UNITED STATES
Cuomo to lead Cuba mission
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo will lead one of the first trade missions to Cuba from the US since the Obama administration loosened travel and trade restrictions on the Communist-ruled Caribbean island, his office confirmed on Saturday. The Democratic governor will be promoting an initiative which seeks to attract foreign investment to New York State, spokeswoman Melissa DeRosa said. Cuomo will be among the first high-profile US politicians to visit Cuba since last month’s policy shift. Details of the trip will be released “at the appropriate time,” his office said. Separately, the US and Cuba are holding high-level talks in Havana next week on normalizing ties.
ENTERTAINMENT
Disney bumps CEO’s pay
Walt Disney Co’s board handed chairman and CEO Bob Iger a 35 percent pay increase for delivering a record profit and stock price last year. Iger, who runs the world’s largest entertainment company, was already one of the US’ highest-paid executives. His compensation rose 35 percent to US$46.5 million last year, according to a filing on Friday. Disney stock has more than quadrupled in Iger’s nine years as CEO, and the board has twice extended his tenure. Iger, 63, received US$2.5 million in salary, unchanged from the previous year, according to the filing. He received a US$22.8 million bonus and US$17.3 million in stock, plus other items worth US$3.9 million. His pay dropped 15 percent in fiscal 2013 after the company failed to beat internal targets by as much as in the prior year.
MADAGASCAR
IMF urges economic reform
Madagascar’s economy showed early signs of recovery last year with growth estimated at 3 percent, which could rise to 5 percent this year, but political instability, weak institutions and weak governance are hurting prospects, the IMF said. The Indian Ocean island’s economy was battered after a 2009 coup that drove away donors and investors. A peaceful 2013 election has brought back some aid, but the nation is still struggling to impose stable government and economic reforms. However, the IMF said weak tax revenue meant spending on vital areas such as health and education was constrained, adding that funding fuel subsidies and the under-funded civil service pension fund were also imposing budgetary pressures. The IMF called for “an acceleration of economic and structural reforms to unleash Madagascar’s significant potential,” a demand that will be difficult to meet as long as politicians are haggling over who will be in the next cabinet.
PETROLEUM
SABIC net income plummets
Falling global oil prices dragged down the net income of Saudi petrochemical giant Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) by 29 percent in the fourth quarter, the company said yesterday. SABIC, the largest publicly traded firm in the Persian Gulf, reported net profit of 4.36 billion riyals (US$1.16 billion) for the three-month period ended last month. That compared with 6.16 billion riyals in the same quarter a year earlier. “The decrease in net income is mainly attributable to lower average sales prices, partially offset by lower costs for certain feedstocks [raw materials],” SABIC said in a statement. The result was lower than the mean estimate of 5.39 billion riyals forecast by seven analysts, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Full year net profit was 23.43 billion riyals, a drop of seven percent from the 25.28 billion reported the previous year.
The Fair Trade Commission’s (FTC) ongoing review of Grab Holdings Ltd’s US$600 million acquisition of Foodpanda Taiwan’s operations, announced on March 23, has taken on fresh urgency as industry experts warn that the transaction could embed significant Chinese cybersecurity vulnerabilities into Taiwan’s digital infrastructure through Grab’s deep ties to autonomous-driving firm WeRide (文遠知行). Less than 16 months after the FTC blocked Uber Eats’ direct attempt to acquire Foodpanda Taiwan — citing potential combined market shares of 80 to 90 percent — the emergence of Grab as the buyer has prompted questions about whether the same competitive harm is simply being rerouted
POWER BUILDUP: Powered by Nvidia’s B200 Blackwell chips, the data center would support MediaTek’s computing power demand and business growth, the company said Smartphone chip designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) yesterday launched a new artificial intelligence (AI) data center with a maximum capacity of 45 megawatts to meet its rising demand for computing power required to develop new advanced chips for AI applications. The company has completed the first-phase computing power buildup at the data center in Miaoli County’s Tongluo Township (銅鑼), providing 15 megawatts of capacity to support its research and development (R&D) capabilities, despite an industrywide shortage of key components, MediaTek said. Supply constraints have plagued a wide range of key components, including memory chips, solid-state drives, power supply units and central
IMAGE SENSORS: The Japanese company would be the controlling shareholder of the venture, with development and production lines to be set up in Kumamoto Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said it has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corp to create a joint venture to develop and produce next-generation images sensors. The partnership seeks to explore and address emerging opportunities in physical artificial intelligence (AI) applications, such as automotive and robotics, paving the way for innovations and expanded technological advancements, TSMC said in a statement. Sony would be the majority and controlling shareholder of the joint venture, the statement said, adding that the company would set up development and production lines in its newly constructed fab in Kumamoto Prefecture’s
The nation’s foreign exchange reserves climbed back above US$600 billion at the end of last month, as investment gains, currency valuation effects and renewed foreign inflows offset volatility seen earlier in the month, the central bank said yesterday. Reserves stood at US$602.49 billion, up US$5.6 billion from the previous month, the central bank said. The rebound reflected returns on reserve assets, fluctuations in major currencies against the US dollar and the central bank’s market operations aimed at maintaining orderly trading conditions, Department of Foreign Exchange Director-General Eugene Tsai (蔡炯民) said. Financial markets were volatile early last month, with foreign investors recording net purchases
RSS