ENERGY
JGC to build gas plant
Japanese engineering conglomerate JGC Corp said yesterday it has won a contract to help build a Canadian liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in a deal reportedly worth US$9.4 billion. JGC said its joint venture with US-based Fluor Corp was awarded the tender by Chevron Canada to design and build the Kitimat LNG plant in the western province of British Columbia. Chevron and Apache Canada each hold a 50 percent interest in the proposed plant, which will have an annual capacity of 11 million tonnes of LNG, according to a JGC statement.
MINING
Goldcorp in hostile bid
Canadian mining giant Goldcorp on Monday proposed one of the biggest mining sector deals in more than a year in announcing a C$2.6 billion (US$2.4 billion) hostile bid for Quebec’s Osisko Mining. The offer of 0.146 Goldcorp shares plus C$2.26 in cash for each Osisko common share (a total value of C$5.95) is a 15 percent premium over Osisko’s closing price on Friday, Goldcorp said in a statement. Vancouver-based Goldcorp is Canada’s second-largest gold company, after Barrick, with a dozen mines operating in the Americas and several more in development, including its Ilionore mine in Quebec Province, which is slated to start production later this year.
ECONOMY
Spain grows faster
Spain’s economy grew by about 0.3 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, faster than the 0.1 percent seen in the previous quarter, Spanish Economy Minister Luis de Guindos said on Monday. “The recovery is fragile, but it is a recovery,” he told a parliamentary hearing. The Spanish economy returned to growth in the three months to September last year, putting an end to a recession that lasted over two years, ravaged public finances and left one-in-four workers without a job. Spain’s conservative government is forecasting a 1.3 percent economic contraction for last year and 0.7 percent growth this year, a pace considered by many analysts to be insufficient to lead to net job creation.
ECONOMY
Japan’s imports increase
Japan’s current account deficit in November last year tripled year-on-year to a record US$5.7 billion as a weak yen pushed up the country’s post-Fukushima energy bills, official data showed yesterday. The shortfall in the current account hit ¥592.8 billion, easily eclipsing a deficit of ¥179.6 billion in the same month one year earlier. The latest data marked the largest monthly current account deficit based on comparable data stretching back to 1985, blowing past a ¥455.6 billion shortfall in January 2012, according to the Japanese finance ministry. The deficit in November last year largely stemmed from a growing trade imbalance stoked by Japan’s heavy dependence on importing pricey fossil fuels to generate electricity, while the yen’s sharp depreciation since late 2012 has also bloated costs.
SMARTPHONES
‘Moto X’ out next month
Motorola announced yesterday that its flagship “Moto X” smartphone will arrive in France, Britain and Germany next month. Prices in Britain will range from £25 (US$41) per month on contract to £380 total without a SIM card, according to the Google-owned firm. The price will be 429 euros (US$586) in France. A low-cost version of the smartphone, the Moto G, is already sold internationally.
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