REAL ESTATE
Prologis to buy KTR Capital
Prologis Inc, the world’s largest owner of industrial real estate, and Norway’s US$890 billion sovereign wealth fund agreed to buy KTR Capital Partners for US$5.9 billion to expand in key US markets. The purchase is to be made by Prologis US Logistics Venture, a partnership with Norges Bank Investment Management, the San Francisco-based company said on Sunday in a statement. The deal includes the assumption of about US$700 million in debt and the issuance of as much as US$230 million of common limited partnership units in Prologis LP to KTR. Prologis, with a market value of about US$22 billion, said the acquisition expands its position in southern California and Florida, New Jersey as well as Chicago, Seattle and Dallas. Warehouse properties have become attractive as global trade increases.
TRADE
China free-trade zones open
China is scheduled to launch three new free-trade zones today, state media said yesterday, building on a project that began in Shanghai to much fanfare but has so far undershot expectations. The free-trade zones are to be opened in the southern province of Guangdong, the northern port of Tianjin and the Chinese province of Fujian, the Web site of the People’s Daily reported. Each will cover about 120km2, China’s State Council said. China’s first free-trade zone, set up in Shanghai in September 2013, is also to be quadrupled in size, it said.
TRADE
Indonesia seeks trade deals
Indonesia is to aggressively pursue talks on free-trade agreements with countries such as South Korea and the three European Economic Area (EEA) nations, in its latest move to boost exports, a government official said yesterday. Exports from Southeast Asia’s largest economy have been hit by falling commodity prices. Last month, exports contracted 9.75 percent from last year, sliding for a sixth straight month. Indonesian Deputy Coordinating Minister for International Cooperation Rizal Affandi Lukman said the government was looking at ways to speed up talks on free-trade agreements with South Korea and the EEA countries: Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. “We’ve been negotiating with South Korea for two years and spending about the same time with the EEA-EFTA [European Free Trade Agreement]. Now we want to accelerate things aggressively and add more negotiations,” Lukman told reporters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum-East Asia. Lukman said Indonesia was also going to start a joint study group with Russia.
AUTOMAKERS
Volvo to place US plant
Volvo Car Group, owned by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co (吉利控股集團), is to make a decision on a site for its US plant within a few weeks. The Swedish carmaker is evaluating factors including logistics and the availability of labor and suppliers, Volvo chief executive officer Hakan Samuelsson said in an interview in Shanghai yesterday. “We have very few candidates left on the list,” he said at the Shanghai auto show, which opens to the public this week. “Within some weeks we will make the final decision.” Volvo said last month it plans to invest US$500 million to build its first auto factory in the US as part of its plans to revive sales following a plunge in demand over the past decade. The carmaker starts deliveries of the new XC90 sport-utility vehicle this quarter and plans to replace all its models within the next four years.
The domestic unit of the Chinese-owned, Dutch-headquartered chipmaker Nexperia BV will soon be able to produce semiconductors locally within China, according to two company sources. Nexperia is at the center of a global tug-of-war over critical semiconductor technology, with a Dutch court in February ordering a probe into alleged mismanagement at the company. The geopolitical tussle has disrupted supply chains, with some carmakers reportedly forced to cut production due to chip shortages. Local production would allow Nexperia’s domestic arm, Nexperia Semiconductors (China) Ltd (安世半導體中國), to bypass restrictions in place since October on the supply of silicon wafers — etched with tiny components to
Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab Holdings Ltd has applied for regulatory approval to acquire the Taiwan operations of Germany-based Delivery Hero SE's Foodpanda in a deal valued at about US$600 million. Grab submitted the filing to the Fair Trade Commission on Friday last week, with the transaction subject to regulatory review and approval, the company said in a statement yesterday. Its independent governance structure would help foster a healthy and competitive market in Taiwan if the deal is approved, Grab said. Grab, which is listed on the NASDAQ, said in the filing that US-based Uber Technologies Inc holds about 13 percent of
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday received government approval to deploy its advanced 3-nanometer (3nm) process at its second fab currently under construction in Japan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a news release. The ministry green-lit the plan for the facility in Kumamoto, which is scheduled to start installing equipment and come online in 2028 with a monthly production capacity of 15,000 12-inch wafers, the ministry said. The Department of Investment Review in June 2024 authorized a US$5.26 billion investment for the facility, slated to manufacture 6- to 12nm chips, significantly less advanced than 3nm process. At a meeting with
Taiwan’s food delivery market could undergo a major shift if Singapore-based Grab Holdings Ltd completes its planned acquisition of Delivery Hero SE’s Foodpanda business in Taiwan, industry experts said. Grab on Monday last week announced it would acquire Foodpanda’s Taiwan operations for US$600 million. The deal is expected to be finalized in the second half of this year, with Grab aiming to complete user migration to its platform by the first half of next year. A duopoly between Uber Eats and Foodpanda dominates Taiwan’s delivery market, a structure that has remained intact since the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) blocked Uber Technologies Inc’s
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