CHEMICALS
Akzo to reward investors
Akzo Nobel NV plans to distribute another 5.5 billion euros (US$6.4 billion) to shareholders from the sale of its specialty chemicals business, rewarding investors for a plan that the paint company used to fend off an unwanted takeover approach. The proceeds would be distributed using a capital repayment and share consolidation of 2 billion euros, a cash dividend of 1 billion euros and a 2.5 billion-euro stock buyback, the Amsterdam-based company said in a statement yesterday.
CURRENCIES
Bank lowers yuan forecast
Bank of America (BofA) Merrill Lynch was the latest bank to downgrade its forecasts for China’s exchange rate, days after JPMorgan Chase & Co similarly said that an escalating trade war with the US was likely to lead to a weaker yuan. “Near-term damage to China growth is already evident” and would hit the economy in the first quarter of next year, BofA Merrill Lynch strategists, including Claudio Piron, wrote in a note yesterday. “Given this and the prospect of higher US interest rates, Beijing will likely allow and lean on yuan weakness as a crutch for economic support,” they said. The bank now sees the yuan at 7.05 per US dollar in the first quarter of next year, versus 6.9 before, and at 7.1 in the second quarter, against 6.85 before.
VIDEO GAMES
Google, Ubisoft partner
Alphabet Inc’s Google on Monday said it has partnered with Ubisoft SA to test its video game streaming service by offering the latest installment of the Assassin’s Creed series. Selected users can play the game starting on Friday at no charge for the duration of the Project Stream test. The test, if successful, would put Google at the forefront of a new part of the video game business that lets people play games as they are being streamed. Google was developing a subscription-based game streaming service that could work either on its Chromecast or a Google-made console, the Information reported in February.
INTERNET
Instagram gets new boss
Facebook Inc has named Adam Mosseri, a 10-year veteran at the company, as the head of Instagram. The appointment came after the app’s cofounders last week resigned without giving a clear reason. Mosseri was in May named as Instagram’s head of product. He began as a designer at Facebook and most recently led its news feed. The cofounders and Mosseri sought to reassure users that he would “hold true” to Instagram’s values and community. Some users have worried since last week’s surprise departures that Instagram would become more like Facebook, becoming cluttered with features and sucking up personal data.
AUTOMAKERS
E-vehicles shine in Paris
All-electric vehicles (e-vehicles) with zero local emissions are among the stars of the Paris Motor Show — rubbing shoulders with the fossil-fuel-burning sport utility vehicles (SUVs) that many car buyers love. Volkswagen AG’s Audi and Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz yesterday showed off battery-powered SUVs for affluent customers. Mercedes also had a bigger version of its conventionally powered GLE sport-utility, while BMW AG offered a new version of its X-5 SUV that has been a pillar of sales and earnings. The EU and China are pushing for more electric and hybrid vehicles to reduce greenhouse gases and air pollution that harm people’s health, while drivers favor SUVs and remain reluctant to buy electrics due to cost and range limitations.
The Eurovision Song Contest has seen a surge in punter interest at the bookmakers, becoming a major betting event, experts said ahead of last night’s giant glamfest in Basel. “Eurovision has quietly become one of the biggest betting events of the year,” said Tomi Huttunen, senior manager of the Online Computer Finland (OCS) betting and casino platform. Betting sites have long been used to gauge which way voters might be leaning ahead of the world’s biggest televised live music event. However, bookmakers highlight a huge increase in engagement in recent years — and this year in particular. “We’ve already passed 2023’s total activity and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) today announced that his company has selected "Beitou Shilin" in Taipei for its new Taiwan office, called Nvidia Constellation, putting an end to months of speculation. Industry sources have said that the tech giant has been eyeing the Beitou Shilin Science Park as the site of its new overseas headquarters, and speculated that the new headquarters would be built on two plots of land designated as "T17" and "T18," which span 3.89 hectares in the park. "I think it's time for us to reveal one of the largest products we've ever built," Huang said near the
China yesterday announced anti-dumping duties as high as 74.9 percent on imports of polyoxymethylene (POM) copolymers, a type of engineering plastic, from Taiwan, the US, the EU and Japan. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce’s findings conclude a probe launched in May last year, shortly after the US sharply increased tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, computer chips and other imports. POM copolymers can partially replace metals such as copper and zinc, and have various applications, including in auto parts, electronics and medical equipment, the Chinese ministry has said. In January, it said initial investigations had determined that dumping was taking place, and implemented preliminary
Intel Corp yesterday reinforced its determination to strengthen its partnerships with Taiwan’s ecosystem partners including original-electronic-manufacturing (OEM) companies such as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) and chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電). “Tonight marks a new beginning. We renew our new partnership with Taiwan ecosystem,” Intel new chief executive officer Tan Lip-bu (陳立武) said at a dinner with representatives from the company’s local partners, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the US chip giant’s presence in Taiwan. Tan took the reins at Intel six weeks ago aiming to reform the chipmaker and revive its past glory. This is the first time Tan
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