APPAREL
Anta Sports mulling sale
Anta Sports Products Ltd (安踏體育用品) is considering a sale of its fitness equipment brand Precor Inc after being approached by potential buyers, people familiar with the matter said. The biggest sportswear maker in China is working with an adviser for a potential sale of the US business that could fetch about US$500 million, the people said. A number of companies and private equity funds have shown preliminary interest in acquiring Precor, which designs and makes indoor cycling bikes, treadmills and elliptical machines, they said.
CHIPMAKERS
Intel seeks buyers for unit
Intel Corp is seeking buyers for its connected home division, a unit that makes chips used in home Internet access gear, people familiar with the matter said. The chipmaker has hired a financial adviser and is seeking to sell the unit that has annual sales of about US$450 million, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private. Intel declined to comment. Intel chief executive officer Bob Swan has said that he is looking at the company’s operations and would explore options for areas where it is not competitive.
CHEMICALS
Showa Denko eyes Hitachi
Showa Denko K.K. said it is considering buying Hitachi Ltd’s stake in Hitachi Chemical Co. The Japanese producer of petrochemicals, resins, ceramics, metals, carbon and electronic materials, said it is not the source of a Nikkei newspaper report saying that Hitachi was going to award it with preferred negotiation rights for the sale of Hitachi Chemical.
PHILIPPINES
Probe urged over China
A senator yesterday urged lawmakers to investigate China’s access to the country’s power grid, warning of a security threat and possible sabotage due to Beijing’s stake in the nation’s only transmission firm. Risa Hontiveros filed a resolution warning of Chinese-engineered power and Internet outages and interference in elections if safeguards remained absent, citing confirmation last week from a power executive that a “hostile third party” had the ability to cause blackouts. The Chinese embassy in Manila did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
MEXICO
Country enters recession
The country registered a recession in the first two quarters of this year and zero growth in the third, revised official data released on Monday showed. The downward revision confirmed the economy’s weak performance under President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who is struggling to deliver on a promise to kick-start growth in his first year in office. The economy contracted by 0.1 percent in each of the first two quarters and stagnated in the third, according to the revised figures from national statistics institute INEGI.
UTILITIES
Hyflux, Utico strike deal
Troubled Singapore water treatment firm Hyflux Ltd has entered a restructuring deal with Middle Eastern utility Utico FZC. Under the agreement, Hyflux would get investment totaling S$400 million (US$293 million) from Utico, an exchange filing said. A court hearing for the debt-laden firm is scheduled for tomorrow. Hyflux, Singapore’s highest-profile debt restructuring, had been looking for a white knight investor after a deal with Indonesian consortium SM Investments fell apart in April.
The domestic unit of the Chinese-owned, Dutch-headquartered chipmaker Nexperia BV will soon be able to produce semiconductors locally within China, according to two company sources. Nexperia is at the center of a global tug-of-war over critical semiconductor technology, with a Dutch court in February ordering a probe into alleged mismanagement at the company. The geopolitical tussle has disrupted supply chains, with some carmakers reportedly forced to cut production due to chip shortages. Local production would allow Nexperia’s domestic arm, Nexperia Semiconductors (China) Ltd (安世半導體中國), to bypass restrictions in place since October on the supply of silicon wafers — etched with tiny components to
Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab Holdings Ltd has applied for regulatory approval to acquire the Taiwan operations of Germany-based Delivery Hero SE's Foodpanda in a deal valued at about US$600 million. Grab submitted the filing to the Fair Trade Commission on Friday last week, with the transaction subject to regulatory review and approval, the company said in a statement yesterday. Its independent governance structure would help foster a healthy and competitive market in Taiwan if the deal is approved, Grab said. Grab, which is listed on the NASDAQ, said in the filing that US-based Uber Technologies Inc holds about 13 percent of
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday received government approval to deploy its advanced 3-nanometer (3nm) process at its second fab currently under construction in Japan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a news release. The ministry green-lit the plan for the facility in Kumamoto, which is scheduled to start installing equipment and come online in 2028 with a monthly production capacity of 15,000 12-inch wafers, the ministry said. The Department of Investment Review in June 2024 authorized a US$5.26 billion investment for the facility, slated to manufacture 6- to 12nm chips, significantly less advanced than 3nm process. At a meeting with
Taiwan is open to joining a global liquefied natural gas (LNG) program if one is created, but on the condition that countries provide delivery even in a scenario where there is a conflict with China, an energy department official said yesterday. While Taiwan’s priority is to have enough LNG at home, the nation is open to exploring potential strategic reserves in other countries such as Japan or South Korea, Energy Administration Deputy Director-General Chen Chung-hsien (陳崇憲) said. While the LNG market does not have a global reserve for emergencies like that of oil, the concept has been raised a few times —
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