INVESTMENTS
HK protests aiding Singapore
The escalating protests in Hong Kong could benefit Singapore to the tune of US$4 billion, according to the upper end of an estimate by Goldman Sachs Group Inc of the money that investors have moved to the city-state. Goldman estimated that there has been a maximum outflow of Hong Kong dollar deposits to Singapore totaling US$3 billion to US$4 billion as of August. Local-currency deposits declined in August by 1.6 percent from July, the biggest drop in more than a year, to about HK$6.84 trillion (US$872.2 billion), official data showed earlier this week.
INTERNET
Uber links workers, firms
Ride-hailing firm Uber Technologies Inc on Wednesday said that it had launched an app called Uber Works to connect temporary workers looking to perform shift work with businesses trying to plug gaps in their rosters. The app, currently available only in Chicago, shows workers the available shifts in a certain area and helps businesses that struggle to have enough staff during peak demand. Uber Works is to partner with staffing agencies — which employ, pay and handle worker benefits — and also connect directly with businesses, the company said.
MEXICO
Infrastructure blitz planned
The government is soon to unveil a set of major infrastructure projects drawn up by the private sector to lift the economy, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Wednesday. Speaking at a news conference, Lopez Obrador said that about 1,600 projects were under consideration that would “reactivate” the nation. The investment package comprises more than US$400 billion in projects over the course of the next five years of the administration, two people familiar with the matter said.
INTERNET
Facebook fined over breach
Turkish authorities have fined Facebook Inc 1.6 million lira (US$280,760) for breaching data protection laws, which affected nearly 300,000 people, the Personal Data Protection Board said yesterday. The board said it had ruled to fine Facebook after the privacy breach affected the personal information of 280,959 Turkish users. The board added that it had launched an examination into the data breach after Facebook failed to inform it about errors in some of the firm’s applications.
RETAIL
H&M earnings surge 25%
Hennes & Mauritz AB’s (H&M) quarterly earnings gained for the first time in more than two years as a well-received summer collection helped the Swedish retailer boost profitability. Pre-tax profit rose 25 percent to 5.01 billion kronor (US$506.24 million) in the June-to-August period, which is the company’s fiscal third quarter. Analysts expected 4.89 billion kronor. The retailer reduced its store opening plan for the second time this year to 120 net additions. Inventory stood at 42 billion kronor at the end of August.
TOBACCO
Imperial Brands CEO quitting
British tobacco giant Imperial Brands, which has warned over a backlash against vaping in the US, yesterday said that chief executive Alison Cooper is stepping down. Cooper, who served nine years as CEO and has been at Imperial for 20 years, is to leave once her successor has been appointed, Imperial said in a statement, which gave no reason for her departure.
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],”
TRANSFORMATION: Taiwan is now home to the largest Google hardware research and development center outside of the US, thanks to the nation’s economic policies President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday attended an event marking the opening of Google’s second hardware research and development (R&D) office in Taiwan, which was held at New Taipei City’s Banciao District (板橋). This signals Taiwan’s transformation into the world’s largest Google hardware research and development center outside of the US, validating the nation’s economic policy in the past eight years, she said. The “five plus two” innovative industries policy, “six core strategic industries” initiative and infrastructure projects have grown the national industry and established resilient supply chains that withstood the COVID-19 pandemic, Tsai said. Taiwan has improved investment conditions of the domestic economy
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