BANKING
Citi, BNP implicated in case
US-based Citigroup Inc and French bank BNP Paribas SA are caught up in the US criminal case against Huawei Technologies Co (華為) chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou (孟晚舟), according to newly available documents. The banks were named in documents released on Tuesday after a hearing in British Columbia Supreme Court. The two are among at least four financial institutions that had banking relationships with Huawei when Meng and others allegedly misled them about its business dealings in Iran, despite US sanctions. HSBC Holdings PLC and Standard Chartered PLC had been previously linked.
ENTERTAINMENT
Dispute puts Spidey at risk
A dispute between Walt Disney Co and Sony Corp threatens to end their co-production of Spider-Man films, according to people familiar with the situation, putting the future of one of Marvel’s most beloved characters up in the air. The two sides have not been able to agree on new terms for their partnership, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. Talks are ongoing, one of the people said. Sony holds the film rights to the popular Marvel character, even though Disney acquired Marvel Studios for US$4 billion in 2009.
BANKING
Goldman seeks approval
Goldman Sachs Group Inc sought regulatory approval to buy a majority stake in its investment banking joint venture in China, following rivals, including UBS Group AG, and setting the stage for eventually gaining full control. Goldman has applied to boost its stake in Goldman Sachs Gao Hua Securities Co (高盛高華證券) from 33 percent to 51 percent, a spokesman yesterday. Beijing Gao Hua Securities Co (北京高華證券) owns 67 percent of the joint venture, which focuses on equity and debt capital markets and mergers advisory.
NORWAY
Sovereign fund earns 3%
The country’s US$1.1 trillion sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, made a 3 percent return on investment in the second quarter, earning 256 billion Norwegian crowns (US$28.5 billion), it said yesterday. The return for the quarter was 0.19 percentage point below its benchmark index, the fund added. The fund invests the country’s revenues from oil and gas production in foreign stocks, bonds and real estate.
TELEVISION
Vivendi against merger
Mediaset SpA shareholder Vivendi SA plans to vote against the Italian TV company’s proposal to merge with its Spanish affiliate, according to people familiar with the matter, in a potential setback for the broadcaster’s ambition to create a European alliance. Mediaset investors are to meet on Sept. 4 to vote on a plan to create a Dutch-registered holding company to house the assets. Whether Vivendi can block the merger is unclear. It holds about 29 percent of Mediaset and the vote needs a two-thirds majority to pass.
E-COMMERCE
Alibaba seeks October listing
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (阿里巴巴) might launch its mega share sale in Hong Kong as soon as October, Reuters reported, starting what could be the territory’s biggest listing in a decade. The e-commerce giant had intended to float its stock this month before protests spread across the territory and clouded sentiment, Reuters cited unidentified people as saying. Alibaba declined to comment.
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
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],”
Thousands of parents in Singapore are furious after a Cordlife Group Ltd (康盛人生集團), a major operator of cord blood banks in Asia, irreparably damaged their children’s samples through improper handling, with some now pursuing legal action. The ongoing case, one of the worst to hit the largely untested industry, has renewed concerns over companies marketing themselves to anxious parents with mostly unproven assurances. This has implications across the region, given Cordlife’s operations in Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, the Philippines and India. The parents paid for years to have their infants’ cord blood stored, with the understanding that the stem cells they contained
Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day