GUYANA
Airport renovation halted
Guyana has asked a Chinese company to halt a US$138 million renovation of its main international airport following allegations of corruption. President Donald Ramotar said his government and Chinese embassy officials are probing why the World Bank has barred the parent company of China Harbor Engineering Co (中國港灣) from bidding on certain bank-funded projects from 2009 to 2017 because of the allegations. Ramotar said in a statement on Friday that the company can still go ahead with preparatory and geotechnical work related to building a new terminal at Cheddi Jagan Airport and extend its main runway by more than 1,000m. Opposition leaders are seeking to halt the project in its entirety.
STEEL
SAIL to borrow US$1 billion
Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) will raise 60 billion rupees (US$1 billion) through debt this fiscal year as earnings and cash reserves decline, said a person familiar with the plan. The funds will be raised through bank loans and bond sales in the year ending March 31 next year and mark a 62 percent increase in borrowings over the previous year, the person said. Debt as of March 31 was 163.2 billion rupees. The state-run company is investing US$13 billion to upgrade plant machinery, develop mines and increase production capacity by 59 percent to 21.4 million tonnes, betting on rising demand in India.
VIETNAM
Inflation at slowest in year
Inflation slowed to the weakest pace in a year this month, an official estimate showed yesterday, mirroring slowing economic growth in the country. Consumer prices were up 6.9 percent year-on-year, after increases of 8.34 percent last month and 10.54 percent in April, according to the General Statistics Office. The inflation rate for the first six months of the year stood at 12.2 percent year-on-year. The national economy grew 5.9 percent last year and the government is aiming for a 6 percent to 6.5 percent expansion this year. The central bank this month announced its fourth round of cuts this year to boost the economy.
AUTOMAKERS
Toyota to move production
Toyota Motor Corp said it would transfer its Yaris compact car production for North America to France from Japan in May next year, marking the first time the company will export cars from Europe to that market. Analysts said the move, announced by Toyota on Friday, is aimed at keeping a strong yen and soaring energy costs from affecting its earnings. Other Japanese automakers have also shifted some export production out of Japan. The move by Toyota follows plans by rivals Honda Motor Co, Nissan Motor Co and Mazda Motor Corp to open new factories in Mexico to serve North America and reduce loss-making exports from Japan.
FOOD
Bright Food to buy Diva
China’s Bright Food Group (光明食品) is set to buy a 70 percent stake in Diva Bordeaux, the independent wine broker said on Saturday. “This deal is contingent on Shanghai Sugar, Cigarette and Wine acquiring a stake in Diva Bordeaux,” Bright Food said in a statement, referring to one of its subsidiaries. Diva will be able to “reinforce its international development, especially in China, through Bright Food’s distribution network, which includes hundreds of specialized shops,” according to Bright Food, a state-owned conglomerate that is one of China’s largest food producers.
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