TAXATION
Resistance to Australian cut
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull faces a fresh blow in parliament this week, with the Senate yesterday poised to reject his government’s plans for a corporate tax cut after several independent lawmakers vowed to vote against the measure. The government has proposed to cut the corporate tax rate from 30 percent to 25 percent in a bid to boost the economy less than a year away from the next election. Although the government won backing for its centerpiece A$144 billion (US$106 billion) package of income tax cuts, lawmakers are resistant to extending tax breaks after a public inquiry exposed alleged misconduct in the financial sector.
GERMANY
Confidence ebbing
Business confidence ebbed this month to its lowest in more than a year, suggesting the mood among company executives in Europe’s biggest economy is darkening as the world edges toward a full-blown trade war. Activity in all four economic sectors measured by the Munich-based Ifo institute in the survey — manufacturing, services, trade and construction — fell, adding to signs the economy is cooling after a boom last year. Ifo said its business climate index fell to 101.8, the lowest level since May last year. The reading was slightly stronger than predicted in a Reuters consensus forecast of 101.7. “The tailwind enjoyed by the German economy is [easing],” Ifo head Clemens Fuest said. However, economists ruled out a recession and predicted the economy would continue to grow, albeit at a slower pace than last year’s 2.5 percent.
TRANSPORTATION
Uber in court in London
Uber yesterday went to court in the UK to overturn a decision stripping it of its license in London after being ruled unfit to run a taxi service in its most important European market. Regulator Transport for London (TfL) shocked the Silicon Valley firm in September last year by refusing to renew its license, citing failings in its approach to reporting serious criminal offences and to background checks on drivers. The appeal is due to be heard over three days and is to hear from witnesses including Uber’s UK chairman Laurel Powers-Freeling, UK head of cities Fred Jones and TfL’s Interim Director of Licensing Helen Chapman. The company is seeking an 18-month license to prove to London authorities that it has reformed.
TRANSPORTATION
Didi Chuxing in Melbourne
Chinese ride-sharing giant Didi Chuxing (滴滴出行) has intensified its drive for global business, yesterday launching in Melbourne as it joins rivals Uber, Taxify and Ola in Australia’s taxi market. Didi Chuxing’s latest expansion is part of attempts to rival US behemoth Uber. “Didi’s entry into Australia marks a new milestone in its outreach to global communities,” it said.
BANKING
Commonwealth streamlines
Commonwealth, Australia’s biggest bank, yesterday announced plans to spin off its wealth management and mortgage-broking arms as it tries to streamline operations and focus on core businesses. It is also considering offloading its general insurance business. The demerged business, CFS Group, is to include Commonwealth’s Colonial First State, Colonial First State Global Asset Management (CFSGAM), Count Financial, Financial Wisdom and Aussie Home Loans businesses. The new entity will list on the nation’s stock exchange next year.
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
TECH PARTNERSHIP: The deal with Arizona-based Amkor would provide TSMC with advanced packing and test capacities, a requirement to serve US customers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is collaborating with Amkor Technology Inc to provide local advanced packaging and test capacities in Arizona to address customer requirements for geographical flexibility in chip manufacturing. As part of the agreement, TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, would contract turnkey advanced packaging and test services from Amkor at their planned facility in Peoria, Arizona, a joint statement released yesterday said. TSMC would leverage these services to support its customers, particularly those using TSMC’s advanced wafer fabrication facilities in Phoenix, Arizona, it said. The companies would jointly define the specific packaging technologies, such as TSMC’s Integrated
An Indian factory producing iPhone components resumed work yesterday after a fire that halted production — the third blaze to disrupt Apple Inc’s local supply chain since the start of last year. Local industrial behemoth Tata Group’s plant in Tamil Nadu, which was shut down by the unexplained fire on Saturday, is a key linchpin of Apple’s nascent supply chain in the country. A spokesperson for subsidiary Tata Electronics Pvt yesterday said that the company would restart work in “many areas of the facility today.” “We’ve been working diligently since Saturday to support our team and to identify the cause of the fire,”
Sales RecORD: Hon Hai’s consolidated sales rose by about 20 percent last quarter, while Largan, another Apple supplier, saw quarterly sales increase by 17 percent IPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) on Saturday reported its highest-ever quarterly sales for the third quarter on the back of solid global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) globally, said it posted NT$1.85 trillion (US$57.93 billion) in consolidated sales in the July-to-September quarter, up 19.46 percent from the previous quarter and up 20.15 percent from a year earlier. The figure beat the previous third-quarter high of NT$1.74 trillion recorded in 2022, company data showed. Due to rising demand for AI, Hon Hai said its cloud and networking division enjoyed strong sales
RSS