UNITED STATES
Tariff hearing length doubled
The US Trade Representative’s office on Friday said it doubled the length of tariff hearings on the next US$200 billion of Chinese goods to six days — from tomorrow to Friday — from the previously planned three due to overwhelming demand from companies to testify. The agency released a list of 359 people who would present testimony, representing a wide swath of US companies producing goods ranging from home building supplies to technology products, bicycles and apparel. Most have registered complaints about the higher costs they say that they would face due to the tariffs.
INTERNET
Qutoutiao files for US IPO
Qutoutiao Inc (趣頭條), a Chinese news and video aggregation app backed by Tencent Holdings Ltd (騰訊), filed for a US initial public offering (IPO), saying it had an almost sevenfold increase in revenue for the first half of the year, as losses also grew. The Shanghai-based company on Friday listed its offering size as US$300 million in its filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The amount might be a placeholder and could change. Qutoutiao, whose name means “fun headlines,” has about 17.1 million daily active users who spend about 56 minutes on the app daily, the filing said. Monthly active users total about 48.8 million.
STEEL
Firm aims for US$100m IPO
Steel pipe and tube manufacturing giant Zekelman Industries Inc filed for an initial public offering in what could be one of the highest-profile industrial listings in the US this year. The company on Friday listed an offering size of US$100 million in its filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The initial number is typically a placeholder amount that later changes. Including debt, Chicago-based Zekelman is aiming for a valuation of about US$5 billion, people familiar with the matter said last month. The company is aiming to list as soon as this year, the people said.
INTERNET
Hooker-ad agent pleads
The sales and marketing director of Backpage.com on Friday pleaded guilty to conspiring to facilitate prostitution, acknowledging that he participated in a scheme to give free ads to prostitutes in a bid to draw them away from competitors and win over their future business. Dan Hyer is the second Backpage.com employee to plead guilty in cases in Arizona in which the site has been accused of ignoring warnings to stop running prostitution ads, some of which involved children. The site has brought in US$500 million in prostitution-related revenue since its inception in 2004, authorities said.
UNITED STATES
Six-month reports mulled
US President Donald Trump is calling on federal regulators to consider scrapping the requirement for public companies to report quarterly results, after business executives told him that twice-yearly reports would make better economic sense. In a tweet early on Friday, Trump said that after speaking with several top business leaders, he is asking the US Securities and Exchange Commission to determine whether shifting to a six-month reporting requirement would help companies grow faster and create more jobs. “That would allow greater flexibility & save money” for companies, he tweeted.
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) is expected to share his views about the artificial intelligence (AI) industry’s prospects during his speech at the company’s 37th anniversary ceremony, as AI servers have become a new growth engine for the equipment manufacturing service provider. Lam’s speech is much anticipated, as Quanta has risen as one of the world’s major AI server suppliers. The company reported a 30 percent year-on-year growth in consolidated revenue to NT$1.41 trillion (US$43.35 billion) last year, thanks to fast-growing demand for servers, especially those with AI capabilities. The company told investors in November last year that
Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) yesterday said it plans to ship its new 1 megawatt charging systems for electric trucks and buses in the first half of next year at the earliest. The new charging piles, which deliver up to 1 megawatt of charging power, are designed for heavy-duty electric vehicles, and support a maximum current of 1,500 amperes and output of 1,250 volts, Delta said in a news release. “If everything goes smoothly, we could begin shipping those new charging systems as early as in the first half of next year,” a company official said. The new
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