AUTOMAKERS
Mexico fines VW US$8.9m
Mexican authorities fined German automaker Volkswagen AG (VW) US$8.9 million on Monday for selling more than 45,000 cars without certificates for emissions and noise compliance. The cars were all this year’s models and included the brands VW, Audi, SEAT, Porsche and Bentley, according to the prosecutor’s office for environmental protection. The fine followed an inspection in December last year of Volkswagen’s Mexican office in the central state of Puebla. The plant produces cars for Mexico and export markets. The prosecutor’s office said the Mexican Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources is still investigating whether VW cars sold in Mexico were fitted with devices to cheat emissions tests.
AVIATION
Orders in at Singapore show
Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp, the maker of Japan’s first passenger jet, and propeller-plane maker ATR yesterday announced orders from lessors at the Singapore Airshow amid concern that a two-year, multibillion-dollar order spree could soon start losing steam. Mitsubishi Aircraft signed a letter of intent with US lessor Aerolease Aviation LLC for 10 planes on a firm basis, with an option to purchase 10 more, the companies said in a statement. The cost for 20 planes would be US$946 million in list prices, before customary discounts. ATR said it won a US$130 million order from Singapore-based lessor Avation PLC.
TELECOMS
Netherlands merger set
British mobile phone giant Vodafone and US cable group Liberty Global on Monday said they are merging their Netherlands operations to create a company worth 19 billion euros (US$21 billion). The companies said they are going to create a 50-50 joint venture. Vodafone, whose Dutch operations are worth a bit less than those of Liberty Global, is going to make a cash payment of 1 billion euros to the US firm to equalize ownership in the new firm. With more than 15 million customers, it will be the second largest telecom company in the Netherlands. The companies foresee synergies of 280 million euros per year and 3.5 billion euros altogether, when cost reductions are taken into account.
MANUFACTURING
Michelin earnings rise 19%
Michelin & Cie, Europe’s biggest tiremaker, yesterday posted a 19 percent increase in full-year earnings for last year as lower raw material prices and cost-cutting helped lift profitability for car and truck tires. Operating profit before one-time gains and charges increased to 2.58 billion euros from 2.17 billion euros in 2014, the French firm said in a statement. That exceeded the 2.48 billion euro average of 15 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Michelin will raise the dividend to 2.85 euros a share from 2.50 euros for 2014. Analysts were predicting a payout of 2.70 euros a share. The company forecast higher operating earnings this year before currency fluctuations and structural free cash flow of at least 800 million euros.
TELECOMS
Orange sees earnings rise
Orange SA yesterday reported a slight increase in earnings and said the discussions to take over Bouygues Telecom will take several more weeks. Full-year adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose less than 1 percent to 12.4 billion euros, France’s largest phone company said in a statement. Analysts predicted 12.3 billion euros. Sales were little changed at 40.2 billion euros, compared with the average estimate of 40.1 billion euros.
WASHINGTON’S INCENTIVES: The CHIPS Act set aside US$39 billion in direct grants to persuade the world’s top semiconductor companies to make chips on US soil The US plans to award more than US$6 billion to Samsung Electronics Co, helping the chipmaker expand beyond a project in Texas it has already announced, people familiar with the matter said. The money from the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act would be one of several major awards that the US Department of Commerce is expected to announce in the coming weeks, including a grant of more than US$5 billion to Samsung’s rival, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), people familiar with the plans said. The people spoke on condition of anonymity in advance of the official announcements. The federal funding for
HIGH DEMAND: The firm has strong capabilities of providing key components including liquid cooling technology needed for AI servers, chairman Young Liu said Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday revised its revenue outlook for this year to “significant” growth from a “neutral” view forecast five months ago, due to strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers from cloud service providers. Hon Hai, a major assembler of iPhones that is also known as Foxconn, expects AI server revenues to soar more than 40 percent annually this year, chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) told investors. The robust growth would uplift revenue contribution from AI servers to 40 percent of the company’s overall server revenue this year, from 30 percent last year, Liu said. In the three-year period
LONG HAUL: Largan Energy Materials’ TNO-based lithium-ion batteries are expected to charge in five minutes and last about 20 years, far surpassing conventional technology Largan Precision Co (大立光) has formed a joint venture with the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI, 工研院) to produce fast-charging, long-life lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, mobile electronics and electric storage units, the camera lens supplier for Apple Inc’s iPhones said yesterday. Largan Energy Materials Co (萬溢能源材料), established in January, is developing high-energy, fast-charging, long-life lithium-ion batteries using titanium niobium oxide (TNO) anodes, it said. TNO-based batteries can be fully charged in five minutes and have a lifespan of 20 years, a major advantage over the two to four hours of charging time needed for conventional graphite-anode-based batteries, Largan said in a
Taiwan is one of the first countries to benefit from the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, but because that is largely down to a single company it also represents a risk, former Google Taiwan managing director Chien Lee-feng (簡立峰) said at an AI forum in Taipei yesterday. Speaking at the forum on how generative AI can generate possibilities for all walks of life, Chien said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) — currently among the world’s 10 most-valuable companies due to continued optimism about AI — ensures Taiwan is one of the economies to benefit most from AI. “This is because AI is