RETAIL
Gap opens first Chinese shop
Clothing retailer Gap opened its first store in China yesterday, calling it a major step in an international expansion aimed at doubling the proportion of its revenue from outside the US. The Gap’s 1,140m2 Shanghai flagship is the first of four shops the group will open in China in coming weeks along with an online store, John Ermatinger, president of Gap Asia Pacific, told reporters. The US retailer, which also operates the Banana Republic and Old Navy chains, is set to open another store in Shanghai, two more in Beijing later this year and outlets in Hong Kong in the third quarter of next year, he said.
INSURANCE
Aegon earnings triple
The insurer Aegon NV says its third-quarter earnings more than tripled as it adjusted the value of some assets upward, had better gains on investments and better underlying earnings. A relatively weak euro also helped the Hague, Netherlands-based company, which operates Transamerica and has two-thirds of its business in the US. The company says its net profit was 657 million euros (US$907 million), up from 145 million euros in the same period last year. Sales of new life insurance policies were up 7 percent to 527 million euros, with strength in the US, Britain and emerging markets, Aegon said.
MEDIA
Bertelsmann’s profits jump
A pick-up in the advertising industry and an improved economy helped push up profits at German media giant Bertelsmann in the first nine months of the year, the firm said yesterday. Net profit to September was 259 million euros, the media giant said, compared with a net loss of 305 million euros in the same period last year. Meanwhile, sales rose 3.5 percent to 11 billion euros in the first nine months of the year.
AUTOMAKERS
Mitsubishi recalls vehicles
Japan’s fourth-largest automaker, Mitsubishi Motors, will recall about 250,000 vehicles in Japan over engine oil leaks, the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism said yesterday. The recall will cover seven small models, such as the family-sized eK Wagon, as well as two models produced for the Nissan Motor brand, the Otti and Clipper. A total of 247,663 units will be recalled, the ministry said.
AVIATION
Dreamliner test flights halted
Boeing Co halted test flights of its 787 Dreamliner on Wednesday, a day after an electrical fire aboard one of its test planes forced an emergency landing in Texas, but said it was too early to tell if the incident would push back the plane’s delivery schedule. The company said it was still investigating the fire, which was the first of its kind for the Dreamliner program and raised new questions for the company and for US aviation regulators.
IMMIGRATION
Ottawa ups investor ante
The Canadian government announced on Wednesday it was doubling requirements for foreign investors seeking to establish themselves in Canada, citing a high increase in demand. Starting on Dec. 1, foreign investors seeking to enter Canada as an immigrant must have personal net worth of at least C$1.6 million (US$1.6 million) and make an investment of C$800,000 or more, Citizenship and Immigration Canada said in a statement. The old criteria had specified C$800,000 and C$400,000, respectively.
Three experts in the high technology industry have said that US President Donald Trump’s pledge to impose higher tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors is part of an effort to force Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to the negotiating table. In a speech to Republicans on Jan. 27, Trump said he intends to impose tariffs on Taiwan to bring chip production to the US. “The incentive is going to be they’re not going to want to pay a 25, 50 or even a 100 percent tax,” he said. Darson Chiu (邱達生), an economics professor at Taichung-based Tunghai University and director-general of
‘LEGACY CHIPS’: Chinese companies have dramatically increased mature chip production capacity, but the West’s drive for secure supply chains offers a lifeline for Taiwan When Powerchip Technology Corp (力晶科技) entered a deal with the eastern Chinese city of Hefei in 2015 to set up a new chip foundry, it hoped the move would help provide better access to the promising Chinese market. However, nine years later, that Chinese foundry, Nexchip Semiconductor Corp (合晶集成), has become one of its biggest rivals in the legacy chip space, leveraging steep discounts after Beijing’s localization call forced Powerchip to give up the once-lucrative business making integrated circuits for Chinese flat panels. Nexchip is among Chinese foundries quickly winning market share in the crucial US$56.3 billion industry of so-called legacy
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday held its first board of directors meeting in the US, at which it did not unveil any new US investments despite mounting tariff threats from US President Donald Trump. Trump has threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, prompting market speculation that TSMC might consider boosting its chip capacity in the US or ramping up production of advanced chips such as those using a 2-nanometer technology process at its Arizona fabs ahead of schedule. Speculation also swirled that the chipmaker might consider building its own advanced packaging capacity in the US as part
A move by US President Donald Trump to slap a 25 percent tariff on all steel imports is expected to place Taiwan-made steel, which already has a 25 percent tariff, on an equal footing, the Taiwan Steel & Iron Industries Association said yesterday. Speaking with CNA, association chairman Hwang Chien-chih (黃建智) said such an equal footing is expected to boost Taiwan’s competitive edge against other countries in the US market, describing the tariffs as "positive" for Taiwanese steel exporters. On Monday, Trump signed two executive orders imposing the new metal tariffs on imported steel and aluminum with no exceptions and exemptions, effective