MACROECONOMICS
Japan biz confidence slips
Confidence among Japan’s biggest manufacturers has slipped for the second straight quarter, a key central bank survey showed yesterday. The Bank of Japan’s Tankan report — a quarterly survey of about 10,000 companies — showed a reading of 21 among major manufacturers in its June survey against 24 in the March report. The Tankan report, the broadest indicator of how Japan Inc is faring, marks the difference between the percentage of firms that are upbeat and those that see conditions as unfavorable.
AUTOS
Nissan drops battery sale
Nissan Motor Co abandoned a US$1 billion deal to sell its electric-battery business because the prospective buyer failed to raise the money required. The Japanese automaker canceled the sale to GSR Capital (金沙江資本), saying in a statement yesterday the Chinese private-equity firm did not have sufficient funds. Nissan and GSR were due to close the transaction by Friday last week. The deal had already been postponed three times, most recently on April 27, because certain conditions had not been met. The deal with GSR for Nissan subsidiary Automotive Energy Supply Corp and manufacturing operations in Japan, the US and the UK would have ended a long search for a buyer as the carmaker works to streamline operations.
TECHNOLOGY
Softbank invests in ‘handy’
Japanese technology conglomerate Softbank is investing in a mobile device service for hotel guests, called handy Japan, that offers information on tourist attractions and Internet access. Terms of the deal, announced yesterday, were not disclosed. Handy, developed by Hong Kong-based Tink Labs, is available in 650,000 rooms in 4,000 hotels in 82 countries. It rolled out in Japan in July last year and has been adopted by 1,700 hotels and 240,000 rooms, about a third of the nation’s hotels, both sides said. Handy works as a smartphone rental that is a complementary hotel service. The device can contact a hotel’s concierge, link to the Internet, and make local and international calls.
ENERGY
BP Azerbaijan plant running
British petroleum giant BP has started operating a US$28 billion pipeline in Azerbaijan to supply gas to Turkey and elsewhere in Europe, the company said yesterday. The “Shah Deniz 2” development is “the starting point for the Southern Gas Corridor series of pipelines that will for the first time deliver natural gas from the Caspian Sea directly to European markets,” BP said in a statement. The pipeline bypasses Russia and has been supported by the EU, which is keen to reduce Europe’s energy dependence on Moscow.
BUSINESS
Interpol hunts billionaire
Interpol yesterday issued an arrest warrant for Indian billionaire diamond merchant Nirav Modi, tightening the noose on one of the main suspects in a US$1.8 billion fraud at a major state-run bank. Modi is a jeweler to the stars whose celebrity clients have included Naomi Watts and Kate Winslet. His eponymous high-end brand has stores in several of the world’s major cities. India last month requested Interpol to issue a so-called red corner notice to help trace Modi after the fugitive diamond merchant was last spotted in Britain. A red corner notice seeks the arrest or provisional arrest of wanted persons with a view to extradition.
Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab Holdings Ltd has applied for regulatory approval to acquire the Taiwan operations of Germany-based Delivery Hero SE's Foodpanda in a deal valued at about US$600 million. Grab submitted the filing to the Fair Trade Commission on Friday last week, with the transaction subject to regulatory review and approval, the company said in a statement yesterday. Its independent governance structure would help foster a healthy and competitive market in Taiwan if the deal is approved, Grab said. Grab, which is listed on the NASDAQ, said in the filing that US-based Uber Technologies Inc holds about 13 percent of
The domestic unit of the Chinese-owned, Dutch-headquartered chipmaker Nexperia BV will soon be able to produce semiconductors locally within China, according to two company sources. Nexperia is at the center of a global tug-of-war over critical semiconductor technology, with a Dutch court in February ordering a probe into alleged mismanagement at the company. The geopolitical tussle has disrupted supply chains, with some carmakers reportedly forced to cut production due to chip shortages. Local production would allow Nexperia’s domestic arm, Nexperia Semiconductors (China) Ltd (安世半導體中國), to bypass restrictions in place since October on the supply of silicon wafers — etched with tiny components to
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday received government approval to deploy its advanced 3-nanometer (3nm) process at its second fab currently under construction in Japan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a news release. The ministry green-lit the plan for the facility in Kumamoto, which is scheduled to start installing equipment and come online in 2028 with a monthly production capacity of 15,000 12-inch wafers, the ministry said. The Department of Investment Review in June 2024 authorized a US$5.26 billion investment for the facility, slated to manufacture 6- to 12nm chips, significantly less advanced than 3nm process. At a meeting with
Taiwan’s food delivery market could undergo a major shift if Singapore-based Grab Holdings Ltd completes its planned acquisition of Delivery Hero SE’s Foodpanda business in Taiwan, industry experts said. Grab on Monday last week announced it would acquire Foodpanda’s Taiwan operations for US$600 million. The deal is expected to be finalized in the second half of this year, with Grab aiming to complete user migration to its platform by the first half of next year. A duopoly between Uber Eats and Foodpanda dominates Taiwan’s delivery market, a structure that has remained intact since the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) blocked Uber Technologies Inc’s
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