BIOTECHNOLOGY
Samsung unit to be probed
Samsung Group’s biotechnology unit is facing a criminal investigation and potential delisting after the South Korean Financial Services Commission said the company “intentionally” contravened accounting rules for an initial public offering (IPO). A securities panel of commission said Samsung Biologics Co deliberately overstated the value of affiliate Samsung Bioepis ahead of its 2016 IPO, which raised about US$2 billion. The regulator fined Samsung Biologics 8 billion won (US$7.04 million) and recommended dismissing its CEO. Commission Vice Chairman Kim Yong-beom said trading of Samsung Biologics shares would be halted temporarily and it would be under review for possible delisting.
TECHNOLOGY
Johnson sells battery firm
Johnson Controls International PLC’s US$13.2 billion sale of its car battery business has completed the company’s dramatic makeover from an automotive supplier to a provider of systems for homes and buildings, setting the stage for growth through acquisitions. CEO George Oliver is betting on continued growth of smart buildings. With the sale of the power unit to Brookfield Asset Management Inc, Johnson Controls has become a “pure-play” provider of fire, security, climate control and building management systems. The company expects net proceeds of US$11.4 billion for the power unit, which is to bolster its war chest to repay as much as US$3.5 billion of debt and snap up rivals.
BANKING
Bradesco to boost lending
Banco Bradesco SA, the second-biggest bank in Latin America by market value, is to increase lending at least 10 percent next year amid expectations that a new Brazilian government will promote market-friendly policies and speed up economic growth, CEO Octavio de Lazari said. The incoming government might make changes amid an uproar from Brazilians and investors who have called for social security reform, the independence of the central bank and tax simplification. Bradesco is betting on growth and sees lending to companies as “a mission,” Lazari said, adding that it would also continue boosting credit to individuals, focusing on mortgage, vehicles and payroll loans.
ENTERTAINMENT
Sales threaten Iger’s bonus
Walt Disney Co CEO Bob Iger could miss out on a US$60 million cash bonus. Disney posted US$15.7 billion of segment operating income for the year ended Sept. 29, adding up to US$73.9 billion over the past five years, falling short of targets tied to the payout. Disney granted him the bonus opportunity in 2014 as part of a contract extension. Iger would receive part of the award if total adjusted operating income for the period exceeds US$76 billion and the full amount if it reaches US$78.3 billion.
ENERGY
E.ON optimistic on targets
German energy giant E.ON SE yesterday said it was confident of hitting its full-year targets after a strong set of third-quarter results as it pushes on with a complex restructuring. The Essen, Germany-based group reported a net profit of 247 million euros (US$278.4 million) from July to September, compared with a loss in the same quarter last year. Adjusted operating, or underlying profit, grew 17 percent year-on-year to 410 million euros, although revenue fell 13 percent to 7.3 billion euros.
Nvidia Corp earned its US$2.2 trillion market cap by producing artificial intelligence (AI) chips that have become the lifeblood powering the new era of generative AI developers from start-ups to Microsoft Corp, OpenAI and Google parent Alphabet Inc. Almost as important to its hardware is the company’s nearly 20 years’ worth of computer code, which helps make competition with the company nearly impossible. More than 4 million global developers rely on Nvidia’s CUDA software platform to build AI and other apps. Now a coalition of tech companies that includes Qualcomm Inc, Google and Intel Corp plans to loosen Nvidia’s chokehold by going
DECOUPLING? In a sign of deeper US-China technology decoupling, Apple has held initial talks about using Baidu’s generative AI technology in its iPhones, the Wall Street Journal said China has introduced guidelines to phase out US microprocessors from Intel Corp and Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) from government PCs and servers, the Financial Times reported yesterday. The procurement guidance also seeks to sideline Microsoft Corp’s Windows operating system and foreign-made database software in favor of domestic options, the report said. Chinese officials have begun following the guidelines, which were unveiled in December last year, the report said. They order government agencies above the township level to include criteria requiring “safe and reliable” processors and operating systems when making purchases, the newspaper said. The US has been aiming to boost domestic semiconductor
ENERGY IMPACT: The electricity rate hike is expected to add about NT$4 billion to TSMC’s electricity bill a year and cut its annual earnings per share by about NT$0.154 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has left its long-term gross margin target unchanged despite the government deciding on Friday to raise electricity rates. One of the heaviest power consuming manufacturers in Taiwan, TSMC said it always respects the government’s energy policy and would continue to operate its fabs by making efforts in energy conservation. The chipmaker said it has left a long-term goal of more than 53 percent in gross margin unchanged. The Ministry of Economic Affairs concluded a power rate evaluation meeting on Friday, announcing electricity tariffs would go up by 11 percent on average to about NT$3.4518 per kilowatt-hour (kWh)
OPENING ADDRESS: The CEO is to give a speech on the future of high-performance computing and artificial intelligence at the trade show’s opening on June 3, TAITRA said Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) chairperson and chief executive officer Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) is to deliver the opening keynote speech at Computex Taipei this year, the event’s organizer said in a statement yesterday. Su is to give a speech on the future of high-performance computing (HPC) in the artificial intelligence (AI) era to open Computex, one of the world’s largest computer and technology trade events, at 9:30am on June 3, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) said. Su is to explore how AMD and the company’s strategic technology partners are pushing the limits of AI and HPC, from data centers to