PHARMACEUTICALS
Sanofi, Actelion near deal
Sanofi is in advanced talks to acquire Actelion Ltd, according to people with knowledge of the matter, in a deal for the Swiss drugmaker that could be announced as soon as next week. The companies are discussing a price of about US$275 per Actelion share, the people said. That price may include a contingent value right, or CVR, for Actelion shareholders, they said, which would pay out depending on the future performance of certain pipeline drugs. While Sanofi executives are keen to devise a structure that both parties can agree on, no deal has been reached and the talks may still fall apart, they said.
INSURANCE
Allianz eyes Assicurazioni
Allianz SE, Europe’s largest insurer, is in discussions with Assicurazioni Generali SpA, people familiar with the matter said. France accounts for about 15 percent of Generali’s gross written premiums, its third-largest market after Italy and Germany. Buying Generali’s French unit would add more than 11 billion euros (US$11.5 billion) in premiums to Allianz’s business in the country. That would bring Allianz closer in size to the top three insurers in France, where the German firm is currently the fourth-largest property and casualty insurer and No. 8 in life and health.
INTERNET
Ezubao fraud trial starts
Criminal prosecution of 26 people involved in China’s allegedly biggest online fraud — a nearly 60 billion yuan (US$8.64 billion) case involving online peer-to-peer lender Ezubao (e租寶) — has started in Beijing, Xinhua news agency reported yesterday. Ten individuals, along with Ezubao’s parent companies, are charged with fraudulent fundraising, the news agency said. Sixteen other individuals face charges of illegally taking public deposits. Other charges include smuggling precious metals, illegal possession of weapons and undocumented border crossings, Xinhua said. Ezubao collapsed in February, with executives saying the company was “a complete Ponzi scheme.”
ENVIRONMENT
Canada bans asbestos
Once the world’s top producer of asbestos, Canada on Thursday said it would ban the heat-resistant fibrous mineral that is woven into building and other materials, but which has been found to cause cancer. In a statement, government ministers of health, science and the environment said the “comprehensive ban” will prohibit the “manufacture, use, import and export of asbestos,” starting in 2018. This comes after Ottawa in 2012 lifted its longtime opposition to listing asbestos as a hazardous material under the UN Rotterdam Convention, following the closure of its last two asbestos mines. Nearly 60 countries have banned asbestos, but not China, Russia, India, or Brazil. The US has a partial ban in place.
GREECE
Pension handout approved
Greek lawmakers on Thursday approved a pension handout that has set the nation on a collision course with hardline European creditors who accuse the struggling eurozone member of defiance. A total of 196 lawmakers out of 257 present from across the party divide approved the bill deepening a row that has also brought simmering EU disputes over austerity to the fore. The handout measure, announced by under-pressure Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras last week, earmarks 617 million euros for a one-off payment to poor pensioners.
Anna Bhobho, a 31-year-old housewife from rural Zimbabwe, was once a silent observer in her home, excluded from financial and family decisionmaking in the deeply patriarchal society. Today, she is a driver of change in her village, thanks to an electric tricycle she owns. In many parts of rural sub-Saharan Africa, women have long been excluded from mainstream economic activities such as operating public transportation. However, three-wheelers powered by green energy are reversing that trend, offering financial opportunities and a newfound sense of importance. “My husband now looks up to me to take care of a large chunk of expenses,
SECTOR LEADER: TSMC can increase capacity by as much as 20 percent or more in the advanced node part of the foundry market by 2030, an analyst said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to lead its peers in the advanced 2-nanometer process technology, despite competition from Samsung Electronics Co and Intel Corp, TrendForce Corp analyst Joanne Chiao (喬安) said. TSMC’s sophisticated products and its large production scale are expected to allow the company to continue dominating the global 2-nanometer process market this year, Chiao said. The world’s largest contract chipmaker is scheduled to begin mass production of chips made on the 2-nanometer process in its Hsinchu fab in the second half of this year. It would also hold a ceremony on Monday next week to
TECH CLUSTER: The US company’s new office is in the Shalun Smart Green Energy Science City, a new AI industry base and cybersecurity hub in southern Taiwan US chip designer Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) yesterday launched an office in Tainan’s Gueiren District (歸仁), marking a significant milestone in the development of southern Taiwan’s artificial intelligence (AI) industry, the Tainan City Government said in a statement. AMD Taiwan general manager Vincent Chern (陳民皓) presided over the opening ceremony for the company’s new office at the Shalun Smart Green Energy Science City (沙崙智慧綠能科學城), a new AI industry base and cybersecurity hub in southern Taiwan. Facilities in the new office include an information processing center, and a research and development (R&D) center, the Tainan Economic Development Bureau said. The Ministry
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday signed a letter of intent with Alaska Gasline Development Corp (AGDC), expressing an interest to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) and invest in the latter’s Alaska LNG project, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement. Under the agreement, CPC is to participate in the project’s upstream gas investment to secure stable energy resources for Taiwan, the ministry said. The Alaska LNG project is jointly promoted by AGDC and major developer Glenfarne Group LLC, as Alaska plans to export up to 20 million tonnes of LNG annually from 2031. It involves constructing an 1,290km
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