AUTOMAKERS
Toyota supplier issues alert
The supplier behind Toyota Motor Corp’s shutdown of all its Japanese assembly plants for at least one week withdrew its earnings forecasts, as another one of the carmaker’s group of companies warned of a bigger disruption than the nation’s 2011 earthquake. Aichi Steel Corp said the Jan. 8 blast at its Chita plant, which supplies specialty steel for engine, transmission and chassis components, might reduce pre-tax profit by about ¥8 billion (US$67 million) this fiscal year. Toyota earlier this week said it was halting all assembly lines from Monday next week through Feb. 13.
WATCHMAKERS
Swatch earnings decline
Swatch Group Ltd, the maker of Tissot and Omega timepieces, reported earnings declines last year because sales fell for the first time in six years, hurt by slumping demand in Hong Kong and the strength of the Swiss franc. Operating profit declined 17 percent to SF1.45 billion (US$1.43 billion), the Biel, Switzerland-based company said in a statement yesterday. The outlook for the Swiss watch industry has soured after Chinese economic growth slowed to the weakest pace in more than two decades and as stock markets and oil prices tumbled. Swatch forecast a sales increase of “well over” 5 percent in local currencies this year, supported by a rebound of demand in China and growth last month.
HOTELS
Minor forecasts record profit
Minor International PLC, which just completed the purchase of a Portuguese hotel chain, expects a record first-quarter profit, bolstered by a strong flow of visitors to countries where it has a presence, chief operating officer Dillip Rajakarier said. The Bangkok-based company plans to add new hotels to its existing 145 properties spread across 22 countries through organic growth and acquisitions, according to Rajakarier. On Tuesday, it finalized the acquisition of Tivoli Hotels & Resorts’ 14 hotels in Portugal and Brazil for 294 million euros (US$321 million).
BANKING
Barclays cutting staff: source
Barclays PLC is to dismiss an extra 150 staff in Dubai as it restructures its Middle East corporate banking business, a person with knowledge of the matter said. The bank is to close its offices at Emaar Square and relocate bankers and support staff to its office at Dubai International Financial Centre, the person said, asking not to be identified as the dismissals are not public. Barclays is to keep its corporate branch in Abu Dhabi and wholesale banking license with UAE Central Bank, the person said. Barclays plans to eliminate 1,200 jobs worldwide and shut securities operations across Asia.
PHARMACEUTICALS
Novo Nordisk sees sales fall
Novo Nordisk AS, the world’s largest maker of insulin, reported poor fourth-quarter earnings as sales of its key diabetes drug Victoza rose less than expected. Profit rose to 8.26 billion kroner (US$1.21 billion), the Bagsvaerd, Denmark-based company said in a statement. A slowdown in the US, where a new generation of drugs that can be swallowed rather than injected is delaying the need for insulin, and a challenge for the six-year-old injection Victoza damped earnings. Victoza, injected daily to mimic the activity of a hormone called GLP-1 that stimulates insulin production, showed the first signs of suffering from the introduction of a rival product called Trulicity by Eli Lilly & Co that only requires a weekly injection.
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
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”
Thousands of parents in Singapore are furious after a Cordlife Group Ltd (康盛人生集團), a major operator of cord blood banks in Asia, irreparably damaged their children’s samples through improper handling, with some now pursuing legal action. The ongoing case, one of the worst to hit the largely untested industry, has renewed concerns over companies marketing themselves to anxious parents with mostly unproven assurances. This has implications across the region, given Cordlife’s operations in Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, the Philippines and India. The parents paid for years to have their infants’ cord blood stored, with the understanding that the stem cells they contained
Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day