UNITED KINGDOM
Rail overhaul unveiled
The country yesterday unveiled a radical overhaul of its COVID-19-plagued privatized rail sector that would see franchises replaced with concessions subject to tougher scrutiny and greater state involvement. “Ministers today ended rail franchising after 24 years as the first step in bringing Britain’s fragmented network back together. The new system will create a simpler, more effective structure and will take shape over the coming months,” the Department for Transport said in a statement. The government in March decided to take on franchise holders’ revenue and cost risks, as the COVID-19 pandemic decimated passenger demand for rail travel.
APPAREL
Superdry outlook murky
Superdry PLC cofounder Julian Dunkerton would have to wait to see whether his turnaround plan is working, as the UK apparel chain was hit hard by the pandemic. The retailer, known for outerwear emblazoned with Japanese characters, lost about £42 million (US$54 million) on an underlying basis in the year through April, compared with a profit of £38 million the prior year. Write-downs related to its real-estate holdings contributed to the shortfall. Superdry said business this year is improving, with online sales nearly doubling year-on-year in the first quarter, but said there is a “material uncertainty” over the outlook.
AVIATION
Airline struggles with refunds
Philippine Airlines Inc said that it has received refund requests totaling 15.9 billion pesos (US$329 million) amid the COVID-19 pandemic, seeking customers’ understanding, as it has only paid back 80 percent of the amount. The carrier has canceled more than 60,000 flights since March, affecting more than 1.3 million passengers, it said in a statement. Asia’s oldest airline has restored nearly 15 percent of its local and international network and plans to ramp up flights as travel and quarantine restrictions ease.
TELECOMS
Iliad to buy Polish telecom
Iliad SA has agreed to buy Polish telecom Play Communications SA for 2.2 billion euros (US$2.6 billion) as it expands across Europe. French billionaire Xavier Niel’s Iliad has offered 39 zloty per share for Play, and has received binding commitments from two controlling shareholders for their 40 percent stake, the companies said in a statement yesterday. The offer is a 39 percent premium to the company’s closing share price on Friday. Play Communications, which is the youngest of Poland’s four biggest mobile telecoms, started operating in 2007. It is controlled by Greece’s Olympia Development SA and Iceland’s Novator Partners LLP.
UNITED KINGDOM
Financial bill planned
The country plans to buttress the City of London’s global competitiveness and openness once it moves outside the EU with new financial services sector legislation. Although the country left the EU in January, its unfettered access to the bloc for banks and other financial firms does not end until December, when transition arrangements expire. Economic Secretary to the Treasury John Glen yesterday said that the new Financial Services Bill would create a modern, flexible and robust system of financial regulation. The EU, the City of London’s biggest customer, has said it would give British clearing houses temporary access.
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