ECONOMY
Japan sees output decline
Japan’s industrial production declined more than economists forecast in another sign of sluggishness for the world’s third-largest economy as it struggles to recover. Output declined 2.3 percent in May from April when it rose 0.5 percent, the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry reported yesterday. The weak reading on production, along with Wednesday’s report that retail sales were flat in May and data showing another monthly drop in exports, adds to concern that Japan’s recovery is faltering after the economy returned to growth in the first quarter.
ECONOMY
Argentina reports growth
Argentina’s economy grew 0.5 percent in the first quarter, the authorities said on Wednesday, the first such figure since the conservative government overhauled the controversial state statistics system on taking power. The preliminary growth estimate published by the national statistics institute INDEC beat forecasts by private analysts. They had expected a contraction of about 1 percent from the same period a year earlier.
AGROCHEMICALS
Monsanto seeks raised bid
US agrochemicals giant Monsanto Co is hoping Bayer AG will increase its takeover offer, but the higher price could prove a bitter pill to swallow for the German group’s shareholders, the business daily Handelsblatt reported yesterday. “The Americans are suggesting an increase in the offer price of between US$10 and US$15 per share from US$122 at the moment,” the newspaper said, quoting unnamed sources. That would mean that the German company would have to put an additional US$5 billion to US$7 billion on the table, compared with the current offer price of US$62 billion, Handelsblatt said.
INTERNET
Belgium loses Facebook case
The Belgian data protection authority on Wednesday lost a legal battle with Facebook Inc in which it sought to stop the social network from tracking the online activities of non-Facebook users in Belgium who visit the social network’s pages. The Belgian Privacy Commission said the Brussels Appeals Court had dismissed its case on the grounds that the regulator has no jurisdiction over Facebook, which has its European headquarters in Ireland. The US company has staunchly maintained that only the Irish Data Protection Commissioner has jurisdiction over how it uses Europeans’ data.
TECHNOLOGY
Intel, Mobileye join forces
Intel Corp is working with Mobileye NV to develop self-driving car technology for BMW AG, people familiar with the matter said. Senior executives from each company are to hold an event today to discuss the driverless-vehicle initiative, said the people, who asked not to be named because the details are private. Jerusalem-based Mobileye has been an early leader in providing cameras, software and other components that allow vehicles to see the world around them.
BANKING
CIBC to buy PrivateBancorp
The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) on Wednesday made a US$3.8 billion offer to buy Chicago-based investment bank PrivateBancorp as it looks to expand in the US. CIBC expects to pay US$1.5 billion in cash and issue 29.5 million shares to finance the acquisition, it said in a statement. PrivateBancorp operates in 12 US states and manages assets totaling US$17.7 billion. The takeover bid is expected to be finalized early next year.
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday said that its research institute has launched its first advanced artificial intelligence (AI) large language model (LLM) using traditional Chinese, with technology assistance from Nvidia Corp. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), said the LLM, FoxBrain, is expected to improve its data analysis capabilities for smart manufacturing, and electric vehicle and smart city development. An LLM is a type of AI trained on vast amounts of text data and uses deep learning techniques, particularly neural networks, to process and generate language. They are essential for building and improving AI-powered servers. Nvidia provided assistance
STILL HOPEFUL: Delayed payment of NT$5.35 billion from an Indian server client sent its earnings plunging last year, but the firm expects a gradual pickup ahead Asustek Computer Inc (華碩), the world’s No. 5 PC vendor, yesterday reported an 87 percent slump in net profit for last year, dragged by a massive overdue payment from an Indian cloud service provider. The Indian customer has delayed payment totaling NT$5.35 billion (US$162.7 million), Asustek chief financial officer Nick Wu (吳長榮) told an online earnings conference. Asustek shipped servers to India between April and June last year. The customer told Asustek that it is launching multiple fundraising projects and expected to repay the debt in the short term, Wu said. The Indian customer accounted for less than 10 percent to Asustek’s
‘DECENT RESULTS’: The company said it is confident thanks to an improving world economy and uptakes in new wireless and AI technologies, despite US uncertainty Pegatron Corp (和碩) yesterday said it plans to build a new server manufacturing factory in the US this year to address US President Donald Trump’s new tariff policy. That would be the second server production base for Pegatron in addition to the existing facilities in Taoyuan, the iPhone assembler said. Servers are one of the new businesses Pegatron has explored in recent years to develop a more balanced product lineup. “We aim to provide our services from a location in the vicinity of our customers,” Pegatron president and chief executive officer Gary Cheng (鄭光治) told an online earnings conference yesterday. “We
LEAK SOURCE? There would be concern over the possibility of tech leaks if TSMC were to form a joint venture to operate Intel’s factories, an analyst said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday stayed mum after a report said that the chipmaker has pitched chip designers Nvidia Corp, Advanced Micro Devices Inc and Broadcom Inc about taking a stake in a joint venture to operate Intel Corp’s factories. Industry sources told the Central News Agency (CNA) that the possibility of TSMC proposing to operate Intel’s wafer fabs is low, as the Taiwanese chipmaker has always focused on its core business. There is also concern over possible technology leaks if TSMC were to form a joint venture to operate Intel’s factories, Concord Securities Co (康和證券) analyst Kerry Huang (黃志祺)
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