ENERGY
Iran’s London meet canceled
Iran on Saturday canceled a London conference to promote new contracts for global oil companies, two weeks after economic sanctions were lifted, because the British government had not issued visas to Iranian delegates, an official told the weekly Iranian magazine Seda. The London conference was proposed in February 2014, when Iran announced it would be designing new contracts for foreign investors. It had already been postponed four times. The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office did not have an immediate comment on the Iranian visas.
FOOD AND DRINK
Coke takes Nigerian stake
Coca-Cola says it has taken a 40 percent stake in a Nigerian company that makes snacks and dairy and juice drinks. The world’s biggest beverage maker says the agreement will allow it to increase its ownership of Chi Ltd to 100 percent within three years, pending regulatory approvals. Coke and Chi’s parent company, Tropical General Investments Group, have also agreed to explore other opportunities in the region. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The companies say the deal will strengthen Chi by giving it access to Coke’s distribution and production capabilities.
MACROECONOMICS
EU open to gasoline tax
European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis has suggested he was open to German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble’s proposal for a special tax on gasoline in EU member states to finance refugee-related costs. In comments published on Saturday by the German magazine Der Spiegel, Dombrovskis said he agreed with Schaeuble’s call for “innovative European concepts to cope with the refugee crisis.” Schaeuble did not specify how high the additional tax on gasoline should be and whether Brussels or the EU member states would be would be in charge of collecting it.
BANKING
Share owner cancels sale
A shareholder in First Gulf Bank PJSC, the Abu Dhabi-based bank partly owned by the government and the Al Nahyan ruling family, canceled a share sale valued at about 1.2 billion dirhams (US$330 million), according to people familiar with the matter. The share owner wanted to use the proceeds to pay off a margin loan — a vehicle often backed by shares where the borrower agrees to pay extra if the collateral’s value declines, the people said. Deutsche Bank AG was the sole bookrunner on the sale of 120.6 million shares, or about 2.7 percent of the lender, according to a term sheet obtained by Bloomberg News, which did not name the seller.
BANKING
Italian merger likely
Banco Popolare SC’s chief executive officer said he is confident the Italian cooperative lender can reach a merger agreement with competitor Banca Popolare di Milano Scarl in a deal that would create Italy’s third-largest lender and probably trigger a round of combinations in the industry. Pier Francesco Saviotti on Saturday told reporters at a financial conference in Turin that a deal probably can be made soon, though there is no certainty of an agreement. His counterpart at Popolare Milano, Giuseppe Castagna, said: “February should be the month for a deal,” though he emphasized that he was still open to discussions with rival Unione di Banche Italiane SpA as well as Banco Popolare.
PROTECTIONISM: China hopes to help domestic chipmakers gain more market share while preparing local tech companies for the possibility of more US sanctions Beijing is stepping up pressure on Chinese companies to buy locally produced artificial intelligence (AI) chips instead of Nvidia Corp products, part of the nation’s effort to expand its semiconductor industry and counter US sanctions. Chinese regulators have been discouraging companies from purchasing Nvidia’s H20 chips, which are used to develop and run AI models, sources familiar with the matter said. The policy has taken the form of guidance rather than an outright ban, as Beijing wants to avoid handicapping its own AI start-ups and escalating tensions with the US, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the
Taipei is today suspending its US$2.5 trillion stock market as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed-income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Yesterday, schools and offices were closed in several cities and counties in southern and eastern Taiwan, including in the key industrial port city of Kaohsiung. Taiwan, which started canceling flights, ship sailings and some train services earlier this week, has wind and rain advisories in place for much of the island. It regularly experiences typhoons, and in July shut offices and schools as
Her white-gloved, waistcoated uniform impeccable, 22-year-old Hazuki Okuno boards a bullet train replica to rehearse the strict protocols behind the smooth operation of a Japanese institution turning 60 Tuesday. High-speed Shinkansen trains began running between Tokyo and Osaka on Oct. 1, 1964, heralding a new era for rail travel as Japan grew into an economic superpower after World War II. The service remains integral to the nation’s economy and way of life — so keeping it dazzlingly clean, punctual and accident-free is a serious job. At a 10-story, state-of-the-art staff training center, Okuno shouted from the window and signaled to imaginary colleagues, keeping
FALLING BEHIND: Samsung shares have declined more than 20 percent this year, as the world’s largest chipmaker struggles in key markets and plays catch-up to rival SK Hynix Samsung Electronics Co is laying off workers in Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand as part of a plan to reduce its global headcount by thousands of jobs, sources familiar with the situation said. The layoffs could affect about 10 percent of its workforces in those markets, although the numbers for each subsidiary might vary, said one of the sources, who asked not to be named because the matter is private. Job cuts are planned for other overseas subsidiaries and could reach 10 percent in certain markets, the source said. The South Korean company has about 147,000 in staff overseas, more than half
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