BANKING
US lender to sell CCB stake
Bank of America Merrill Lynch said on Tuesday it had agreed to sell its stake in China Construction Bank (CCB, 中國建設銀行) to the bank, exiting an investment it made eight years ago. The US lender said it will sell approximately 2 billion shares, or 1 percent of all outstanding shares in CCB, China’s second-biggest bank, confirming earlier reports. The statement did not provide the financial details of the sale, but at a reported price range for the shares of HK$5.63 to HK$5.81, the sale would bring in between US$1.45 billion and US$1.5 billion.
CREDIT RATINGS
S&P alleges US retaliation
Standard & Poor’s says the US government sued the rating agency as “retaliation” for its downgrade of the country’s credit rating. S&P, a unit of McGraw Hill Cos, said in a court filing on Tuesday that its opinions were independent and based on a good-faith assessment of the performance of residential mortgages during a tumultuous time in the market. The US Department of Justice filed civil charges against the rating agency in February and is seeking US$5 billion in penalties. In 2011, the rating agency downgraded the US government’s long-term credit rating one notch to “AA+” following a standoff in Congress over whether to raise the US’ borrowing limit. It reaffirmed the country’s “AA+” rating in June and upgraded its outlook to “stable” from “negative.”
INTERNET
LinkedIn plans shares sale
LinkedIn Corp, the world’s biggest professional networking Web site, filed to raise about US$1 billion in a stock sale after a fivefold surge in its shares since its initial public offering in 2011. The company plans to sell 4.17 million shares of its Class A stock, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday. While the price has not been determined, LinkedIn estimated it will raise US$1 billion based on a closing stock price of US$240.04 on Friday last week. The Mountain View, California-based company last raised money in November 2011 in a US$701.5 million offering. As in that sale, LinkedIn said the cash will be used for working capital, product development and possibly to make strategic acquisitions or investments.
CHINA
Services hit five-month high
Growth in China’s services sector hit a five-month high last month, underpinned by optimism over government policy measures, a private survey showed, the latest evidence that the world’s second-largest economy may have avoided a sharp slowdown. The Markit/HSBC Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) climbed to 52.8 last month, up from July’s 51.3 and the highest since March, the survey showed yesterday. The data came on the heels of three other PMI surveys this week that pointed to a pick-up in activity at factories and service firms.
COMMUNICATONS
Apple sends invitations
Apple Inc on Tuesday sent official invitations to an event on Tuesday next week at which it is expected to unveil the latest version of the iPhone, possibly in colors other than its trademark black and white. “This should brighten everyone’s day,” the typically cryptic invitation read, under a graphic depicting pastel-colored circles surrounding a stark white Apple logo. Apple said in the invitation it will host a breakfast and presentation at its Cupertino, California headquarters. The company did not specify as to what the presentation will be about.
Charming US President Donald Trump one week, angering China the next, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has had a busy start and is riding high in the polls, all on a few hours of sleep a night. However, the honeymoon might end soon for the Margaret Thatcher-admiring leader if a spat with China escalates further and she fails to keep inflation in check. “I believe Prime Minister Takaichi will surely do what she needs to do, so I trust her,” Kozue Otsuka, 50, told reporters at a festival this week for business owners seeking good fortune. While buying a lucky kumade rake featuring
TECH TITANS: Amazon’s latest chip joins Google in competing for the 90 percent market share held by Nvidia, which claims it is ‘a generation ahead of the industry’ Amazon Web Services (AWS) on Tuesday launched its in-house-built Trainium3 artificial intelligence (AI) chip, marking a significant push to compete with Nvidia Corp in the lucrative market for AI computing power. The move intensifies competition in the AI chip market, where Nvidia dominates with an estimated 80 to 90 percent market share for products used in training large language models that power the likes of ChatGPT. Google last week caused tremors in the industry when it was reported that Facebook-parent Meta Platforms Inc would employ Google AI chips in data centers, signaling new competition for Nvidia. This followed the release last month of
INSULATED: The company said it is less exposed to global complications, as it has built a strong footprint worldwide, and has multiple sources of rare earths and raw minerals Merck Group yesterday said it would ramp up production next year at its new flagship facility in Kaohsiung’s Lujhu District (路竹) to satisfy growing demand for advanced semiconductor materials and specialty gases, and to address supply resilience issues amid mounting geopolitical risks. Merck made the remarks during a news conference before the inauguration of its 500 million euros (US$582.1 million) facility, which is also to supply other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, it said. Merck executive board deputy chair and electronics CEO Kai Beckmann told reporters the company adopted a “local-for-local” strategy about seven years ago to address the cycle time of
Two companies wholly owned by the daughter of the founder of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) on Monday reported to the Taiwan Stock Exchange that they would dispose of all of the Hon Hai shares they hold. In filings with the exchange, Hong Wei Investment Co (鋐維) said it would sell the 2.771 million Hon Hai shares it holds and Frontier Investment Corp (承鋒投資) said it would sell its 2.409 million Hon Hai shares from tomorrow until Jan. 3 next year. The two companies are wholly owned and chaired by Shirley Gou (郭曉玲), the eldest daughter of Hon Hai founder Terry
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