HEALTHCARE
J&J may buy Synthes
US healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is in talks to buy US-Swiss medical-equipment maker Synthes in a deal that could be valued at about US$20 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. Citing unnamed “people familiar with the matter,” the newspaper said that if the two sides reached a deal, it would rank as one of the biggest healthcare takeovers in recent years. It is unclear just how far the talks have progressed, the Journal said. One person, the paper noted, cautioned that the talks were fragile and could fall apart at any time. Shares of Synthes rose 6.2 percent on Friday as speculation about a sale of the company mounted, the report said. However, these stock movements could also undo the transaction, the Journal said.
ELECTRONICS
Larsen and Toubro divesting
India’s biggest engineering company, Larsen and Toubro, is in talks with international firms to sell its electronics arm in a deal expected to be worth nearly US$3 billion, reports said yesterday. The company is in discussions with top French energy management company Schneider Electric and US diversified power management firm Eaton to sell the unit that makes switches, circuit breakers and other goods, the reports said. The electronics business has annual sales of 37 billion rupees (US$836 million) and contributes 7 percent to Larsen’s turnover.
AUTOMAKERS
Honda to slow production
Honda Motor Co will slow down production at its 11 North American factories into at least early next month because it’s running short of parts made by earthquake-damaged factories in Japan. The company said on Friday that it’s extending the cuts through May 6, and it expects more disruptions after that. The slowdowns, which could reduce output at its plants by up to 50 percent, are likely to cause shortages of Honda vehicles in a matter of weeks. Honda’s Japanese factories are running at half capacity, and the company’s president has said it could take a few months to return to full production.
STEEL
ThyssenKrupp CEO sentenced
The chief executive of German steelmaker Thyssen-Krupp’s Italian unit, Herald Espenhahn, was sentenced to 16-and-a-half years in jail on Friday over charges related to a fire that killed seven workers in 2007. Five other managers received 10-year plus sentences and the company was fined 1 million euros (US$1.45 million) after a court ruled they should be held responsible for the fire. Apart from the fine, the court ruled that the Italian ThyssenKrupp special steels unit would not be allowed to benefit from state subsidies for six months. It was also ordered to publicize the ruling in major Italian newspapers and banned from advertising its products for six months.
PORTUGAL
Q1 deficit down 60%
Debt-stricken Portugal, negotiating a massive bailout with the EU and IMF, said on Friday it had made progress in reducing its public deficit, a key measure of the country’s financial health. The government said the first quarter deficit — the balance between spending and revenues — tumbled 60 percent from a year earlier to 1.02 billion euros (US$1.45 billion). It said it cut spending by 3.7 percent in the three months to March while revenues jumped 15 percent, as it tightened up the public finances in what proved to be a failed effort to avoid having to call in the EU and IMF.
purpose: Tesla’s CEO sought to meet senior Chinese officials to discuss the rollout of its ‘full self-driving’ software in China and approval to transfer data they had collected Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk arrived in Beijing yesterday on an unannounced visit, where he is expected to meet senior officials to discuss the rollout of "full self-driving" (FSD) software and permission to transfer data overseas, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Chinese state media reported that he met Premier Li Qiang (李強) in Beijing, during which Li told Musk that Tesla's development in China could be regarded as a successful example of US-China economic and trade cooperation. Musk confirmed his meeting with the premier yesterday with a post on social media platform X. "Honored to meet with Premier Li
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: The chipmaker last month raised its capital spending by 28 percent for this year to NT$32 billion from a previous estimate of NT$25 billion Contract chipmaker Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電子) yesterday launched a new 12-inch fab, tapping into advanced chip-on-wafer-on-substrate (CoWoS) packaging technology to support rising demand for artificial intelligence (AI) devices. Powerchip is to offer interposers, one of three parts in CoWoS packaging technology, with shipments scheduled for the second half of this year, Powerchip chairman Frank Huang (黃崇仁) told reporters on the sidelines of a fab inauguration ceremony in the Tongluo Science Park (銅鑼科學園區) in Miaoli County yesterday. “We are working with customers to supply CoWoS-related business, utilizing part of this new fab’s capacity,” Huang said, adding that Powerchip intended to bridge
Dutch brewing company Heineken NV on Friday announced an investment of NT$13.5 billion (US$414.62 million) over the next five years in Taiwan. The first multinational brewing company to operate in Taiwan, Heineken made the statement at a ceremony held at its brewery in Pingtung County. It also outlined its efforts to make the brewery “net zero” by 2030. Heineken has been in the Taiwanese market for 20 years, Heineken Taiwan managing director Jeff Wu (吳建甫) said. With strong support from local consumers, the Dutch brewery decided to transition from sales to manufacturing in the country, Wu said. Heineken assumed majority ownership and management rights
Microsoft Corp yesterday said that it would create Thailand’s first data center region to boost cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, promising AI training to more than 100,000 people to develop tech. Bangkok is a key economic player in Southeast Asia, but it has lagged behind Indonesia and Singapore when it comes to the tech industry. Thailand has an “incredible opportunity to build a digital-first, AI-powered future,” Microsoft chairman and chief executive officer Satya Nadella said at an event in Bangkok. Data center regions are physical locations that store computing infrastructure, allowing secure and reliable access to cloud platforms. The global embrace of AI