MINING
Glencore Agri sells stake
Swiss commodities trading and mining giant Glencore PLC yesterday said it has sold another stake in its agriculture business and is to shift US$3.6 billion in debt to the subsidiary. The sale of 9.99 percent in Glencore Agri for US$624.9 million in cash to British Columbia Investment Management Corp follows the April sale of 40 percent to Canada Pension Plan Investment Board for US$2.5 billion. Glencore said that at the closing of the transaction, following regulatory approvals and other conditions, about US$3.6 billion of Glencore Agri’s debt that it had been carried by the parent company would be transferred to the agriculture subsidiary.
AUTOMOBILES
Uber, FCA discuss alliance
Uber Technologies Inc is in talks with Italian-American auto giant Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (FCA) and others about potential driverless car alliances, a source close to the matter said on Wednesday. The source said that discussions were in an early phase and not exclusive to any one automobile maker. Earlier in the day, a source as said a deal between the automobile maker and Uber could be announced by the end of the year, adding that FCA is also reaching out to online commerce giant Amazon.com Inc on the potential for using vehicles for deliveries.
BEVERAGES
Remy Cointreau eyes profit
Remy Cointreau SA forecast higher profit after earnings rose at the fastest pace in three years as a slump in cognac ended. Full-year operating profit rose 6.1 percent on an organic basis to 178 million euros (US$203 million) in the 12 months through March, the Paris-based distiller said on Wednesday. The company said it expects higher profit this year from its continuing businesses, assuming constant exchange rates, and it is “confident in its acceleration strategy of moving upmarket.” Remy Cointreau is focusing on high-end spirits priced at US$50 or more per bottle. The company is also raising prices in China, riding the cognac recovery in that market.
AUTOMAKERS
India vehicle sales up
India’s passenger vehicle sales climbed 6.3 percent last month, as new compact sports utility vehicles (SUVs) from automakers, including Maruti Suzuki India Ltd and Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, drew buyers to showrooms. Deliveries of passenger vehicles, including SUVs and vans, rose to 231,640 units, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers said yesterday. Sales have risen for 11 consecutive months in Asia’s third-biggest auto market, as compact SUVs continue to attract buyers, despite the government imposing additional levies on passenger vehicle purchases starting in April. Industrywide SUV sales last month jumped 36 percent to 58,793 units.
RENEWABLE ENERGY
DONG Energy begins trading
Danish utility and offshore wind farm operator DONG Energy yesterday became one of Europe’s biggest initial public offerings (IPOs) this year, as its shares began trading on the Copenhagen bourse. The world’s largest operator of offshore wind farms sold 17.4 percent of its share capital at 235 kroner (US$36) per share, raising 17.1 billion kroner for the government and valuing the company at 98.2 billion kroner. The government said it plans to use the 8 billion kroner proceeds to reduce national debt and is to contribute to its being able to afford welfare in the future.
China has claimed a breakthrough in developing homegrown chipmaking equipment, an important step in overcoming US sanctions designed to thwart Beijing’s semiconductor goals. State-linked organizations are advised to use a new laser-based immersion lithography machine with a resolution of 65 nanometers or better, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in an announcement this month. Although the note does not specify the supplier, the spec marks a significant step up from the previous most advanced indigenous equipment — developed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co (SMEE, 上海微電子) — which stood at about 90 nanometers. MIIT’s claimed advances last
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has appointed Rose Castanares, executive vice president of TSMC Arizona, as president of the subsidiary, which is responsible for carrying out massive investments by the Taiwanese tech giant in the US state, the company said in a statement yesterday. Castanares will succeed Brian Harrison as president of the Arizona subsidiary on Oct. 1 after the incumbent president steps down from the position with a transfer to the Arizona CEO office to serve as an advisor to TSMC Arizona’s chairman, the statement said. According to TSMC, Harrison is scheduled to retire on Dec. 31. Castanares joined TSMC in
EUROPE ON HOLD: Among a flurry of announcements, Intel said it would postpone new factories in Germany and Poland, but remains committed to its US expansion Intel Corp chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger has landed Amazon.com Inc’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) as a customer for the company’s manufacturing business, potentially bringing work to new plants under construction in the US and boosting his efforts to turn around the embattled chipmaker. Intel and AWS are to coinvest in a custom semiconductor for artificial intelligence computing — what is known as a fabric chip — in a “multiyear, multibillion-dollar framework,” Intel said in a statement on Monday. The work would rely on Intel’s 18A process, an advanced chipmaking technology. Intel shares rose more than 8 percent in late trading after the
FACTORY SHIFT: While Taiwan produces most of the world’s AI servers, firms are under pressure to move manufacturing amid geopolitical tensions Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) started building artificial intelligence (AI) servers in India’s south, the latest boon for the rapidly growing country’s push to become a high-tech powerhouse. The company yesterday said it has started making the large, powerful computers in Pondicherry, southeastern India, moving beyond products such as laptops and smartphones. The Chinese company would also build out its facilities in the Bangalore region, including a research lab with a focus on AI. Lenovo’s plans mark another win for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who tries to attract more technology investment into the country. While India’s tense relationship with China has suffered setbacks