HONG KONG
Li Ka-shing loses bid
Shareholders have voted against tycoon Li Ka-shing’s (李嘉誠) US$12.4 billion proposal to combine his infrastructure and utility companies. The vote, which was announced on Tuesday, deals a setback to the billionaire’s plan to reshuffle his business empire in order to accelerate its overseas expansion. Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings Ltd (長江基建) said about half of minority shareholders voted for the plan, far less than the 75 percent needed. The company was offering to swap new stock for all of the shares of Power Assets Holdings Ltd (電能實業) it did not yet own.
HOTELS
Shanghai hotel fined
Shanghai Municipal Administration of Industry and Commerce has fined a hotel chain more than US$15,000 for using Disney’s name at five of its properties, Xinhua news agency reported yesterday. There were no Mickey Mouse ears on display in media pictures of the Shenzhen-based Vienna Hotels Group establishments, nor Buzz Lightyear costumes, but an image showed a sign declaring one a “Disney branch.” The chain also used Disney branding on electronic signs and Web sites, the report said.
ARGENTINA
Credit outlook raised
The nation’s credit outlook was raised by Moody’s Investors Service to “positive” amid optimism that president-elect Mauricio Macri is to implement changes to boost the credibility of South America’s second-largest economy. Moody’s raised the country’s outlook from “negative” to “stable” on Nov. 2, a week after a first- round vote.
UNITED STATES
US surpasses expectations
The economy grew more strongly than first thought in the third quarter on higher investments in businesses and housing that offset a bit less momentum in key consumer spending. In the July-to-September quarter, GDP expanded at 2.1 percent year-on-year, the US Department of Commerce said on Tuesday. GDP growth in the quarter was initially estimated at 1.5 percent, and although now seen stronger, it still marked a slowdown from the robust 3.9 percent expansion in the second quarter.
AUTOMAKERS
Toyota recalls more cars
Toyota Motor Corp is recalling 1.6 million vehicles for defective airbags supplied by embattled Japanese manufacturer Takata Corp. The latest recall includes 22 models sold in Japan, including the Corolla and Vitz, manufactured from January 2004 through December 2005, as well as vehicles in Italy, Britain and Spain, although those numbers were still unclear. It does not include any vehicles in the US. Toyota has announced nearly 15 million recalls worldwide in relation to the problematic Takata inflators.
TECHNOLOGY
Hewlett Packard downbeat
Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co, which sells business-computing gear and services, forecast profits that might fall short of analysts’ estimates, a setback in its inaugural quarter after a corporate split that was aimed at fueling growth. Profit before certain costs in the first quarter, which ends in January, would be US$0.37 to US$0.41 per share, Hewlett Packard Enterprise said on Tuesday. The other half of the former Hewlett-Packard Co, HP Inc — which sells printers and PCs -—- predicted adjusted profit of between US$0.33 and US$0.38 per share.
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