VIETNAM
New airport planned
Lawmakers yesterday voted to build a controversial new US$16 billion airport near Ho Chi Minh City, as the country vies to become one of the world’s busiest aviation hubs. The project aims to ease airport congestion in the business hub and cater to an ambitious 100 million passengers and 5 million tonnes of cargo a year by 2050. If all goes to plan, the proposed airport in neighboring Dong Nai Province would turn the nation into a regional aviation hub.
? SMARTPHONES
Bacteria-free handset touted
BlackBerry might design a bacteria-free smartphone as it bids to become the secure mobile choice for the healthcare industry, chief executive John Chen (程守宗) said. “Healthcare workers have to be worried about one less thing to wipe down [with a bacteria-free handset],” Chen told reporters on Wednesday at a hospital north of Toronto where BlackBerry unveiled a clinical alerts pilot project. The Canadian mobile manufacturer is partnering with ThoughtWire and Cisco Systems Inc to provide nurses and doctors in a Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital unit with a portable messaging and alert system. BlackBerry is to provide the software and devices. A study published in the Journal of Applied Microbiology found that about 20 percent to 30 percent of germs transfer between a phone and a fingertip.
TEXTILES
Garment workers on strike
More than 300 Chinese workers at a garment factory that supplies international brands such as Uniqlo have been protesting for about two weeks what they say is a unilateral decision by the management to close down. The strike is one of more than 1,000 collective actions since January by Chinese workers, who are increasingly turning to group actions in fighting for their rights. Workers at Shenzhen Artigas Clothing & Leatherware said the management is forcing them to move to another factory and they demand a proper negotiation for the relocation. Officials at Lever Style Ltd, which manages Artigas, have refused to comment, while Uniqlo Co has issued a statement urging for a peaceful resolution. The Japanese retailer said it could terminate its contract with the supplier if the matter is unresolved. Workers said they would like to receive proper payouts, including back payments for social security, overtime work and unused holidays.
RETAIL
H&M shares fall
Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M) said that the rising US dollar would have a “very negative” effect on garment costs in the second half, after the greenback drove second-quarter profitability to the lowest level in nine years. Gross margin narrowed to 59.4 percent in the three months through last month, Stockholm-based H&M said yesterday, missing the 59.8 percent estimate of analysts polled by Bloomberg. The shares fell the most in more than a month in early Stockholm trading and were down 2.2 percent to 332.50 krona at 9:03am. The vendor of US$9.95 beach dresses and US$12.95 espadrille sandals said that its purchasing costs would be “substantially increased” because of the US dollar in the second half, as Asian garment costs are often linked to the greenback. That trend has hurt other apparel retailers like Associated British Foods PLC’s Primark chain. The currency has strengthened 7.9 percent against the euro and 5.5 percent against the krona this year.
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
Chizuko Kimura has become the first female sushi chef in the world to win a Michelin star, fulfilling a promise she made to her dying husband to continue his legacy. The 54-year-old Japanese chef regained the Michelin star her late husband, Shunei Kimura, won three years ago for their Sushi Shunei restaurant in Paris. For Shunei Kimura, the star was a dream come true. However, the joy was short-lived. He died from cancer just three months later in June 2022. He was 65. The following year, the restaurant in the heart of Montmartre lost its star rating. Chizuko Kimura insisted that the new star is still down
While China’s leaders use their economic and political might to fight US President Donald Trump’s trade war “to the end,” its army of social media soldiers are embarking on a more humorous campaign online. Trump’s tariff blitz has seen Washington and Beijing impose eye-watering duties on imports from the other, fanning a standoff between the economic superpowers that has sparked global recession fears and sent markets into a tailspin. Trump says his policy is a response to years of being “ripped off” by other countries and aims to bring manufacturing to the US, forcing companies to employ US workers. However, China’s online warriors
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