RUSSIA
GDP shrinks 0.5 percent
The economy saw its first decline since October 2009 last month as manufacturing and investment shrank amid the ruble’s worst rout in a decade. GDP shrank 0.5 percent last month from a year earlier after a 0.5 percent increase in October, the Ministry of Economics said on its Web site. Seasonally adjusted GDP fell 0.2 percent in the month after a 0.1 percent advance in October. The world’s biggest energy exporter is facing its first recession since 2009 next year as oil, trading near a five-year low and sanctions imposed over Ukraine pushed Russia into its biggest currency crisis since 1998. With oil prices at US$60 a barrel, the economy might contract about 4 percent next year, Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov said.
SMARTPHONES
Xiaomi raises US$1.1bn
Xiaomi Corp (小米) raised US$1.1 billion in a new funding round that values China’s largest smartphone vendor at US$45 billion, or about triple its closest competitor, Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想). Investors include Yuri Milner’s DST, GIC Pte and All-Stars Investment Ltd, according to a statement posted yesterday on Xiaomi chief executive Lei Jun’s (雷軍) verified microblog. Lei is expanding overseas and unveiling new products, including an air purifier, to build on growth in China, where Xiaomi leads Samsung Electronics Co and Apple Inc in smartphone sales. Lei plans to sell 100 million phones next year after expanding into India, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.
ENERGY
Chinese firms merge
China’s government said it merged Beijing Energy Investment Holding Co (北京能源投資) and Jingmei Group (京煤集團) into a 200 billion yuan (US$32 billion) business in line with its policy to improve efficiency in the energy industry and reduce pollution. The merger of Beijing Energy and Jingmei, a coal supplier based in the capital, will improve electricity supply, Lin Fusheng (林撫生), head of Beijing’s Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, said in a report by Xinhua news agency yesterday. The merger took place on Sunday, Beijing Energy — which invests in electricity projects — said on its Web site. The new company, Beijing Energy Group Co, is to manage coal-fired power plants, renewable energy projects, heating supply and coal mine development, Xinhua reported. Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), in a pact with US President Barack Obama, agreed to cap China’s carbon emissions by 2030 and use renewable sources for 20 percent of the nation’s energy.
ECONOMY
Germans eye oil benefit
Germany expects low oil prices to boost growth in Europe’s biggest economy by between 0.2 and 0.3 percent next year, Der Spiegel magazine reported on Sunday, citing an internal memo for Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. Oil prices have fallen by about 45 percent since June. The ministry expects oil prices to remain low in the long term and increase to about US$80 a barrel only by 2018, Der Spiegel reported. The memo also said that Germany would pay about 12 billion euros (US$14.62 billion) less to oil-producing nations than it did this year, a 25 percent reduction, Der Spiegel said. The ministry declined immediate comment. Germany expects the economy to expand by 1.3 percent next year after predicted growth of 1.2 percent this year. OPEC expects oil prices to rebound to between US$70 and US$80 a barrel by the end of next year, they said last week.
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
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
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
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