FINANCE
Nomura Q3 profit plunges
Nomura Holdings Inc’s third-quarter profit fell 49 percent, led by a decline in brokerage commissions and investment-banking fees. Net income declined to ¥35.4 billion (US$294 million) for the three months ended Dec. 31 from ¥70 billion a year earlier, Japan’s biggest brokerage said in a statement yesterday. That compared with the ¥38.7 billion average estimate of five analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
TELECOMS
Price war hurts SK Telecom
Cutthroat competition in a saturated telecom market took a big slice out of SK Telecom’s profits last year, South Korea’s top wireless operator said yesterday. The company’s net profit fell 15.8 percent from the previous year to 1.52 trillion won (US$1.3 billion). SK Telecom has been staging a fierce subscription fee price war with two other major players — KT and LG Uplus. Revenue edged down 0.2 percent year-on-year as the company eliminated sign-up fees and offered subscription discounts for mobile services and network interconnections to secure customer share. The firm’s subscribers grew 1.2 percent last year to 28.6 million, with 66.3 percent using ultrafast services.
BANKING
Swedbank posts flat profits
Swedbank AB said profit was little changed last quarter as Sweden’s biggest mortgage lender committed to its shareholder payout target. The bank’s net income reached 3.81 billion kronor (US$447 million) in the three months through December, it said yesterday. The Stockholm-based lender maintained its dividend policy of returning 75 percent of profit to owners, approving a payout of 10.70 kronor per share for last year. That compares with 11.35 kronor a year earlier. Net interest income slipped 1 percent to 5.76 billion kronor, while net commission income was unchanged at 2.88 billion kronor, Swedbank said. The lender’s total income was up 1 percent in the period.
ENERGY
Dominion buying Questar
Dominion Resources plans to spend US$4.4 billion to acquire Questar in a big reach to the West for the East Coast energy company. Dominion is a power producer in the mid-Atlantic region. Questar is in the Rockies and a principal source of gas supply to western states. There was a rush of deals last year among energy companies that are bulking up with demand weak and energy prices plunging. That includes utilities, which are increasingly switching from coal to natural gas, as they seek more control over their cost input. Dominion, with Questar, would serve about 4.8 million electric and gas customer accounts in seven states and would operate more than 24,944km of natural gas transmission, gathering and storage pipelines. Questar shareholders will receive US$25 per share, a 23 percent premium to its Friday closing price of US$20.39.
GAMING
Nintendo profit tumbles
Nintendo Co reported a 36 percent fall in third-quarter profit after a lack of hit game titles hurt holiday sales of its Wii U and 3DS hardware. Net income was ¥29.1 billion in the three months to December, the Kyoto-based company reported yesterday. That compares with the ¥23 billion average of four analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Nintendo reported a ¥45.2 billion profit a year earlier, when a currency windfall boosted earnings. The firm relies on software titles to drive demand for machines such as the 3DS handheld player and Wii U.
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