SOLAR
Bosch to invest in Malaysia
German engineering company Robert Bosch GmbH will invest 2.2 billion ringgit (US$726 million) in a solar manufacturing plant in Malaysia. The Malaysian trade ministry said yesterday that the photovoltaic plant in northern Penang would create 2,000 new jobs after being completed in 2014. It said incentives would be given for the project, which is in line with Malaysia’s move to encourage high-value, technology-intensive industries. Bosch said on its Web site that the plant would serve Asia’s solar energy market, which is set to grow at an average of 30 percent a year.
AUTOMAKERS
Volvo plans new PRC plant
Volvo, owned by China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (浙江吉利控股), will invest US$708 million to build a second plant in China, the world’s biggest auto market, the environment ministry in Beijing said. The automaker, which was bought by Geely last year, will pour 4.58 billion yuan (US$707.5 million) into the plant in northeastern Daqing, with operations scheduled to begin in 2013, the ministry said in a statement. The plant will produce 113,000 sedans, XC60 sport utility vehicles and an unspecified model of a multipurpose vehicle with total annual capacity of 80,000 units by 2015, it said.
PORTS
Global Ports GDR at US$15
Russia’s Global Ports yesterday priced its London listing at US$15 per global depositary receipt (GDR), defying a tough European market to raise US$534 million from the sale of a 23 percent stake. Global Ports, which had set a price range of US$14.70 to US$16.10 per GDR for the offering of new and existing shares, said the listing valued it at US$2.35 billion. It plans to use the US$100 million raised from the sale of new shares to fund capital investment programs.
GERMANY
Business optimism rises
Business optimism rose unexpectedly in Germany this month in a fresh indication that the country’s robust recovery has continued into the summer months despite its ongoing debt crisis, elevated oil prices and rising interest rates. The Ifo institute said yesterday its index rose to 114.5 from 114.2 last month. The rise was unexpected — the consensus in the markets was for a modest decline. The index is based on the views of 7,000 business executives.
APPAREL
Nike panned over slogans
Nike Inc is under fire for replacing its signature “Just Do It” slogan on some T-shirts with the phrases “Dope,” “Get High” and “Ride Pipe.” The shoe and athletic apparel firm, based in Beaverton, Oregon, said the terms are part of the lingo used by the skaters, snowboarders and participants in other extreme sports that it’s trying to target with the shirts. However, critics say the slogans endorse drug use. Boston’s mayor has asked Nike to remove displays of the shirts.
SHIPPING
Shipbuilders win new orders
Two South Korean shipyards yesterday announced new orders totaling US$1.9 billion, for 10 container ships and a giant deep-sea drilling vessel. Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries said it would deliver the container ships from June 2013 under a 1.4 trillion won (US$1.3 billion) deal with Neptune Orient Lines of Singapore. Samsung Heavy Industries said it had won a 650 billion won deal to build the drill ship for Ocean Rig of Greece. The company said it would deliver the vessel by November 2013.
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],”