INTERNET
Facebook ‘home’ on Android
Facebook was to unveil its “home” on the Android smartphone yesterday, a move expected to tie the leading social network’s services tightly into mobile software. Invitations to a press event at Facebook’s main campus in the Silicon Valley city of Menlo Park rekindled talk of a “Facebook phone,” but analysts say the social network wants to spread roots across the Android platform. Technology news site TechCrunch predicted the announcement would be a modified version of Android with “deep native Facebook functionality” on a phone made by Taiwan’s HTC (宏達電).
AUTOMAKERS
Hyundai, Kia issue recalls
South Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia are recalling almost 1.9 million vehicles in the US to fix problems with air bags and brake light switches. The switch recall covers almost 1.7 million vehicles — most of the automakers’ model lineups from the 2007 through 2011 model years. In addition, Hyundai Motor Co is recalling about 194,000 Elantra compacts from 2011 to this year to fix an air bag problem. Spokesmen for Hyundai and Kia said on Wednesday that there had not been any crashes or injuries due to the problem.
AUTOMAKERS
Nissan upbeat on China
Nissan Motor Co expects sales in China to rebound within three months, as demand for Japanese vehicles recovers. Nissan’s sales in China, its largest market, fell 17 percent to 110,000 units last month and 5.3 percent last year. “We’ve seen growth in retail year-on-year in March and year to date,” Andy Palmer, an executive vice president at Nissan, told Bloomberg Television on Wednesday. “When we are seeing retail growing, we can be pretty sure that within three months, we will see wholesale coming back to a position better than the previous year.”
ENERGY
Shell to sell Australia unit
Global energy giant Shell yesterday announced that it was selling its last remaining Australian refinery to focus on more sizeable assets abroad, a move that threatens 470 jobs. Shell Australia, the local arm of Royal Dutch Shell, said it would put its 120,000 barrel-per-day Geelong refinery in Victoria on the market in line with its new Australian strategy focusing on retail and bulk fuels.
ENERGY
Turkey may pick Mitsubishi
Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and France’s Areva are expected to win a US$22 billion contract to build a nuclear power plant in Turkey, the Nikkei Shimbun said yesterday. Under the expected order, Mitsubishi and Areva will build four pressurized water reactors with a combined output of 4.5 million kilowatts in Sinop on the Black Sea, the newspaper said. Construction of the country’s second nuclear power plant is to begin in 2017, with the first reactor coming on line by 2023, it said. France’s GDF Suez will operate the facility, while a Japan-Turkey joint venture will sell the power to local utilities, it added.
MEDIA
Bertelsmann to sell RTL
German media giant Bertelsmann yesterday said it would cut its stake in television and broadcasting giant RTL by selling shares on the stock exchange. The company said the transaction would result in a significant increase of the free float in RTL Group shares, with Bertelsmann maintaining a majority of at least 75 percent. Bertelsmann currently holds a stake of 92.3 percent in RTL, with 7.7 percent in free float.
BYPASSING CHINA TARIFFS: In the first five months of this year, Foxconn sent US$4.4bn of iPhones to the US from India, compared with US$3.7bn in the whole of last year Nearly all the iPhones exported by Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) from India went to the US between March and last month, customs data showed, far above last year’s average of 50 percent and a clear sign of Apple Inc’s efforts to bypass high US tariffs imposed on China. The numbers, being reported by Reuters for the first time, show that Apple has realigned its India exports to almost exclusively serve the US market, when previously the devices were more widely distributed to nations including the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. During March to last month, Foxconn, known as Hon Hai Precision Industry
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and the University of Tokyo (UTokyo) yesterday announced the launch of the TSMC-UTokyo Lab to promote advanced semiconductor research, education and talent development. The lab is TSMC’s first laboratory collaboration with a university outside Taiwan, the company said in a statement. The lab would leverage “the extensive knowledge, experience, and creativity” of both institutions, the company said. It is located in the Asano Section of UTokyo’s Hongo, Tokyo, campus and would be managed by UTokyo faculty, guided by directors from UTokyo and TSMC, the company said. TSMC began working with UTokyo in 2019, resulting in 21 research projects,
Ashton Hall’s morning routine involves dunking his head in iced Saratoga Spring Water. For the company that sells the bottled water — Hall’s brand of choice for drinking, brushing his teeth and submerging himself — that is fantastic news. “We’re so thankful to this incredible fitness influencer called Ashton Hall,” Saratoga owner Primo Brands Corp’s CEO Robbert Rietbroek said on an earnings call after Hall’s morning routine video went viral. “He really helped put our brand on the map.” Primo Brands, which was not affiliated with Hall when he made his video, is among the increasing number of companies benefiting from influencer
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) yesterday expressed a downbeat view about the prospects of humanoid robots, given high manufacturing costs and a lack of target customers. Despite rising demand and high expectations for humanoid robots, high research-and-development costs and uncertain profitability remain major concerns, Lam told reporters following the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Taoyuan. “Since it seems a bit unworthy to use such high-cost robots to do household chores, I believe robots designed for specific purposes would be more valuable and present a better business opportunity,” Lam said Instead of investing in humanoid robots, Quanta has opted to invest
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