COURIERS
UPS abandons TNT offer
Shares in package delivery company TNT Express NV lost almost half their value on Monday after United Parcel Service (UPS) decided to ditch its 5.2 billion euro (US$6.9 billion) takeover of the struggling Dutch company, citing objections from European regulators. UPS had offered in March to buy TNT, Europe’s second-largest delivery company, to better compete with Europe’s largest, Deutsche Post’s DHL. However, regulators said in October that the deal would hurt competition by reducing the number of companies in the sector. In response, UPS offered to sell parts of the company’s small package operations and airline assets. However, after meeting with regulators last Friday, UPS told TNT it saw no prospect of the deal being approved and that it was not interested in further concessions.
AUTOMAKERS
Toyota back at No. 1
Toyota has once again dethroned General Motors (GM) as the world’s top-selling automaker. The Japanese company sold 9.7 million cars and trucks worldwide last year, although it was still counting. GM sold 9.29 million. Both companies saw higher sales, but Toyota’s growth was far larger, as it rolled out new versions of popular models like the Camry. GM executives promised sales growth this year, especially in the US.
RETAIL
Seoul limits business hours
The South Korean government yesterday approved a national law restricting the operating hours of large retailers in a bid to protect small stores that say they are being pushed out of business. The law, which will take effect in three months, requires warehouse-style chains to shut stores on two Sundays a month and to limit their operating hours to 10am to midnight. The Sunday closure rule has already been adopted by many city councils, including the capital, Seoul, although several top retailers have fought it in the courts, claiming discrimination. In October, Seoul city officials cracked down on outlets of US retail giant Costco, writing up a host of minor parking and safety breaches in apparent reprisal for the company’s non-adherence to the Sunday closing.
FASHION
Burberry Q3 sales rose 9%
British luxury brand Burberry posted a 9 percent rise in third-quarter underlying revenue as its wealthiest shoppers continued to spend even though some of its more aspirational consumers were impacted by faltering economies. The 157-year-old seller of raincoats and leather goods, known for its camel, red-and-black check pattern, said yesterday it made £613 million (US$985 million) in revenues in the three months to Dec. 31. That compared with analysts’ average forecast of £602 million, according to a company poll, and £574 million in the same period last year.
AVIATION
BOC orders Airbus planes
BOC Aviation, a China-owned plane-leasing company, yesterday said it had ordered 50 Airbus aircraft of the A320 family, including 25 of the more fuel-efficient “neos.” The statement did not disclose the amount of the transaction, but price tags in last year’s catalogue ranged from US$4.41 billion for 50 classic A320s to US$5.66 billion for 50 A321neos. It said an announcement on the exact make-up of the order, which is scheduled for delivery between the second half of next year and the end of 2019, would be made later. The order was the first by BOC Aviation for Airbus’ new engine option.
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],”