RESTAURANTS
Hotpot chain soars on debut
China’s premier hotpot chain Haidilao International Holding Ltd (海底撈) yesterday climbed as much as 10.3 percent in early trading on its Hong Kong debut after raising nearly US$1 billion in its initial public offering (IPO). The shares surged to as much as HK$19.64 at one point from an IPO price of HK$17.80, which was already at the top end of its target range. However, it pared the gains and ended 0.11 percent higher at HK$17.82. The Sichuan Province-based hotpot operator is known for its good customer service — a rarity in China — with waiting diners provided with snacks, tea and even manicures.
INTERNET
Google to allow crypto ads
Alphabet Inc’s Google changed its blanket ban on cryptocurrency-related advertising, saying it would allow “regulated” cryptocurrency exchanges in Japan and the US to run advertisements on its Web sites. “Advertisers will need to be certified with Google for the specific country in which their ads will serve,” Google wrote in a blog post on Tuesday, adding that advertisers could apply for certification starting next month.
RESTAURANTS
Dunkin’ Donuts trims name
Dunkin’ Donuts is becoming just Dunkin’. The coffee and doughnut chain on Tuesday announced the new name in a statement and said it would make the change official in January. The move shows how companies are increasingly putting value on shorter, snappier monikers. Chief marketing officer Tony Weisman said that the simpler name would “create an incredible new energy for Dunkin’, both in and outside our stores.”
APPAREL
Nike earnings, revenues up
Nike Inc on Tuesday reported solid gains in both quarterly profit and revenue, but its shares fell in after-hours trading on slowing growth in China. The sports apparel and sneaker giant, which has made headlines in recent weeks over an edgy advertising campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick, reported a 15 percent jump in earnings for fiscal first quarter 2019 to US$1.1 billion. Revenues climbed 10 percent to US$9.9 billion.
BANKING
HSBC forecasts India growth
Fresh after its climb to No. 6 in the world as of last year, the Indian economy is forecast to take the No. 3 spot by 2030, a report by HSBC Holdings PLC said. The South Asian giant was seen as “among the most striking” gainers in the bank’s long-term rankings, HSBC said. China should edge out the US as they retain the top two spots in 2030 at US$26 trillion and US$25.2 trillion respectively, with India grabbing the third spot at US$5.9 trillion, HSBC estimates showed.
CHIPMAKERS
Apple stole, Qualcomm says
Qualcomm Inc escalated a legal war with Apple Inc, accusing the iPhone maker of stealing secrets and sharing them with mobile chip rival Intel Corp, court documents showed. The California mobile chipmaker on Monday added the sizzling accusation in an amendment to a lawsuit filed against Apple last year in a California state court in Qualcomm’s home city of San Diego. Apple’s goal was to purchase mobile chips from Intel instead of depending on Qualcomm, the court document said.
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],”