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By Iain Withers and Kevin Buckland LONDON/TOKYO (Reuters) -Global stocks gained and gold traded near record highs on Thursday as investors digested the potential ramifications of a U.S. government shutdown, while a weak private U.S. labour market report bolstered bets for Federal Reserve rate cuts. A protracted U.S. government shutdown could mean that the release of key official data on employment and inflation is delayed or disrupted, clouding the picture on the health of the world's biggest economy and the path for interest rates. A monthly payrolls report seems unlikely now to be released on Friday, putting an overnight ADP employment report that shows the economy unexpectedly shed jobs in September into sharper focus. Traders are now pricing in two quarter-point Fed rate cuts by the end of the year as almost a done deal. "I hope they sort this out rapidly," said Kevin Thozet, investment committee member at asset manager Carmignac, referring to the government shutdown, adding that inflation data was also due ahead of the Fed's next meeting. "It's like a blind man walking with a blind dog," he said. SHUTDOWN ANGST HURTS DOLLAR, BOOSTS GOLD While U.S. stocks have performed well, he added, uncertainty about the credibility of U.S. institutions more generally has manifested in a weaker dollar. The MSCI's broadest index of global stocks was up about 0.25% on Thursday, after European stocks hit another record high, up about 0.6%. Wall Street futures were also up between 0.2 and 0.4%. Tech shares in Asia had earlier rallied, helping drive up the region's stock indexes, partly lifted by news that South Korean chip heavyweights Samsung and Hynix inked partnerships to supply OpenAI data centres. The combination of Fed easing bets and some shutdown angst pushed gold to a fresh all-time high of $3,895.09 overnight, while also supporting U.S. Treasuries, sending yields sharply lower. The two-year Treasury yield sank to a two-week low of 3.531% on Thursday, and was last at 3.5408%. Gold paused for breath, last changing hands at around $3,869. "As is often the case, fresh highs are likely to beget yet more fresh highs here, with momentum still firmly with the bulls, and the fundamental case for further upside in PMs (precious metals) a solid one too," said Michael Brown, senior research strategist at Pepperstone. The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the currency against six major peers, languished near the one-week low of 97.459 reached overnight. It last stood at 97.578, down 0.1% from Wednesday's closing level. The dollar was little changed at 146.975 yen, after Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Shinichi Uchida signalled confidence that conditions for another interest rate hike were falling into place, in remarks at an industry event. The euro rose slightly to $1.1752, while sterling edged up to $1.35. Oil prices rose on prospects of tighter sanctions on Russian crude, looking to snap a three-day losing streak to 16-week lows. Brent crude futures gained 0.2% to $65.48 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude added 0.2% to $61.90 a barrel. (Reporting by Iain Withers in London and Kevin Buckland in TokyoEditing by Shri Navaratnam, Lincoln Feast and Gareth Jones)

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(Reuters) -Online fast-fashion retailer Shein will open its first permanent stores in France in November under an agreement with department store owner Société des Grands Magasins (SGM), a move that sparked criticism from French retailers. The "shop-in-shops" in the BHV department store in central Paris and Galeries Lafayette department stores in five provincial cities, mark a new step for Shein which has up to now only hosted temporary pop-up shops around the world mainly aimed at marketing. SGM president Frédéric Merlin said the launch would attract a younger clientele to its department stores, adding that the same customer might buy a Shein item and a designer handbag on the same day. RETAILERS CRITICISE DEPARTMENT STORE DEAL WITH SHEIN Shein, which sells 12-euro dresses and 20-euro jeans, faces pressure from other retailers, politicians and regulators in France, where lawmakers have backed a draft law regulating fast fashion that would, if implemented, ban Shein from advertising. "In front of the Paris City Hall, they are creating the new Shein megastore, which – after destroying dozens of French brands – aims to flood our market even more massively with disposable products," Yann Rivoallan, head of fashion retail association Fédération Francaise du Pret-a-Porter, said in a statement. French retailers were already struggling to compete with Zara and H&M when Shein launched, drawing cash-strapped consumers in with its permanent discounts and addictive app. Several French fast-fashion retailers such as Jennyfer and NafNaf went into insolvency proceedings earlier this year. Shein's first store, on the sixth floor of the BHV, will open in early November, with later openings planned in Galeries Lafayette department stores in Dijon, Grenoble, Reims, Limoges, and Angers. (Reporting by Inti Landauro and Helen Reid, Editing by Louise Heavens)

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By Rozanna Latiff, Danial Azhar and Mei Mei Chu KUALA LUMPUR/BEIJING (Reuters) -China and Malaysia are in early talks for a project to process rare earths, with sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional likely to partner with a Chinese state-owned firm to build a refinery in the Southeast Asian nation, people familiar with the matter said. If the joint venture takes shape, it would represent a significant policy departure for China, the world's top supplier and refiner of rare earths, which has banned export of its processing technology to protect its dominance of the industry. Beijing is ready to swap its technology for access to Malaysia's untapped rare earths reserves, seeking to limit competition from Australian rival Lynas Rare Earths, which has a processing plant in the central state of Pahang, said two sources in Malaysia with knowledge of the talks. All four sources who spoke to Reuters for this report sought anonymity because the matter is a sensitive one.      Malaysia's natural resources and trade ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the talks. Khazanah's chief investment officer, Hisham Hamdan, declined to confirm the talks or plans for the proposed refinery, saying it was "way too early", but acknowledged that rare earths were among the industries being explored by the fund. "We do many studies on industries… it's something we're happy to explore and help the government, but it's at government level, right? So I think that's as much as we can say," he told Reuters in an interview in Singapore on Thursday. China’s State Council Information Office, which handles media queries on behalf of the government, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment due to the National Day holiday. ROADBLOCKS AHEAD, SAY SOURCES  A Malaysian source said the plan faced several roadblocks, however, such as China's concern whether Malaysia would be able to supply enough raw material for the plant.  Two of the sources said Malaysia was also concerned by the potential environmental impact and regulatory hurdles, since mining activities typically require approvals and licensing from both state and federal government authorities. Malaysia has said it did not support rare earths mining in sensitive locations such as permanent forest reserves and water catchment areas. Global manufacturers are scrambling to secure alternative supplies of rare earths, after Beijing's export curbs this year led to output delays for major automakers and magnet producers. Malaysia has some 16.1 million metric tons of rare earth deposits, the government estimates, but lacks the technology to mine and process them.  It has banned companies from exporting raw rare earths to prevent loss of resources. The only exception was granted in 2022 to a pilot mining project aimed at helping to set national operating and licensing guidelines for extraction of the rare earths. Australia's Lynas, the world's largest rare earths producer outside China, signed a deal in May with Malaysia's eastern state of Kelantan for a future supply of mixed rare earths carbonate, seen as an effort to develop the local industry.   REFINERY TO HANDLE BOTH TYPES The proposed refinery is expected to process both light and heavy rare earths, two Malaysian sources said. These elements are critical to the manufacture of products from cars and mobile phones to military equipment.  Heavy rare earth metals, used widely in the development of clean technology, are less common, however, and some elements face shortages amid high demand. In August, Johari Abdul Ghani, Malaysia's minister for natural resources said China was prepared to provide technical and technological assistance in processing rare earths. However, President Xi Jinping had asked to restrict cooperation efforts to state-linked companies so as to protect trade secrets, Johari said, adding that discussions were still preliminary and no deal had been reached.  A successful deal would make Malaysia one of the few countries with both Chinese and non-Chinese rare earths processing technology, Johari added. (Reporting by Rozanna Latiff and Danial Azhar in Kuala Lumpur and Mei Mei Chu in Beijing; Additional reporting by Ryan Woo in Beijing and Xinghui Kok in Singapore; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

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By Yantoultra Ngui and Jun Yuan Yong SINGAPORE (Reuters) -The boom in private credit and private equity is poised for a reality check as an untested credit cycle collides with fragile exit routes in Asia's public markets, two senior investment executives said at a conference in Singapore. Private markets have expanded in Asia Pacific over the past decade, with buyout activity reaching $138 billion in 2024, the second-best year in a decade, Deloitte data shows. Private credit assets under management in the region have surged more than six-fold since 2014 to about $93 billion as of September 2023, according to Preqin. Michael Goosay, chief investment officer and global head of fixed income at Principal Asset Management, said the influx of capital into private assets had shifted risk away from public markets without testing how those borrowers would fare in a downturn. "I do worry about the private markets," Goosay said at a panel session at the Milken Institute Asia Summit in Singapore on Wednesday.  "We haven't been down through a true cycle. There's been a lot of money chasing the returns that are promised in these private equity, private credit types of products," he said. Abundant private funding had "pulled capital away from the public markets" and riskier issuers have migrated to private balance sheets, he added. "Those are the companies that wind up having problems when the economy is turned," he said. Speaking at a panel session at the same conference on Thursday, Jeffrey Jaensubhakij, an adviser to Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC, said private equity in Asia still struggles to exit investments because public markets, except India, have not offered reliable valuation and liquidity windows. "Japan has been very successful and it's got a value-added corporate governance push. Korea is pushing very hard. I think this, amongst other things, will also help those public markets perform well, allow for exits, and then private equity can then follow," he said. (Reporting by Yantoultra Ngui and Jun Yuan Yong; Editing by Stephen Coates)

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TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwan is considering forming a high-tech strategic partnership with the U.S., which wants increased Taiwanese investment, the island's top tariff negotiator said on Thursday, giving an update on talks with Washington. Taiwan, home to the world's biggest contract chipmaker TSMC, runs a large trade surplus with the United States. The island's exports to the U.S. are currently subject to a 20% tariff, a figure Taipei's government is seeking to cut. Taiwan Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun, who is leading the tariff talks with Washington, told reporters in Taipei she was hopeful both sides could reach a consensus on expanding investment in the United States through a "Taiwan model". This would not involve relocating supply chains but rather extending and expanding U.S. production capacity, said Cheng, who returned this week from the latest round of talks. The government views the model for investing in the country as "industrial investment planning" coupled with government support measures such as export credit guarantees and joint Taiwan-U.S. development of industrial clusters, she added. "The current negotiation focus is that the United States expects us to expand investments and engage in supply chain cooperation," Cheng said. Neither the U.S. Commerce Department nor the Office of the United States Trade Representative has responded to requests for comment on the talks. The U.S. government went into shutdown on Wednesday. TSMC, whose business is surging on strong demand for artificial intelligence applications, is investing $165 billion to build chip factories in the U.S. state of Arizona, though the bulk of its production will remain in Taiwan. Cheng, who said TSMC did not take part in the latest talks, repeated that a proposal floated in U.S. media by Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick for a 50-50 split in making chips is not something Taiwan would agree to and was not brought up. "We can clearly say that we understand that the U.S. side's hope is to increase domestic production capability to satisfy U.S. domestic demand," she added. The aim of Taiwan's industry is to "remain rooted in Taiwan and deploy around the world, and then have bilateral strategic cooperation," Cheng said. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Jeanny Kao; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)

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By David Morgan, Bo Erickson, Nolan D. McCaskill and Richard Cowan WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump's administration on Wednesday froze $26 billion for Democratic-leaning states, following through on a threat to use the government shutdown to target Democratic priorities. The targeted programs included $18 billion for transit projects in New York, home to Congress's top two Democrats, and $8 billion for green-energy projects in 16 Democratic-run states, including California and Illinois. Vice President JD Vance, meanwhile, warned that the administration might extend its purge of federal workers if the shutdown lasts more than a few days.  The moves made clear that Trump would carry out his threat to take advantage of the shutdown to punish his political opponents and extend his control over the $7 trillion federal budget, established by the U.S. Constitution as the domain of Congress.  "Billions of dollars can be saved," he wrote on Truth Social late on Wednesday. The government shutdown, the 15th since 1981, suspended scientific research, financial oversight, environmental cleanup efforts and a wide range of other activities. Some 750,000 federal workers were ordered not to work, while others, such as troops and Border Patrol agents, began to work without pay. The Department of Veterans Affairs said it would provide burials at national cemeteries, but would not erect headstones or mow the grass. Vance said at a White House briefing that the administration would be forced to resort to layoffs if the shutdown lasts more than a few days, adding to the 300,000 who will be pushed out by December. Previous shutdowns have not resulted in permanent layoffs. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office said it would lay off 1% of its 14,000 employees, according to an internal letter seen by Reuters. SCHUMER ALLEGES SHUTDOWN 'BLACKMAIL' Hakeem Jeffries, the top Democrat in the House of Representatives, said the funding freeze for subway and harbor projects in his home of New York would throw thousands out of work. Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer, also from New York, said Trump was targeting regular Americans for partisan aims. "He is using the American people as pawns, threatening pain on the country as blackmail," Schumer said. Republican Senator Thom Tillis said he was concerned that the freezing of infrastructure funds for New York could make it harder for Congress to exit the shutdown. "They need to be really careful with that, because they can create a toxic environment here," Tillis said. "So hopefully they're working with the leader, and the leader with them, on not creating more work to get us out of this posture." Republican Senate Leader John Thune dismissed concerns that the spending freeze amounted to hostage-taking. "Well, vote to open up the government and that issue goes away, right? I mean, it's pretty straightforward," he said at a press conference. Jeffries said he had not had any contact with the White House since a meeting with Trump earlier in the week. "We haven't heard from the White House since the White House meeting on Monday," he said in an CNN interview. "Clearly, they wanted to shut the government down." DIFFERENT DAY, DIFFERENT VOTE, SAME RESULTS Meanwhile, the Senate again rejected efforts to keep the government functioning as both a Republican proposal that would fund the government through November 21 and a Democratic vote that would pair funding with additional health benefits failed in floor votes. Trump's Republicans hold a 53-47 Senate majority, but they need the support of at least seven of Schumer's Democrats to meet the chamber's 60-vote threshold for spending bills. At issue on the government funding front is $1.7 trillion for agency operations, which amounts to roughly one-quarter of annual spending. Much of the remainder goes to health and retirement programs and interest payments on the growing $37.5 trillion debt. A bipartisan group of senators huddled on the floor during the vote, trying to find a path forward. "I want to see that a deal is a deal, and I would like to see the Republicans make a commitment to work with us on health care," said Senator Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat who represents many federal workers near the nation's capital. "But I've never said that has to be all I's dotted and T's crossed because that could be complicated." Democrats are also seeking guarantees that Trump will not be able to ignore spending bills he signs into law, as he has repeatedly done since returning to office. Both sides sought to pin the blame on the other, looking for advantage ahead of the 2026 midterm elections that will determine control of Congress. Democrats said Republicans were responsible for the disruption, as they control the levers of power in Washington. Republicans said Democrats were surrendering to partisan pressures to oppose Trump, even though they have routinely backed spending bills in the past. They also repeated a false claim that the Democratic proposal would extend health coverage to people who are in the country illegally. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the Democratic plan would only restore coverage to certain categories of immigrants who are in the country legally, such as asylum seekers and people on work visas. Several government agencies posted notices on their websites blaming the "radical left" for the shutdown – a possible violation of a law known as the Hatch Act meant to insulate nuts-and-bolts government services from partisan politics.  The longest U.S. government shutdown, which stretched over 35 days in 2018-2019 during Trump's first term, ended in part after flight delays caused by air traffic controllers calling in sick. (Reporting by Courtney Rozen, Richard Cowan, Nolan D. McCaskill, Bo Erickson and David Morgan; Additional reporting by Mike Stone, Doina Chacu, Jasper Ward, Costas Pitas, Katharine Jackson and Bhargav Acharya; Writing by Andy Sullivan and James Oliphant; Editing by Scott Malone, Lincoln Feast, Alistair Bell, Daniel Wallis and Richard Chang)

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By Yuka Obayashi and Siyi Liu TOKYO/SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Oil prices rose on Thursday following losses in the previous three sessions as the potential for tighter sanctions on Russian crude lent some support, though concerns about oversupply in the market capped gains. Brent crude futures gained 20 cents, or 0.31%, to $65.55 a barrel at 0631 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude climbed by 20 cents, or 0.32%, to $61.98 a barrel. Some analysts attributed the increases to a technical rebound, after Brent and WTI both lost about 1% in the prior session, with Brent closing at its lowest since June 5 and for WTI since May 30. "Buying interest emerged as WTI neared its $60 support level, while heightened geopolitical risks and speculation about tighter sanctions on Russian crude also lent support," said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, chief strategist of Nissan Securities Investment, a unit of Nissan Securities. The Group of Seven nations' finance ministers said on Wednesday they will take steps to increase pressure on Russia by targeting those who are continuing to increase their purchases of Russian oil and those that are facilitating circumvention. Also, the U.S. will provide Ukraine with intelligence for long-range missile strikes on Russian energy infrastructure, two officials told Reuters on Wednesday, confirming an earlier Wall Street Journal report. This will make it easier for Ukraine to hit refineries, pipelines and other infrastructure with the aim of depriving the Kremlin of revenue and oil, the WSJ said. Stockpiling demand from China, the world's largest crude oil importer, also underpinned oil prices, limiting the downside, traders said. Still, a U.S. government shutdown stoked worries about the global economy, while expectations of higher output by OPEC+, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allied producers, weighed on sentiment, capping the price gains, Nissan's Kikukawa said. U.S. President Donald Trump's administration on Wednesday froze $26 billion for Democratic-leaning states, following through on a threat to use the government shutdown to target Democratic priorities. On the supply side, OPEC+ could agree to raise oil production by up to 500,000 barrels per day in November, triple the increase made for October, as Saudi Arabia seeks to reclaim market share, three sources familiar with the talks said. That would come even as U.S. and Asian demand starts to decline. The Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday that U.S. crude oil, gasoline and distillate inventories rose last week as refining activity and demand softened. Crude inventories rose by 1.8 million barrels to 416.5 million barrels in the week ended on September 26, compared with expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1-million-barrel rise. (Reporting by Yuka Obayashi in Tokyo and Siyi Liu in Singapore; Editing by Tom Hogue and Jamie Freed)

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By David Morgan, Bo Erickson, Nolan D. McCaskill and Richard Cowan WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump's administration on Wednesday froze $26 billion for Democratic-leaning states, following through on a threat to use the government shutdown to target Democratic priorities. The targeted programs included $18 billion for transit projects in New York, home to Congress's top two Democrats, and $8 billion for green-energy projects in 16 Democratic-run states, including California and Illinois. Vice President JD Vance, meanwhile, warned that the administration might extend its purge of federal workers if the shutdown lasts more than a few days.  The moves made clear that Trump would carry out his threat to take advantage of the shutdown to punish his political opponents and extend his control over the $7 trillion federal budget, established by the U.S. Constitution as the domain of Congress.  "Billions of dollars can be saved," he wrote on Truth Social late on Wednesday. The government shutdown, the 15th since 1981, suspended scientific research, financial oversight, environmental cleanup efforts and a wide range of other activities. Some 750,000 federal workers were ordered not to work, while others, such as troops and Border Patrol agents, began to work without pay. The Department of Veterans Affairs said it would provide burials at national cemeteries, but would not erect headstones or mow the grass. Vance said at a White House briefing that the administration would be forced to resort to layoffs if the shutdown lasts more than a few days, adding to the 300,000 who will be pushed out by December. Previous shutdowns have not resulted in permanent layoffs. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office said it would lay off 1% of its 14,000 employees, according to an internal letter seen by Reuters. SCHUMER ALLEGES SHUTDOWN 'BLACKMAIL' Hakeem Jeffries, the top Democrat in the House of Representatives, said the funding freeze for subway and harbor projects in his home of New York would throw thousands out of work. Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer, also from New York, said Trump was targeting regular Americans for partisan aims. "He is using the American people as pawns, threatening pain on the country as blackmail," Schumer said. Republican Senator Thom Tillis said he was concerned that the freezing of infrastructure funds for New York could make it harder for Congress to exit the shutdown. "They need to be really careful with that, because they can create a toxic environment here," Tillis said. "So hopefully they're working with the leader, and the leader with them, on not creating more work to get us out of this posture." Republican Senate Leader John Thune dismissed concerns that the spending freeze amounted to hostage-taking. "Well, vote to open up the government and that issue goes away, right? I mean, it's pretty straightforward," he said at a press conference. Jeffries said he had not had any contact with the White House since a meeting with Trump earlier in the week. "We haven't heard from the White House since the White House meeting on Monday," he said in an CNN interview. "Clearly, they wanted to shut the government down." DIFFERENT DAY, DIFFERENT VOTE, SAME RESULTS Meanwhile, the Senate again rejected efforts to keep the government functioning as both a Republican proposal that would fund the government through November 21 and a Democratic vote that would pair funding with additional health benefits failed in floor votes. Trump's Republicans hold a 53-47 Senate majority, but they need the support of at least seven of Schumer's Democrats to meet the chamber's 60-vote threshold for spending bills. At issue on the government funding front is $1.7 trillion for agency operations, which amounts to roughly one-quarter of annual spending. Much of the remainder goes to health and retirement programs and interest payments on the growing $37.5 trillion debt. A bipartisan group of senators huddled on the floor during the vote, trying to find a path forward. "I want to see that a deal is a deal, and I would like to see the Republicans make a commitment to work with us on health care," said Senator Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat who represents many federal workers near the nation's capital. "But I've never said that has to be all I's dotted and T's crossed because that could be complicated." Democrats are also seeking guarantees that Trump will not be able to ignore spending bills he signs into law, as he has repeatedly done since returning to office. Both sides sought to pin the blame on the other, looking for advantage ahead of the 2026 midterm elections that will determine control of Congress. Democrats said Republicans were responsible for the disruption, as they control the levers of power in Washington. Republicans said Democrats were surrendering to partisan pressures to oppose Trump, even though they have routinely backed spending bills in the past. They also repeated a false claim that the Democratic proposal would extend health coverage to people who are in the country illegally. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the Democratic plan would only restore coverage to certain categories of immigrants who are in the country legally, such as asylum seekers and people on work visas. Several government agencies posted notices on their websites blaming the "radical left" for the shutdown – a possible violation of a law known as the Hatch Act meant to insulate nuts-and-bolts government services from partisan politics.  The longest U.S. government shutdown, which stretched over 35 days in 2018-2019 during Trump's first term, ended in part after flight delays caused by air traffic controllers calling in sick. (Reporting by Courtney Rozen, Richard Cowan, Nolan D. McCaskill, Bo Erickson and David Morgan; Additional reporting by Mike Stone, Doina Chacu, Jasper Ward, Costas Pitas, Katharine Jackson and Bhargav Acharya; Writing by Andy Sullivan and James Oliphant; Editing by Scott Malone, Lincoln Feast, Alistair Bell, Daniel Wallis and Richard Chang)

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TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwan is considering forming a high-tech strategic partnership with the U.S., which wants increased Taiwanese investment, the island's top tariff negotiator said on Thursday, giving an update on talks with Washington. Taiwan, home to the world's biggest contract chipmaker TSMC, runs a large trade surplus with the United States. The island's exports to the U.S. are currently subject to a 20% tariff, a figure Taipei's government is seeking to cut. Taiwan Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun, who is leading the tariff talks with Washington, told reporters in Taipei she was hopeful both sides could reach a consensus on expanding investment in the United States through a "Taiwan model". This would not involve relocating supply chains but rather extending and expanding U.S. production capacity, said Cheng, who returned this week from the latest round of talks. Neither the U.S. Commerce Department nor the Office of the United States Trade Representative has responded to requests for comment on the talks. The U.S. government went into shutdown on Wednesday. TSMC, whose business is surging on strong demand for artificial intelligence applications, is investing $165 billion to build chip factories in the U.S. state of Arizona, though the bulk of its production will remain in Taiwan. Cheng, who said TSMC did not take part in the latest talks, repeated that a proposal floated in U.S. media by Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick for a 50-50 split in making chips is not something Taiwan would agree to and was not brought up. "We can clearly say that we understand that the U.S. side's hope is to increase domestic production capability to satisfy U.S. domestic demand," she added. The aim of Taiwan's industry is to "remain rooted in Taiwan and deploy around the world, and then have bilateral strategic cooperation," Cheng said. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Jeanny Kao; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)

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By Krystal Hu (Reuters) -OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has reached a valuation of $500 billion, following a deal in which current and former employees sold roughly $6.6 billion worth of shares, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday. This represents a bump-up from its current valuation of $300 billion, underscoring OpenAI's rapid gains in both users and revenue. Reuters reported details of the stock sale earlier in August. As part of the deal, OpenAI employees sold shares to a consortium of investors including Thrive Capital, SoftBank, Dragoneer Investment Group, Abu Dhabi's MGX and T. Rowe Price, according to the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media. The company had authorized sales of $10-billion-plus worth of stock on the secondary market, the source added. Thrive Capital, SoftBank, Dragoneer, MGX and T. Rowe Price did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. The share sale adds to SoftBank's earlier investment in OpenAI's $40 billion primary funding round. The company generated around $4.3 billion in revenue in the first half of 2025, about 16% more than it generated all of last year, the Information reported earlier this week. The sale comes at a time when tech giants are competing aggressively for AI talent with lucrative compensation packages. Meta is notably investing billions in Scale AI and poached its 28-year-old CEO, Alexandr Wang, to lead its new super intelligence unit. (Reporting by Krystal Hu in San Francisco and Anusha Shah in Bengaluru; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair and Janane Venkatraman)

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