This article is an on-site version of our FirstFT newsletter. Subscribers can sign up to our Asia, Europe/Africa or Americas edition to get the newsletter delivered every weekday morning. Explore all of our newsletters here
Good morning and welcome back to FirstFT Asia. In today’s newsletter:
Nvidia and AMD’s unusual deal with Trump
Singapore’s stock exchange poised for revival
What Putin wants at the upcoming Alaska summit
Nvidia and AMD have agreed to give the US government 15 per cent of the revenues from chip sales in China, as part of an unusual arrangement with the Trump administration to obtain export licenses for the semiconductors.
Unprecedented arrangement: The two chipmakers agreed to the deal as a condition for obtaining export licences for the Chinese market that were granted last week, according to people familiar with the situation. A US official said Nvidia agreed to share 15 per cent of the revenues from H20 chip sales in China and AMD will provide the same percentage from MI308 chip revenues. According to export control experts, no US company has ever agreed to pay a portion of their revenues to obtain export licences.
Go deeper: The deal fits a pattern in the Trump administration where the president urges companies to take measures, such as domestic investments, for example, to prevent the imposition of tariffs in an effort to bring in jobs and revenue to America. The H20 revenue arrangement comes as Nvidia and the Trump administration face criticism over the decision to sell the chip to China. US security experts say the H20 will help the Chinese military and undermine US strength in artificial intelligence.
Read more about the unprecedented deal.
Here’s what else we’re keeping tabs on today:
Economic data: Malaysia publishes June labour force statistics.
Bangladesh: British MP Tulip Siddiq and other co-defendants go on trial, accused of corruption involving Siddiq’s aunt, the former prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
Five more top stories
1. European leaders are pressing Washington to ratchet up sanctions pressure on Moscow as they race to shape the outcome of a meeting between Trump and Vladimir Putin that could determine the fate of Ukraine and long-term security of the continent. US vice-president JD Vance also warned Europe yesterday that the US will no longer be funding Ukraine’s military defences as it has been doing.
2. Singapore’s stock exchange is poised for a revival with tens of companies in talks to list, according to its chief executive, signalling the exchange may be recovering after decades of companies withdrawing listings. Read the interview with SGX CEO Loh Boon Chye.
3. The only European sanctioned for trading Russian oil has sued a US corporate intelligence firm for libel and slander, accusing the New York group of spreading disinformation on behalf of his former business partner. The filings in a New York court include recordings in support of Dutch trader Niels Troost’s claim his erstwhile partner Gaurav Srivastava pretended to be a CIA operative. Read the full story.
4. Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich said he has “lost faith” that Benjamin Netanyahu can achieve a “decisive victory” in Gaza, days after the country’s security cabinet agreed to expand the military offensive in the shattered enclave. Smotrich, an ultranationalist and key member of the governing coalition, accused Netanyahu of conducting an “about-face” after having promised this time to “go all the way”.
5. Global rice prices have tumbled to their lowest level in eight years, in a blow to many farmers across Asia, as record harvests and the ending of export bans in India flood the market with supply. The price decline marks a sharp reversal from early last year, when rice soared to its highest level since 2008.
News in-depth
Alaska, the venue set for Putin and Trump’s meeting on Friday, could hardly be more symbolic of the Kremlin’s view of the world. Once part of the Russian empire, it serves as a reminder that national borders are not set in stone, and land can be a currency for statecraft. Here’s what the Russian president wants from Trump at their upcoming summit — Putin’s first official invitation to the US in almost two decades.
We’re also reading . . .
New Delhi’s government quarter: Departing FT bureau chief John Reed writes about a transformation to match India’s ambition — and the old challenges that remain.
Trump vs Intel: After Trump’s attacks on Intel’s CEO, its board must decide whether to capitulate to the president’s bullying or to display some backbone, writes Michael Moritz.
AI boom: The gap between hype and reality is frustratingly wide and growing, writes Pilita Clark.
Chart of the day
India’s IT services giants are racing to reinvent themselves for the age of AI, rolling out new tools to customers from banks to sporting bodies even as the technology threatens to slash client spending in the near term.
Take a break from the news . . .
Is it possible to actually get away from work? FT writers and industry leaders reveal how they take a break — and the best holidays that resulted.
