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.
Apple Inc has closed in on an agreement with OpenAI to use the start-up’s technology on the iPhone, part of a broader push to bring artificial intelligence (AI) features to its devices, people familiar with the matter said. The two sides have been finalizing terms for a pact to use ChatGPT features in Apple’s iOS 18, the next iPhone operating system, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the situation is private. Apple also has held talks with Alphabet Inc’s Google about licensing its Gemini chatbot. Those discussions have not led to an agreement, but are ongoing. An OpenAI
INSATIABLE: Almost all AI innovators are working with the chipmaker to address the rapidly growing AI-related demand for energy-efficient computing power, the CEO said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday reported about 60 percent annual growth in revenue for last month, benefiting from rapidly growing demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing applications. Revenue last month expanded to NT$236.02 billion (US$7.28 billion), compared with NT$147.9 billion in April last year, the second-highest level in company history, TSMC said in a statement. On a monthly basis, revenue surged 20.9 percent, from NT$195.21 billion in March. As AI-related applications continue to show strong growth, TSMC expects revenue to expand about 27.6 percent year-on-year during the current quarter to between US$19.6 billion and US$20.4 billion. That would
Apple Inc has been developing a homegrown chip to run artificial intelligence (AI) tools in data centers, although it is unclear if the semiconductor would ever be deployed, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. The effort would build on Apple’s previous efforts to make in-house chips, which run in its iPhones, Macs and other devices, according to the Journal, which cited unidentified people familiar with the matter. The server project is code-named ACDC (Apple Chips in Data Center) within the company, aiming to utilize Apple’s expertise in chip design for the company’s server infrastructure, the newspaper said. While this initiative has been
‘FULL SUPPORT’: Kumamoto Governor Takashi Kimura said he hopes more companies would settle in the prefecture to create an area similar to Taiwan’s Hsinchu Science Park The newly elected governor of Japan’s Kumamoto Prefecture said he is ready to ensure wide-ranging support to woo Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to build its third Japanese chip factory there. Concerns of groundwater shortages when TSMC’s two plants begin operations in the prefecture’s Kikuyo have spurred discussions about the possibility of tapping unused dam water, Kumamoto Governor Takashi Kimura said in an interview on Saturday. While Kimura said talks about a third plant have yet to occur, Bloomberg had reported TSMC is already considering its third Japanese fab — also in Kumamoto — which would make more advanced chips. “We are