MALAYSIA
High deficit target set
The government aims to push its budget deficit to the highest in five years and seek to draw more income from the state oil company to help plug the shortfall. In the first budget since Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad took office in May, the government is widening its deficit target for this year to 3.7 percent of GDP from a 2.8 percent target under the previous government. The shortfall is set to ease to 3.4 percent next year, according to reports released by the government yesterday.
SOUTH AFRICA
President fires tax chief
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday sacked the head of the tax collection agency, an ally of scandal-tainted former president Jacob Zuma, the presidency said. Ramaphosa dismissed Tom Moyane after a judiciary inquiry recommended his immediate removal “to forestall any further deterioration of our tax administration system,” a statement from his office said. Ramaphosa suspended the tax chief in March and ordered the probe into the South African Revenue Authority.
GAMING
Caesars CEO to step down
Caesars Entertainment Corp president and CEO Mark Frissora is to step down next year, the casino giant said on Thursday. The Las Vegas-based company said Frissora, who joined the company in 2015, is to remain on the job until Feb. 8. The announcement came just before Caesars reported third-quarter net income of US$110 million, after posting a loss in the same period a year earlier. On a per-share basis, company said it had net income of US$0.14. Revenue was US$2.19 billion in the third quarter.
BANKING
Macquarie ups profit target
Macquarie Group is headed for another year of earnings growth after the Australian investment bank and asset manager upgraded its profit forecast on the back of a surge in income from its commodities and capital markets businesses. Net income rose 5 percent to A$1.31 billion (US$944 million) in the six months ended Sept. 30, the Sydney-based company said yesterday. The bank forecast full-year income would rise 10 percent, a big upgrade from its previous guidance.
INTERNET
Spotify falls on outlook
Spotify AB shares slid 5.7 percent on Thursday after a disappointing growth outlook offset the first-ever quarterly profit posted by the streaming music sector leader. Spotify said the number of paid “premium” subscribers rose to 87 million in the quarter, and it posted a first-ever profit of 43 million euros (US$49 million) as a result of a tax adjustment. Total revenue was US$1.35 billion, up 31 percent from a year ago, largely in line with forecasts. However, its growth outlook was weaker than expected, with the Swedish firm forecasting revenue increases of between 18 and 35 percent in the coming quarter.
ENERGY
Ivory Coast nears deals
The Ivory Coast is nearing production-sharing deals for oil and gas with Total SA and Eni SpA, two people familiar with the matter said. Talks between the government and the companies over separate deals for two blocks each are at an advanced stage and expected to be concluded before the end of the year, the people said. While the size of the companies’ holdings are yet to be finalized, their stakes would be at least 85 percent, with state-owned oil producer Petroci Holdings owning the remaining portion, the people said.
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
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has appointed Rose Castanares, executive vice president of TSMC Arizona, as president of the subsidiary, which is responsible for carrying out massive investments by the Taiwanese tech giant in the US state, the company said in a statement yesterday. Castanares will succeed Brian Harrison as president of the Arizona subsidiary on Oct. 1 after the incumbent president steps down from the position with a transfer to the Arizona CEO office to serve as an advisor to TSMC Arizona’s chairman, the statement said. According to TSMC, Harrison is scheduled to retire on Dec. 31. Castanares joined TSMC in
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
FACTORY SHIFT: While Taiwan produces most of the world’s AI servers, firms are under pressure to move manufacturing amid geopolitical tensions Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) started building artificial intelligence (AI) servers in India’s south, the latest boon for the rapidly growing country’s push to become a high-tech powerhouse. The company yesterday said it has started making the large, powerful computers in Pondicherry, southeastern India, moving beyond products such as laptops and smartphones. The Chinese company would also build out its facilities in the Bangalore region, including a research lab with a focus on AI. Lenovo’s plans mark another win for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who tries to attract more technology investment into the country. While India’s tense relationship with China has suffered setbacks