AUTOMAKERS
Tesla China plant nears
Tesla Inc is close to an agreement to produce vehicles in China for the first time, giving the electric-car maker better access to the world’s largest auto market, people familiar with the matter said. The agreement with the city of Shanghai would allow Tesla to build facilities in its Lingang development zone and could come as soon as this week, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the negotiations are private. Tesla would need to set up a joint venture with at least one local partner under existing rules and it was not immediately clear who that would be. Setting up local production is key for chief executive officer Elon Musk to continue growing in China, where Tesla’s revenue tripled to more than US$1 billion last year. Assembling vehicles locally would allow the company to avoid a 25 percent tax that renders Model S sedans and Model X sport utility vehicles more expensive than in the US.
CONGLOMERATES
Hutchison chief to retire
Billionaire Li Ka-shing (李嘉誠) has told associates that he plans to retire by next year as chairman of his flagship CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd (長和集團), the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Li has not specified a date, but is likely to step down by his 90th birthday in July next year, the newspaper reported. The tycoon plans to remain as senior adviser and keep his office atop CK Hutchison’s headquarters building in downtown Hong Kong, the report said.
ENERGY
Libya boosting output
Libya is pumping the most oil in four years after a deal with Wintershall AG enabled at least two fields to resume production, adding to the challenge that OPEC and allied producers face in trying to pare global crude inventories. The North African nation is producing about 900,000 barrels a day, said a person with direct knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified for lack of authority to speak to the media. Output has risen on the resumption of fields developed with Wintershall and from a boost at Sharara, Libya’s biggest deposit, which is pumping 270,000 barrels a day, the person said on Monday.
RESTAURANTS
Chipotle expenses rising
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc told investors that it is spending more on marketing and promotions as it tries to bounce back from a food-safety crisis. The burrito chain expects the expenses to rise by as much as 0.3 percentage point from the previous three months, according to a filing on Monday. The Denver-based company does not anticipate that food costs will change, accounting for about 34 percent of sales. The outlook sent Chipotle shares down as much as 3 percent to US$445 in extended trading. They had been up 22 percent this year through Monday’s close, lifted by optimism that the firm could execute a comeback. For the full year, Chipotle reiterated a forecast for same-store sales in the high single digits. It expects to open as many as 210 new restaurants.
ENERGY
Natural gas futures drop
US natural gas futures slid the most in four months on forecasts of milder weather that would curtail demand for the power-plant fuel after a hot spell last week. Temperatures may be mostly below normal in the central US and average on the east and gulf coasts from Saturday to Wednesday next week, the Commodity Weather Group LLC said.
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
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
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last