(Reuters) -Russian internet giant Yandex bounced back from a first-quarter net loss to report a 34% year-on-year rise in second-quarter adjusted net profit to 30.4 billion roubles ($374.61 million), the company said on Tuesday.

Following a lengthy split from its Nasdaq-listed Dutch parent company in 2024, Yandex, which had always prioritised growth over dividends, announced a year ago that it would pay dividends for the first time.

It paid a dividend of 80 roubles per share on half-year and full-year results in 2024 and the board will again consider an 80-rouble-per-share dividend for the first half of 2025 on July 31, Yandex said.

Revenue increased by 33% year-on-year to 332.5 billion roubles, driven by growth in Yandex’s e-commerce division and its fintech services, Yandex said.

Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, were up by 39% to 66 billion roubles.

A Russian consortium of buyers in July 2024 finalised a $5.4 billion cash-and-shares deal to acquire Yandex’s Russia-based assets, the largest corporate deal since the start of Russia’s war in Ukraine in February 2022.

Yandex maintained its forecast for total revenue growth in 2025 of more than 30% and adjusted EBITDA of 250 billion roubles.

($1 = 81.1500 roubles)

(Reporting by Gleb Stolyarov and Alexander Marrow;Editing by Andrew Osborn)

Taiwanese President William Lai Ching-te has cancelled a trip to three allies in Central and South America after a planned stopover in the United States was reportedly nixed by his US counterpart, Donald Trump.

Lai was preparing to visit Paraguay, Guatemala and Belize in early August, with stopovers planned in New York and Dallas on the first and last leg of the trip, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.

The Taiwanese leader’s trip was called off when US officials said they opposed his stop in New York, the newspaper said, citing three people close to the matter.

Lai’s office had never formally announced his trip to Latin America, but on Monday, it said the president had cancelled all overseas travel to focus on tariff negotiations with the US and a cleanup operation following a typhoon in southern Taiwan.

The president of Taiwan cannot officially visit the US, which does not recognise its government. But Taiwanese leaders have made use of “transit stops” in the US over the years to liaise with top administration officials outside Washington, DC.

In 2023, then-Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen used a transit stop to visit New York and Los Angeles while Joe Biden was still the US president.

Beijing, which claims democratic Taiwan as part of its territory, held military exercises in the Taiwan Strait after Tsai’s US stop-off to demonstrate its anger.

Trump’s reported decision to block Lai’s stopover follows news that the US president is angling for a trip to China himself, although he said he does not want a “summit” with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.

“The Fake News is reporting that I am SEEKING a ‘Summit’ with President Xi of China. This is not correct, I am not SEEKING anything! I may go to China, but it would only be at the invitation of President Xi, which has been extended,” Trump wrote on Truth Social late Monday night.

Reuters reported that Trump may be aiming to visit China around the time of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea, which runs from October 31 to November 1.

Whether the meeting will take place will depend on the outcome of ongoing trade talks between the US and China to resolve Trump’s tariff war launched earlier this year.

US and Chinese officials are in Stockholm this week to try to hammer out a tariff agreement before a “truce” expires on August 12, but they have many issues to discuss, including export controls, which could drag out talks.

United States President Donald Trump has denied seeking a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping while holding out the possibility of visiting China at his counterpart’s invitation.

“The Fake News is reporting that I am SEEKING a ‘Summit’ with President Xi of China. This is not correct, I am not SEEKING anything!” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform on Monday.

“I may go to China, but it would only be at the invitation of President Xi, which has been extended. Otherwise, no interest! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

Trump’s comments come after the Reuters news agency reported last week that aides to the two leaders have discussed a possible summit during a trip to Asia by the US president later this year.

The report, which cited unnamed people familiar with the plans, said Trump and Xi could possibly meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit taking place in South Korea from October 30 to November 1.

Trump and Xi last met face-to-face in 2019 on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan.

The US and China are currently engaged in negotiations aimed at lowering trade tensions that have spiked since Trump rolled out his on-again, off-again tariffs on Chinese exports.

On Monday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng met in Stockholm, Sweden, to kick off two days of talks focused on reaching a trade deal before the end of a 90-day tariff truce that ends on August 12.

Bessent said in an interview with Bloomberg Television last week that the administration was in “a very good place with China now” and the August deadline could be extended in a “90-day increment”.

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te has called off an overseas trip planned for next week after the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump failed to greenlight his stopover in the U.S. amid concerns it could derail trade talks with China.

Taiwan’s leader isn’t planning any overseas travel in the near future, given the need for typhoon recovery work in southern Taiwan and tariff negotiations with the U.S., the Presidential Office in Taipei said in a statement late Monday. Lai is planning to go ahead with his trip later this year, according to one person familiar with the plans.

Lai had intended to stop in New York on Aug. 4 and then Dallas 10 days later as part of a trip to diplomatic allies Paraguay, Guatemala and Belize. Planning for that trip was thrown into flux late last week when Taiwanese officials couldn’t get their U.S. counterparts to give the go-ahead, according to people familiar with the matter.

US President Donald Trump stated that he is not eager to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping immediately, despite having received an invitation to visit China.

“The fake news is reporting that I am seeking a ‘summit’ with President Xi of China. This is not correct, I am not seeking anything!” he wrote on his Truth Social page.

“I may go to China, but it would only be at the invitation of President Xi, which has been extended. Otherwise, no interest! Thank you for your attention to this matter,” the US president added.

Taiwan Says President Not Blocked From US Visit

President Lai Ching-te has not been blocked from visiting the United States, Taipei’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday, insisting he has no plans to travel overseas “in the near future.”

The remarks came after US President Donald Trump’s administration reportedly denied permission for Lai to transit in New York as part of an official trip to Latin America next month.

Lai’s office has never confirmed his travel plans, but Paraguay, Taiwan’s only diplomatic ally in South America, said in mid-July that Lai would visit the country in 30 days.

Such a visit would likely mean Lai would need to fly through US territory.

“There has been no postponement, cancellation, nor any denial of permission for the transit by the US side,” spokesman Hsiao Kuang-wei told reporters in Taipei.

“Given the ongoing post-disaster recovery efforts in southern Taiwan, the ongoing reciprocal tariff negotiations with the US, and the relevant international situation, the president has no plans for overseas visits in the near future.”

The Financial Times, citing unnamed sources, reported Tuesday that the Trump administration had denied permission for Lai to stopover in New York, after Beijing objected.

China claims Taiwan is part of its territory and opposes any international exchanges with the democratic island.

The Financial Times said Lai decided not to travel after he was told he couldn’t enter New York.

Chinese and U.S. officials are currently holding trade talks in Stockholm to extend a fragile truce amid Trump’s global tariff war.

While the United States does not recognise Taiwan as a country, Washington remains the island’s most important partner and biggest arms supplier.

Commenting on the Financial Times article, the US former House speaker Nancy Pelosi said the decision “sends a dangerous signal”.

“But once again, (Chinese) President Xi has achieved a victory over the values, security and economy of the United States in the Trump Administration blocking the democratically elected president of Taiwan from making a diplomatic trip through New York,” Pelosi wrote on Facebook.

“Let us hope President Trump’s denial of this stopover in New York is not indicative of a dangerous change in U.S. policy on Taiwan.”

A spokesperson for Washington’s de facto embassy in Taiwan declined to comment on a “hypothetical” given Taipei had not announced Lai’s travel plans.

But the American Institute in Taiwan spokesperson added: “Transits by high-level Taiwan officials, including presidents, are fully consistent with our longstanding policy and practice. That has not changed.”

Lai had originally planned to stopover in New York and Dallas as part of the trip to Paraguay and Central American allies Guatemala and Belize next month, Bloomberg News previously reported.

They are among Taiwan’s 12 remaining diplomatic allies.

© Agence France-Presse