FOOD
Nestle to sell Gerber Life
Nestle SA agreed to sell Gerber Life Insurance to closely held Western & Southern Financial Group for US$1.55 billion in cash as the world’s largest food company focuses on businesses like coffee, bottled water and pet care. Gerber Life had sales of US$856 million last year, and statutory capital and surplus of about US$285 million as of June 30, Nestle said. While the transaction does not include Nestle’s Gerber Products business, which houses the baby food and baby-care products, the Ohio-based buyer is to market life policies under the Gerber brand.
SHIPPING
FedEx profits up 40 percent
The growing economy, lower taxes and changing habits of US shoppers are helping boost profit at FedEx Corp. The delivery giant on Monday said that it earned US$835 million in the quarter that ended on Aug. 31, a 40 percent increase from a year ago. In the first fiscal quarter, FedEx boosted net income from last year’s US$596 million. Adjusted earnings were US$3.46 a share, excluding the cost of combining Dutch acquisition TNT Express into its own business — significant costs that FedEx expects would continue over the next few years.
AVIATION
Qatar down on operations
Qatar Airways reported a loss in the year that ended in March after a Saudi-led embargo against the Gulf nation sent operational costs higher. The state-owned airline said it made a loss of 252 million Qatari riyals (US$69.21 million) compared with a profit of 2.79 billion riyals a year earlier. Operating expenses increased to 42.2 billion riyals from 36.7 billion riyals last year, but revenue increased 7.4 percent to 42 billion riyals from 39 billion last year. The embargo forced the Doha-based carrier to cancel more than 20 routes and divert others.
RESTAURANTS
Haidilao raises US$963m
Haidilao International Holding Ltd (海底撈), China’s biggest hotpot chain, has raised US$963 million after pricing its Hong Kong initial public offering at the top end of a marketed range, people with knowledge of the matter said. The Beijing-based company sold 424.5 million shares at HK$17.80 apiece, the people said. The shares were offered at HK$14.80 to HK$17.80 each. The company aims to open 180 to 220 restaurants this year in China and overseas markets with large Chinese communities, its prospectus said.
INVESTMENT
GSR closes start-up funds
GSR Ventures (金沙江創投), a Chinese private equity firm that was an early backer of ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing (滴滴出行), has closed a US$400 million fund to invest in technology start-ups. Fund VI, which is denominated in US dollars, is to focus on early stage investments, managing director James Ding (丁健) told Bloomberg Television. GSR manages about US$2 billion of funds and also backs Ofo, a bike-sharing start-up, and food delivery service Ele.me (餓了麼).
FOOD
Tyson CEO to step down
Tyson Foods Inc, one of the largest meat producers in the world, on Monday said that its president and CEO Tom Hayes is to step down at the end of this month for “personal reasons.” Tyson’s board of directors said its group president of beef, pork and international divisions Noel White is to succeed Hayes. Gary Mickelson, Tyson’s spokesman, did not elaborate on Hayes’ resignation, but said: “There are no issues of personal conduct or integrity.”
China has claimed a breakthrough in developing homegrown chipmaking equipment, an important step in overcoming US sanctions designed to thwart Beijing’s semiconductor goals. State-linked organizations are advised to use a new laser-based immersion lithography machine with a resolution of 65 nanometers or better, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in an announcement this month. Although the note does not specify the supplier, the spec marks a significant step up from the previous most advanced indigenous equipment — developed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co (SMEE, 上海微電子) — which stood at about 90 nanometers. MIIT’s claimed advances last
ISSUES: Gogoro has been struggling with ballooning losses and was recently embroiled in alleged subsidy fraud, using Chinese-made components instead of locally made parts Gogoro Inc (睿能創意), the nation’s biggest electric scooter maker, yesterday said that its chairman and CEO Horace Luke (陸學森) has resigned amid chronic losses and probes into the company’s alleged involvement in subsidy fraud. The board of directors nominated Reuntex Group (潤泰集團) general counsel Tamon Tseng (曾夢達) as the company’s new chairman, Gogoro said in a statement. Ruentex is Gogoro’s biggest stakeholder. Gogoro Taiwan general manager Henry Chiang (姜家煒) is to serve as acting CEO during the interim period, the statement said. Luke’s departure came as a bombshell yesterday. As a company founder, he has played a key role in pushing for the
EUROPE ON HOLD: Among a flurry of announcements, Intel said it would postpone new factories in Germany and Poland, but remains committed to its US expansion Intel Corp chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger has landed Amazon.com Inc’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) as a customer for the company’s manufacturing business, potentially bringing work to new plants under construction in the US and boosting his efforts to turn around the embattled chipmaker. Intel and AWS are to coinvest in a custom semiconductor for artificial intelligence computing — what is known as a fabric chip — in a “multiyear, multibillion-dollar framework,” Intel said in a statement on Monday. The work would rely on Intel’s 18A process, an advanced chipmaking technology. Intel shares rose more than 8 percent in late trading after the
GLOBAL ECONOMY: Policymakers have a choice of a small 25 basis-point cut or a bold cut of 50 basis points, which would help the labor market, but might reignite inflation The US Federal Reserve is gearing up to announce its first interest rate cut in more than four years on Wednesday, with policymakers expected to debate how big a move to make less than two months before the US presidential election. Senior officials at the US central bank including Fed Chairman Jerome Powell have in recent weeks indicated that a rate cut is coming this month, as inflation eases toward the bank’s long-term target of two percent, and the labor market continues to cool. The Fed, which has a dual mandate from the US Congress to act independently to ensure