TRANSPORTATION
Uber increases bond offering
Uber Technologies Inc increased the size of its debut bond offering as orders for the private placement swelled in a market hungry for deals, people with knowledge of the sale said. The ride-hailing firm set final terms for the debt, including a US$1.5 billion portion of eight-year bonds and US$500 million of five-year securities, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak publicly. Uber is wrapping up the deal after Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc told the firm that it could be valued at about US$120 billion in an initial public offering next year, people with knowledge of those discussions told reporters earlier yesterday. While chief executive officer Dara Khosrowshahi has said that the company is planning to go public in the second half of next year, Uber is now considering doing so earlier.
SEMICONDUCTORS
New orders raise ASML sales
Fourth-quarter sales and profit forecasts at ASML Holding NV, Europe’s largest semiconductor equipment maker, beat analyst expectations as the chip industry bellwether announced five new orders for its newest lithography machines in the third quarter. The company forecast sales of 3 billion euros (US$3.47 billion) for the fourth quarter, compared with an average analyst estimate of 2.9 billion euros, and gross margin of about 48 percent, beating the average estimate of 45.3 percent. The forecast “gets us for the full year to approximately 11 billion euros, which again is a record year for ASML,” chief financial officer Roger Dassen said in a video statement. Third-quarter sales came in at 2.78 billion euros, just beating the average analyst estimate of 2.75 billion euros.
AUTOMAKERS
September sales in EU fall
Car sales last month slumped across Europe, weakening after a sales binge before new emissions tests came into force, industry data published yesterday showed. Concern over the new tests knocked Volkswagen (VW) out of its traditional top spot in monthly sales. At 1.09 million, passenger car sales last month were down 23.5 percent in the EU compared with a year earlier, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association said in a statement. Sales had jumped by nearly one-third in August, traditionally a soft month for car sales as many Europeans are on vacation, as carmakers discounted vehicles that had not been certified using the new emissions test. Sales of VW’s own-brand cars were down 52 percent, while luxury subsidiary Porsche saw a near 70 percent collapse.
REAL ESTATE
People fear losing homes
Tens of millions of people worldwide fear losing their homes and land in the next five years, a survey of 15 nations released yesterday showed. A lack of formal documentation and poor implementation of land laws threaten tenure in many nations, researchers and policymakers said at a presentation of the Global Property Rights Index, which gauges citizens’ perceptions. “Around the world more than 40 million people worry that their home or place of work will be taken from them,” said Anna Locke from the Overseas Development Institute, a British think tank that is involved in the index, at a launch event in Rome, Italy. “This will affect the way they behave, and their countries’ overall development prospects.” Overall, one in four respondents feared their property being taken away.
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
TECH CLUSTER: The US company’s new office is in the Shalun Smart Green Energy Science City, a new AI industry base and cybersecurity hub in southern Taiwan US chip designer Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) yesterday launched an office in Tainan’s Gueiren District (歸仁), marking a significant milestone in the development of southern Taiwan’s artificial intelligence (AI) industry, the Tainan City Government said in a statement. AMD Taiwan general manager Vincent Chern (陳民皓) presided over the opening ceremony for the company’s new office at the Shalun Smart Green Energy Science City (沙崙智慧綠能科學城), a new AI industry base and cybersecurity hub in southern Taiwan. Facilities in the new office include an information processing center, and a research and development (R&D) center, the Tainan Economic Development Bureau said. The Ministry
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
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