STEEL
EU accused of foul-play
China has condemned the European Commission for imposing new anti-dumping duties on its steel products, accusing the EU’s executive of making China an industrial scapegoat. The 28-nation bloc on Friday said that it would levy duties of up to 35.9 percent on Chinese hot-rolled flat steel in an attempt to create a level playing field with China as it broadens its campaign to protect Europe’s struggling steel manufacturers. The EU alleged China, which makes more than half the world’s steel, has flooded global markets in violation of international trade agreements.
INVESTMENT
Moody’s downgrades S Africa
Credit ratings agency Moody’s on Friday said it had downgraded South Africa a notch over gloomy growth prospects and the political instability unleashed by corruption scandals engulfing South African President Jacob Zuma. Africa’s most advanced economy was knocked down from “Baa2” to “Baa3” — one notch above junk status — with a negative outlook, Moody’s said in a statement. Fitch and Standard & Poor’s, the other two main global ratings agencies, already downgraded South Africa to junk status after Zuma’s shock purge of critical ministers in March, including respected former South African minister of finance Pravin Gordhan.
TECHNOLOGY
Pandora to take on Spotify
Pandora Media Inc is raising cash to help it take on Spotify Ltd and other streaming music services. The online music service is selling a 19 percent stake in its business to satellite radio company Sirius XM Holdings Inc for US$480 million. Pandora is to pay a US$22.5 million break-up fee to private equity firm KKR for breaking up a previously agreed US$150 million deal. Pandora, which is based in Oakland, California, is to raise another US$200 million selling its Ticketfly ticket service to Eventbrite — a service Pandora bought for US$450 million in 2015. Sirius will be able to pick three people for Pandora’s board, one of whom is to be chairman.
ENERGY
Oil workers reach deal
Norwegian oil and gas firms yesterday secured a wage agreement with workers, ending the threat of a strike that would have cut output at five fields, employers said. The Norwegian Oil and Gas Association, which negotiated on behalf of energy firms, had warned that a strike by the Lederne trade union would have cut oil and gas output by 443,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day. The five fields that were under threat of strike are operated by Statoil ASA, Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Eni SpA.
ENERGY
Toshiba to build US reactors
Money-losing Japanese nuclear and electronics company Toshiba Corp is to pay US$3.68 billion toward the construction of two reactors in Vogtle, Georgia, by its US unit Westinghouse, which has filed for bankruptcy protection. Tokyo-based Toshiba yesterday said the payment, under agreement with the operator of the US plant, are to be made from October through January 2021. Toshiba said the expense has already been figured in its earnings. Toshiba reported a ¥950 billion (US$8.6 billion) loss for the fiscal year ended in March. Toshiba is still in similar talks over a South Carolina plant about such payments.
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
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
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
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],”