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By Heekyong Yang SEOUL (Reuters) -Samsung Electronics is expected to post its highest third-quarter profit since 2022, driven by higher memory chip prices supported by server demand as customers rebuild inventories, analysts' estimates showed. The world's biggest maker of memory chips is projected to report an operating profit of 10.1 trillion won ($7.11 billion) for the July-September period, according to LSEG SmartEstimate from 31 analysts, which is weighted toward those who are more consistently accurate. This would be up 10% from a year earlier. Analysts attributed the recovery mainly to better conventional memory chip pricing, which would offset weaker sales volumes of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips as Samsung has yet to supply its latest HBM products to Nvidia. HBM chips, critical for artificial intelligence (AI) development, are designed to reduce power consumption and process large datasets by stacking chips vertically. Analysts said demand for memory chips, particularly from hyperscalers and AI-related investments for services such as ChatGPT, have put more workload on general servers, thus boosting conventional memory chip prices. Prices of some DRAM chips, widely used in servers, smartphones and PCs, jumped 171.8% in the third quarter from a year earlier, according to TrendForce data. While Samsung's conventional memory business performed well, analysts said delays in supplying its latest 12-layer HBM3E chips to Nvidia have hurt its profit and share price. Rivals SK Hynix and Micron have gained more from AI-driven demand, while Samsung's exposure to China, where advanced chip sales are restricted by the United States, has constrained its growth. Analysts said market sentiment toward Samsung's shares and chip business, including both memory and contract chip manufacturing, is expected to improve as it secures supply deals with major customers such as OpenAI and Tesla. Samsung shares have risen more than 43% following its announcement of a chip supply deal with Tesla in July. During OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's visit to South Korea earlier this month, Samsung, SK Hynix and OpenAI announced partnerships to supply advanced memory chips to the Stargate project. The AI chip deal between OpenAI and AMD, one of Samsung's major HBM customers, would also benefit Samsung, said Ryu Young-ho, a senior analyst at NH Investment & Securities. Ryu added that Samsung's $16.5 billion foundry deal with Tesla has lifted expectations that Samsung's struggling contract chip manufacturing business could win more orders from major tech firms if the company delivers the project as planned. While recent AI-driven supply deals signal a positive outlook for Samsung, analysts cautioned that uncertainties remain, including potential U.S. tariffs on chips and China's tightened export controls on rare earth materials used in advanced chips and manufacturing equipment. In September, Micron said it expects to sell out all of its HBM chips for calendar year 2026 in the coming months due to strong demand. Samsung will announce its estimates on revenue and operating profit on Tuesday, with full results due later this month. ($1 = 1,420.1000 won) (Reporting by Heekyong Yang; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

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By Claire Fu and Xinghui Kok SINGAPORE (Reuters) -A record number of Chinese restaurants and cafes have flooded Singapore over the past year, using the island as a test bed for global expansion as they escape pallid consumer demand, extreme price competition and super-squeezed profit margins back home. Well-known firms such as Luckin Coffee and bubble tea major Mixue joined hotpot and mala restaurant operators in the post-pandemic surge overseas, hoping to draw on the cachet of the internationally oriented city-state in a trend that industry experts and executives expect to accelerate. "It's really tough to operate in China now, so many brands are choosing to expand abroad," said Josie Zhou, overseas general manager of Hunan cuisine restaurant Nong Geng Ji, which picked Singapore for the first stage of its global push. Persistent price wars are forcing Chinese food and beverage firms to explore new growth models abroad, said Joanna Jia, Singapore manager of bubble tea chain ChaPanda, which opened two franchisee tearooms in the city in July and plans two more. Weak demand has stifled growth in China since the end of COVID-19 lockdown almost three years ago. A long-time property market slump and U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods have exacerbated price wars in sectors as varied as food and beverages, e-commerce and autos, intensifying deflationary pressure. In going global, culturally similar Singapore has long acted as a stepping stone for Chinese firms and is a country keen to develop relationships with major economies including China at a time when the top economy, the U.S., is raising trade barriers. About 85 Chinese food and beverage brands were operating around 405 outlets in Singapore as of August, more than double the 32 brands running 184 outlets in June last year, showed data from consultancy Momentum Works. That record growth comes even as local operators including low-cost hawker stalls, mid-sized firms and even Michelin-star restaurants grapple with rising costs and lower consumer spending – just as firms do in China. Officials at Chinese brands said they are confident of their Singapore prospects as they can draw on the lean business models and supply chain management that helped them survive at home where a record 3 million restaurants went bust last year. Tearoom chain Chagee, for instance, can prepare an iced milk tea with customised amounts of ice and sugar in just eight seconds with the help of machines built by in-house developers, said Jonathan Ng, Chagee's director of government and public affairs for the Asia-Pacific region. Such nimble processes and quickly adapting to change in consumer preference by offering a wider variety of drinks at far lower prices helped brands such as Luckin and Mixue blunt growth of Western rivals including Starbucks in China. Starbucks' market share in the world's second-largest economy – home to more than a fifth of its cafes – slumped to 14% last year from 34% in 2019, showed data from researcher Euromonitor International. The U.S. company is looking to sell some of its Chinese operations. "The Singapore market may be tough, but the mainland market is brutal – and they survived," said Maybank China economist Erica Tay. These ready-made models, however, have drawn the ire of local businesses. Singapore Tenants United for Fairness, representing 700 business owners, in a June statement on LinkedIn, said domestic companies struggle to compete. "When an SME from China is often even bigger than our local large enterprises, it should be clear that our small businesses are not on a level playing field with such players. In fact, we are not even in the same stadium," the cooperative said. GATEWAY SINGAPORE Traditionally a bridge between Eastern and Western cultures, Singapore is an ideal gateway for expansion with its 6.1 million predominantly Chinese population, said officials at Chinese firms. It is also a wealthy, fashionable place so having a presence there is for good branding, they said. "If we can build up our brand in Singapore, the brand awareness can go to Malaysia and Vietnam, even Indonesia," said ChaPanda's Jia. Some smaller Chinese names are often backed by deep-pocketed investors allowing them to outbid local rivals for prime locations. Michelin-starred Yong Fu from Shanghai, for example, entered Singapore last year with investment of S$10 million ($7.72 million). The sum covered renovation and provides liquidity for rental, staff and other operational costs such as a wine cellar for about five years, said Ye Cheng Zhong, a Yong Fu director and one of three investors. With Singapore as phase one, he plans to take Yong Fu to London at the end of the year then New York and Paris next year. Investment from large Chinese conglomerates, however, has pushed up rent, particularly in high-traffic areas where the supply of commercial space is tight, said Ethan Hsu, head of retail for real estate firm Knight Frank. Moreover, the influx of Chinese restaurants "dilutes the organic culinary fabric of Singapore," said food critic KF Seetoh. Still, such factors are unlikely to stop Chinese companies' flight from the price wars back home. "The competition here will only intensify," said Nong Geng Ji's Zhou. ($1 = 1.2954 Singapore dollars) (Reporting by Claire Fu and Xinghui Kok; Editing by Miyoung Kim and Christopher Cushing)

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SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia's ANZ Group will stop the remaining A$800 million ($520 million) of its share buyback, as newly appointed CEO Nuno Matos moves to preserve more cash and shifts focus to a bold reset of the bank’s growth strategy. ANZ also outlined plans on a further A$800 million worth of gross cost savings which would come from the earlier announced role reductions, team restructuring and exiting non-core businesses like Cashrewards. ANZ—Australia’s fourth-largest bank—has unveiled plans to slash 3,500 jobs at a one-off cost of A$560 million ($373 million) and will fork out A$240 million in penalties after admitting to systemic failures, including “unconscionable” conduct in a government bond deal. The company will also apply a 1.5% discount on its next two dividend reinvestment plans and expects final dividend in line with the half-year dividend. ANZ's shares had underperformed its major rivals but have risen nearly 20% since Matos took over on June 1. The bank's year-to-date gains of 24.1% outrank the share price rises of Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank and Westpac. ANZ unveiled a new A$2 billion ($1.32 billion) share buyback in May 2024 after the bank's first-half cash earnings largely met analyst estimates. ($1 = 1.5389 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Rishav Chatterjee and Scott Murdoch; Editing by David Gregorio and Diane Craft)

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(Reuters) -Australia's Treasury Wine Estates said on Monday it is pausing its A$200 million ($130.02 million) share buyback announced in August and will not be retaining its guidance for EBITS growth in fiscal year 2026, owing to the uncertain outlook in its flagship Penfolds business in China as well as its Treasury Americas portfolios. The country's largest standalone winemaker had earlier flagged a shift in alcohol consumption behaviour in China as large-scale banqueting gives way to smaller-scale occasions, resulting in slower depletion of its Penfolds stock in the key market. The firm noted that depletion for its Penfolds business "remains weak relative to plan", with the firm now no longer retaining its guidance for the same for low to mid double-digit EBITS growth in fiscal 2026 and approximately 15% EBITS growth in fiscal 2027. Similarly, given the uncertain outlook around trading conditions and expectations, Treasury Wine said it is prudent to pause the buyback until greater clarity is available. "Several initiatives are now being implemented to mitigate the expected impacts in China in F26, including pursuing opportunities to re-allocate product to select customers in other key markets in a manner that is sustainable and minimises the risk of parallel imports back into the China market," the winemaker added in its statement. ($1 = 1.5382 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Shivangi Lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by David and Diane Craft)

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(Reuters) -Australian mining software firm RPMGlobal said on Monday that it has struck a deal to be acquired by heavy machinery giant Caterpillar for a total equity value of A$1.12 billion ($728.22 million).  The news comes after Caterpillar had offered to buy the Australian company at A$5 per share in early September. RPM shares had jumped to a high of near A$4.80 after the news but are last trading at A$4.75. RPMGlobal, the last remaining mining software company listed on the ASX, is set to vanish from public markets following its acquisition by Caterpillar. The move comes after rival Micromine was snapped up by the Weir Group in an A$1.3 billion deal, marking the end of an era for Australia's homegrown mining tech players. The deal would be closely scrutinized by the Foreign Investment Review Board and Australia's competition regulator and would also require approvals from RPMGlobal's shareholders. ($1 = 1.5380 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Rishav Chatterjee in Bengaluru; editing by Diane Craft)

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(Reuters) -Australian mining software firm RPMGlobal said on Monday that it has struck a deal to be acquired by heavy machinery giant Caterpillar for a total equity value of A$1.12 billion  ($728.22 million).  ($1 = 1.5380 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Rishav Chatterjee in Bengaluru; editing by Diane Craft)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)