RETAIL

UK sales increase

UK retail sales climbed more sharply than expected last month, returning to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels as discounts enticed consumers back into the shops. The volume of goods sold in stores and online rose by 1.2 percent from January, the most since October last year, the Office for National Statistics said, exceeding the 0.2 percent uptick expected by economists in a Bloomberg survey. It was the second consecutive month in which sales beat forecasts, following an upwardly revised 0.9 percent rise in January. The data add to the impression that consumers in the UK are weathering a cost-of-living crisis better than expected, and would help to bolster the Bank of England’s decision earlier this week to hike its base interest rate by another 25 basis points to 4.25 percent. The figures leave the retail sector on course to contribute to economic growth in the first quarter of this year.

BANKING

UBS eyes retention bonuses

UBS has promised retention packages to wealth management staff in Asia at Credit Suisse, two people with knowledge of the matter said, as the Swiss bank tries to stem a talent exodus after the takeover of its former rival. In a town hall address at Credit Suisse’s Hong Kong office yesterday, UBS global wealth management president Iqbal Khan focused on stabilizing the Credit Suisse Asia team and boosting confidence, one of the people said. Credit Suisse had been steadily losing wealth management market share to UBS and to more well-capitalized US banks in investment banking in the last few years, but remained the second-biggest wealth manager in Asia, behind only its acquirer. Asia, particularly the greater China region, is seen as a growth engine for both banks. In his address, Khan said the top performers at the Credit Suisse wealth business in Asia would get retention packages, the second person said.

SEMICONDUCTORS

Canada, IBM to cooperate

Canada and International Business Machines Corp (IBM) were yesterday to seal a high-level agreement on expanding semiconductor cooperation, during US President Joe Biden’s visit to Ottawa. The memorandum of understanding seeks to capitalize on the US push for semiconductor investment with its Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) and Science Act, a US government official familiar with the matter said. The deal was likely to be announced after Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau were to meet yesterday morning. IBM already operates a large facility for testing and packaging semiconductors in Bromont, Quebec, less than an hour north of the US border. The agreement would lay out a plan to build out the microchip ecosystem in the region, particularly when it comes to workforce development.

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

LG to build Arizona plant

LG Energy Solution Ltd is to invest 7.2 trillion won (US$5.5 billion) building a giant manufacturing complex in Arizona, as the electric-vehicle (EV) battery maker seeks to speed up production to meet rising demand for clean vehicles. The company is to spend 4.2 trillion won on a plant with an annual production capacity of 27 gigawatt-hours for cylindrical batteries, enough to power 350,000 electric vehicles per year, the Seoul-based company yesterday said in a statement. It aims to begin mass production in 2025. LG would build a separate plant with 16 gigawatt-hours capacity for energy storage systems using lithium-iron-phosphate pouch-type batteries.