LUXURY GOODS
LVMH sells Donna Karan
French luxury goods group LVMH said yesterday it had sold ready-to-wear group Donna Karan International to US clothing manufacturer G-III Apparel in a transaction that valued the company at US$650 million. The move would see ownership of the Donna Karan and DKNY brands return to New York where they were launched by the US designer in the 1980s. G-III also owns the Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger labels. LVMH, the world’s largest luxury goods group, owns fabled brands such as Dior, Givenchy, Louis Vuitton, Moet champagne and Hennessy cognac.
BANKING
HSBC in Blom Bank talks
HSBC Holdings PLC has been in talks with Lebanon’s Blom Bank SAL over the possible sale of its banking business in the nation as the London-based lender cuts costs. There was no certainty that a binding agreement would be reached and HSBC would make a further announcement if a deal has been agreed, HSBC said in an e-mailed statement yesterday, without giving further details. HSBC Lebanon was established in 1946 and it operates three branches in the nation, employing about 200 people. It offers a full range of banking services to international, retail and corporate clients, the bank said in the statement.
HEALTHCARE
Philips profit beats estimates
Royal Philips NV, the Dutch healthcare equipment maker, reported second-quarter profit that rose more than expected on cost savings and said earnings would improve in the second half of the year. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes and amortization rose 8.6 percent to 544 million euros (US$596 million), the Amsterdam-based company said in a statement yesterday. That beat the 519 million euros average estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. The company maintained its full-year outlook. Faced with stiffer competition from Chinese manufacturers, Philips has sought to lower costs, add contracts for services and incorporate more technology into its healthcare products, which include heart monitors and scanners.
INSURANCE
Hiscox unveils Brexit plan
Lloyd’s of London underwriter Hiscox Ltd said it would set up a new EU-based insurance company if it is needed to weather the possible impact of Britain’s decision to leave the EU. Insurers are ahead of banks when it comes to making public their Brexit contingency plans, with many keen to reassure clients they have plans in place should they lose their access to the EU. Hiscox chief executive Bronislaw Edmund Masojada said that it was “business as usual” for insurers and that the company did not have to take any decisions until 2018.
ENERGY
Oil prices extend losses
Crude oil prices dipped yesterday, extending last week’s losses on fresh worries about a global supply glut as more US rigs come back online and the US dollar strengthens. “Crude oil markets have been under pressure as oil supplies have started growing with the resumption of output from the capacity lost due to wildfires in the Canadian oil sands,” EY oil and gas head Sanjeev Gupta said in a note, referring to blazes that hit the nation’s key oil fields. Gupta said media reports of increased production from Iraq have also added to market pressure. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate was down US$0.17 at US$44.02 a barrel, a new two-month low, and Brent crude was US$0.20 lower at US$45.49.
SEEKING CLARITY: Washington should not adopt measures that create uncertainties for ‘existing semiconductor investments,’ TSMC said referring to its US$165 billion in the US Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) told the US that any future tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors could reduce demand for chips and derail its pledge to increase its investment in Arizona. “New import restrictions could jeopardize current US leadership in the competitive technology industry and create uncertainties for many committed semiconductor capital projects in the US, including TSMC Arizona’s significant investment plan in Phoenix,” the chipmaker wrote in a letter to the US Department of Commerce. TSMC issued the warning in response to a solicitation for comments by the department on a possible tariff on semiconductor imports by US President Donald Trump’s
‘FAILED EXPORT CONTROLS’: Jensen Huang said that Washington should maximize the speed of AI diffusion, because not doing so would give competitors an advantage Nvidia Corp cofounder and chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) yesterday criticized the US government’s restrictions on exports of artificial intelligence (AI) chips to China, saying that the policy was a failure and would only spur China to accelerate AI development. The export controls gave China the spirit, motivation and government support to accelerate AI development, Huang told reporters at the Computex trade show in Taipei. The competition in China is already intense, given its strong software capabilities, extensive technology ecosystems and work efficiency, he said. “All in all, the export controls were a failure. The facts would suggest it,” he said. “The US
The government has launched a three-pronged strategy to attract local and international talent, aiming to position Taiwan as a new global hub following Nvidia Corp’s announcement that it has chosen Taipei as the site of its Taiwan headquarters. Nvidia cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Monday last week announced during his keynote speech at the Computex trade show in Taipei that the Nvidia Constellation, the company’s planned Taiwan headquarters, would be located in the Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei. Huang’s decision to establish a base in Taiwan is “primarily due to Taiwan’s talent pool and its strength in the semiconductor
French President Emmanuel Macron has expressed gratitude to Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) for its plan to invest approximately 250 million euros (US$278 million) in a joint venture in France focused on the semiconductor and space industries. On his official X account on Tuesday, Macron thanked Hon Hai, also known globally as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), for its investment projects announced at Choose France, a flagship economic summit held on Monday to attract foreign investment. In the post, Macron included a GIF displaying the national flag of the Republic of China (Taiwan), as he did for other foreign investors, including China-based
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