HONG KONG
Growth forecast upgraded
Hong Kong’s trade-reliant economy posted slower growth in the third quarter, but strong consumption and rebounding exports led the government to nudge up its growth outlook for this year. Government data released on Friday showed that the economy grew a seasonally adjusted 0.5 percent in the third quarter, compared with upwardly revised 1.1 percent growth previously. From a year earlier, the economy expanded 3.6 percent. Economists had forecast an expansion of 3.5 percent. Now, the government revised its full-year estimate of 3.7 percent growth for this year, compared with a previous forecast of 3 to 4 percent.
UNITED KINGDOM
Industrial output rebounds
Britain’s industrial output rebounded in September despite gloom over Brexit, official data showed on Friday. Industrial output rose 0.7 percent compared with activity in August, with a solid contribution from manufacturing, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement. It was a sixth successive month of expanding industrial production for the first time in 23 years, and outpaced market expectations for 0.3 percent growth. Manufacturing output, which excludes mining and quarrying, electricity, gas and water supply, also grew 0.7 percent in September from August.
STEEL
Kobe releases scandal report
Kobe Steel Ltd is pointing to a zealous pursuit of profit, unrealistic targets and an insular corporate culture as the causes of massive faked inspection data at the Japanese metals maker. The company on Friday released a 27-page report of its findings on what led to the scandal and measures to prevent a recurrence. It said safety has been confirmed at 474 companies so far. The report calls for shaping a corporate culture that values quality controls, not just profit, so that the company can try to win back trust from society. The company plans to release findings of another report by third-party officials next month.
PHARMACEUTICALS
Pfizer drops China venture
Pfizer Inc has sold its stake in a joint venture with China’s Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceuticals Co (浙江海正藥業). New York-based Pfizer said its 49 percent equity stake was sold to Sapphire Holdings Ltd. Pfizer spokesman Steve Danehy declined to say how much Pfizer is to get. The US$295 million partnership was announced in 2011 and formalized a year later, and was meant to develop, manufacture and commercialize pharmaceutical products in China and throughout the world. The sale would allow Pfizer and Hisun to focus on “their core strengths,” the companies said in a statement.
DATA SECURITY
Equifax breach costs to rise
A massive security breach that hit Equifax Inc has cost the US credit bureau nearly US$90 million so far, a figure that is set to rise further, chief financial officer John Gamble said on Thursday. Equifax is forecasting between US$60 and US$75 million in spending that is to include information technology security in the fourth quarter, Gamble said. The group’s earnings have also been affected, particularly due to customer dissatisfaction, Equifax said. Its net income fell 27 percent to US$96.3 million in the third quarter.
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
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],”
Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day
Thousands of parents in Singapore are furious after a Cordlife Group Ltd (康盛人生集團), a major operator of cord blood banks in Asia, irreparably damaged their children’s samples through improper handling, with some now pursuing legal action. The ongoing case, one of the worst to hit the largely untested industry, has renewed concerns over companies marketing themselves to anxious parents with mostly unproven assurances. This has implications across the region, given Cordlife’s operations in Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, the Philippines and India. The parents paid for years to have their infants’ cord blood stored, with the understanding that the stem cells they contained