TECHNOLOGY
Tencent overtakes Facebook
China’s social media and video game giant Tencent Holdings Ltd (騰訊) yesterday overtook Facebook Inc in market value as investors sent the company soaring to the top five list of the world’s biggest firms. Tencent’s shares, traded in Hong Kong, have doubled in value this year as the tech company’s earnings have repeatedly outmatched analysts’ expectations. A second stock connection with China, which opened late last year, has allowed even more money to flow onto the territory’s exchange. By yesterday afternoon, Tencent’s market capitalization had reached HK$4.15 trillion (US$531.3 billion), surpassing Facebook’s US$519 billion.
POWER
Luminant to cut 600 jobs
Electricity generator Luminant is cutting about 600 jobs as it closes three coal-fired power plants and a mine in Texas. The Texas Workforce Commission on Monday said that Luminant plans to make the layoffs in January next year. Luminant previously announced that it would shutter the Monticello, Big Brown and Sandow power plants. The filing with regulators puts a number on the affected jobs, nearly half of which are at the Three Oaks mine near Elgin. The company is closing the plants because of competition from cheap natural gas, low wholesale power prices and an increase in renewable generation.
AUTOMAKERS
Groups urge Chrysler recall
The Center for Auto Safety is asking the government for a recall of Chrysler Pacifica minivans over complaints that the engines can stall without warning. The group on Monday petitioned the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, asking for an investigation and a recall of 150,000 minivans from this model year. The group says more than 50 people have complained to the government about stalling and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has not been able to fix the problem. Fiat Chrysler said it takes customer concerns seriously and does not know of any crashes or injuries due to the issue. The company says it is monitoring data and would respond if it shows a safety defect.
SOUTH AFRICA
Bidvest to buy FinGlobal
Bidvest Group Ltd’s banking unit agreed to buy FinGlobal, a provider of financial services to South Africans living outside the country, as part of an acquisition drive to expand and diversify its business. Bidvest Bank is to fund the purchase out of its 2 billion rand (US$141.8 million) in cash reserves, managing director Japie van Niekerk said yesterday by telephone. The acquisition gives the lender access to FinGlobal’s more than 15,000 customers in 80 nations, offering tax refunds, foreign-exchange services and retirement annuities.
INDONESIA
Goldman must return shares
A court ruled against Goldman Sachs Group Inc and ordered it to return shares of PT Hanson International to its founder Benny Tjokrosaputro. Goldman must pay 320.8 billion rupiah (US$23.7 million) in material damages to Tjokrosaputro for an “illegal transaction” of Hanson shares, Judge Achmad Guntur said yesterday in the South Jakarta District Court. The judge also rejected a US$1 billion counterclaim the US bank filed last year against a lawsuit by Tjokrosaputro, in which he alleged that the firm’s stake in Hanson was improperly obtained. “We are surprised and disappointed at today’s ruling by the South Jakarta Court and will be appealing it at the earliest opportunity,” Goldman Sachs spokesman Edward Naylor said.
To many, Tatu City on the outskirts of Nairobi looks like a success. The first city entirely built by a private company to be operational in east Africa, with about 25,000 people living and working there, it accounts for about two-thirds of all foreign investment in Kenya. Its low-tax status has attracted more than 100 businesses including Heineken, coffee brand Dormans, and the biggest call-center and cold-chain transport firms in the region. However, to some local politicians, Tatu City has looked more like a target for extortion. A parade of governors have demanded land worth millions of dollars in exchange
An Indonesian animated movie is smashing regional box office records and could be set for wider success as it prepares to open beyond the Southeast Asian archipelago’s silver screens. Jumbo — a film based on the adventures of main character, Don, a large orphaned Indonesian boy facing bullying at school — last month became the highest-grossing Southeast Asian animated film, raking in more than US$8 million. Released at the end of March to coincide with the Eid holidays after the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, the movie has hit 8 million ticket sales, the third-highest in Indonesian cinema history, Film
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) revenue jumped 48 percent last month, underscoring how electronics firms scrambled to acquire essential components before global tariffs took effect. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp reported monthly sales of NT$349.6 billion (US$11.6 billion). That compares with the average analysts’ estimate for a 38 percent rise in second-quarter revenue. US President Donald Trump’s trade war is prompting economists to retool GDP forecasts worldwide, casting doubt over the outlook for everything from iPhone demand to computing and datacenter construction. However, TSMC — a barometer for global tech spending given its central role in the
Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designer specializing in server chips, expects revenue to decline this year due to sagging demand for 5-nanometer artificial intelligence (AI) chips from a North America-based major customer, a company executive said yesterday. That would be the first contraction in revenue for Alchip as it has been enjoying strong revenue growth over the past few years, benefiting from cloud-service providers’ moves to reduce dependence on Nvidia Corp’s expensive AI chips by building their own AI accelerator by outsourcing chip design. The 5-nanometer chip was supposed to be a new growth engine as the lifecycle
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