CHINA
Words banned for firms
Enterprises are to be banned from using words like “China,” “Chinese” or “state” in their names, the Communist Party-run People’s Daily newspaper said yesterday, citing draft proposals from market regulators. The country has become increasingly wary about the use of sensitive language and imagery for commercial or entertainment purposes. It has also taken action to ban the misuse of the national anthem as well as satirical representations of historical and even fictional heroes. The new draft rules issued by the State Administration for Market Regulation said the use of certain words in company names was “detrimental to the interests of state and society” and needed to be banned. The new rules would also ban non-state firms from describing themselves as “central,” “nationwide,” “state” or “international.” The new restrictions would allow, for example, a company to name itself “Acme China Jewelry” but not “China Acme” unless it gains the explicit approval of the State Council.
TRANSPORTATION
Ofo, Reddy Go quit Sydney
Bike-sharing companies Ofo Inc (共享單車) and Australia’s Reddy Go have announced they are pulling out of Sydney, less than a year after their launch in the city. Ofo this week said that it had made a “strategic decision to focus on priority markets internationally” and would “wind down” its operations in Sydney and Adelaide over the next two months. “As part of this process Ofo is to begin to remove bikes from cities and consolidate them to our warehouses,” a spokesperson said. Reddy Go yesterday said it was also pulling out of Sydney.
TRANSPORTATION
Uber invests in Lime
Uber Technologies Inc on Monday said that it is investing in Lime, a start-up based in San Mateo, California. “Our investment and partnership in Lime is another step toward our vision of becoming a one-stop shop for all your transportation needs,” Uber vice president Rachel Holt said in a statement. The ride-hailing company is to add Lime motorized scooters to the Uber mobile app, giving customers another option for getting around cities, especially to and from public transit systems, Holt said. Lime cofounders Toby Sun and Brad Bao wrote in a blog that Uber’s sizeable investment is part of a US$335 million fundraising round led by GV, the venture-capital arm of Google parent Alphabet Inc. They said Alphabet is among several new investors. The money is to help Lime expand and develop new products. According to the company’s Web site, people can rent Lime scooters in more than 70 locations in the US and Europe.
INVESTMENT
Temasek to dial down pace
Singaporean investment giant Temasek Holdings Ltd yesterday said the value of its global portfolio reached a record high last year, but added that it would temper investments this year owing to brewing trade and geopolitical tensions. Net global holdings expanded to S$308 billion (US$235 billion) in the financial year that ended on March 31, up 12 percent from the year before in local currency terms, the company said in its annual report. Temasek, one of the city-state’s two main investment vehicles, said it invested S$29 billion over the past year and divested S$16 billion. “This record net portfolio value ... was up S$33 billion from last year, bolstered by good global economic momentum and buoyant equity markets,” chairman Lim Boon Heng (林文興) said in the firm’s annual report.
To many, Tatu City on the outskirts of Nairobi looks like a success. The first city entirely built by a private company to be operational in east Africa, with about 25,000 people living and working there, it accounts for about two-thirds of all foreign investment in Kenya. Its low-tax status has attracted more than 100 businesses including Heineken, coffee brand Dormans, and the biggest call-center and cold-chain transport firms in the region. However, to some local politicians, Tatu City has looked more like a target for extortion. A parade of governors have demanded land worth millions of dollars in exchange
An Indonesian animated movie is smashing regional box office records and could be set for wider success as it prepares to open beyond the Southeast Asian archipelago’s silver screens. Jumbo — a film based on the adventures of main character, Don, a large orphaned Indonesian boy facing bullying at school — last month became the highest-grossing Southeast Asian animated film, raking in more than US$8 million. Released at the end of March to coincide with the Eid holidays after the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, the movie has hit 8 million ticket sales, the third-highest in Indonesian cinema history, Film
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) revenue jumped 48 percent last month, underscoring how electronics firms scrambled to acquire essential components before global tariffs took effect. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp reported monthly sales of NT$349.6 billion (US$11.6 billion). That compares with the average analysts’ estimate for a 38 percent rise in second-quarter revenue. US President Donald Trump’s trade war is prompting economists to retool GDP forecasts worldwide, casting doubt over the outlook for everything from iPhone demand to computing and datacenter construction. However, TSMC — a barometer for global tech spending given its central role in the
Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designer specializing in server chips, expects revenue to decline this year due to sagging demand for 5-nanometer artificial intelligence (AI) chips from a North America-based major customer, a company executive said yesterday. That would be the first contraction in revenue for Alchip as it has been enjoying strong revenue growth over the past few years, benefiting from cloud-service providers’ moves to reduce dependence on Nvidia Corp’s expensive AI chips by building their own AI accelerator by outsourcing chip design. The 5-nanometer chip was supposed to be a new growth engine as the lifecycle
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