MACROENOMICS
Eurozone sees growth
Eurozone manufacturing and services growth point to a strengthening economy in the second quarter, even as activity cooled last month. Growth in the 18-nation economy may have accelerated to 0.4 percent from 0.2 percent in the first quarter, London-based Markit Economics said in a statement yesterday, citing its monthly Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI). While a gauge for both industries slipped to 52.8 from 53.5 in May, it’s still above the 50 mark that indicates growth. Meanwhile, activity in China’s services sector expanded at its fastest pace in 15 months last month, according to a services PMI compiled by HSBC/Markit.
LIQUOR
Diageo buys more of United
Diageo announced on Wednesday it had won majority control of India’s United Spirits as the British liquor giant ramps up its presence in the whisky-loving nation, paying US$1.9 billion to nearly double its stake. Diageo said it had completed the purchase of 26 percent of United Spirits Ltd (USL) shares from shareholders, lifting its holding in India’s largest alcohol company to 54.78 percent from 28.78 percent. Diageo paid 114.5 trillion rupees (US$1.9 billion) to increase its stake, bringing the total paid by the British firm for its majority holding to US$3.2 billion.
COMMUNICATIONS
Facebook buys Liverail
Facebook on Wednesday announced a deal to buy online advertising technology company LiveRail. The companies did not disclose how much Facebook is paying. LiveRail’s roster of customers includes ABC, Dailymotion, A&E Networks and Major League Baseball Web site MLB.com. San Francisco-based LiveRail has 170 employees and delivers more than 7 billion video ads each month.
ENERGY
Toshiba inks nuclear deal
Toshiba’s US unit is nearing a deal estimated at almost US$5 billion to build a nuclear reactor in Bulgaria, a report said yesterday, as Japanese firms eye atomic contracts overseas after the Fukushima Dai-ichi crisis erased demand at home. The Japanese giant’s subsidiary, Westinghouse Electric, is in the final stages of talks with Bulgarian Energy Holding for a mid-sized reactor expected to be running by around 2025, the Nikkei Shimbum reported. The price tag for the project is estimated at about ¥500 billion (US$4.9 billion).
TELECOMS
Vodaphone buys Ono
The European Commission on Wednesday approved the acquisition by telecom giant Vodafone of Spanish cable firm Ono, judging that the transaction posed little threat to competition. The London-listed Vodafone, flush with cash from the sale of its Verizon Wireless stake to partner Verizon for US$130 billion, agreed in March to purchase Ono for 7.2 billion euros (US$10 billion). The acquisition marks Vodafone’s desire to grow in Europe following last year’s 7.7 billion euro takeover of Kabel Deutschland, the largest cable operator in Germany.
ECONOMY
Macau beats Switzerland
Macau has overtaken Switzerland as the world’s fourth-richest territory per head of population, according to newly released figures from the World Bank. Swelling numbers of tourists and gamblers from China helped drive GDP per capita up by 18 percent last year to US$91,437. It overtook Switzerland, where GDP per capita rose by 2 percent last year, to US$80,491.
World Business Quick Take
MACROENOMICS
Eurozone sees growth
Eurozone manufacturing and services growth point to a strengthening economy in the second quarter, even as activity cooled last month. Growth in the 18-nation economy may have accelerated to 0.4 percent from 0.2 percent in the first quarter, London-based Markit Economics said in a statement yesterday, citing its monthly Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI). While a gauge for both industries slipped to 52.8 from 53.5 in May, it’s still above the 50 mark that indicates growth. Meanwhile, activity in China’s services sector expanded at its fastest pace in 15 months last month, according to a services PMI compiled by HSBC/Markit.
LIQUOR
Diageo buys more of United
Diageo announced on Wednesday it had won majority control of India’s United Spirits as the British liquor giant ramps up its presence in the whisky-loving nation, paying US$1.9 billion to nearly double its stake. Diageo said it had completed the purchase of 26 percent of United Spirits Ltd (USL) shares from shareholders, lifting its holding in India’s largest alcohol company to 54.78 percent from 28.78 percent. Diageo paid 114.5 trillion rupees (US$1.9 billion) to increase its stake, bringing the total paid by the British firm for its majority holding to US$3.2 billion.
COMMUNICATIONS
Facebook buys Liverail
Facebook on Wednesday announced a deal to buy online advertising technology company LiveRail. The companies did not disclose how much Facebook is paying. LiveRail’s roster of customers includes ABC, Dailymotion, A&E Networks and Major League Baseball Web site MLB.com. San Francisco-based LiveRail has 170 employees and delivers more than 7 billion video ads each month.
ENERGY
Toshiba inks nuclear deal
Toshiba’s US unit is nearing a deal estimated at almost US$5 billion to build a nuclear reactor in Bulgaria, a report said yesterday, as Japanese firms eye atomic contracts overseas after the Fukushima Dai-ichi crisis erased demand at home. The Japanese giant’s subsidiary, Westinghouse Electric, is in the final stages of talks with Bulgarian Energy Holding for a mid-sized reactor expected to be running by around 2025, the Nikkei Shimbum reported. The price tag for the project is estimated at about ¥500 billion (US$4.9 billion).
TELECOMS
Vodaphone buys Ono
The European Commission on Wednesday approved the acquisition by telecom giant Vodafone of Spanish cable firm Ono, judging that the transaction posed little threat to competition. The London-listed Vodafone, flush with cash from the sale of its Verizon Wireless stake to partner Verizon for US$130 billion, agreed in March to purchase Ono for 7.2 billion euros (US$10 billion). The acquisition marks Vodafone’s desire to grow in Europe following last year’s 7.7 billion euro takeover of Kabel Deutschland, the largest cable operator in Germany.
ECONOMY
Macau beats Switzerland
Macau has overtaken Switzerland as the world’s fourth-richest territory per head of population, according to newly released figures from the World Bank. Swelling numbers of tourists and gamblers from China helped drive GDP per capita up by 18 percent last year to US$91,437. It overtook Switzerland, where GDP per capita rose by 2 percent last year, to US$80,491.
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
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