WEAPONS
Remington files bankruptcy
US gunmaker Remington on Sunday filed for bankruptcy, as the Wmore than 200-year-old firearms manufacturer vies to restructure its massive debts. Remington had announced it would file for bankruptcy last month, just two days before a shooting at a Parkland, Florida high school that killed 17 people and reignited a national debate on gun control. The restructuring agreement would allow Remington to reduce about US$700 million of its consolidated debt, as well as inject a contribution of US$145 million of new capital into its operating subsidiaries, the company said.
FASHION
JD buys Finish Line
JD Sports Fashion PLC has agreed to buy US sportswear retailer Finish Line Inc, expanding into the North American market and snatching away a company in which Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct International PLC had built a stake. The takeover agreement is valued at US$13.50 per Finish Line share in cash, or a total of US$558 million. Due to the distinct geographies in which the two companies operate, JD Sports does not see any significant adjustments in headcount, the company said. The deal represents a 28 percent premium to Finish Line’s closing price on Friday.
SEMICONDUCTORS
Toshiba awaits approval
Embattled Japanese conglomerate Toshiba yesterday said it was still waiting for regulators to approve the key sale of its chip unit, a delay that could stymie plans to complete the deal this month. The firm agreed in September last year to sell its memorychip business to a consortium led by US investor Bain Capital, which was seen as crucial to keeping it afloat after multibillion-dollar losses. Under the deal, Toshiba had expected to meet all the sale conditions by Friday last week and complete them this Friday.
AUTOMAKERS
Great Wall goes global
Great Wall Motor Co (長城汽車), the king of sport utility vehicles in China, is feeling the rising heat from competition. After reporting earnings that more than halved last year, it is turning to potential customers abroad for its next phase of growth. The automaker plans to initially focus on countries such as Russia and those in the Middle East that have similar regulations as China, founder and chairman Wei Jianjun (魏建軍) told reporters in Hong Kong yesterday. The company will build its vehicles in Russia, with a factory capable of rolling out 80,000 vehicles annually set to start operations next year, he said. Plans to sell cars in the US starting 2021 are also on the cards, he said. Great Wall on Friday reported that its profit fell 52 percent last year to 5.03 billion yuan (US$796 million) as it spent more on incentives and discounts to help secure market share.
TECHNOLOGY
Google eyes China for AI
Google CEO Sundar Pichai expects China to play a crucial role in artificial intelligence (AI) as he keeps expanding the search giant’s workforce in the country, even as many of its services are blocked. Google has invested in Chinese start-ups, forged a patent alliance with Tencent Holdings Ltd (騰訊) and is pushing its TensorFlow AI tools in the country, despite key services, such as search and e-mail, remaining blocked. The company recently opened a research lab in Beijing focused on AI, a blossoming field but one at the center of tensions between China and the US. Google’s lab falls under its cloud unit, and the company has suggested it is open to entering China with that business if it is allowed to.
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
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
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
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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