ENERGY
Petroliam to sell UK oil units
Petroliam Nasional Bhd, Malaysia’s state oil and gas company, agreed to sell the oil production business of its UK unit, Star Energy Group Ltd, to IGas Energy PLC, according to a company statement yesterday. Petronas, which also signed a gas supply agreement with IGas, will focus on optimizing the Humbly Grove Gas Storage Facility, which will remain with the company, it said. The move is in line with its strategy to focus on growing its European asset returns through marketing and trading, Petronas said.
ENERGY
Repsol on offshore license
Spanish oil group Repsol has farmed into Providence Resources Irish offshore “Dunquin” license, the Irish oil and gas company said yesterday. Repsol’s Irish subsidiary will acquire a 25 percent equity interest in the project based 200km off southwest Ireland, assuming half of its stake from Italian energy group Eni and half from US group ExxonMobil. Following the completion of the transaction, ExxonMobil and Eni will each hold a 27.5 percent interest in the license, Repsol will have 25 percent with Providence and Britain-based Sosina sharing 16 percent and 4 percent respectively.
FINANCE
Credit Suisse settles probe
Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse said yesterday that it has reached a deal with German authorities to end a tax evasion probe, and that it would pay 150 million euros (US$205 million) to settle the case. “Credit Suisse group and the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Duesseldorf have reached an agreement regarding the proceedings against Credit Suisse employees,” the bank said in a statement. “The entire proceedings are to be resolved.” The bank said that meant “a complex and prolonged legal dispute has been avoided.”
AUTOMOBILES
Jaguar to build UK plant
Jaguar Land Rover is investing in a new plant in Britain to build low-emission engines. The company said yesterday that the new plant near Wolverhampton, England, would cost ￡355 million (US$560 million) and would employ up to 750 people. Jaguar Land Rover is part of Tata Motors, which acquired the company from Ford in 2008. Jaguar Land Rover chief executive Ralf Speth said the company planned to invest ￡1.5 billion a year over five years to expand its product lines.
TECHNOLOGY
Hynix sale to be debated
Hynix Semiconductor Inc shareholders will discuss whether they will proceed with current sale plan amid a lack of bidders after STX Group dropped out of bidding for a stake in the world’s second-biggest computer memorychip maker, Korea Exchange Bank said. A date for the meeting has not been decided, Korea Exchange Bank spokesman Lee Sun-hwan said.
STEEL
Asia steel imports probed
Australian authorities yesterday launched an inquiry into steel imports from China and four other Asian nations as domestic manufacturers suffer under the strong Australian dollar. Customs said it would examine dumping and subsidization of “certain hollow structural” steel products from Taiwan, China, South Korea, Malaysia and Thailand after a complaint from OneSteel, Australia’s second-largest steelmaker. Officials would examine imports between July last year and June 30 for evidence of OneSteel’s complaint, and look back as far as July 2007 for proof of injury to the steelmaking industry.
It was late morning and steam was rising from water tanks atop the colorful, but opaque-windowed, “soapland” sex parlors in a historic Tokyo red-light district. Walking through the narrow streets, camera in hand, was Beniko — a former sex worker who is trying to capture the spirit of the area once known as Yoshiwara through photography. “People often talk about this neighborhood having a ‘bad history,’” said Beniko, who goes by her nickname. “But the truth is that through the years people have lived here, made a life here, sometimes struggled to survive. I want to share that reality.” In its mid-17th to
‘MAKE OR BREAK’: Nvidia shares remain down more than 9 percent, but investors are hoping CEO Jensen Huang’s speech can stave off fears that the sales boom is peaking Shares in Nvidia Corp’s Taiwanese suppliers mostly closed higher yesterday on hopes that the US artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer would showcase next-generation technologies at its annual AI conference slated to open later in the day. The GPU Technology Conference (GTC) in California is to feature developers, engineers, researchers, inventors and information technology professionals, and would focus on AI, computer graphics, data science, machine learning and autonomous machines. The event comes at a make-or-break moment for the firm, as it heads into the next few quarters, with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s (黃仁勳) keynote speech today seen as having the ability to
NEXT GENERATION: The company also showcased automated machines, including a nursing robot called Nurabot, which is to enter service at a Taichung hospital this year Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) expects server revenue to exceed its iPhone revenue within two years, with the possibility of achieving this goal as early as this year, chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) said on Tuesday at Nvidia Corp’s annual technology conference in San Jose, California. AI would be the primary focus this year for the company, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), as rapidly advancing AI applications are driving up demand for AI servers, Liu said. The production and shipment of Nvidia’s GB200 chips and the anticipated launch of GB300 chips in the second half of the year would propel
The battle for artificial intelligence supremacy hinges on microchips, but the semiconductor sector that produces them has a dirty secret: It is a major source of chemicals linked to cancer and other health problems. Global chip sales surged more than 19 percent to about US$628 billion last year, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association, which forecasts double-digit growth again this year. That is adding urgency to reducing the effects of “forever chemicals” — which are also used to make firefighting foam, nonstick pans, raincoats and other everyday items — as are regulators in the US and Europe who are beginning to
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