MINING
Rio eyes carbon neutral
Rio Tinto PLC yesterday said that it wanted to be carbon neutral by 2050, as it booked a profit of US$10.4 billion last year, up 18 percent from 2018. The company said that it aims for a 15 percent reduction in emissions by 2030 from 2018 levels and “net-zero emissions from our operations by 2050.” The target would cover its own operations, but not emissions from upstream or downstream activities. The firm said that it would spend approximately US$1 billion on “climate-related” projects over the next five years.
BEVERAGES
Diageo warns of profit loss
Diageo PLC yesterday said that the spread of COVID-19 in China and the Asia-Pacific region could knock up to US$260 million off its profit this year as bars and restaurants remain closed. The London-based company, whose brands include Johnnie Walker, said that the virus could affect its organic net sales and organic operating profit by between ￡225 million and ￡325 million (US$291.7 million and 421.4 million) and ￡140 million to ￡200 million respectively. It said that these ranges exclude any impact of the virus on any other markets.
MANUFACTURING
Firms look outside China
More than one-quarter of businesses grappling with COVID-19 in Asia say that they are setting up or using supply chains that reduce their reliance on China, a survey released yesterday by the American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore showed. About 28 percent said that they were making such adjustments, and 14 percent said that they were shifting some or all of their supply chains outside of China, the poll conducted from Feb. 12 to Tuesday last week found. About two-thirds of members are US-based companies.
AIRLINES
Cathay staff take leave
More than 25,000 Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd (國泰航空) staff are taking unpaid leave amid the COVID-19 outbreak. Chief executive officer Augustus Tang (鄧健榮) said in an internal memo that challenges “remain acute,” and he thanked employees for their support. The Hong Kong-based airline this month asked its 33,000 workers to take three weeks off between Sunday and June 30. Most staff have taken the offer, but the acceptance rate is lower for pilots and cabin crew, a person familiar with the plan said.
INTERNET
Samsung site reveals info
Samsung Electronics Co on Tuesday said that a “technical error” caused its UK Web site to display other customers’ personal information. The company said that the error affected fewer than 150 customers on the site. People who logged on were able to see someone else’s name, phone number, address, e-mail address and previous orders. Samsung said that it did not leak card details.
TECHNOLOGY
Facebook buys game studio
Facebook Inc on Tuesday said that it has acquired development studio Sanzaru Games to join its Oculus gaming group. Sanzaru has produced a number of games, including Sonic the Hedgehog and Marvel Studios franchises, its Web site shows. The “vast majority” of Sanzaru’s nearly 100 employees would join Oculus, including the company’s founders, but would operate independently out of its existing offices, Facebook said. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
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
TECH JUGGERNAUT: TSMC shares have more than doubled since ChatGPT’s launch in late 2022, as demand for cutting-edge artificial intelligence chips remains high Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday posted a better-than-expected 39 percent rise in quarterly revenue, assuaging concerns that artificial intelligence (AI) hardware spending is beginning to taper off. The main chipmaker for Nvidia Corp and Apple Inc reported third-quarter sales of NT$759.69 billion (US$23.6 billion), compared with the average analyst projection of NT$748 billion. For last month alone, TSMC reported revenue jumped 39.6 percent year-on-year to NT$251.87 billion. Taiwan’s largest company is to disclose its full third-quarter earnings on Thursday next week and update its outlook. Hsinchu-based TSMC produces the cutting-edge chips needed to train AI. The company now makes more
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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