INVESTMENT
Japanese units to merge
Daiwa Securities Group Inc and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc have agreed to merge asset management units, people familiar with the situation said. Sumitomo Mitsui would take a 50.1 percent stake in the combined company, while Daiwa would own more than 20 percent, said the people, who asked not to be identified. Reports that the companies were negotiating a deal emerged last week. Daiwa SB Investments Ltd, part of Japan’s second-largest brokerage, plans to complete the merger with Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management Co, a unit of the nation’s second-largest lender, in April next year, they said.
AUTOMAKERS
Geely mulls Volvo IPO
Volvo Cars owner Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co (浙江吉利) has selected Citigroup Inc, Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Morgan Stanley to advise on an initial public offering (IPO) for the Swedish carmaker this year, people with knowledge of the matter said. Zhejiang Geely and Volvo have discussed valuing the Swedish automaker at between US$16 billion and US$30 billion in a stock sale, the people said, asking not to be identified because the deliberations are confidential. The companies held meetings in Sweden and Hong Kong this month to discuss a dual listing in both venues, they said.
PERU
Tax hike focuses on health
The government hiked excise taxes on sugary drinks, alcohol, cigarettes and polluting cars on Thursday in a bid to tackle public health problems linked to obesity and cancer, while shoring up public resources. The Ministry of Economy and Finance said the tax on cigarettes would rise to 0.27 sol (US$0.08) from 0.18 sol each and drinks with a high sugar content would be taxed 25 percent instead of 17 percent. Beverages with more than 20 percent alcohol content and used cars powered by petroleum-derived gasoline also face higher taxes. Dual-fuel cars, which are run partly on natural gas or other cleaner fuels, would be tax-free, the ministry added.
UNITED STATES
Consumer prices pick up
Consumer prices rebounded last month after dipping in March, driven by a surge in gasoline prices and an uptick in housing costs, but the Department of Labor report on Thursday was tamer than expected. Food prices also rose, as did medical services, but cell phone services — which had been blamed for the bafflingly low inflation last year — were flat after finally rising in March. The consumer price index, which tracks costs for household goods and services, rose 0.2 percent compared to March, seasonally adjusted, and was up 2.5 percent from a year earlier.
AUTOMAKERS
Mazda announces next CEO
Mazda Motor Corp named Akira Marumoto its next chief executive officer to lead a revival in earnings growth in the face of a slowing US market and stiff competition in China. Marumoto, an executive vice president who heads operations in the US, is to replace Masamichi Kogai after the change is ratified at an annual shareholder meeting on June 26, Mazda said yesterday. Kogai is to become chairman following a five-year tenure in which he orchestrated deeper ties with Toyota Motor Corp. Both of Kogai’s most recent predecessors also served five-year terms. Mazda is among Japan’s most export-dependent automakers, with less than a fifth of revenue generated at home.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said its materials management head, Vanessa Lee (李文如), had tendered her resignation for personal reasons. The personnel adjustment takes effect tomorrow, TSMC said in a statement. The latest development came one month after Lee reportedly took leave from the middle of last month. Cliff Hou (侯永清), senior vice president and deputy cochief operating officer, is to concurrently take on the role of head of the materials management division, which has been under his supervision, TSMC said. Lee, who joined TSMC in 2022, was appointed senior director of materials management and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Thursday met with US President Donald Trump at the White House, days before a planned trip to China by the head of the world’s most valuable chipmaker, people familiar with the matter said. Details of what the two men discussed were not immediately available, and the people familiar with the meeting declined to elaborate on the agenda. Spokespeople for the White House had no immediate comment. Nvidia declined to comment. Nvidia’s CEO has been vocal about the need for US companies to access the world’s largest semiconductor market and is a frequent visitor to China.
Hypermarket chain Carrefour Taiwan and upscale supermarket chain Mia C’bon on Saturday announced the suspension of their partnership with Jkopay Co (街口支付), one of Taiwan’s largest digital payment providers, amid a lawsuit involving its parent company. Carrefour and Mia C’bon said they would notify customers once Jkopay services are reinstated. The two retailers joined an array of other firms in suspending their partnerships with Jkopay. On Friday night, popular beverage chain TP Tea (茶湯會) also suspended its use of the platform, urging customers to opt for alternative payment methods. Another drinks brand, Guiji (龜記), on Friday said that it is up to individual
STABLE RESULTS: Despite June’s lower consolidated revenue, second-quarter sales still reached a record high, driven by demand for chips for AI applications Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday reported consolidated sales of NT$263.71 billion (US$9.02 billion) for last month, its second-lowest monthly result this year. The world’s largest contract chipmaker said in a statement that its revenue last month only fared better than the NT$260.01 billion posted in February. Last month’s figure rose 26.9 percent from a year earlier, but slumped 17.7 percent from May, the company said. However, second-quarter revenue reached NT$933.8 billion, a record high for a single quarter, company data showed. The figure represented growth of 11.26 percent from the first quarter and 38.6 percent from a year earlier. Previously, TSMC said that
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