ENTERTAINMENT
Sony Q2 profit skyrockets
Sony Corp yesterday reported that its fiscal second-quarter profit zoomed 26-fold from the same period last year, boosted by the success of its imaging sensors, game products and the latest Spider-Man movie. Tokyo-based Sony reported a July-to-September profit of ¥130.9 billion (US$1.2 billion), up from ¥4.8 billion reported in the same period last year. Quarterly sales rose 22 percent to ¥2.06 trillion. The Japanese electronics and entertainment giant raised its full-year profit forecast to ¥380 billion, up by nearly 50 percent from its earlier forecast of ¥255 billion profit.
TIREMAKERS
Michelin to start Thai guide
Michelin, facing fierce competition from lower-cost Chinese competitors as it expands in Asia, is counting on a little luxury splash from haute cuisine to boost its brand image. The French company is introducing its eponymous restaurant guide for Bangkok next month as part of a broader effort to increase the brand’s appeal in Asia. In July, it bought a 40 percent stake in the US-based Robert Parker wine guide, which hosts tasting events on the continent, including in Singapore, Hong Kong and Macau, where Michelin already has food guides. While selling tires might seem to have little to with finding a tasty coq au vin at a fancy restaurant, Michelin sees the unprofitable guides as helping to position its brand as high-quality.
AIRLINES
Ryanair earnings jump 11%
Ryanair Holdings PLC’s first-half earnings gained 11 percent as price declines stabilized over the peak summer months, more than offsetting the cost of a pilot shortage that triggered flight cancelations for about 700,000 passengers. Net income in the six months to Sept. 30 rose to 1.29 billion euros (US$1.5 billion), compared with 1.17 billion euros a year earlier, Dublin-based Ryanair said yesterday. Europe’s biggest discount airline stood by its forecast for full-year profit in the range of 1.4 billion euros to 1.45 billion euros, even after paying out 25 million euros in refunds and 40 million euros for extra staffing costs.
REAL ESTATE
NZ to ban foreign buyers
New Zealand’s new government yesterday said it would change the law to prevent foreigners from buying existing homes in the South Pacific nation to reduce speculation and make it easier for first-time buyers to enter the market. “Foreign speculators will no longer be able to buy houses in New Zealand from early next year,” New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said at news conference in Wellington. New Zealand house prices have surged over the past few years, driving the average value in biggest city Auckland to more than NZ$1 million (US$684,870).
ALCOHOL
Giants eye pot possibilities
A decision by Corona distributor Constellation Brands Inc to buy a minority stake in a Canadian pot company marked the first major foray by an alcohol brand into the nascent marijuana industry. With the taboo now broken, brewers and distillers such as Molson Coors Brewing Co, Anheuser-Busch InBev NV, Diageo PLC and Pernod Ricard SA might already be examining the marijuana space, beverage industry analysts said, adding that Constellation’s move only intensifies the competitive pressure. Victor, New York-based Constellation agreed to pay about C$245 million (US$190.8 million) for a 9.9 percent stake in Canopy Growth Corp, a Canadian seller of medicinal marijuana products.
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
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
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
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