CURRENCIES
Australia, China sign deal
The central banks of Australia and China signed a 200 billion yuan (US$31 billion) currency swap to support trade and investment. The Reserve Bank of Australia said yesterday the agreement came after China allowed the Australian dollar to be exchanged for yuan in China’s bank-to-bank market. It says the agreement reflects increasing opportunities for the yuan to be used to pay for exports and imports between the two countries. The agreement allows for the exchange of the currencies between the two central banks and is for an initial three-year period.
BANKING
HSBC Canada to close arm
HSBC Financial, a subsidiary of HSBC Bank Canada, says it will stop taking new loan applications as it winds down its consumer finance business in Canada, putting 500 people out of work. HSBC Financial said on Wednesday that 75 HSBC Finance offices across the country will close as soon as is practical. The offices are operated on a stand-alone basis from HSBC Bank Canada. The move does not affect HSBC’s banking operations.
OPTICS
Olympus board in question
Foreign shareholders in Japan’s scandal-hit Olympus have called for a rethink of new board appointments, saying creditor banks have exerted “undue influence” on the lineup. In an open letter to the company, nine institutional investors, who collectively hold up to a 30 percent stake, said an independent chairman should be selected to head a board that would represent broad interests.
INFRASTRUCTURE
EU wants contracts access
The EU unveiled proposals on Wednesday aimed at forcing emerging powers such as China to offer European firms access to lucrative government contracts. After repeatedly complaining about Chinese restrictions, the European Commission proposed measures to allow the 27-nation bloc to bar foreign firms from winning government contracts if their countries block European companies. With EU firms also facing restrictions in India, Brazil and Russia, EU Internal Market Commissioner Michel Barnier said Europe loses out on 12 billion euros (US$15.8 billion) per year worth of government contracts in third nations.
FAST FOOD
McDonald’s CEO to retire
McDonald’s says CEO Jim Skinner will retire later this year. Don Thompson, 48, the company’s current president, will take over the helm of the world’s biggest hamburger chain on July 1. Skinner, 67, has been with McDonald’s Corp for 41 years. He was named CEO in 2004.
MOBILE PHONES
Nokia seeks tattoo patent
Mobile phone maker Nokia is seeking a US patent for tattoos that vibrate to let people know when they have calls on their mobile phones. Technology laid out in a patent application available online on Wednesday would enable tattoos to receive magnetic waves emitted by mobile phones. Waves would trigger tattoos to generate “perceivable stimulus” to alert them to calls, messages, or batteries running low.
INTERNET
Zynga buys OMGPOP
Social games star Zynga on Wednesday said it has bought the young company behind a playful “Draw Something” application that rocketed in popularity in recent weeks. Unofficial estimates valued the deal at approximately US$200 million. OMGPOP and its 40-person team will become Zynga’s New York office.
EXTRATERRITORIAL REACH: China extended its legal jurisdiction to ban some dual-use goods of Chinese origin from being sold to the US, even by third countries Beijing has set out to extend its domestic laws across international borders with a ban on selling some goods to the US that applies to companies both inside and outside China. The new export control rules are China’s first attempt to replicate the extraterritorial reach of US and European sanctions by covering Chinese products or goods with Chinese parts in them. In an announcement this week, China declared it is banning the sale of dual-use items to the US military and also the export to the US of materials such as gallium and germanium. Companies and people overseas would be subject to
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) founder Morris Chang (張忠謀) yesterday said that Intel Corp would find itself in the same predicament as it did four years ago if its board does not come up with a core business strategy. Chang made the remarks in response to reporters’ questions about the ailing US chipmaker, once an archrival of TSMC, during a news conference in Taipei for the launch of the second volume of his autobiography. Intel unexpectedly announced the immediate retirement of former chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger last week, ending his nearly four-year tenure and ending his attempts to revive the
WORLD DOMINATION: TSMC’s lead over second-placed Samsung has grown as the latter faces increased Chinese competition and the end of clients’ product life cycles Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) retained the No. 1 title in the global pure-play wafer foundry business in the third quarter of this year, seeing its market share growing to 64.9 percent to leave South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co, the No. 2 supplier, further behind, Taipei-based TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said in a report. TSMC posted US$23.53 billion in sales in the July-September period, up 13.0 percent from a quarter earlier, which boosted its market share to 64.9 percent, up from 62.3 percent in the second quarter, the report issued on Monday last week showed. TSMC benefited from the debut of flagship
TENSE TIMES: Formosa Plastics sees uncertainty surrounding the incoming Trump administration in the US, geopolitical tensions and China’s faltering economy Formosa Plastics Group (台塑集團), Taiwan’s largest industrial conglomerate, yesterday posted overall revenue of NT$118.61 billion (US$3.66 billion) for last month, marking a 7.2 percent rise from October, but a 2.5 percent fall from one year earlier. The group has mixed views about its business outlook for the current quarter and beyond, as uncertainty builds over the US power transition and geopolitical tensions. Formosa Plastics Corp (台灣塑膠), a vertically integrated supplier of plastic resins and petrochemicals, reported a monthly uptick of 15.3 percent in its revenue to NT$18.15 billion, as Typhoon Kong-rey postponed partial shipments slated for October and last month, it said. The
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