■FINANCE
Soros to buy Bombay stake
Billionaire investor George Soros is close to sealing a US$40 million deal to buy Dubai Holding’s 4 percent stake in the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the Financial Times reported yesterday. If the purchase goes through, it would be the latest in a series of strategic foreign investments in India’s stock and derivatives exchanges. Soros Fund Management is planning to pay US$40 million for the stake in Asia’s oldest stock exchange based on a total valuation of about US$1 billion, a person involved in the negotiations told the Financial Times.
■TELECOMS
Telefonica, PT reach deal
Spain’s Telefonica said yesterday it had reached an agreement with Portugal Telecom (PT) to acquire a controlling share in Vivo, Brazil’s largest cellphone company. Telefonica’s filing with market regulators gave no figures. The newspaper El Pais said Telefonica had agreed to pay PT 7.5 billion euros (US$9.77 billion) for its 50 percent stake in Brasilcel, which in turn owns 60 percent of Vivo. Telefonica already owns the other half of Brasilcel. That amount is 350 million euros more than Telefonica’s last offer to PT.
■SEMICONDUCTORS
Infineon posts net profit
German semiconductor maker Infineon Technologies AG reported a net profit of 126 million euros for its fiscal third quarter. Infineon lost 23 million euros in the April-June period last year. It said that revenue rose 59 percent to 1.2 billion euros from 761 million euros. The Neubiberg-based company added that it expected a higher profit margin of more than 10 percent for the full fiscal year and forecast revenue growth of more than 40 percent. Its previous guidance was growth of 30 percent or more.
■AUTOMOBILES
Peugeot returns to profit
French auto group PSA Peugeot Citroen reported a switch into net profit in the first half of the year, with earnings of 680 million euros, compared with a loss of 962 million euros in the same period last year. It said it expected an operating profit of about 1.5 billion euros for the whole year. Sales in the first half shot up by 20.8 percent, or by 15.5 percent on a comparable asset base, to 28.394 billion euros. The group attributed the strong performance to the success of new models and firm global demand, and said that it had gained market share.
■BANKING
Sumitomo profit triples
Japanese megabank Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG) yesterday said net profit nearly tripled year-on-year to ¥211.8 billion (US$2.4 billion) for the quarter ended June. Japan’s third-largest bank by assets said this compared with a profit of ¥72.7 billion a year ago as it saw bond trading gains and enjoyed lower credit costs. For the current financial year, Sumitomo maintained its May forecast of a net profit of ¥340 billion.
■ELECTRONICS
Hitachi assures on supply
Japanese electronics maker Hitachi said yesterday it would normalize supply of parts to Nissan Motor from next week, after a supply shortage forced the carmaker to temporarily close plants. Hitachi’s subsidiary, Hitachi Automotive Systems, will be able to offer a regular supply of “engine control units” after negotiating for enough custom-made chips from STMicroelectronics of Switzerland, Hitachi said. Automobile demand in Japan and elsewhere has outpaced chip supplies from STMicroelectronics, a Hitachi spokesman said.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from