CHINA
Industrial profits decline
Profits at industrial enterprises dropped 3.3 percent last year, dragged down by a double-digit decline at state-owned companies and losses at manufacturers, the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement yesterday. The main reasons cited by the statistics bureau were the poor performance of the steel, chemical, auto and petroleum refining sectors. Petroleum, coal and other fuel processors had the worst results, with annual profits falling about 43 percent.
ENERGY
OPEC, Russia to meet
Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and their ally Russia are to convene a technical meeting this week to analyze oil price declines since the outbreak of a new coronavirus, a source close to the cartel said on Sunday. OPEC would assemble experts in a “joint technical committee’ in Vienna today and tomorrow, the source said.
MEXICO
Uber helps with virus
Uber Technologies Inc has suspended the accounts of 240 users who may have been in contact with drivers that ferried a person suspected of having the coronavirus. The ride-hailing app said that Mexico City health authorities last month requested information on a possible carrier of coronavirus, with Uber finding two drivers who transported the suspected individual before driving a further 240 people. “We have proceeded to send information to these two drivers and the 240 users regarding the temporary deactivation of their accounts,” the company said.
AVIATION
Sri Lanka to probe deal
Sri Lanka has ordered an investigation into accusations of bribery by European planemaker Airbus SE to pave the way for the sale of aircraft to state-run carrier SriLankan Airlines. The nation was among the countries whose officials figured in a US$4 billion settlement Airbus agreed with European and US regulators, as having been accused of receiving bribes to clinch sales of its aircraft. Sri Lanka would conduct “a comprehensive investigation into reports of allegations over financial irregularities,” the office of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said on Sunday.
ELECTRONICS
Panasonic profit down 18%
Panasonic Corp yesterday said that its operating profit for the April-to-December period dropped 18 percent on lower sales in China. Its nine-month sales fell 5.4 percent to ¥5.76 trillion (US$53.06 billion), causing operating profit to fall to ¥240.67 billion, while net profit came to ¥178.15 billion, which marked an increase of 2.6 percent, thanks largely to reduced income taxes, the company said. Panasonic left unchanged its full-year forecast, which sees net profit falling 29.6 percent to ¥200 billion, and operating profit sagging 27.1 percent to ¥300 billion on sales of ¥7.7 trillion, down 3.8 percent.
COWORKING
WeWork names new CEO
WeWork named Sandeep Mathrani its new chief executive officer, tapping an experienced real-estate operator for a bid to turn around the embattled start-up. Mathrani, who was previously chief executive of Brookfield Property Partners’ retail group, would need to execute a plan for WeWork to refocus on coworking and abandon unrelated ventures started by its cofounder, Adam Neumann. Mathrani is to replace Artie Minson and Sebastian Gunningham, WeWork said in a statement.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
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
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
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],”