Briefs: SIAS names The Edge Singapore's Amala Balakrishner as 'Most Promising Journalist of the Year'

The award is given by SIAS as part of the Corporate Governance Week organised by SIAS.

Balakrishner received her award on Oct 14 at an event graced by former president Tony Tan Keng Yam, who is also the chief patron of SIAS.

This is the first time The Edge Singapore has taken part in the award.

In her award citation, SIAS notes that Balakrishner has proven to be a self-driven newshound with a knack for recognising the pertinent issues across different beats and producing insightful stories. “She is always ready to tread on the unbeaten path, showing the stamina and fortitude to navigate complex situations and go the extra mile for a story.”

While The Edge Singapore started as a weekly print magazine, as the media landscape changes, the team has moved towards telling stories via various digital formats as well. For example, Balakrishner is a regular host of The Edge Singapore’s Brokers’ Digest webcast series, where guest speakers help viewers gain insights on the latest trends across major markets including the US and China.

“I would like to thank all my colleagues including my editors Lee Pang Chuan, Goola Warden and Chan Chao Peh for their motivation, support and constant encouragement,” says Balakrishner.

As part of the Corporate Governance Week, various companies listed on the Singapore Exchange have been recognised one way or another.

Keppel Corp won in the big cap category of the Singapore Corporate Governance Award. Del Monte and Sing Investments & Finance won for mid cap and small cap respectively. Cromwell European Real Estate Investment Trust won for the REITs and business trusts category, and Sats was named for the diversity category.

Avarga, whose main business is building materials distribution, has been named one of the two runner ups — the other being PropNex — in the small caps category of the Singapore Corporate Governance Award. In addition, Avarga has also been named a runner up in the Most Transparent Company Award within the “materials” industry category.

Avarga’s executive chairman is Tong Kooi Ong, who is also chairman of The Edge Media Group, the parent company of the publisher of The Edge Singapore. Ian Tong, CEO of Avarga, is also an executive director of The Edge Media Group.

For the Shareholder Communications Excellence Award, the winner among the big caps is Singapore Telecommunications; with SBS Transit and Qian Hu Corp picking up their respective wins for mid cap and small cap respectively. NetLink NBN Trust topped the REITs and business trusts category.

As for the Most Transparent Company Award, winners are named for their respective industry sectors: StarHub for communications; Combine Will International Holdings for consumer discretionary; Yeo Hiap Seng for consumer staples; Baker Technology for energy; United Overseas Bank for financials, Q & M Dental Group (Singapore) for financials; Sembcorp Industries for industrials; China Sunsine Chemical Holdings for materials; Tuan Sing Holdings for real estate; and CSE Global for technology.

Besides Balakrishner, other journalists named by SIAS at this year are:

• Ben Paul, senior correspondent at The Business Times, has been named Financial Journalist of the Year.
• Chew Boon Leong, senior business correspondent at Lianhe Zaobao, won Financial Story of the Year.
• Rachel Adrienne Kelly, senior producer-presenter, MONEY FM 89.3 has been named Investor Education Journalist of the Year.

The Straits Times won for Media Excellence in Community Investor Education, and Chor Khieng Yuit, journalist for Money Mind at CNA, picked up the Special Award.

China’s factory-gate inflation surges to highest in 26 years

China’s factory-gate prices grew at the fastest pace in almost 26 years in September, adding to global inflation risks and putting pressure on local businesses to start passing on higher costs to consumers.

The producer price index (PPI) climbed 10.7% from a year earlier, the highest since November 1995, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Oct 14. That exceeded the 9.5% gain in August and the 10.5% median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists.

The consumer price index rose 0.7% last month from a year earlier, lower than a 0.8% gain in the previous month.

The jump in PPI was mainly fuelled by skyrocketing coal prices and other energy-intensive products, according to NBS. Surging coal prices and policy goals to cut energy consumption have led to an electricity shortage, resulting in power rationing and factory production halts in over 20 provinces in September. Prices of other commodities such as crude oil also continued to climb, with the Bloomberg Commodity Index (CPI) rising 5% for the month.

“The widened gap between PPI and CPI means greater pressure for upstream sectors to pass on rising costs to the downstream,” said Bruce Pang, head of macro and strategy research at China Renaissance Securities Hong Kong.

With coal futures at a record and the government allowing electricity prices to rise, inflation pressure will likely persist and start filtering through to consumers. Nomura Holdings estimates higher power prices could push up consumer inflation by 0.4 percentage point by the third quarter of 2022.

The gap between producer and consumer inflation increased in September to 10 percentage points from 8.7 points in August, the widest level since 1993.

There are early signs that producers are starting to pass on higher costs to consumers: the largest soy sauce maker in the country said this week it plans to raise retail prices of its products. At least 13 companies listed on China’s A-share market have announced price hikes this year to address rising costs and tight supply, China Securities Journal reported on Oct 14. — Bloomberg

TSMC quarterly profit beats expectations as margins recover

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC) quarterly profit beat expectations as demand for the chips stayed robust in the face of worsening snarls in the supply chain.

The world’s No 1 foundry said on Oct 14 that its net income for the three months ended September rose 14% to NT$156.3 billion ($7.5 billion), compared with the NT$149.6 billion average of analyst estimates. The company posted record revenue of NT$414.7 billion for the quarter, according to previously disclosed figures.

Demand for semiconductors that power everything from cars to the latest smartphones have driven lead times to record highs and helped contract chipmakers like TSMC fill order books. But capacity constraints have limited the Taiwanese company’s ability to fully capitalise on the boom, even as it set aside US$100 billion ($135.5 billion) to grow output over three years and evaluated potential new plants in Japan and Europe.

Bottlenecks elsewhere in the supply chain, including in packaging and testing, as well as snarls in logistics have weighed on the industry. Apple, which accounts for a quarter of TSMC’s revenue as its biggest customer, is likely to slash its projected iPhone 13 production targets this year by as many as 10 million units, Bloomberg News reported this week.

Gross margin in the September quarter was a better-than-expected 51.3%, following improvements in “backend profitability and a more favourable technology mix”, TSMC said. It is rebounding from a nearly two-year low reached in the previous three months, in part because of currency fluctuations. TSMC will likely raise prices next year, Taiwanese media reported in August, a move that could help offset concerns over margins.

“TSMC will be the last foundry to raise pricing during the ongoing semis shortage as some peers have already enacted two to three increases,” Cowen analysts led by Krish Sankar wrote in a Oct 11 report. “We expect semis shortages will ease by 2H22 as incremental foundry industry capacity come online.” — Bloomberg

Cover photo: SIAS