PHARMACEUTICALS
Bribery allegations raised
French drugmaker Sanofi SA said it took “very seriously” allegations published in a Chinese newspaper yesterday that its staff bribed more than 500 doctors in China in 2007 to raise sales. An anonymous whistle blower, identified only through a false name, “Pei Gen,” told the 21st Century Business Herald that Sanofi staff paid bribes totalling around 1.7 million yuan (US$277,800) to 503 doctors at 79 hospitals in Shanghai, Beijing, Hangzhou and Guangzhou in late 2007. In a statement, Sanofi said it was aware of the report: “At this time, it would be premature to comment on events that may have occurred in 2007.”
GERMANY
Rising exports show growth
German exports rose 0.6 percent in June compared with the previous month, a figure that follows promising data on industrial production in Europe’s biggest economy. The increase announced yesterday by the Federal Statistical Office is another sign that Germany’s economy is picking up steam. In year-on-year terms, exports were down 2.1 percent in June at 92.8 billion euros (US$123 billion).
ICELAND
IMF warns of overspending
The IMF warned Iceland on Wednesday that it was likely to overshoot its spending targets and that the measures it implemented to overcome its banking crisis were affecting growth. “On current trends, the 2013 budget deficit target will be missed owing to slower than projected growth, expenditure overruns, and lower-than-budgeted dividend payments and asset sales,” said the Fund after its regular annual review of the country. While the IMF and Icelandic government have similar forecasts for growth for this year at 1.8 and 1.9 percent, the IMF believes Iceland will grow by 2.1 percent next year while Reykjavik is still predicting 3 percent.
SMARTPHONES
Apple complaint revived
A US appeals court on Wednesday revived an Apple smartphone patent complaint against Motorola Mobility. A three-judge panel sided with Apple, telling the US International Trade Commission (ITS) to reconsider part of its ruling last year that Motorola did not infringe on the iPhone maker’s patented touchscreen technology. “The ITC succumbed to the bias of hindsight as the record bears significant objective evidence that Apple’s patent was innovative,” a three-judge appellate panel said in its written decision.
MINING
Rio profits plunge
Mining giant Rio Tinto yesterday said net profit for the first half of the year plunged 71 percent to US$1.72 billion with the company warning the medium-term outlook remains volatile. Underlying earnings in the six months to June, the measure preferred by the company, were down 18 percent to US$4.22 billion, hit by weaker iron ore, copper and coal prices. Chief executive Sam Walsh said the company had achieved US$1.5 billion in cost reductions in the six months, while Rio posted record first half iron ore production and stronger copper volumes.
LIQUOR
Emperador extends empire
Emperador Distillers, the largest Philippine liquor company, is to spend 5.8 billion pesos (US$132 million) on more vineyards and brandy stocks in Spain to build a global brand. The firm will acquire 509 hectares of vineyards in Toledo and a large stock of “well-matured brandy” aging in casks, said executive director Kendrick Tan.
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
FUTURE PLANS: Although the electric vehicle market is getting more competitive, Hon Hai would stick to its goal of seizing a 5 percent share globally, Young Liu said Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), a major iPhone assembler and supplier of artificial intelligence (AI) servers powered by Nvidia Corp’s chips, yesterday said it has introduced a rotating chief executive structure as part of the company’s efforts to cultivate future leaders and to enhance corporate governance. The 50-year-old contract electronics maker reported sizable revenue of NT$6.16 trillion (US$189.67 billion) last year. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), has been under the control of one man almost since its inception. A rotating CEO system is a rarity among Taiwanese businesses. Hon Hai has given leaders of the company’s six