AUTOMAKERS
Mitsubishi to repay buyers
Mitsubishi Motors Corp said it would book a charge of ¥50 billion (US$480 million) this fiscal year to compensate buyers for manipulating fuel-efficiency ratings, as it admits to falsifying test data for 20 models that it sold in the past decade. Mitsubishi has used “desktop calculations” and falsified data on the models sold from 2006 to this year, the company said in a statement yesterday. The company intentionally lowered resistance readings that resulted in better fuel economy, it said.
BANKING
HSBC settles suit
HSBC Holdings PLC plans to record a US$585 million pretax charge for settling a 14-year-old shareholder lawsuit over allegations that executives of a business acquired by the bank in 2003 misled investors. The HSBC finance unit agreed to a US$1.58 billion deal to resolve the litigation, which the parent company inherited through the 2003 acquisition, the bank said on Thursday. The settlement is subject to court approval.
RETAIL
UK sales beat forecasts
UK retail sales climbed more than economists forecast last month as warm weather spurred demand for summer clothing and department stores offered promotions. The volume of goods sold in stores and online rose 0.9 percent following an upwardly revised 1.9 percent gain in April, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed on Thursday. Retail sales rose 1.3 percent in the first quarter instead of the 0.9 percent previously reported, the office said.
SWITZERLAND
‘Brexit’ might hurt economy
Swiss National Bank Governor Thomas Jordan said that the Swiss economy could face turbulence if Britain opts to exit the EU in next week’s referendum, vowing to “take measures if required.” Jordan told reporters after the central bank’s quarterly policy meeting that the bank was maintaining its minus-0.75 percent rate, which is meant to dissuade foreign investors buying Swiss francs as a safe-haven investment.
APPAREL
Adidas expects record sales
Adidas AG forecast record soccer sales this year as business is boosted by the month-long European championship being played in France. The sportswear maker expects to sell 2.5 billion euros (US$2.8 billion) of soccer shoes, shirts, balls and other equipment, it said on Wednesday. That would exceed sales of 2.2 billion euros last year and 2.1 euros in 2014, when the German team that Adidas sponsors won the World Cup.
MANUFACTURING
Nidec eyes Renesas
Nidec Corp CEO Shigenobu Nagamori has expressed an interest in acquiring electronic components maker Renesas Electronics Corp. Nagamori said during a news conference yesterday in Kyoto that Nidec is also interested in acquiring part of Calsonic Kansei Corp. While Nidec has not initiated any action to acquire Renesas, it might join in the bidding for the company once the government decides to sell its stake, he said.
ELECTRONICS
Sony CEO gets pay raise
Sony Corp CEO Kazuo Hirai received a hefty pay raise as the firm saw its first profit in three years. Hirai was paid ¥513 million in the year ended March 31, compared with ¥202 million the previous period, Sony said. The pay includes performance-based compensation and excludes stock options.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
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
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last