AUTOMAKERS
Tesla China plant nears
Tesla Inc is close to an agreement to produce vehicles in China for the first time, giving the electric-car maker better access to the world’s largest auto market, people familiar with the matter said. The agreement with the city of Shanghai would allow Tesla to build facilities in its Lingang development zone and could come as soon as this week, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the negotiations are private. Tesla would need to set up a joint venture with at least one local partner under existing rules and it was not immediately clear who that would be. Setting up local production is key for chief executive officer Elon Musk to continue growing in China, where Tesla’s revenue tripled to more than US$1 billion last year. Assembling vehicles locally would allow the company to avoid a 25 percent tax that renders Model S sedans and Model X sport utility vehicles more expensive than in the US.
CONGLOMERATES
Hutchison chief to retire
Billionaire Li Ka-shing (李嘉誠) has told associates that he plans to retire by next year as chairman of his flagship CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd (長和集團), the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Li has not specified a date, but is likely to step down by his 90th birthday in July next year, the newspaper reported. The tycoon plans to remain as senior adviser and keep his office atop CK Hutchison’s headquarters building in downtown Hong Kong, the report said.
ENERGY
Libya boosting output
Libya is pumping the most oil in four years after a deal with Wintershall AG enabled at least two fields to resume production, adding to the challenge that OPEC and allied producers face in trying to pare global crude inventories. The North African nation is producing about 900,000 barrels a day, said a person with direct knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified for lack of authority to speak to the media. Output has risen on the resumption of fields developed with Wintershall and from a boost at Sharara, Libya’s biggest deposit, which is pumping 270,000 barrels a day, the person said on Monday.
RESTAURANTS
Chipotle expenses rising
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc told investors that it is spending more on marketing and promotions as it tries to bounce back from a food-safety crisis. The burrito chain expects the expenses to rise by as much as 0.3 percentage point from the previous three months, according to a filing on Monday. The Denver-based company does not anticipate that food costs will change, accounting for about 34 percent of sales. The outlook sent Chipotle shares down as much as 3 percent to US$445 in extended trading. They had been up 22 percent this year through Monday’s close, lifted by optimism that the firm could execute a comeback. For the full year, Chipotle reiterated a forecast for same-store sales in the high single digits. It expects to open as many as 210 new restaurants.
ENERGY
Natural gas futures drop
US natural gas futures slid the most in four months on forecasts of milder weather that would curtail demand for the power-plant fuel after a hot spell last week. Temperatures may be mostly below normal in the central US and average on the east and gulf coasts from Saturday to Wednesday next week, the Commodity Weather Group LLC said.
END TO SPECULATION: The hotel’s management contract has been extended, despite reports that it wanted to end its alliance with Hyatt Hotels over a deal with Riant Capital Singapore-based Hong Leong Hotel Development Ltd (豐隆大飯店股份) yesterday said it has extended a management contract to ensure the continued presence of the Grand Hyatt brand in Taipei, ending rumors that the two sides were parting ways. “We are pleased Hyatt is able to come to terms on the extension of the management contract of Grand Hyatt Taipei,” said Kwek Leng Beng (郭令明), executive chairman of City Developments Ltd (城市發展) and Millennium & Copthorne Hotels Ltd (千禧國敦酒店). Hong Leong Hotel Development is a subsidiary of Millennium, and both fall under the Hong Leong Group (豐隆集團). The Grand Hyatt Taipei (台北君悅大飯店), owned and built by
’WHITE BOX’: The open platform would give local firms access to Cisco’s cloud-based mobile network to develop 5G telecom equipment and tap into the global market The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) yesterday introduced a new 5G “open lab” in collaboration with US-based information technology and networking giant Cisco Systems Inc to address the rapidly growing “white box” 5G networking equipment market. The open lab will be a platform where Taiwanese manufacturers can access Cisco’s cloud-based mobile network to develop their own 5G telecom equipment, such as small-cell base stations, network switches, modems and Internet of things (IoT) devices, a ministry statement said. The open platform would allow Taiwanese manufacturers to tap into the lucrative 5G telecom equipment market, which was previously monopolized by Nokia Oyj, Ericsson AB
Nintendo Co is raising its target for Switch production to about 25 million units this fiscal year, people familiar with the matter said, as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic keeps lifting demand and component shortages ease. The Kyoto, Japan-based company, which in April hiked orders to 22 million units by March next year, is asking partners to tack on another few million units, said the people, who did not want to be identified discussing internal goals. Assembly partners plan to work at maximum capacity through December. The new production target suggests that Nintendo is likely to outperform its Switch sales forecast of 19 million
‘BIG LOSS’: This year might see the last generation of Huawei’s Kirin chips, as their production would stop next month because they are made using US technology Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies Co (華為) is running out of processor chips to make smartphones due to US sanctions and would be forced to stop production of its own most advanced chips, a company executive has said, in a sign of growing damage to Huawei’s business from US pressure. Huawei, one of the biggest producers of smartphones and network equipment, is at the center of US-Chinese tension over technology and security. Washington last year cut off Huawei’s access to US components and technology, and those penalties were tightened in May, when the White House barred vendors worldwide from using US
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