CURRENCY
G20 not to discuss yuan
An Chinese official in Beijing says the yuan exchange rate will not be on the agenda when a G20 meeting is held in Nanjing at the end of the month. The G20 seminar on March 31, which has been shifted from France, will be opened by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and will discuss ideas on revamping the global monetary system. China has been under international pressure to allow a faster rise in its tightly controlled currency, but Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu (姜瑜) said yesterday the seminar would discuss only international monetary reform. She said the yuan exchange rate issue would not be on the agenda.
INVESTMENT
Foreign money skyrockets
China drew over a quarter more foreign investment in the first two months of the year compared with last year, as firms flocked in to get a foothold in the world’s fastest-growing major economy. The 27.1 percent jump in foreign direct investment from a year ago to US$17.8 billion, unveiled by the Commerce Ministry yesterday, was also a sign that China’s economic activity stayed brisk despite a slew of policy tightening steps over the past half year. Foreign direct investment in China hit a full-year record of US$105.7 billion last year, up 17.4 percent year-on-year, with more than a fifth of the money flowing into the booming real estate sector.
AUTOMOBILES
SsangYong to invest more
SsangYong Motor Co said yesterday it would invest more than 240 billion won (US$213 million) this year in developing new vehicles and building its brand after it was acquired by India’s Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd. It will invest 200 billion won this year, up 70 percent from last year, in product development and another 40 billion won in brand building, the company said in a statement. The announcement came as Mahindra and Mahindra said yesterday it had completed all formalities for the acquisition of South Korea’s SsangYong.
FOODS
Lindt’s net profits soar
Swiss chocolate maker Lindt and Spruengli said yesterday its net profit for last year soared 25.3 percent to 241.9 million Swiss francs (US$261.2 million) as consumers regained their taste for fine chocolates. Sales were, however, up just 2.2 percent at SF2.6 billion, hurt by a strong franc against major currencies. “During the period of global recession, consumers had tended to move over to more low-priced private labels, however, as the upturn set in, the demand for high-quality products returned,” the group said. Lindt said that all of its subsidiaries, except for Australia, posted faster growth than the market, with gains led by the US, Canada and Britain.
CHEMICALS
Buffet to acquire Lubrizol
Warren Buffett’s company said on Monday it plans to spend about US$9 billion cash to add specialty chemical maker Lubrizol Corp to the eclectic mix of businesses inside Berkshire Hathaway Inc. The purchase may help satisfy Buffett’s appetite for large acquisitions to boost Berkshire’s earnings power, but the deal is still significantly smaller than last year’s US$26.7 billion acquisition of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad. In Monday’s deal, Berkshire will pay US$135 per share, a 28 percent premium to Lubrizol’s closing stock price on Friday of US$105.44. The transaction also includes about US$700 million in net debt.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said its materials management head, Vanessa Lee (李文如), had tendered her resignation for personal reasons. The personnel adjustment takes effect tomorrow, TSMC said in a statement. The latest development came one month after Lee reportedly took leave from the middle of last month. Cliff Hou (侯永清), senior vice president and deputy cochief operating officer, is to concurrently take on the role of head of the materials management division, which has been under his supervision, TSMC said. Lee, who joined TSMC in 2022, was appointed senior director of materials management and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Thursday met with US President Donald Trump at the White House, days before a planned trip to China by the head of the world’s most valuable chipmaker, people familiar with the matter said. Details of what the two men discussed were not immediately available, and the people familiar with the meeting declined to elaborate on the agenda. Spokespeople for the White House had no immediate comment. Nvidia declined to comment. Nvidia’s CEO has been vocal about the need for US companies to access the world’s largest semiconductor market and is a frequent visitor to China.
Hypermarket chain Carrefour Taiwan and upscale supermarket chain Mia C’bon on Saturday announced the suspension of their partnership with Jkopay Co (街口支付), one of Taiwan’s largest digital payment providers, amid a lawsuit involving its parent company. Carrefour and Mia C’bon said they would notify customers once Jkopay services are reinstated. The two retailers joined an array of other firms in suspending their partnerships with Jkopay. On Friday night, popular beverage chain TP Tea (茶湯會) also suspended its use of the platform, urging customers to opt for alternative payment methods. Another drinks brand, Guiji (龜記), on Friday said that it is up to individual
MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR: Revenue from AI servers made up more than 50 percent of Wistron’s total server revenue in the second quarter, the company said Wistron Corp (緯創) on Tuesday reported a 135.6 percent year-on-year surge in revenue for last month, driven by strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers, with the momentum expected to extend into the third quarter. Revenue last month reached NT$209.18 billion (US$7.2 billion), a record high for June, bringing second-quarter revenue to NT$551.29 billion, a 129.47 percent annual increase, the company said. Revenue in the first half of the year totaled NT$897.77 billion, up 87.36 percent from a year earlier and also a record high for the period, it said. The company remains cautiously optimistic about AI server shipments in the third quarter,
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