■ Automobiles
Firm announces PRC venture
DaimlerChrysler's US arm said on Friday it was joining forces with China's Chery Automotive Co (奇瑞) to build small cars in China that will be sold in the US and around the world. Chinese state media in Beijing also confirmed the deal. Chrysler spokesman Jason Vines said Chinese-produced vehicles would be sold under its Dodge, Chrysler and Jeep brand names. A letter of intent setting up the joint venture was signed two weeks ago, he said. Vines said further details would likely be released if the deal is approved by DaimlerChrysler's supervisory board.
■ Automobiles
Toyota tax troubles
Toyota Motor Corp failed to declare more than US$50 million income in three years through March 2004, news reports said yesterday. Toyota had undeclared income totaling about ?6 billion (US$50.4 million), partly due to deals with its Australian and Brazilian subsidiaries, the Asahi and Yomiuri newspapers said, both citing unidentified people familiar with the matter. Kyodo News agency carried a similarly sourced report. The Nagoya Regional Taxation Bureau ordered Toyota to pay ?2 billion (US$16.8 million) in back taxes and fines on the undeclared income, the reports said. Toyota has already corrected its tax returns, Kyodo News agency said.
■ Currency
China eases exchange rules
China will make it easier for individuals to make foreign-exchange transactions next year, setting a yearly quota instead of limits for each transaction, the central bank said yesterday. The move is part of the bank's efforts to streamline the foreign-exchange process, and comes as Beijing's trading partners urge it to ease strict currency controls. The People's Bank of China said on its Web site that from Feb. 1, individuals would be able to settle foreign exchange at banks throughout the year as long as they were within an annual quota. The bank did not specify the annual quota for foreign exchange settlements.
■ Insurance
Chairman quits amid probe
New China Life Insurance Co (新華人壽), which is part-owned by Zurich Financial Services AG, said that Chairman Guan Guoliang (關國亮) had quit amid a regulatory probe into the alleged misuse of funds. Guan left on Wednesday and his resignation has since been approved by the board, Li Qifu (李奇福), a spokesman for the Beijing-based company, said yesterday. Li declined to comment on the reason for Guan's departure. The China Insurance Regulatory Commission said last month it was looking into the financial affairs of New China Life. Guan earlier confirmed that he was being investigated. New China Life general manager Sun Bing (孫兵) was named interim chairman, Li said. The transition would not have much impact on the company's operations, he added.
■ Tourism
Thai revenue up 31 percent
Tourists shrugged off Thailand's political woes and poured into the country in record numbers this year, sending arrivals up 18.5 percent to 13.65 million, the tourism authority said yesterday. Despite a year marked by political protests and a coup, the Tourism Authority of Thailand said the US$13 billion industry has rebounded from the devastating effects of the tsunami two years ago. Tourism revenue also soared nearly 31 percent from the year before to 481 billion baht (US$13.36 billion).
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”