AUTOMAKERS
LeEco chair begs reprieve
Leshi Internet Information & Technology Corp (LeEco, 樂視) chairman Jia Yueting (賈躍亭) asked for more time to repay debt and realize his ambitions of disrupting the automobile industry, days after a Chinese court froze billions of US dollars in assets controlled by him and associated companies. Jia has decided to devote his time to developing a futuristic electric car as the US-based start-up Faraday Future is now trying to raise funds to bring the FF91 electric car to fruition, he said in a Weibo post. “I sincerely ask everyone to give LeEco a little more time, to give LeEco’s car business a little more time,” Jia said.
INSURANCE
Axis Capital acquires Novae
Lloyd’s of London insurer Novae Group PLC said it has agreed to be taken over by Axis Capital Holdings Ltd, a Bermuda-based specialty insurer and reinsurer, for ￡467.6 million (US$604.7 million) in cash, sending its shares soaring by more than 20 percent. The ￡7-per-share offer for Novae represents a premium of more than 20 percent to the London-based insurer’s closing price on Wednesday. Axis chief executive Albert Benchimol said the acquisition of Novae would create an about US$2 billion player in the London specialty market. The deal, expected to close in the final quarter of the year, will add to Axis’ earnings in the first year.
GERMANY
Orderbook recovers
Industrial orders rebounded in May after a slide in April, preliminary official data showed yesterday, but fell short of analysts’ hopes for Europe’s largest economy. There were 1.0 percent more new contracts in May than in the previous month, correcting for seasonal effects, federal statistics office Destatis said in a statement. Destatis noted that discounting more volatile large contracts for items like aircraft showed a slight contraction of 0.3 percent in overall orders in May, correcting for seasonal and calendar effects. Revised figures also showed that the fall in April was larger than previously thought, at 2.2 percent compared with March.
CONSUMER GOODS
Cyberattack losses reported
Britain’s Reckitt Benckiser downgraded its growth forecast yesterday, becoming one of the first companies to quantify the cost of a global cyberattack, which the consumer goods maker said disrupted its manufacturing and distribution. Reckitt Benckiser, which makes Dettol and Lysol disinfectants, Harpic cleaners and Durex condoms, said it estimated its like-for-like revenue in the second quarter would fall 2 percent because of the attack. It said to a lesser extent it would also be negatively affected by tax changes in India. It cut its expectations for full-year net like-for-like revenue growth to 2 percent from 3 percent.
MEDIA
Platforms seek soccer rights
Facebook Inc, Twitter Inc and Snap Inc are seeking online rights to video highlights from Twenty-first Century Fox Inc for next year’s soccer World Cup, Bloomberg reported yesterday. The companies have offered tens of millions of dollars for rights to video highlights for the Russia-hosted tournament that air in the US, Bloomberg reported, citing two people familiar with the matter. Fox will retain rights to use highlights of the World Cup across its shows, Bloomberg reported, citing the people.
TAKING STOCK: A Taiwanese cookware firm in Vietnam urged customers to assess inventory or place orders early so shipments can reach the US while tariffs are paused Taiwanese businesses in Vietnam are exploring alternatives after the White House imposed a 46 percent import duty on Vietnamese goods, following US President Donald Trump’s announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs on the US’ trading partners. Lo Shih-liang (羅世良), chairman of Brico Industry Co (裕茂工業), a Taiwanese company that manufactures cast iron cookware and stove components in Vietnam, said that more than 40 percent of his business was tied to the US market, describing the constant US policy shifts as an emotional roller coaster. “I work during the day and stay up all night watching the news. I’ve been following US news until 3am
UNCERTAINTY: Innolux activated a stringent supply chain management mechanism, as it did during the COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure optimal inventory levels for customers Flat-panel display makers AUO Corp (友達) and Innolux Corp (群創) yesterday said that about 12 to 20 percent of their display business is at risk of potential US tariffs and that they would relocate production or shipment destinations to mitigate the levies’ effects. US tariffs would have a direct impact of US$200 million on AUO’s revenue, company chairman Paul Peng (彭雙浪) told reporters on the sidelines of the Touch Taiwan trade show in Taipei yesterday. That would make up about 12 percent of the company’s overall revenue. To cope with the tariff uncertainty, AUO plans to allocate its production to manufacturing facilities in
Six years ago, LVMH’s billionaire CEO Bernard Arnault and US President Donald Trump cut the blue ribbon on a factory in rural Texas that would make designer handbags for Louis Vuitton, one of the world’s best-known luxury brands. However, since the high-profile opening, the factory has faced a host of problems limiting production, 11 former Louis Vuitton employees said. The site has consistently ranked among the worst-performing for Louis Vuitton globally, “significantly” underperforming other facilities, said three former Louis Vuitton workers and a senior industry source, who cited internal rankings shared with staff. The plant’s problems — which have not
COLLABORATION: Given Taiwan’s key position in global supply chains, the US firm is discussing strategies with local partners and clients to deal with global uncertainties Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) yesterday said it is meeting with local ecosystem partners, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), to discuss strategies, including long-term manufacturing, to navigate uncertainties such as US tariffs, as Taiwan occupies an important position in global supply chains. AMD chief executive officer Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) told reporters that Taiwan is an important part of the chip designer’s ecosystem and she is discussing with partners and customers in Taiwan to forge strong collaborations on different areas during this critical period. AMD has just become the first artificial-intelligence (AI) server chip customer of TSMC to utilize its advanced
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