BANKING
EU to probe ECB links
EU Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly on Friday said she has opened an investigation into ties European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi and his aides have with private banks, following a complaint from a research group. The non-governmental organization Corporate Europe Observatory filed the complaint over top ECB staff links to the G30, which brings together the leaders of both the public and private financial sector. O’Reilly said her office would ask the ECB to allow inspection of documents linked to the G30, as well as to meet with central bank officials to discuss aspects of the complaint. Her office is then likely to ask the ECB for a written response to the complaint.
NETHERLANDS
Agriculture exports hit record
Agricultural exports set a record last year at about 94 billion euros (US$100 billion), ensuring the country remains the world’s No. 2 exporter of such goods after the US. The Dutch Ministry of Agriculture on Friday announced the country of just 17 million people had exported about 85 billion euros of agricultural goods and about 9 billion euros in “materials, know-how and technology” in the sector. The bumper crop ensures the nation retains its place as Europe’s biggest exporter of agricultural goods, the statistics office said in a statement.
AUTOMAKERS
Ford income to be cut
Ford Motor Co said that a change in the way it values pension obligations would cut last year’s net income by US$2 billion. According to a regulatory filing, in 2015, Ford changed the way it measures pension gains and losses so they are counted in the year they occur. The company is to record a pretax pension charge of about US$3 billion for the year. It said the loss is a special item so it would not affect adjusted pretax profit. Ford still expects to meet guidance of about US$10.2 billion in adjusted pretax profit for last year.
AUTOPARTS
New Mexico to sue Takata
New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas is suing Japanese manufacturer Takata Corp and a long list of automakers in connection with the sale of cars with dangerous air bag inflators. The attorney general’s office said in a lawsuit filed on Friday that the manufacturers had a duty to ensure their products were safe and that concealment of air bag defects amounted to unfair, deceptive and unconscionable trade practices under New Mexico law. Takata already has agreed to pay US$1 billion in fines and restitution as part of plea agreement with the US Department of Justice over the years-long scheme to conceal the deadly defect in its inflators.
VIETNAM
Gambling ban to be lifted
Local gamblers are soon to be allowed into the nation’s casinos under a three-year pilot project. Under a decree signed by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc that takes effect in the middle of March, Vietnamese over 21 years of age with a monthly income of at least 10 million dong (US$441) are to be allowed in casinos. After three years, the government would decide whether to continue with the arrangement. There are about a dozen casinos in the nation, but only foreigners are allowed.
Taiwan’s exports soared 56 percent year-on-year to an all-time high of US$64.05 billion last month, propelled by surging global demand for artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance computing and cloud service infrastructure, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) called the figure an unexpected upside surprise, citing a wave of technology orders from overseas customers alongside the usual year-end shopping season for technology products. Growth is likely to remain strong this month, she said, projecting a 40 percent to 45 percent expansion on an annual basis. The outperformance could prompt the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and
Two Chinese chipmakers are attracting strong retail investor demand, buoyed by industry peer Moore Threads Technology Co’s (摩爾線程) stellar debut. The retail portion of MetaX Integrated Circuits (Shanghai) Co’s (上海沐曦) upcoming initial public offering (IPO) was 2,986 times oversubscribed on Friday, according to a filing. Meanwhile, Beijing Onmicro Electronics Co (北京昂瑞微), which makes radio frequency chips, was 2,899 times oversubscribed on Friday, its filing showed. The bids coincided with Moore Threads’ trading debut, which surged 425 percent on Friday after raising 8 billion yuan (US$1.13 billion) on bets that the company could emerge as a viable local competitor to Nvidia
BARRIERS: Gudeng’s chairman said it was unlikely that the US could replicate Taiwan’s science parks in Arizona, given its strict immigration policies and cultural differences Gudeng Precision Industrial Co (家登), which supplies wafer pods to the world’s major semiconductor firms, yesterday said it is in no rush to set up production in the US due to high costs. The company supplies its customers through a warehouse in Arizona jointly operated by TSS Holdings Ltd (德鑫控股), a joint holding of Gudeng and 17 Taiwanese firms in the semiconductor supply chain, including specialty plastic compounds producer Nytex Composites Co (耐特) and automated material handling system supplier Symtek Automation Asia Co (迅得). While the company has long been exploring the feasibility of setting up production in the US to address
OPTION: Uber said it could provide higher pay for batch trips, if incentives for batching is not removed entirely, as the latter would force it to pass on the costs to consumers Uber Technologies Inc yesterday warned that proposed restrictions on batching orders and minimum wages could prompt a NT$20 delivery fee increase in Taiwan, as lower efficiency would drive up costs. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi made the remarks yesterday during his visit to Taiwan. He is on a multileg trip to the region, which includes stops in South Korea and Japan. His visit coincided the release last month of the Ministry of Labor’s draft bill on the delivery sector, which aims to safeguard delivery workers’ rights and improve their welfare. The ministry set the minimum pay for local food delivery drivers at
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