BANKING
Credit Suisse faces lawsuit
Credit Suisse Group AG was ordered to face a lawsuit by New York’s attorney general accusing the bank of fraud in sales of mortgage-backed securities before the recession. A New York State Supreme Court judge rejected the bank’s request to dismiss the lawsuit, which demands as much as US$10 billion in damages. Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s suit was valid and he demonstrated the bank might have engaged in misconduct, Judge Marcy Friedman said in Thursday’s decision. The ruling could strengthen Schneiderman’s hand in punishing other banks in the future over liability for the financial crisis. “We will appeal this particular decision and continue to defend ourselves in this case,” Credit Suisse spokesman Drew Benson said in an e-mail yesterday.
ELECTRONICS
Prosecutors raid LG office
South Korean prosecutors raided the Seoul headquarters of LG Electronics yesterday, following allegations that the firm’s executives vandalized the washing machines of their rival Samsung Electronics at a trade fair in Germany, company officials said. Samsung had filed a lawsuit accusing the LG executives of defamation, property damage and obstruction of business, and said LG home appliance division president Jo Seong-jin was among those who damaged machines displayed at September’s event in Berlin. Investigators seized documents and computer hard disks during the raid on LG headquarters, Yonhap news agency said, adding that the company’s home appliance factory in the southern city of Changwon was also searched. Samsung has also accused LG of making slanderous claims that its washing machines were defective.
BANKING
Japan Post announces IPO
Japan Post Holdings Co yesterday confirmed a long-awaited plan to list its shares in Tokyo, with the government-owned firm set for what could be one of the world’s biggest share sales. The parent company, along with its insurance and banking units, is to launch an initial public offering (IPO) in the middle of the next fiscal year, which begins in April, but executives declined to comment on the size of the initial sale. Plans for the IPO come amid hopes that starting to privatize what is effectively the world’s biggest bank could boost investor sentiment and spur efforts to cut red tape in Japan’s highly regulated economy. Company executives said much as 50 percent of the holding company and its financial units could ultimately be sold off, with media reporting that its combined market capitalization could reach ￥8 trillion (US$67 billion). Japanese media earlier said the size of the sale could ultimately rival that of mobile phone giant NTT Docomo’s ￥7 trillion IPO in 1998, the country’s biggest share sale to date.
TRADE
India raises palm oil duties
India, the world’s biggest buyer of palm oil, has raised import duties on crude and refined varieties in a move to protect farmers from declining oilseed prices. The tax on crude palm oil was raised to 7.5 percent from 2.5 percent, while the duty on refined grades was increased to 15 percent from 10 percent, the Central Board of Excise and Customs said on its Web site in a notice dated Dec. 24. The increase may counter the benefits shippers were expecting to gain from the scrapping of export taxes by Indonesia and Malaysia, which account for about 86 percent of world supply.
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) is expected to share his views about the artificial intelligence (AI) industry’s prospects during his speech at the company’s 37th anniversary ceremony, as AI servers have become a new growth engine for the equipment manufacturing service provider. Lam’s speech is much anticipated, as Quanta has risen as one of the world’s major AI server suppliers. The company reported a 30 percent year-on-year growth in consolidated revenue to NT$1.41 trillion (US$43.35 billion) last year, thanks to fast-growing demand for servers, especially those with AI capabilities. The company told investors in November last year that
Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) yesterday said it plans to ship its new 1 megawatt charging systems for electric trucks and buses in the first half of next year at the earliest. The new charging piles, which deliver up to 1 megawatt of charging power, are designed for heavy-duty electric vehicles, and support a maximum current of 1,500 amperes and output of 1,250 volts, Delta said in a news release. “If everything goes smoothly, we could begin shipping those new charging systems as early as in the first half of next year,” a company official said. The new
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