CHINA
Industrial profit drop slows
The fall in profits of industrial enterprises last month narrowed from March, as the nation’s economy gradually recovered from a COVID-19-induced slump. Industrial profits last month dropped 4.3 percent from a year earlier, National Bureau of Statistics data showed yesterday. That was much smaller than the almost 35 percent drop in March. Profits contracted 27.4 percent in the first four months of this year and were down 46 percent at state-owned enterprises and 17.2 percent at private companies.
FRANCE
Caution about recovery
Economic activity is making a clear if cautious recovery after lockdown measures were relaxed earlier this month, but the nation is still heading for about 20 percent contraction this quarter, the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies said yesterday. That would be “the severest recession since the creation of the national accounts in 1948,” it said, adding that the forecast should be considered with caution given uncertainty about the pace of economic recovery in the coming weeks. The nation’s GDP fell 5.8 percent in the first quarter.
RETAIL
UK grocery sales rise 14.3%
UK grocery sales rose 14.3 percent in the 12 weeks to Sunday last week, the fastest rate since comparable records began in 1994, as Britons adapted to a national lockdown, data from market researcher Kantar showed yesterday. Of Britain’s big four grocers, industry leader Tesco PLC was the best performer with sales up 12.7 percent, closely followed by No. 2 player Sainsbury’s PLC with a 12.5 percent increase. No. 4 Morrisons Supermarkets PLC’s sales rose 9.8 percent, while Walmart Inc-owned Asda Stores Ltd was the laggard with a 6.5 percent increase.
TRANSPORTATION
Amazon in talks to buy Zoox
Amazon.com Inc is in talks to buy robo-taxi start-up Zoox, accelerating its efforts in self-driving vehicles, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. Amazon and Zoox are in advanced negotiations of a deal that would value the start-up at less than the US$3.2 billion it was estimated to be worth in a funding round two years ago, the newspaper said, citing unnamed people with knowledge of the matter. The takeover talks could yet break down, it added.
HEALTH
Buyer to expand gym chain
A consortium that acquired Anytime Fitness Inc’s business in Asia is betting that people would flock to gyms when they reopen to boost their immunity from the novel coronavirus. Inspire Brands Asia acquired the master franchise for Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and Southeast Asia, where Anytime Fitness has more than 250 gyms. The consortium expects to double the number of its gyms to more than 500 in the next three years, CEO Luke Guanlao said in an interview. He did not disclose the purchase price.
INVESTMENT
KKR to invest in data center
KKR & Co Inc yesterday said that it would put US$1 billion into a new data center venture in Europe, as private equity firms chase returns in the growing market for digital infrastructure assets. The investment firm is teaming up with industry veteran Franek Sodzawiczny to launch Global Technical Realty, which is to develop and build data centers for large technology companies in Europe, it said in a news release, confirming an earlier Bloomberg News report.
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Chizuko Kimura has become the first female sushi chef in the world to win a Michelin star, fulfilling a promise she made to her dying husband to continue his legacy. The 54-year-old Japanese chef regained the Michelin star her late husband, Shunei Kimura, won three years ago for their Sushi Shunei restaurant in Paris. For Shunei Kimura, the star was a dream come true. However, the joy was short-lived. He died from cancer just three months later in June 2022. He was 65. The following year, the restaurant in the heart of Montmartre lost its star rating. Chizuko Kimura insisted that the new star is still down
While China’s leaders use their economic and political might to fight US President Donald Trump’s trade war “to the end,” its army of social media soldiers are embarking on a more humorous campaign online. Trump’s tariff blitz has seen Washington and Beijing impose eye-watering duties on imports from the other, fanning a standoff between the economic superpowers that has sparked global recession fears and sent markets into a tailspin. Trump says his policy is a response to years of being “ripped off” by other countries and aims to bring manufacturing to the US, forcing companies to employ US workers. However, China’s online warriors
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