Asian markets were mixed Friday after Taiwanese chipmaking titan TSMC posted a big profit jump, bolstering confidence in the artificial intelligence sector as the United States struck a trade deal with the self-ruled island.It came after Wall Street rebounded following two down days, while oil steadied as President Donald Trump stepped back from military action in Iran.Taipei stocks surged two percent after the government agreed with Washington to boost Taiwanese chipmaking investments in the United States, which will cut tariffs.Taiwan will remain the world’s “most important” producer of the advanced chips that power AI tools, the island’s Economic Affairs Minister Kung Ming-hsin said.Some market-watchers fear the bubble of excitement around AI, which has pushed global markets to record highs, could burst and cause a stock rout.But TSMC, the world’s biggest contract maker of chips, announced Thursday a forecast-busting net profit for the fourth quarter — seen as a sign of sustained global demand for AI technology.The company’s shares jumped 4.4 percent on Wall Street, and rose three percent Friday in Taipei.Analyst Gavin Friend said TSMC’s strong annual capital expenditure forecast in particular would reassure those concerned over how long the AI boom can last.”Increasingly, investors have been questioning the extent of the capex drive into data centres,” he told the National Australia Bank’s Morning Call podcast.”I think the most important thing — and they (TSMC) pretty much exceeded on everything — was the upbeat outlook on things like capex, expected to be significantly higher over the next three years,” he said.”That’s given AI and tech stocks a much-needed shot in the arm.”- Oil steady -The news spurred US markets, with the tech-rich Nasdaq piling on more than one percent early in the session behind large gains among leading chip firms.But later in the day there was “kind of a roll-back in the megacap stock and semiconductors”, said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare.This weakening came after US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick indicated that semiconductor companies that do not build in the United States could face 100 percent tariffs.In Asia, traders were watching Tokyo ahead of a week that brings a Bank of Japan policy decision and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s expected snap election announcement.The yen has softened against the dollar on reports that the Bank of Japan will keep its monetary policy unchanged, said Kyle Rodda, senior market analyst at Capital.com.That “adds to downside pressures on the currency, with a looming election, called to gain a mandate for very expansionary fiscal policy, also a critical headwind”, Rodda said.Traders are alert to the possibility of a government intervention to prop up the yen’s value, Rodda added.Tokyo and Shanghai closed 0.3 percent down, while Hong Kong, Manila and Kuala Lumpur also posted losses.Sydney, Wellington, Mumbai, Jakarta, Bangkok and Singapore were all up, and tech highflier Seoul gained 0.9 percent.Oil prices continued to steady as Washington distanced itself from military intervention in Iran.The United States on Thursday said Iran halted 800 executions of protesters under pressure from Trump, after Gulf allies appeared to pull him back from military action over Tehran’s deadly crackdown on demonstrations.- Key figures at around 0700 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.3 percent at 53,936.17 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.6 percent at 26,776.06Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.3 percent at 4,101.91 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1610 from $1.1605 on ThursdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3382 from $1.3377Dollar/yen: DOWN at 158.34 yen from 158.63 yenEuro/pound: FLAT at 86.75 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.3 percent at $59.36 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.2 percent at $63.86 per barrelNew York – Dow: UP 0.6 percent at 49,442.44 (close) London – FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 10,238.94 (close)

Taiwan vowed Friday to remain the world’s “most important” AI chipmaker, after reaching a trade deal with the United States that will reduce tariffs on the island’s shipments and increase Taiwanese investment on US soil.Taiwan is a powerhouse in producing chips — a critical component in the global economy — but the United States wants more of the technology made in America.The agreement “will drive a massive reshoring of America’s semiconductor sector,” the US Commerce Department said.Under the deal, Washington will lower tariffs on Taiwanese goods to 15 percent, down from a 20 percent “reciprocal” rate meant to address US trade deficits and practices it deems unfair.Taiwanese Premier Cho Jung-tai praised negotiators Friday for “delivering a well-executed home run” following months of talks.”These results underscore that the progress achieved so far has been hard-won,” Cho said.Taiwan’s dominance of the chip industry has long been seen as a “silicon shield” protecting it from an invasion or blockade by China — which claims the island is part of its sovereign territory — and an incentive for the United States to defend it.But the threat of a Chinese attack has fuelled concerns about potential disruptions to global supply chains, increasing pressure for more chip production beyond Taiwan’s shores.”Based on current planning, Taiwan will still remain the world’s most important producer of AI semiconductors, not only for Taiwanese companies, but globally,” Taiwanese Economic Affairs Minister Kung Ming-hsin assured reporters on Friday.Production capacity for the advanced chips that power artificial intelligence systems will be split about 85-15 between Taiwan and the United States by 2030 and 80-20 by 2036, he projected.China’s foreign ministry said it “resolutely opposes” the deal. – ‘New, direct investments’ -The deal will need to be approved by Taiwan’s opposition-controlled parliament where lawmakers have expressed concern about the potential for Taiwan to lose its chip dominance.Cheng Li-wun, chairperson of the Kuomintang party which advocates closer ties with Beijing, criticised the deal.She said that increasing Taiwanese investment in US chip production capacity risked “hollowing out” the island’s economy.Sector-specific tariffs on Taiwanese auto parts, timber, lumber and wood products will also be capped at 15 percent, while generic pharmaceuticals and certain natural resources will face no “reciprocal” duties, the US Commerce Department said.Meanwhile, Taiwanese chip and tech businesses are set to make “new, direct investments totalling at least $250 billion” in the United States to build and expand capacity in areas like advanced semiconductors and AI, the department said.Taiwan will also provide “credit guarantees of at least $250 billion to facilitate additional investment by Taiwanese enterprises,” it said, adding that this would support the growth of the US semiconductor supply chain.Taiwan’s government said the new tariff will not stack on top of existing duties, which had been a major concern for local industries.”Of course it’s good that the reciprocal tariff has been lowered to 15 percent — at least it puts us on par with our main competitors South Korea and Japan,” said Chris Wu, sales director for Taiwanese machine tool maker Litz Hitech Corp.But, given the company’s single-digit profit margins, “there is no way we can absorb the tariff” for US customers, he said.- TSMC -More than half of Taiwan’s exports to the United States are information and communications technology products — including semiconductors.”The objective is to bring 40 percent of Taiwan’s entire supply chain and production, to domestically bring it into America,” US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC.”We’re going to bring it all over, so we become self-sufficient in the capacity of building semiconductors,” he added.The announcement did not mention names, but the deal has key implications for Taiwanese chipmaking titan TSMC, which last year pledged to spend an additional $100 billion on US plants.Frenzied demand for AI technology has sent profits skyrocketing for the company, the world’s biggest contract maker of chips used in everything from Apple phones to Nvidia’s cutting-edge AI hardware.”As a semiconductor foundry serving customers worldwide, we welcome the prospect of robust trade agreements between the United States and Taiwan,” TSMC said in a statement Friday.”Strengthened trade relations are essential for advancing future technologies and ensuring a resilient semiconductor supply chain.”Lutnick said TSMC has bought land and could expand in Arizona as part of the deal.”They just bought hundreds of acres adjacent to their property. Now I’m going to let them go through it with their board and give them time,” he told CNBC.Taiwanese producers who invest in the United States will be treated more favorably when it comes to future semiconductor duties, the US Commerce Department said.A day prior, US officials held off imposing wider chip tariffs, instead announcing a 25 percent duty on certain semiconductors meant to be shipped abroad — a key step in allowing US chip giant Nvidia to sell AI chips to China.

Hundreds of people dragged away suitcases, computer monitors, pets and furniture as they fled a suspected Cambodian cyberfraud centre, after the country’s most wanted alleged scam kingpin was arrested and deported.Boarding tuk-tuks, Lexus SUVs and tourist coaches, an exodus departed Amber Casino in the coastal city of Sihanoukville, one of the illicit trade’s most notorious hubs.”Cambodia is in upheaval,” one Chinese man told AFP. “Nowhere is safe to work anymore,” he said Thursday.Similar scenes played out at alleged scam compounds across Cambodia this week as the government said it was cracking down on the multibillion-dollar industry.But residents said many of the people working inside the tightly secured buildings moved out several days before the arrival of authorities, and an analyst dubbed it “anti-crime theatre”.From hubs across Southeast Asia, scammers lure internet users globally into fake romantic relationships and cryptocurrency investments.Initially largely targeting Chinese speakers, transnational crime groups have expanded operations into multiple languages to steal tens of billions annually from victims around the world.Those conducting the scams are sometimes willing con artists, sometimes trafficked foreign nationals who have been trapped and forced to work under threat of violence.AFP journalists visited several alleged internet scam sites in Sihanoukville, in the wake of the high-profile arrest in Cambodia and extradition to China of internationally sanctioned accused scam boss Chen Zhi.Few of those departing the casinos, hotels and other facilities were willing to speak with AFP, and none were willing to be identified due to concerns for their safety.”Our Chinese company just told us to leave straight away,” said a Bangladeshi man outside Amber Casino.”But we’ll be fine. There are plenty of other job offers,” he added.Studded with casinos and unfinished high-rises, the glitzy resort of Sihanoukville has become a cyberscam hotbed, where thousands of people involved in the black market are believed to operate cons from fortified compounds.Before Chen was indicted last year by US authorities who said his firm Prince Group was a front for a transnational cybercrime network, the Chinese-born businessman ran multiple gambling hotels in Sihanoukville.A 2025 Amnesty International report identified 22 scam locations in the coastal resort, out of a total of 53 in the country.The UN Office on Drugs and Crime estimates global losses to online scams reached up to $37 billion in 2023, and that at least 100,000 people work in the industry in Cambodia alone. – Tipped off -But the Cambodian government claims the lawless era has come to an end, with Prime Minister Hun Manet pledging on Facebook to “eliminate… all the problems related to the crime of cyber scams”.Cambodia’s anti-scam commission says it has raided 118 scam locations and arrested around 5,000 people in the last six months.Following Chen’s deportation to China, the Cambodian government has tightened the screws on some Prince Group affiliates, ordering Prince Bank into liquidation and freezing home sales at several of its luxury properties.In recent months, China has stepped up its pursuit of the scam industry, sweeping up Chen and other key figures from across Southeast Asia to try them on its own soil.But while Cambodia says it is “cracking down”, there are suspicions over the timing.A tuk-tuk driver in Sihanoukville told AFP hundreds of Chinese people left one compound this week before police arrived.”Looks like they were tipped off,” said the 42-year-old, declining to give his name.Mark Taylor, former head of a Cambodia-based anti-trafficking NGO, said the “preemptive shifting of scam centre resources”, including workers, equipment and managers, had been seen ahead of law enforcement sweeps.It was “seemingly the product of collusion”, he added, in a strategy with “dual ends” of boosting the government’s anti-crime credentials while preserving the scamming industry’s ability to survive and adapt.Amnesty has accused the Cambodian government of “deliberately ignoring” rights abuses by cybercrime gangs, which sometimes lure workers with offers of high-paying jobs before holding them against their will.AFP journalists saw several coachloads of Mandarin speakers leaving Sihanoukville on the main highway to the capital Phnom Penh.Multiple people said they “didn’t know” where they were going or what their plans were, but appeared anxious as they anticipated law enforcement closing in.Outside the Amber Casino, holding a fake designer hold-all, the Bangladeshi man fell in with the crowd, saying: “This is about survival now.”