■SOFTWARE
ABB to buy Ventyx
Swedish-Swiss engineering group ABB said yesterday it has agreed to buy US software firm Ventyx from Vista Equity Partners for more than US$1 billion. The cash acquisition would triple the energy management software market available to ABB, which provides power and automation technology, it said in a statement. Based in Atlanta Georgia, Ventyx employs 900 people and posted sales of about US$250 million last year.
■INSURANCE
Prudential delays issue
British insurer Prudential said yesterday it had decided to delay launching a rights issue aimed at helping to fund a US$35.5 billion takeover of AIA, the Asian arm of troubled US insurer AIG. Prudential, which had been expected to reveal details of its launch for a rights issue worth about US$20 billion yesterday, said it had been forced into a delay as it was still in talks with British regulators. The insurer said it still expects to complete takeover during the third quarter of this year.
■BREWING
AB InBev’s profits fall
The world’s largest brewer and maker of Budweiser said its first-quarter profit fell 34 percent to US$475 million as global beer sales remained stagnant and were not forecast to rebound this year. Anheuser-Busch InBev SA (AB InBev) made a US$716 million profit a year earlier. It sold 0.8 percent more beer and soft drinks in the first quarter and said yesterday that an expected improvement in profitability would be delayed until the second half due to lower expected sales and marketing expenses. AB InBev also said its second-quarter earnings would be hit by higher one-off financing costs stemming from a refinancing and bond issue in the first quarter.
■AUTOMOBILES
BMW posts strong growth
BMW yesterday posted “sharp growth” in first-quarter profits, erasing its loss a year earlier amid a pick-up in global sales of high-end automobiles. BMW reported a net profit of 324 million euros (US$420 million) and upgraded its full-year outlook. Chairman Norbert Reithofer said the group was “aiming to achieve significantly higher group earnings” this year than it did last year.
■BANKING
Westpac’s profit rises 32%
Westpac Banking Corp said Wednesday its first-half net profit rose 32 percent to A$2.875 billion (US$2.617 billion) as it benefited from a strengthening Australian economy and lower bad debts. The Sydney-based bank, one of Australia’s largest, said in a statement its profit for the latest six months through March grew from AU$2.175 billion in the corresponding period a year earlier. Westpac said bad debts had been reduced by AU$732 million to AU$879 million for the half.
■BANKING
Societe Generale cautious
French bank Societe Generale SA said yesterday its exposure to Greece’s government debt was 3 billion euros (US$3.93 billion) and it has tightened credit at its Greek unit in response to the financial crisis there. The Paris-based bank said in a statement that the financial crisis had hurt the performance of its majority-owned Geniki Bank Greek subsidiary in the first quarter, and that it was tightening loan approval conditions there among other precautionary measures. Societe Generale disclosed the Greek exposure alongside its first quarter earnings report which showed net profit increased to 1.06 billion euros in the period.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source