PUBLISHING
Penguin stake sale agreed
Pearson PLC agreed to sell a 22 percent stake in Penguin Random House to its partner in the publishing unit, majority owner Bertelsmann SE, for about US$1 billion to strengthen its balance sheet. After the sale, Pearson is to return about ￡300 million (US$387.3 million) of surplus capital to shareholders through a share buyback while keeping a 25 percent stake in the iconic book publisher, Pearson said in an e-mailed statement. The transaction values Penguin Random House at an enterprise value of US$3.55 billion.
retail
Abercrombie off the market
Abercrombie & Fitch is no longer up for sale, a development that is not sitting well with investors hoping for a white knight to rescue the struggling retailer. Abercrombie said in May, after closing dozens of underperforming stores, that it was in talks with several parties about a potential deal. However, the company on Monday said that it has ended all such negotiations. The company’s shares on Monday sank 21.1 percent, closing at US$9.59.
INTERNET
Amazon to add jobs
Amazon.com Inc said it plans to add 900 jobs at a Boston office that is to open in spring next year. The online retail company on Monday said that it has signed a lease for a 14,000m2 space in a building along Fort Point Channel. It plans to hire people to work on its Alexa voice-activated technology, logistics and other business lines. Amazon has space in the Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood and in Cambridge’s Kendall Square neighborhood.
MACROECONOMICS
Philippine deficit biggest yet
The Philippines posted its biggest trade deficit since data became available, fueled by a rapidly expanding economy. The trade gap widened to US$2.8 billion in May, the Philippine Statistics Authority said in a statement on Tuesday. That is the highest since at least January 1980. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of nine economists was for a US$1.5 billion shortfall. Exports rose 14 percent from a year ago to US$5.5 billion; imports jumped 17 percent to US$8.2 billion.
LUXURY GOODS
LVMH unveils smartwatch
Louis Vuitton plans to sell a smartwatch for travelers starting at US$2,450 as parent company LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE enlists the 163-year-old French suitcase and fashion brand to broaden its fight against the Apple Watch. The Tambour Horizon offers flight information and city guides for seven destinations, the company said in a statement. It is modeled after the mechanical Tambour line and is the first Android Wear smartwatch that functions in China.
FINANCE
CompareAsia secures funds
CompareAsiaGroup, an online personal finance marketplace backed by Goldman Sachs Investment Partners, has secured US$50 million in new funding from investors led by the World Bank’s International Finance Corp. Other backers in the Series B round included Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund (阿里巴巴創業者基金), the Chinese e-commerce giant’s non-profit start-up sponsorship outfit, SBI Group (動力生技) and H&Q Utrust, the company said in a statement. Existing investors including the Goldman fund, Nova Founders Capital, ACE & Co and Route 66 Ventures also took part in the fundraising.
Chizuko Kimura has become the first female sushi chef in the world to win a Michelin star, fulfilling a promise she made to her dying husband to continue his legacy. The 54-year-old Japanese chef regained the Michelin star her late husband, Shunei Kimura, won three years ago for their Sushi Shunei restaurant in Paris. For Shunei Kimura, the star was a dream come true. However, the joy was short-lived. He died from cancer just three months later in June 2022. He was 65. The following year, the restaurant in the heart of Montmartre lost its star rating. Chizuko Kimura insisted that the new star is still down
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
While China’s leaders use their economic and political might to fight US President Donald Trump’s trade war “to the end,” its army of social media soldiers are embarking on a more humorous campaign online. Trump’s tariff blitz has seen Washington and Beijing impose eye-watering duties on imports from the other, fanning a standoff between the economic superpowers that has sparked global recession fears and sent markets into a tailspin. Trump says his policy is a response to years of being “ripped off” by other countries and aims to bring manufacturing to the US, forcing companies to employ US workers. However, China’s online warriors
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