AUTOMAKERS
European car sales up 6.5%
European car sales rose 6.5 percent to a nine-year high last year, propelled by pent-up demand amid a recovering economy, as French manufacturer Renault SA took advantage of market leader Volkswagen AG’s diesel-emissions scandal to leap from third place to second. Registrations increased to 15.1 million vehicles last year from 14.2 million in 2015, the Brussels-based European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association said yesterday. Deliveries at Renault grew 12 percent, almost twice the market rate, as the company drew buyers with an updated lineup, including a new Megane hatchback. European sales growth last year marked the industry’s third annual gain since a two-decade low in 2013 caused by the global recession and regional debt crisis.
SINGAPORE
Exports rise a second month
The city-state’s exports surged above economists’ forecasts for a second consecutive month, signaling an economic recovery. Non-oil exports rose 9.4 percent year-on-year last month, International Enterprise Singapore said in a report. The median estimate of 15 economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for a 5.8 percent increase. Electronics exports increased 5.7 percent in the period, after a 3.5 percent gain in November last year. Non-oil exports rose 1 percent in the month, compared with a median forecast for a 5.5 percent contraction. “Given Singapore is the canary in the coal mine, today’s positive non-oil domestic exports print corroborates with recent trade data, which showed a notable rebound in exports in most Asian countries. This suggests the tentative end of the trade recession, which has plagued the region since late 2014,” Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd analyst Weiwen Ng said in a note.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Facebook tackles fake news
Facebook is stepping up efforts to head off tougher regulation by Germany, a fierce critic of the social media network operator, saying on Monday it would do more to combat fake news as its chief operating officer met with officials in Berlin. Top German lawmakers are planning legislation this year to force Facebook to remove “hate speech” from its Web pages within 24 hours or face fines, a push that could force the social media giant to bear more responsibility for content posted by users. German Chancellor Angel Merkel has said that the Internet is not “a space that is free from the law.” Germany’s strict libel and slander laws are meant to protect citizens by making it a crime to defame others. More than 218,000 cases involving insults were filed with prosecutors in 2015, but few Internet-based cases were prosecuted.
RETAIL
American Apparel jobs go
American Apparel LLC on Monday said it had started to lay off staff, after Canadian apparel maker Gildan Activewear Inc withdrew its initial plan to acquire some of the bankrupt US fashion retailer’s manufacturing operations. Gildan won the rights to American Apparel’s brand with an US$88 million bid in a bankruptcy auction last week. It had previously indicated it would assume some of its manufacturing operations, which had made the brand synonymous with “Made in the USA.” American Apparel spokeswoman Arielle Patrick said the company was laying off about 2,400 workers in southern California. The company had 2,166 employees at its headquarters in Los Angeles, and 959 employees at the nearby South Gate manufacturing facility.
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