ROBOTICS
Softbank eyeing Makeblock
SoftBank Group Corp is in talks to invest in Makeblock Co (創客工場), a Chinese maker of DIY robotics, people familiar with the matter said. Makeblock is seeking to raise about US$60 million in a series C round by the end of this year as it targets a doubling of its valuation to US$400 million, the people said on condition of anonymity. The figures are preliminary and could vary depending on negotiations, they said. Softbank and Makeblock declined to comment. Makeblock is competing with a coterie of Chinese start-ups who all want a slice of a learning industry that focuses on science, technology, engineering and maths, which could become a US$15 billion market by 2020, Beijing-based consultancy JMD Education (芥末堆) said.
TAXATION
Google wins French suit
A Paris administrative court on Wednesday annulled a 1.1 billion euro (US$1.27 billion) tax adjustment imposed on Google by French tax authorities, saying that the way the California firm operates in France allows it to be exempt from most taxes. Tax authorities had argued that Google was required to pay taxes in France for 2005 to 2010, because the US company and its Irish subsidiary sold a service for inserting online ads to clients in France through its Google search engine. However, the court ruled that Google Ireland Ltd does not have a “permanent establishment” in France via the French company Google France, another subsidiary of California-based Google Inc. The court added that Google France does not have the human resources or the technical means to allow it to carry out the contentious advertising services on its own. The French government can appeal the decision.
RETAIL
Sports Direct adds interests
Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct International PLC has bought a 26 percent stake in Game Digital PLC, adding the seller of Nintendo, Xbox and PlayStation consoles to a growing roster of retail investments. Shares of Game Digital, based in Basingstoke, England, rose as much as 16 percent early yesterday, a day after a block purchase lifted them 23 percent. Sports Direct is now Game Digital’s second-largest shareholder after the latter’s former private equity owner, Elliott Advisors.
SWEDEN
Inflation exceeds predictions
Inflation was faster than estimated last month, lending support to the central bank’s call earlier this month to drop its so-called easing bias. Headline consumer prices rose an annual 1.7 percent last month, unchanged from May, Statistics Sweden said yesterday. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had estimated 1.6 percent. Underlying prices also rose a faster-than-expected 1.9 percent. The reports support the central bank’s move earlier this month to raise its forecast for rates, eliminating the chance of a cut in the near term. Both headline and underlying consumer prices rose 0.1 percent in the month. Price increases were driven by costs for package holidays, international flights and banking services, the agency said.
AUTOMAKERS
PSA’s China sales plummet
French auto giant Peugeot Citroen (PSA) yesterday said its China sales plummeted nearly 50 percent in the first half of the year, but global revenues were slightly higher following a resumption of production in Iran. Its sales in China fell 48.6 percent, while those in Europe, its main market, edged down 1.9 percent.
Shares of contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) came under pressure yesterday after a report that Apple Inc is looking to shift some orders from the Taiwanese company to Intel Corp. TSMC shares fell NT$55, or 2.4 percent, to close at NT$2,235 on the local main board, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed. Despite the losses, TSMC is expected to continue to benefit from sound fundamentals, as it maintains a lead over its peers in high-end process development, analysts said. “The selling was a knee-jerk reaction to an Intel-Apple report over the weekend,” Mega International Investment Services Corp (兆豐國際投顧) analyst Alex Huang
TRANSITION: With the closure, the company would reorganize its Taiwanese unit to a sales and service-focused model, Bridgestone said Bridgestone Corp yesterday announced it would cease manufacturing operations at its tire plant in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口), affecting more than 500 workers. Bridgestone Taiwan Co (台灣普利司通) said in a statement that the decision was based on the Tokyo-based tire maker’s adjustments to its global operational strategy and long-term market development considerations. The Taiwanese unit would be reorganized as part of the closure, effective yesterday, and all related production activities would be concluded, the statement said. Under the plan, Bridgestone would continue to deepen its presence in the Taiwanese market, while transitioning to a sales and service-focused business model, it added. The Hsinchu
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has approved a capital budget of US$31.28 billion for production expansion to meet long-term development needs during the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. The company’s board meeting yesterday approved the capital appropriation plan for purposes such as the installation of advanced technology capacity and fab construction, the world’s largest contract chipmaker said in a statement. At an earnings conference last month, TSMC forecast that its capital expenditure for this year would be at the higher end of the US$52 billion to US$56 billion range it forecast in January in response to robust demand for 5G, AI and
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) investment project in Arizona has progressed better than expected, but it still faces challenges such as water and labor shortages, National Development Council (NDC) Minister Yeh Chun-hsien (葉俊顯) said yesterday. Speaking with reporters after visiting TSMC’s Arizona hub and attending the SelectUSA Investment Summit in Maryland last week, Yeh said TSMC’s Arizona site turned a profit of NT$16.14 billion (US$514 million) last year in its first full year of mass production. “TSMC told me it was surprised by the smooth trial run of the first fab, which has left the company optimistic about the project’s outlook,”
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