PANEL MAKERS
Production to be relocated
Japan Display Inc is looking to relocate some automotive panel production back to Japan after the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted its supply chain in China, chief manufacturing officer Kazutaka Nagaoka said yesterday. Under the plan, Japan Display would boost production at its plant in Tottori, Japan, to supply panels to major Japanese automakers, Nagaoka said in an interview. He declined to give a time frame or an amount for the investment.
BREWERS
Carlsberg outlook uncertain
Carlsberg A/S said that its first-half profit declined and the outlook for summer beer sales is uncertain as the COVID-19 pandemic expands in Russia, one of its largest markets. Operating profit fell about 8.9 percent in the first half, the Danish brewer said yesterday. Sales in eastern Europe have not yet been hit hard by the pandemic, though revenue from western Europe dropped 15 percent in the second quarter. Carlsberg said so far its business in eastern Europe has been shielded by its limited exposure to the bar and restaurant market.
RETAILERS
Muji USA goes bankrupt
The US entity of Japanese retailer Muji, known for its minimalist home goods, has filed for bankruptcy, adding to a growing list of retailers reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic. Muji USA Ltd, which is owned by Japan’s Ryohin Keikaku Co, filed for Chapter 11 in Delaware, according to a filing. It listed assets and liabilities in the range of US$50 million to US$100 million, and estimated the number of creditors at 200 to 999.
SOUTH KOREA
Property taxes to be hiked
The government yesterday said that it plans to further tighten property market rules and impose heavier taxes on multiple homeowners, as more than 20 rounds of cooling measures introduced in the past three years have failed to calm runaway house prices. Real-estate taxes on properties valued at more than 600 million won (US$500,020) for multiple home owners would be increased, while capital gains tax rates would also be raised, Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki said. The proposed measures need parliamentary approval.
TELECOMS
CDP in Telecom Italia talks
Italian state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) is in preliminary talks to buy a stake in some of Telecom Italia SpA’s fixed-line assets, people familiar with the matter said. CDP would join Swisscom AG’s Fastweb SpA and private equity firm KKR & Co in becoming investors in Telecom Italia’s secondary grid, covering cables from street cabinets to premises, said the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions are not public. The potential purchase could accelerate a partial spinoff of the telecom’s network, while bolstering what the Italian government sees as a key strategic asset.
BANKING
PBOC sells Indian shares
China’s central bank has sold at least some of its stake in India’s Housing Development Finance Corp, according to shareholder details. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) at the end of last month dropped off the list of investors holding at least a 1 percent stake in the company. The bank held about 17.5 million shares, or a 1.01 percent stake, at the end of March. It could not be ascertained if the bank continues to hold any stake in the mortgage lender.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last