GAMBLING
Macau casino revenue falls
Macau casino revenue fell to the lowest in more than four years amid China’s slowing economy and a graft crackdown that deterred high-rollers. A surprise easing of Chinese travel restrictions to the territory might bring some relief. Gross gaming revenue last month fell 36.2 percent to 17.4 billion patacas (US$2.2 billion), according to data released by Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau. The decline last month has eased for a fourth straight month since February, when gaming revenue plunged 48.6 percent for the worst monthly drop on record. The year-to-date drop is 37 percent.
ENTERTAINMENT
Cirque du Soleil to be sold
Canada on Tuesday approved the sale of the government-owned Cirque du Soleil to a US investment fund and its Chinese partners, according to officials. US private equity firm TPG and China’s Fosun International Ltd (復星國際) bought the Quebec circus juggernaut for an undisclosed sum in April as the carnival looks to expand in Asia. Canadian Minister of Industry James Moore said the sale would benefit the nation economically, adding that Canadians would remain in key positions within the company.
INTERNET
Google wins YouTube battle
Google Inc on Tuesday won a legal victory over German performing rights organization Gema, which had sought to make the company’s video-sharing service YouTube pay each time users watched music videos by artists it represents. A Munich court rejected Gema’s demand that YouTube pay 0.37 euros per view of certain videos. In its claim, Gema had picked out a sample of 1,000 videos, which it said would cost YouTube about 1.6 million euros. The Munich court ruling, which has not yet been published in full, might still be appealed by Gema.
TRANSPORTATION
Asciano given takeover offer
Australian ports and rail operator Asciano Ltd yesterday said it had received an A$8.8 billion (US$6.8 billion) takeover offer from Canada-based Brookfield Infrastructure Group and was considering the proposal. Asciano said the cash and stock offer valued its shares at A$9.05. The proposal, subject to Brookfield’s due diligence, would be by scheme of arrangement, meaning only 50 percent of shareholders must support the deal for it to go ahead. It would also need the approval of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, and the Foreign Investment Review Board.
AUTOMAKERS
Hyundai’s sales decline
Hyundai Motor Co’s sales fell for a third straight month, dragged down by a slump in overseas deliveries as unfavorable currency-exchange rates undermine its ability to compete against Japanese automakers. Deliveries fell 1.2 percent to 408,026 vehicles last month from a year earlier, according to a regulatory filing yesterday. Overseas sales declined 2.2 percent to 345,224 units, while deliveries at home climbed 4.8 percent.
ECONOMY
Inflation rises in Indonesia
Inflation rose in Indonesia last month as tens of millions of Muslims observing the Islamic holy month spent extra cash on food, government data showed yesterday. The consumer price index rose 7.26 percent year-on-year, the government’s statistics agency said. Inflation in May was 7.15 percent. Despite inflation being higher than the previous month, last month’s figure was lower than that forecast by economists.
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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