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.
MULTIFACETED: A task force has analyzed possible scenarios and created responses to assist domestic industries in dealing with US tariffs, the economics minister said The Executive Yuan is tomorrow to announce countermeasures to US President Donald Trump’s planned reciprocal tariffs, although the details of the plan would not be made public until Monday next week, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. The Cabinet established an economic and trade task force in November last year to deal with US trade and tariff related issues, Kuo told reporters outside the legislature in Taipei. The task force has been analyzing and evaluating all kinds of scenarios to identify suitable responses and determine how best to assist domestic industries in managing the effects of Trump’s tariffs, he
TIGHT-LIPPED: UMC said it had no merger plans at the moment, after Nikkei Asia reported that the firm and GlobalFoundries were considering restarting merger talks United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. 4 contract chipmaker, yesterday launched a new US$5 billion 12-inch chip factory in Singapore as part of its latest effort to diversify its manufacturing footprint amid growing geopolitical risks. The new factory, adjacent to UMC’s existing Singapore fab in the Pasir Res Wafer Fab Park, is scheduled to enter volume production next year, utilizing mature 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer process technologies, UMC said in a statement. The company plans to invest US$5 billion during the first phase of the new fab, which would have an installed capacity of 30,000 12-inch wafers per month, it said. The
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his
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