TECHNOLOGY
Uber loss shrinks in Q4
Uber Technologies Inc on Friday released earnings figures showing that its loss narrowed in the final quarter of last year, while revenue growth slowed. The loss in the final three months of the year amounted to US$865 million, compared with US$1.1 billion in the same period a year earlier. The San Francisco-based ride-sharing giant reported revenue of US$3 billion, a 25 percent increase from a year earlier. Revenue for the full year rose 43 percent to US$11.3 billion, with Uber’s annual loss shrinking 15 percent to US$1.8 billion, it said.
AUTOMAKERS
Amazon leads Rivian funding
Electric vehicle (EV) start-up Rivian on Friday announced a US$700 million investment round led by Amazon.com Inc, which recently pumped money into a young self-driving car technology firm. Details of Amazon’s stake in US-based Rivian were not disclosed, but the company said that it would remain independent. Rivian has a team of more than 750 people and development centers in the US and England, it said.
PHILIPPINES
Duterte passes reforms
President Rodrigo Duterte signed into law key economic measures that are seen to help lower rice prices, strengthen the central bank and bolster state revenues. Duterte signed a bill that would remove caps on rice imports and boost supply of the staple grain, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea said. The president approved amendments to the central bank charter that would expand its powers and pave the way for the injection of additional government capital. The measures are to take effect 15 days from their publication in newspapers.
AVIATION
Indonesia drops fuel prices
State-owned energy company PT Pertamina reduced the price of jet fuel sold at airports, after President Joko Widodo ordered a review following complaints about high air fares blamed on soaring fuel costs. The company lowered the price of fuel sold at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport by 3 percent to 7,960 rupiah (US$0.56) per liter from yesterday, it said in a statement. The price of aviation fuel in Jakarta is about 26 percent lower than at Singapore’s Changi Airport, Pertamina said.
INDIA
Regulator slams Yes Bank
Yes Bank Ltd came under fire from the Reserve Bank of India, which said that its selective disclosures from an audit report by the regulator was a “deliberate attempt” to mislead the public. The risk assessment report on Yes Bank prepared by the central bank identified several lapses and regulatory breaches in various areas of functioning, the company said in a stock exchange filing on Friday. Yes Bank also breached confidentiality rules and contravened regulatory guidelines by releasing the information from the risk assessment report, the central bank said.
BANKING
JPMorgan has virtual coin
JPMorgan Chase on Thursday unveiled a prototype for a digital coin system using blockchain, a first among major banks. The system, called JPM Coin, which for now is only at the prototype stage and for business-to-business deals, would permit institutional clients to make instantaneous payments to other bank clients.
purpose: Tesla’s CEO sought to meet senior Chinese officials to discuss the rollout of its ‘full self-driving’ software in China and approval to transfer data they had collected Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk arrived in Beijing yesterday on an unannounced visit, where he is expected to meet senior officials to discuss the rollout of "full self-driving" (FSD) software and permission to transfer data overseas, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Chinese state media reported that he met Premier Li Qiang (李強) in Beijing, during which Li told Musk that Tesla's development in China could be regarded as a successful example of US-China economic and trade cooperation. Musk confirmed his meeting with the premier yesterday with a post on social media platform X. "Honored to meet with Premier Li
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: The chipmaker last month raised its capital spending by 28 percent for this year to NT$32 billion from a previous estimate of NT$25 billion Contract chipmaker Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電子) yesterday launched a new 12-inch fab, tapping into advanced chip-on-wafer-on-substrate (CoWoS) packaging technology to support rising demand for artificial intelligence (AI) devices. Powerchip is to offer interposers, one of three parts in CoWoS packaging technology, with shipments scheduled for the second half of this year, Powerchip chairman Frank Huang (黃崇仁) told reporters on the sidelines of a fab inauguration ceremony in the Tongluo Science Park (銅鑼科學園區) in Miaoli County yesterday. “We are working with customers to supply CoWoS-related business, utilizing part of this new fab’s capacity,” Huang said, adding that Powerchip intended to bridge
Dutch brewing company Heineken NV on Friday announced an investment of NT$13.5 billion (US$414.62 million) over the next five years in Taiwan. The first multinational brewing company to operate in Taiwan, Heineken made the statement at a ceremony held at its brewery in Pingtung County. It also outlined its efforts to make the brewery “net zero” by 2030. Heineken has been in the Taiwanese market for 20 years, Heineken Taiwan managing director Jeff Wu (吳建甫) said. With strong support from local consumers, the Dutch brewery decided to transition from sales to manufacturing in the country, Wu said. Heineken assumed majority ownership and management rights
Microsoft Corp yesterday said that it would create Thailand’s first data center region to boost cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, promising AI training to more than 100,000 people to develop tech. Bangkok is a key economic player in Southeast Asia, but it has lagged behind Indonesia and Singapore when it comes to the tech industry. Thailand has an “incredible opportunity to build a digital-first, AI-powered future,” Microsoft chairman and chief executive officer Satya Nadella said at an event in Bangkok. Data center regions are physical locations that store computing infrastructure, allowing secure and reliable access to cloud platforms. The global embrace of AI