E-COMMERCE
Zilingo raises US$226m
Zilingo Pte, a Singapore-based online fashion marketplace, raised US$226 million to fund an expansion into the Philippines, Indonesia and Australia. Investors in the series D financing included Sequoia Capital, Temasek Holdings Pte, Burda Principal Investments, Sofina and EDB Investments Pte, the company said yesterday without disclosing a valuation. The start-up is valued at US$970 million, according to people familiar with the matter.
CHINA
FX reserves up on yuan rally
The country’s foreign exchange reserves last month rose slightly more than expected as the yuan rallied on hopes for progress in Sino-US trade talks. The reserves rose by US$15.2 billion to US$3.088 trillion, central bank data showed on Monday. That compared with a rise of US$11 billion in December last year. Meanwhile, the value of the country’s gold reserves rose to US$79.319 billion from US$76.331 billion at the end of December last year.
AVIATION
IAG braces for Brexit
IAG SA is freezing the percentage of its shares that can be held by non-EU citizens and funds amid a lack of clarity about potential ownership restrictions following Britain’s exit from the bloc. Non-EU shareholdings are restricted to 47.5 percent, London-based IAG said in a statement on Monday. Under EU rules, the airline could allow the figure to rise to just below 50 percent. Restricting it at the lower level gives IAG added breathing room to comply with the rules in case UK citizens, now part of the EU, are later recategorized.
LUXURY
Chinese boost Gucci sales
Kering SA’s Gucci label continued to outpace competitors in the fourth quarter of last year, rising ahead of expectations, giving another signal that Chinese appetite for luxury goods remains healthy. Fourth-quarter sales at Gucci rose 28 percent on an organic basis to 2.3 billion euros (US$2.6 billion), Paris-based Kering said yesterday. Analysts expected 27 percent growth. Kering’s profitability jumped 5 percentage points to 28.9 percent last year, helped by the spinoff of sportswear brand Puma. Demand from Chinese customers remained “extremely dynamic,” chief financial officer Jean-Marc Duplaix said.
INTERNET
Amazon to buy Eero
Amazon.com Inc has agreed to acquire Eero, a builder of Wi-Fi networking tools, in another deal aimed at bolstering the retail and technology giant’s home devices business. Eero, based in San Francisco, makes gadgets that extend Wi-Fi coverage throughout a home using local networking, known as mesh technology, that removes hiccups in broadcasting Internet signals. The companies did not disclose the purchase price on Monday. Eero has raised US$148 million in equity and debt, according to PitchBook Data Inc.
INDUSTRY
Thyssenkrupp confirms forecast
German industrial conglomerate Thyssenkrupp yesterday confirmed its earnings forecasts for the full year after increasing profits in its first quarter, while announcing a January next year vote on its split into two separate firms. Net profit at the group rose 69 percent between October and December last year, to 136 million euros. Revenues edged 2 percent higher to reach 9.7 billion euros. Adjusted operating profit fell 26 percent, to 333 million euros.
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
An Indian factory producing iPhone components resumed work yesterday after a fire that halted production — the third blaze to disrupt Apple Inc’s local supply chain since the start of last year. Local industrial behemoth Tata Group’s plant in Tamil Nadu, which was shut down by the unexplained fire on Saturday, is a key linchpin of Apple’s nascent supply chain in the country. A spokesperson for subsidiary Tata Electronics Pvt yesterday said that the company would restart work in “many areas of the facility today.” “We’ve been working diligently since Saturday to support our team and to identify the cause of the fire,”
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
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