HOTELS
Intercontinental posts growth
Intercontinental Hotels Group, the world’s biggest hotelier, reported higher revenue growth at its US operations and said customer demand had remained strong despite the global economic slowdown. The firm, which owns the Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn brands, yesterday said total revenues per available room at its US operations rose 9.5 percent during the third quarter, outperforming broader industry growth of 7.9 percent. Last month, CEO Richard Solomons said his group had weathered the recession following the Lehman Bros collapse in 2008 better than its competitors.
BANKING
Lloyds may float branches
Partly nationalized British bank Lloyds said on Sunday that a flotation of about 630 bank branches, which it has been ordered to dispose of by regulators, remained an option, along with a sale of the branches. Lloyds’ spokeswoman added that the bank had contacted British listing authorities as it examines the possible flotation of the branches. Lloyds has given the auction the code name of “Project Verde.” The Sunday Telegraph reported that a flotation of the Verde assets was now considered by Lloyds as a “near certainty,” but Lloyds said it had no preferred option yet on either a sale or a spin-off.
NAVIGATION
TomTom Q3 profit up 9.6%
Navigation device manufacturer TomTom NV yesterday reported a 9.6 percent rise in third-quarter earnings, mostly because of lower restructuring charges, but its operations also strengthened from the previous quarter and its debts are declining. Net profit was 28.9 million euros (US$40 million), from 19.3 million euros a year ago, when it took a 20 million euro restructuring charge, the company said. Revenues fell 10 percent to 336 million euros due an ongoing fall in device sales to consumers in the US and Europe, but sales were up 7 percent since June on higher revenues from carmakers.
CASINOS
Galaxy upbeat on prospects
Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd, the Macau casino operator that opened its second resort in May, yesterday said China’s monetary tightening policies had not affected business. “We haven’t felt the effects of China’s tightening” and the junket operators, who bring high-stakes gamblers to the city, continue to collect from their clients, vice chairman Francis Lui (呂耀東) said in Hong Kong. Still, “we should keep an eye on it,” he said. Macau casino gambling revenue will continue to grow because of improving transport links between Macau and mainland China, Lui said.
ENTERTAINMENT
Netflix eyes UK, Ireland
Netflix Inc said it would expand to the UK and Ireland early next year, offering television shows and movies streaming over the Internet to televisions and computers for a subscription price. The service will be available to customers on a monthly subscription basis, Netflix said. The company said further details about the service, including pricing, content and supported devices, will be announced closer to launch.
TELECOMS
San Miguel weighs options
San Miguel Corp is evaluating options for an appropriate structure for its telecoms business, the Philippines’ largest company by sales said yesterday. San Miguel made the disclosure to the stock exchange in response to a Manila Stardard Today article, which said it might fold Eastern Telecommunications Philippines Inc into Liberty Telecoms Holdings Inc.
POWERING UP: PSUs for AI servers made up about 50% of Delta’s total server PSU revenue during the first three quarters of last year, the company said Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) reported record-high revenue of NT$161.61 billion (US$5.11 billion) for last quarter and said it remains positive about this quarter. Last quarter’s figure was up 7.6 percent from the previous quarter and 41.51 percent higher than a year earlier, and largely in line with Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co’s (元大投顧) forecast of NT$160 billion. Delta’s annual revenue last year rose 31.76 percent year-on-year to NT$554.89 billion, also a record high for the company. Its strong performance reflected continued demand for high-performance power solutions and advanced liquid-cooling products used in artificial intelligence (AI) data centers,
SIZE MATTERS: TSMC started phasing out 8-inch wafer production last year, while Samsung is more aggressively retiring 8-inch capacity, TrendForce said Chipmakers are expected to raise prices of 8-inch wafers by up to 20 percent this year on concern over supply constraints as major contract chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co gradually retire less advanced wafer capacity, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. It is the first significant across-the-board price hike since a global semiconductor correction in 2023, the Taipei-based market researcher said in a report. Global 8-inch wafer capacity slid 0.3 percent year-on-year last year, although 8-inch wafer prices still hovered at relatively stable levels throughout the year, TrendForce said. The downward trend is expected to continue this year,
Vincent Wei led fellow Singaporean farmers around an empty Malaysian plot, laying out plans for a greenhouse and rows of leafy vegetables. What he pitched was not just space for crops, but a lifeline for growers struggling to make ends meet in a city-state with high prices and little vacant land. The future agriculture hub is part of a joint special economic zone launched last year by the two neighbors, expected to cost US$123 million and produce 10,000 tonnes of fresh produce annually. It is attracting Singaporean farmers with promises of cheaper land, labor and energy just over the border.
A proposed billionaires’ tax in California has ignited a political uproar in Silicon Valley, with tech titans threatening to leave the state while California Governor Gavin Newsom of the Democratic Party maneuvers to defeat a levy that he fears would lead to an exodus of wealth. A technology mecca, California has more billionaires than any other US state — a few hundred, by some estimates. About half its personal income tax revenue, a financial backbone in the nearly US$350 billion budget, comes from the top 1 percent of earners. A large healthcare union is attempting to place a proposal before
RSS