TECHNOLOGY
HP shakes up board
Hewlett-Packard Co’s (HP) decision to replace a third of its board of directors is the latest milestone in a marathon management makeover that the technology icon hopes will allow it to move on after a series of management scandals. The shake-up announced on Thursday is the first sweeping leadership change under HP’s new CEO Leo Apotheker and chairman Ray Lane. They were hired three months ago to draw up fresh battle plans for the world’s biggest technology company by revenue. HP was roiled by the abrupt ouster of former CEO Mark Hurd and is trying to find its bearings in new markets far afield from its mainstay computer and printer businesses. Hurd’s forced exit last August angered many shareholders, who saw billions of their dollars evaporate on the stock market.
BANKING
Spain wants more listings
Spain is planning to force its regional savings banks to become conventional banks and seek stock market listings, a source familiar with the matter said. The state-backed bank restructuring fund (FROB) would then take stakes in the banks that fail to attract private investment, the source said. The debt-laden savings banks and a possibly expensive rescue are seen as major risks for the Spanish government as it aggressively cuts its budget deficit. The Bank of Spain and the government are at odds over whether a change in law is required to speed the reform of regional banks, separating their financial businesses and social activities, El Pais newspaper reported. The government will announce a change in law to speed their reform before the end of the month, the paper said, citing sources close to the Bank of Spain.
ENERGY
Japan investing in Bulgaria
Toshiba and Tokyo Electric Power will team up with the Japanese government to build one of the world’s largest solar power stations in Bulgaria, the Nikkei Shimbun reported yesterday. The plant will be built in the eastern city of Yambol by March next year at a cost of more than ¥100 billion (US$1.2 billion), the report said. As an EU member, Bulgaria needs quickly to bolster its sources of renewable energy to reduce carbon emissions. By tapping Japanese technology, Bulgaria aims to pave the way for obtaining 16 percent of its power from renewable energy sources by 2020, up from about 7 percent now, the report said. CEZ Group, the seventh-ranked European power utility, will also take part in the joint venture, contributing as much as ¥20 billion, the report said.
AVIATION
BA ready for walkout
British Airways PLC chief executive Willie Walsh said the carrier was well prepared for another round of walkouts by cabin crew should a union vote ending yesterday favor a strike. “We’re confident that with the contingency plan that we’ve developed, which includes training further people to serve as cabin crew, we will be able to continue flying,” Walsh said in New York on Thursday. “What we’re seeing is that the vast majority of our crew wants it over with.” Europe’s third-largest airline would be able to tap other employees, including pilots, to take over flight attendant duty to execute most of its short-haul flights if the strike goes ahead, adding that there is enough personnel for long-distance flights. The carrier rented planes and trained staff from other parts of the company to act as emergency crew when flight attendants walked out for a total of 22 days in five strikes last year in a dispute over pay and staffing levels.
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],”