ENTERTAINMENT
Amazon venturing into film
Amazon.com Inc is getting into the movie business, building on some early successes in TV productions, the latest sign of the Internet retailer’s eagerness to build itself into a major Hollywood player. Amazon said on Monday it was aiming to produce close to 12 movies a year for theatrical release, which would then be available on its Prime video service within two months, a huge drop from the roughly one-year wait it normally faces to stream Hollywood releases. Amazon expects to focus on “indie” movies with budgets of between US$5 million and US$25 million, spokeswoman Sally Fouts said. While that is modest compared with Hollywood blockbusters, it will add further to spending at Amazon, potentially unnerving investors concerned about the company’s lack of profitability and skimpy disclosure of its spending.
MACROECONOMICS
Malaysia cuts GDP growth
Malaysia yesterday cut its economic growth forecast for this year and announced a slew of austerity measures after tumbling oil prices forced the government to slash spending. Prime Minister Najib Razak said the government’s budget for this year, announced in October, was based on oil prices averaging US$100 a barrel, but this projection was no longer realistic as global crude prices have dropped by more than 50 percent. State oil company Petronas contributes about a third of Malaysian government revenue. He said the government lowered its oil price forecast to US$55 a barrel, which would lead to a revenue shortfall of 8.3 billion ringgit (US$2.3 billion) despite savings from the removal of fuel subsidies last year. Najib said development spending would still be maintained at 48.5 billion ringgit, but the government would slash its operating expenditure by 5.5 billion ringgit. The economy is forecast to grow between 4.5 and 5.5 percent this year, while the budget deficit is expected to equal 3.2 percent of GDP.
TRADE
Itochu, CP invest in Citic
Japanese trading house Itochu yesterday said it was teaming up with Thai agricultural giant Charoen Pokphand Group (CP) to invest US$10.4 billion in Chinese conglomerate Citic Group (中信集團). The deal would see the pair acquire a 10 percent stake in Citic for HK$34.4 billion (US$4.4 billion) and invest another HK$45.9 billion in convertible preferred shares, which could ultimately double the size of their stake in the Chinese firm. By investing in politically connected Citic, the two could gain easier access to highly regulated Chinese business sectors, including resource development, logistics and real estate.
CONSUMER GOODS
Unilever earnings up 5%
Consumer goods giant Unilever, maker of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, yesterday said that net profit for last year rose 5 percent from the year earlier to 5.5 billion euros (US$6.4 billion) despite tough market conditions in its markets. Sales slid 2.7 percent to 48.4 billion euros, but underlying sales, which strip out currency fluctuations and new businesses, rose 2.9 percent for the year, it said. “Despite a challenging year for our industry with significant economic headwinds and weak markets we have delivered another year of competitive underlying sales growth and margin expansion,” CEO Paul Polman said. The company does not expect a significant pickup in its markets for this year and predicts a similar performance to last year, Polman said.
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
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last