AUTOMOBILES
GM sells Nexteer
General Motors (GM) said on Monday it had completed the sale of its Nexteer equipment unit to Chinese-based Pacific Century Motors, an entity that includes the Beijing municipal government. The Michigan-based Nexteer, once called Saginaw Steering Gear, was part of GM for nearly 90 years before being spun off with parts giant Delphi Corp under the US auto giant’s restructuring. Neither GM nor Nexteer’s new Chinese owner disclosed the terms of the deal. The deal, which became effective yesterday, was signed in July.
ELECTRONICS
ABB to buy Baldor
ABB Ltd, the Swiss maker of factory robots and electrical equipment, agreed to buy Baldor Electric Co in a deal valued at US$4.2 billion including debt to expand on the North American market for industrial drives and motors. Zurich-based ABB is bidding US$63.5 for each share of Fort Smith, Arkansas-based Baldor, according to an e-mailed statement yesterday. Baldor shares closed at US$45.11 yesterday. The transaction includes US$1.1 billion in debt, and ABB aims to close the purchase in the first quarter of next year, it said.
ELECTRONICS
Samsung claims settled
Applied Materials Inc has settled industrial theft claims from Samsung Electronics Co, agreeing to give the South Korean electronics company discounts on purchases of semiconductor manufacturing equipment for three years. Applied says the settlement announced yesterday resolves claims and potential litigation over the “alleged acquisition, misappropriation and misuse” of Samsung computer chip technology. It follows the indictment by South Korean prosecutors in February of 18 people suspected of leaking Samsung’s technology to its domestic rival Hynix Semiconductor via the South Korea arm of Applied Materials.
TECHNOLOGY
Seagate ends buyout talks
Seagate Technology PLC said on Monday it terminated discussions with private equity firms about taking the disk drive maker private in a leveraged buyout because it felt the purchase price being offered was too low. The Scotts Valley, California-based company said it instead has authorized the repurchase of US$2 billion in shares in an effort to return value to shareholders. Stock buybacks lower a company’s shares outstanding, raising earnings per share and expanding the percentage size of shareholders’ stakes.
AUTOMOBILES
Porsche launches new SUV
Germany’s Porsche said on Monday that it plans to launch an “entry-level” new model line, a sports utility vehicle (SUV) christened the Cajun. The new car will help attract “new and even younger” customers to the brand, alongside with the two-seater Boxster, which retails in Germany for just under 47,000 euros (US$62,000), according to Porsche’s Web site. The Cajun will be the sixth model line alongside the Boxster, the Cayman, the 911, the Panamera and the Cayenne SUV, and will be “efficient and sporty,” the company said.
STEEL
ThyssenKrupp plans plant
ThyssenKrupp AG, Germany’s largest steelmaker, plans to build a 170 million euro facility to make crankshafts for the automotive industry near Shanghai, China, chief executive officer Ekkehard Schulz said. The company expects to sign contracts for the plant with Chinese authorities this month, he said in Essen, Germany.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last