RETAIL
Walmart buys lingerie firm
Walmart Inc on Friday said it would buy online lingerie retailer Bare Necessities Ltd, the latest acquisition in a niche-brand buying spree. Walmart declined to disclose how much it is paying for Bare Necessities, but said the deal would help deepen its expertise in the world of bras, swimwear and shapewear. Bare Necessities would remain a stand-alone site, the company said. Bare Necessities cofounder and chief executive officer Noah Wrubel would also lead the intimates area for Walmart.com and Jet.com.
BANKING
KKR to buy assets in India
KKR & Co is seeking to acquire assets from stressed Indian shadow lenders, as it tries to take advantage of the market disruption after a rare money market default by Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd. The private equity company’s two Indian credit units might spend as much as 20 billion rupees (US$271.42 million) combined with purchase portfolios from local finance companies, KKR India chief executive officer Sanjay Nayar said on Friday.
AUTOMAKERS
Tesla mulls making liquor
What started as an April Fools’ Day joke that left a poor taste in Tesla Inc investors’ mouths might soon become a reality. The electric automaker on Monday submitted a trademark application for Teslaquila, describing the planned product as a distilled agave liquor. The application was filed as “based on intent to use,” which means that Tesla does not have the product ready just yet. The company needs to actually be making a product to obtain the trademark.
BLOCKCHAIN
Cohn turns start-up advisor
Gary Cohn, the former chief economic aide to US President Donald Trump and president of Goldman Sachs Group Inc, would serve as an adviser to blockchain technology start-up Spring Labs. Joining Spring Labs is his most high-profile move since resigning as National Economic Council director earlier this year after Trump imposed tariffs on aluminum and steel that Cohn opposed.
FASHION
Icicle to acquire Carven
China’s Icicle (之禾), a fashion firm that focuses on using natural fibers, was selected on Friday to take fashion label Carven out of bankruptcy, lawyers for the storied French company told reporters. One of seven offers, Icicle bid a little more than 6.5 million euros (US$7.52 million) for the company, which was founded in 1945 and sought bankruptcy protection in May. Icicle has pledged to invest another 8 million into the company. Carven’s last publicly disclosed figures were a net profit of 67,000 euros on sales of 49 million euros in 2015.
INSURANCE
Firm to shed extra US control
Prudential Financial Inc could as soon as next week shed the too-big-to-fail label that the US government slapped on it after the 2008 financial crisis, a person familiar with the matter said. The Financial Stability Oversight Council has been considering freeing the New Jersey-based insurer from heightened oversight for months. A vote on the matter might come when the panel meets in Washington on Tuesday, said the person, who asked not to be named because a decision has not yet been announced.
Anna Bhobho, a 31-year-old housewife from rural Zimbabwe, was once a silent observer in her home, excluded from financial and family decisionmaking in the deeply patriarchal society. Today, she is a driver of change in her village, thanks to an electric tricycle she owns. In many parts of rural sub-Saharan Africa, women have long been excluded from mainstream economic activities such as operating public transportation. However, three-wheelers powered by green energy are reversing that trend, offering financial opportunities and a newfound sense of importance. “My husband now looks up to me to take care of a large chunk of expenses,
SECTOR LEADER: TSMC can increase capacity by as much as 20 percent or more in the advanced node part of the foundry market by 2030, an analyst said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to lead its peers in the advanced 2-nanometer process technology, despite competition from Samsung Electronics Co and Intel Corp, TrendForce Corp analyst Joanne Chiao (喬安) said. TSMC’s sophisticated products and its large production scale are expected to allow the company to continue dominating the global 2-nanometer process market this year, Chiao said. The world’s largest contract chipmaker is scheduled to begin mass production of chips made on the 2-nanometer process in its Hsinchu fab in the second half of this year. It would also hold a ceremony on Monday next week to
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday signed a letter of intent with Alaska Gasline Development Corp (AGDC), expressing an interest to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) and invest in the latter’s Alaska LNG project, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement. Under the agreement, CPC is to participate in the project’s upstream gas investment to secure stable energy resources for Taiwan, the ministry said. The Alaska LNG project is jointly promoted by AGDC and major developer Glenfarne Group LLC, as Alaska plans to export up to 20 million tonnes of LNG annually from 2031. It involves constructing an 1,290km
NEXT GENERATION: The company also showcased automated machines, including a nursing robot called Nurabot, which is to enter service at a Taichung hospital this year Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) expects server revenue to exceed its iPhone revenue within two years, with the possibility of achieving this goal as early as this year, chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) said on Tuesday at Nvidia Corp’s annual technology conference in San Jose, California. AI would be the primary focus this year for the company, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), as rapidly advancing AI applications are driving up demand for AI servers, Liu said. The production and shipment of Nvidia’s GB200 chips and the anticipated launch of GB300 chips in the second half of the year would propel
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