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.
PATENTS: MediaTek Inc said it would not comment on ongoing legal cases, but does not expect the legal action by Huawei to affect its business operations Smartphone integrated chips designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) on Friday said that a lawsuit filed by Chinese smartphone brand Huawei Technologies Co (華為) over alleged patent infringements would have little impact on its operations. In an announcement posted on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, MediaTek said that it would not comment on an ongoing legal case. However, the company said that Huawei’s legal action would have little impact on its operations. MediaTek’s statement came after China-based PRIP Research said on Thursday that Huawei filed a lawsuit with a Chinese district court claiming that MediaTek infringed on its patents. The infringement mentioned in the lawsuit likely involved
Taipei is today suspending work, classes and its US$2.4 trillion stock market as Typhoon Gaemi 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. Authorities had yesterday issued a warning that the storm could affect people on land and canceled some ship crossings and domestic flights. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) expects its local chipmaking fabs to maintain normal production, the company said in an e-mailed statement. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp said it has activated routine typhoon alert
GROWTH: TSMC increased its projected revenue growth for this year to more than 25 percent, citing stronger-than-expected demand for AI devices and smartphones The Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER, 台灣經濟研究院) yesterday raised its forecast for Taiwan’s GDP growth this year from 3.29 percent to 3.85 percent, as exports and private investment recovered faster than it predicted three months ago. The Taipei-based think tank also expects that Taiwan would see a 8.19 percent increase in exports this year, better than the 7.55 percent it projected in April, as US technology giants spent more money on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and development. “There will be more AI servers going forward, but it remains to be seen if the momentum would extend to personal computers, smartphones and
Catastrophic computer outages caused by a software update from one company have once again exposed the dangers of global technological dependence on a handful of players, experts said on Friday. A flawed update sent out by the little-known security firm CrowdStrike Holdings Inc brought airlines, TV stations and myriad other aspects of daily life to a standstill. The outages affected companies or individuals that use CrowdStrike on the Microsoft Inc’s Windows platform. When they applied the update, the incompatible software crashed computers into a frozen state known as the “blue screen of death.” “Today CrowdStrike has become a household name, but not in