster. Under the current proposal, Samsung Electronics will prepay 20 trillion won, and SK Hynix will prepay 5 trillion won, totaling 25 trillion won, roughly equivalent to electricity bills for the next five years. KEPCO stated in a press release, “The large-scale prepayment system is a mechanism for companies urgently needing to expand their power grid and KEPCO, which needs investment funds, to mutually meet their needs. Specific details, including the prepayment amount and coverage period, have not yet been finalized.”

September 3 - The China Earthquake Networks Center officially measured a 3.8-magnitude earthquake in Changji City, Changji Prefecture, Xinjiang, at 14:18 on September 3, with a focal depth of 25 kilometers.

September 3 – German Chancellor Merz will meet with European Central Bank (ECB) officials in Berlin next week. The ECB will hold its interest rate decision meeting in Berlin, amidst rising speculation about ECB President Lagarde's future. Sources indicate that Merz will attend a formal dinner hosted by the German central bank on Tuesday, followed by a two-day ECB monetary policy meeting in Berlin. The ECB holds its annual interest rate meeting outside its Frankfurt headquarters in a Eurozone country, with each member state hosting the meeting on a rotating basis. This meeting is expected to see a 25 basis point rate hike. Merz will use this opportunity to discuss Germany's improving economic outlook with ECB officials, but the meeting comes at a time of uncertainty surrounding Lagarde's future leadership of the ECB. Lagarde has hinted that she may not complete her term, which ends in October 2027, and the World Economic Forum (WEF) is seeking to invite her to become its next president. Meanwhile, the Merz government is weighing whether to nominate Bundesbank President Nagel to succeed Lagarde.

September 3 – According to the Emirates News Agency, UAE President Al Nahyan received a phone call from US President Donald Trump. During the call, Al Nahyan and Trump discussed cooperation between the UAE and the US in various fields, and how to further strengthen bilateral relations to safeguard common interests. They also exchanged views on a range of issues of common concern, particularly developments in the Middle East and efforts to address these situations.

Broadcom's shares, listed in Frankfurt, fell 2% after the company missed its fourth-quarter revenue forecast.

September 3 - Samsung Electronics will introduce 1,612 pieces of South Korean equipment to its semiconductor back-end process plant in Thai Nguyen Province, Vietnam. The detailed equipment introduction plan, with a registered total investment of US$4.08 billion, was confirmed in the environmental permit application submitted by Samsung Vietnam Semiconductor (SVS) to the Vietnamese authorities.

According to TASS, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated that Norway's seizure of a Russian ship constitutes piracy.

On September 3, local time, the head of the Odessa Military Management Bureau in Ukraine, Lisak, reported that the city was attacked by Russian forces in the early hours of the morning, injuring 17 people, including three children. All the injured have received professional medical treatment. The attack reportedly damaged a high-rise apartment building and several vehicles.

Euro Stoxx 50 futures rose 0.11%, German DAX futures rose 0.15%, and UK FTSE 100 futures rose 0.07%.

On September 3, the Guangdong Provincial Department of Natural Resources publicly solicited opinions on the "Several Measures on Accelerating the Redevelopment of Inefficient Land to Promote High-Quality Development (Draft for Solicitation of Opinions)." The draft proposes exploring land swaps. For scattered, inefficient land parcels (such as marginal land, sandwiched land, and interspersed land) involved in regional coordinated development and large-scale development, land swaps can be conducted between state-owned construction land and collectively owned construction land, based on the principles of "similar area or equivalent value, mutual consent, and exchange with supporting documentation." This swap will not be considered a transaction and will not involve the payment of related taxes and fees. The swapped land parcels must have obtained construction land use right certificates, be free from mortgages, seizures, or other restrictions, and at least one party must be included in the inefficient land database. The value difference can be made up through monetary or property transfers. The swapped land parcels can be registered for real estate based on the swap plan, relevant approval documents, and swap agreement, without the need to submit tax payment receipts. The draft encourages exploring methods such as "expropriation first, then swapping" to implement land swaps between state-owned and collectively owned construction land.

Hong Kong-listed chip stocks rebounded in the afternoon, with Tianshu Zhixin (09903.HK) surging over 8%, followed by gains in other stocks such as ASMPT (00522.HK), Huahong Grace (01347.HK), Horizon Robotics (09660.HK), and Innoscience (02577.HK).