AUTOMAKERS
Minister cautious on merger
French Minister of Finance Bruno Le Maire yesterday said there was no need to rush the US$35 billion merger talks between automakers Renault SA and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, but reiterated that he wanted the deal to go ahead. “We should take our time to make sure that things are done well,” Le Maire told BFM TV. The government wanted guarantees over the new entity’s jobs, having a headquarter in Paris and corporate governance, he added.
INDIA
Services expansion slow
The services sector expanded at its slowest pace in a year last month, adding to doubts about the economy’s ability to quickly reverse a slowdown. The seasonally adjusted Nikkei India Services Index fell to 50.2, its weakest level in 12 months. The reading is within earshot of the 50 threshold, which is the dividing line between expansion and contraction. The reading signals slowing activity in the nation’s dominant services sector and is likely to add to pressure on the central bank to lower interest rates to support the economy.
AUTOMOBILES
UK registrations drop
UK new registrations dropped 4.6 percent last month to 183,274 vehicles due to uncertainty over diesel policy and the government’s decision to cut incentives for plug-in hybrid vehicles, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said yesterday. “Confusing policy messages and changes to incentives continue to affect consumer and business confidence, causing drivers to keep hold of their older, more polluting vehicles for longer,” group CEO Mike Hawes said.
ENERGY
CTG eyeing EDP Brazil
China Three Gorges Corp (CTG, 中國三峽集團) is weighing a deal to gain control of EDP-Energias de Portugal SA’s Brazilian business, people with knowledge of the matter said. State-owned CTG is considering merging its own Brazilian assets with EDP’s operations in the South American country, which are run through publicly traded EDP-Energias do Brasil SA, the people said. CTG might seek a majority stake in the combined entity, the people said.
AUTOMAKERS
Ford China fined
China has fined Ford Motor Co’s main joint venture in the country for antitrust breaches. Changan Ford Automobile Co (長安福特汽車) was fined 162.8 million yuan (US$23.6 million) for restricting retailers’ sale prices in Chongqing since 2013, the State Administration for Market Regulation said in a statement on its Web site. The amount of the fine is equivalent to 4 percent of Changan Ford’s annual sales in Chongqing. Ford said in a statement that it respects China’s decision.
SOUTH AFRICA
Stabilizing prices a priority
The primary mandate of the central bank is price stability, South African Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago said yesterday after the South African Communist Party said the bank’s mandate should be expanded to explicitly include job creation. The divergent statements echoed a heated argument among senior officials over whether its mandate should be expanded. “The constitution outlines the primary mandate of the Reserve Bank, being to protect the value of the currency in the interests of balanced and sustainable growth,” Kganyago said. “The independence and competence of the Reserve Bank all come from the constitution.”
PROTECTIONISM: China hopes to help domestic chipmakers gain more market share while preparing local tech companies for the possibility of more US sanctions Beijing is stepping up pressure on Chinese companies to buy locally produced artificial intelligence (AI) chips instead of Nvidia Corp products, part of the nation’s effort to expand its semiconductor industry and counter US sanctions. Chinese regulators have been discouraging companies from purchasing Nvidia’s H20 chips, which are used to develop and run AI models, sources familiar with the matter said. The policy has taken the form of guidance rather than an outright ban, as Beijing wants to avoid handicapping its own AI start-ups and escalating tensions with the US, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the
FALLING BEHIND: Samsung shares have declined more than 20 percent this year, as the world’s largest chipmaker struggles in key markets and plays catch-up to rival SK Hynix Samsung Electronics Co is laying off workers in Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand as part of a plan to reduce its global headcount by thousands of jobs, sources familiar with the situation said. The layoffs could affect about 10 percent of its workforces in those markets, although the numbers for each subsidiary might vary, said one of the sources, who asked not to be named because the matter is private. Job cuts are planned for other overseas subsidiaries and could reach 10 percent in certain markets, the source said. The South Korean company has about 147,000 in staff overseas, more than half
Taipei is today suspending its US$2.5 trillion stock market as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed-income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Yesterday, schools and offices were closed in several cities and counties in southern and eastern Taiwan, including in the key industrial port city of Kaohsiung. Taiwan, which started canceling flights, ship sailings and some train services earlier this week, has wind and rain advisories in place for much of the island. It regularly experiences typhoons, and in July shut offices and schools as
CHEMICAL FIRE: 10 Indian employees were injured by smoke inhalation at a Tata Electronics plant in Tamil Nadu state that produces components for Apple Inc At least 10 people received medical treatment, with two hospitalized after a major fire on Saturday disrupted production at a key Tata Electronics Pvt Ltd plant in southern India that makes Apple Inc’s iPhone components. The fire occurred at the plant in the city of Hosur in Tamil Nadu state that makes some iPhone components. It broke out near another building inside the Tata complex, which was to begin producing complete iPhones in the coming months. The fire was contained to one building and has been extinguished fully, top district administrative official K.M. Sarayu said. No decision has been made on when
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