BANKING
Deutsche mulls bad-bank unit
Deutsche Bank AG is considering setting up a bad-bank unit that could eventually hold as much as 50 billion euros (US$56 billion) of risk-weighted assets, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter. As part of the revamp, which is not finalized, Deutsche Bank’s equity and rates-trading businesses outside of Europe would be shrunk or closed entirely, according to the report. Managers are also set to unveil a new focus on transaction banking and private wealth management, the newspaper said. The proposed bad bank, known internally as the non-core asset unit, would be comprised mainly of long-dated derivatives.
ENERGY
Inpex reaches LNG deal
Japan’s Inpex Corp reached a new deal with Indonesia on the US$20 billion Abadi liquefied natural gas (LNG) project. A heads of agreement between the two includes an extension of the company’s contract to operate the Masela block by 27 years until 2055, Inpex president Takayuki Ueda told reporters on Sunday at a G20 energy and environment meeting in Japan. Inpex would start front-end engineering and design work after the government approves its development plan, which it would submit within weeks. A final investment decision is expected in two to three years, with output to begin in the second half of next decade, he said.
THAILAND
Clooney faker arrested
Police said they have arrested an Italian man wanted in his home country after he fled a jail sentence for fraudulently using the name of actor George Clooney to lure people into investing in a bogus clothing company. The Crime Suppression Division said in a statement that Francesco Galdeli, 58, was arrested on Saturday near the city of Pattaya on suspicion of staying in the country illegally. Also arrested was Vanja Goffi, 45, on suspicion of overstaying her visa. Interpol notice had been issued for Galdeli and he was arrested at an address provided by Italian authorities, Thai authorities said in a statement on Sunday.
DEVELOPERS
Kier to cut 1,200 jobs
Kier Group PLC plans to cut 1,200 jobs and exit its homebuilding and property maintenance businesses as chief executive officer Andrew Davies tries to lower debt by reversing the rapid expansion that put the British engineering group’s finances under pressure. The overhaul, which also includes the suspension of dividend payouts for this year and next, is expected to generate annual savings of ￡55 million (US$69 million) from 2021, the Bedfordshire, England-based company said in a statement yesterday. Kier shares fell as much as 13 percent in early trading.
AUTOMAKERS
VW workers reject union
Workers at Volkswagen AG’s (VW) plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on Friday night voted against forming a factory-wide union, handing a setback to the United Auto Workers’ efforts to gain a foothold among foreign auto facilities in the US South. The vote of hourly workers began on Wednesday and concluded on Friday. Preliminary results showed 833 employees voted against representation and 776 voted for it, the German automaker said in a statement. VW said about 93 percent of the about 1,700 eligible employees voted. “Our employees have spoken,” Volkswagen Chattanooga president and chief executive officer Frank Fischer said in the statement.
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
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
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
Her white-gloved, waistcoated uniform impeccable, 22-year-old Hazuki Okuno boards a bullet train replica to rehearse the strict protocols behind the smooth operation of a Japanese institution turning 60 Tuesday. High-speed Shinkansen trains began running between Tokyo and Osaka on Oct. 1, 1964, heralding a new era for rail travel as Japan grew into an economic superpower after World War II. The service remains integral to the nation’s economy and way of life — so keeping it dazzlingly clean, punctual and accident-free is a serious job. At a 10-story, state-of-the-art staff training center, Okuno shouted from the window and signaled to imaginary colleagues, keeping
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