AUTOMAKERS
JLR moving base to Slovakia
Britain’s biggest automaker, Jaguar Land Rover Automotive PLC (JLR), is moving all production of its Land Rover Discovery to Slovakia from a plant near Birmingham, which is to be retooled to accommodate a new generation of electric cars. The company, owned by Tata Motors Ltd, would create a new factory platform at its Solihull, England, plant that would enable the production of cars in electric, gasoline and diesel versions, said people familiar with the matter, asking not to be named because the information is not public. Discovery production would be moved from the beginning of next year, meaning job cuts at the Solihull plant are possible before it ramps up staffing again, the people said.
UNITED KINGDOM
Job growth remains healthy
The economy continued to create jobs at a healthy pace in the three months through April, but wage growth unexpectedly slowed. The employment rate reached a record-high of 75.6 percent after the economy added 146,000 jobs, more than the 120,000 predicted by economists. The jobless rate held at 4.2 percent, its lowest since 1975. However, a surprise moderation in the pace of wage growth might suggest that the economy retains a margin of spare capacity. Pay growth excluding bonuses slowed to 2.8 percent between February and April, the Office for National Statistics said yesterday. For Bank of England policymakers, the question is how quickly the economy uses up whatever slack it has left. Bets on an August interest-rate hike receded on Monday after manufacturing and construction failed to bounce back as forecast in April following snow disruptions the previous month.
HEALTHCARE
KKR to buy Envision
Private equity firm KKR & Co is to buy Envision Healthcare Corp for US$5.57 billion plus debt, after a lengthy sale process by the hospital staffing and surgical center company. Including debt, the all-cash purchase is to value Envision at US$9.9 billion, the healthcare company said in a statement on Monday. Envision said the US$46-a-share price represents a 32 percent premium to its stock price in November last year, when it announced it was reviewing strategic alternatives. The review started for the Nashville, Tennessee-based company after activist investor Starboard Value LP, run by Jeff Smith, revealed a stake and said it would make an attractive takeover target.
AUTOMAKERS
Byton raises US$500 million
China-based electric-car start-up Byton (拜騰) has raised US$500 million as it ramps up efforts to take on rivals such as Tesla Motors Inc. Byton’s new capital is led by from First Automobile Works Group Corp (中國第一汽車集團), Tus-Holdings Co (啟迪控股), Contemporary Amperex Technology Co (寧德新時代能源科技) and others, a statement from its North American headquarters in California said on Monday. “The success of this funding round highlights how diversified strategic investors will further expand Byton’s circle of friends and broaden our development opportunities,” president and co-founder Daniel Kirchert said. Early this year, the company unveiled at the CES its vision for “intuitive and intelligent” cars for global markets starting next year from about US$45,000. Byton is led by former executives from Tesla, BMW AG, Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google, and expects to launch in China by next year and in the US and Europe by 2020.
PROTECTIONISM: China hopes to help domestic chipmakers gain more market share while preparing local tech companies for the possibility of more US sanctions Beijing is stepping up pressure on Chinese companies to buy locally produced artificial intelligence (AI) chips instead of Nvidia Corp products, part of the nation’s effort to expand its semiconductor industry and counter US sanctions. Chinese regulators have been discouraging companies from purchasing Nvidia’s H20 chips, which are used to develop and run AI models, sources familiar with the matter said. The policy has taken the form of guidance rather than an outright ban, as Beijing wants to avoid handicapping its own AI start-ups and escalating tensions with the US, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the
Taipei is today suspending its US$2.5 trillion stock market as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed-income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Yesterday, schools and offices were closed in several cities and counties in southern and eastern Taiwan, including in the key industrial port city of Kaohsiung. Taiwan, which started canceling flights, ship sailings and some train services earlier this week, has wind and rain advisories in place for much of the island. It regularly experiences typhoons, and in July shut offices and schools as
FALLING BEHIND: Samsung shares have declined more than 20 percent this year, as the world’s largest chipmaker struggles in key markets and plays catch-up to rival SK Hynix Samsung Electronics Co is laying off workers in Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand as part of a plan to reduce its global headcount by thousands of jobs, sources familiar with the situation said. The layoffs could affect about 10 percent of its workforces in those markets, although the numbers for each subsidiary might vary, said one of the sources, who asked not to be named because the matter is private. Job cuts are planned for other overseas subsidiaries and could reach 10 percent in certain markets, the source said. The South Korean company has about 147,000 in staff overseas, more than half
CHEMICAL FIRE: 10 Indian employees were injured by smoke inhalation at a Tata Electronics plant in Tamil Nadu state that produces components for Apple Inc At least 10 people received medical treatment, with two hospitalized after a major fire on Saturday disrupted production at a key Tata Electronics Pvt Ltd plant in southern India that makes Apple Inc’s iPhone components. The fire occurred at the plant in the city of Hosur in Tamil Nadu state that makes some iPhone components. It broke out near another building inside the Tata complex, which was to begin producing complete iPhones in the coming months. The fire was contained to one building and has been extinguished fully, top district administrative official K.M. Sarayu said. No decision has been made on when
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