E-COMMERCE
Singles’ Day growth slows
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (阿里巴巴) filled a record US$30.7 billion in orders on Sunday during its annual Singles’ Day shopping frenzy, but growth slowed from previous years. The world’s biggest 24-hour shopping event, celebrating its 10th year, started early on Sunday and once again shattered its own sales mark as Chinese online shoppers seized on promotions to snap up everything from electronics to clothing and housewares. Sales rose 27 percent, compared with 39 percent last year. Alibaba’s share price, which doubled last year, is down 16 percent this year.
TECHNOLOGY
SAP to buy Qualtrics
SAP SE, Europe’s biggest technology company, on Sunday said it has agreed to pay US$8 billion cash for survey-software provider Qualtrics International Inc, which was preparing for an initial public offering (IPO). The deal was approved by boards of both companies and Qualtrics shareholders, SAP said. The sale is expected to close in the first half of next year. Prove, Utah-based Qualtrics filed for an IPO last week. Its products help companies get feedback from employees and customers. Qualtrics said in a regulatory filing that it has more than 9,000 customers including more than 75 percent of Fortune 100 companies.
DISTILLERS
Diageo to sell 17 brands
Diageo PLC has agreed to sell Seagram’s VO whiskey, Parrot Bay coconut liqueur and another 17 brands to closely held US distiller Sazerac Co for US$550 million. The proceeds from the sale, about ￡340 million (US$438 million) after tax and transaction costs, would be returned to shareholders through a share repurchase program, the London-based company said in a statement yesterday. The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected to complete early next year. The transaction is expected to generate an exceptional gain on disposal of approximately ￡110 million, the company said.
TELECOMS
Italian firm mulls new chief
Telecom Italia SpA’s board of directors might seek the resignation of chief executive officer Amos Genish as early as this week, newspaper Il Messaggero reported without saying where it got the information. Directors backed by both Vivendi SA, the carrier’s biggest shareholder, and US activist Elliott Management Corp, have agreed to call an extraordinary board meeting to obtain Genish’s resignation, according to the newspaper. Telecom Italia chairman Fulvio Conti is considering Rocco Sabelli and Alfredo Altavilla as possible successors, Messaggero reported.
ELECTRONICS
Samsung to unveil new phone
Samsung Electronics Co is to roll out its foldable smartphone in the first half of next year and produce at least 1 million of them, Yonhap News reported. DJ Koh, president of Samsung’s mobile communication business, told reporters after a conference in San Francisco that he would launch the device in the first half “no matter what,” Yonhap reported on Sunday. A new version of the foldable phone is to be unveiled every year like Samsung’s flagship phones, such as the Galaxy S9. The company might raise the production volume of its foldable devices depending on market reception, Koh was quoted as saying. Samsung shipped more than 300 million phones in total last year, according to TrendForce Corp (集邦科技), a Taipei-based market research firm.
TECH PARTNERSHIP: The deal with Arizona-based Amkor would provide TSMC with advanced packing and test capacities, a requirement to serve US customers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is collaborating with Amkor Technology Inc to provide local advanced packaging and test capacities in Arizona to address customer requirements for geographical flexibility in chip manufacturing. As part of the agreement, TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, would contract turnkey advanced packaging and test services from Amkor at their planned facility in Peoria, Arizona, a joint statement released yesterday said. TSMC would leverage these services to support its customers, particularly those using TSMC’s advanced wafer fabrication facilities in Phoenix, Arizona, it said. The companies would jointly define the specific packaging technologies, such as TSMC’s Integrated
China’s economic planning agency yesterday outlined details of measures aimed at boosting the economy, but refrained from major spending initiatives. The piecemeal nature of the plans announced yesterday appeared to disappoint investors who were hoping for bolder moves, and the Shanghai Composite Index gave up a 10 percent initial gain as markets reopened after a weeklong holiday to end 4.59 percent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dived 9.41 percent. Chinese National Development and Reform Commission Chairman Zheng Shanjie (鄭珊潔) said the government would frontload 100 billion yuan (US$14.2 billion) in spending from the government’s budget for next year in addition
Sales RecORD: Hon Hai’s consolidated sales rose by about 20 percent last quarter, while Largan, another Apple supplier, saw quarterly sales increase by 17 percent IPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) on Saturday reported its highest-ever quarterly sales for the third quarter on the back of solid global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) globally, said it posted NT$1.85 trillion (US$57.93 billion) in consolidated sales in the July-to-September quarter, up 19.46 percent from the previous quarter and up 20.15 percent from a year earlier. The figure beat the previous third-quarter high of NT$1.74 trillion recorded in 2022, company data showed. Due to rising demand for AI, Hon Hai said its cloud and networking division enjoyed strong sales
Protectionism: US trade chief Katherine Tai said the hikes would help to counter unfair trade practices from China, while boosting domestic clean energy investments US Trade Representative Katherine Tai (戴琪) defended stiff tariff hikes against countries such as China, saying that paired with investment, they were a “legitimate and constructive” tool for reinvigorating domestic industries. Tai’s comments come a week after sharp tariff increases on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), EV batteries and solar cells took effect — with levies down the line on other products also recently finalized. The latest moves targeting US$18 billion in Chinese goods come weeks before next month’s US presidential election, with Democrats and Republicans pushing a hard line on China as competition between Washington and Beijing intensifies. In an interview on Thursday
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