BEVERAGES
Luckin fined for false sales
Chinese chain Luckin Coffee Inc (瑞幸咖啡) is among a group of 45 companies hit with a combined fine of 61 million yuan (US$9 million) over a scandal involving false sales figures, China’s State Administration for Market Regulation said yesterday. Luckin, Starbucks’ rival in China, last year increased transactions through fake coupons by 2.25 billion yuan and inflated its revenue by about 2.12 billion yuan, an investigation by the Chinese Ministry of Finance had shown. Additional probes showed that Luckin, with the help of other companies, falsely increased last year’s revenue, costs and profit margins, the state regulator added.
TECHNOLOGY
Apple lauds remote workers
Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook said that he has been impressed by employees’ ability to operate remotely and predicted that some new work habits would remain after the COVID-19 pandemic. During an interview at The Atlantic Festival on Monday, Cook said that he does not believe that Apple would “return to the way we were because we’ve found that there are some things that actually work really well virtually.” The comments contrast with the views of other executives, such as Netflix Inc CEO Reed Hastings, who has called remote work “a pure negative,” and JPMorgan Chase & Co chairman Jamie Dimon, who said that there would be lasting damage if workers do not soon return to the office.
AUTOMAKERS
Detroit show’s date changed
Detroit’s big auto show is changing dates again. The show is now to take place next year, from Sept. 28 to Oct. 9. Organizers had moved the show from January to June to take advantage of better weather and outdoor activities, including autonomous vehicle demonstrations, but the COVID-19 pandemic has forced the North American International Auto Show to be canceled this year. Show executive director Rod Alberts said that automakers are in agreement and excited about the date change.
INDONESIA
GNP revised downward
Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati on Friday said that the government has revised down its forecast for GDP this year to a range of 1.1 percent contraction to 0.2 percent growth. The government’s previous GDP forecast was a range of 0.4 percent contraction and 2.3 percent growth, down from last year’s 5 percent expansion, due to the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. Indrawati attributed the revision to weaker-than-expected economic activity in the second quarter. President Joko Widodo earlier on Friday proposed to parliament a budget for next year that assumes GDP growth of 4.5 to 5.5 percent next year.
UNITED STATES
Debt to balloon by 2050
Federal government debt held by the public is to balloon to about 195 percent of the country’s economic output in 2050, from about 98 percent at the end of this year and 79 percent last year, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projected on Monday. The CBO, in its annual Long Term Budget Outlook, said that increased federal government spending associated with the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the growth of budget deficits and debt. This year’s deficit is projected at 16 percent of GDP, the CBO said, adding that the share would fall for several years, but would begin rising sharply again by 2028. By 2050, the annual deficit is projected at 17.5 percent of GDP, it added.
Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab Holdings Ltd has applied for regulatory approval to acquire the Taiwan operations of Germany-based Delivery Hero SE's Foodpanda in a deal valued at about US$600 million. Grab submitted the filing to the Fair Trade Commission on Friday last week, with the transaction subject to regulatory review and approval, the company said in a statement yesterday. Its independent governance structure would help foster a healthy and competitive market in Taiwan if the deal is approved, Grab said. Grab, which is listed on the NASDAQ, said in the filing that US-based Uber Technologies Inc holds about 13 percent of
The domestic unit of the Chinese-owned, Dutch-headquartered chipmaker Nexperia BV will soon be able to produce semiconductors locally within China, according to two company sources. Nexperia is at the center of a global tug-of-war over critical semiconductor technology, with a Dutch court in February ordering a probe into alleged mismanagement at the company. The geopolitical tussle has disrupted supply chains, with some carmakers reportedly forced to cut production due to chip shortages. Local production would allow Nexperia’s domestic arm, Nexperia Semiconductors (China) Ltd (安世半導體中國), to bypass restrictions in place since October on the supply of silicon wafers — etched with tiny components to
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday received government approval to deploy its advanced 3-nanometer (3nm) process at its second fab currently under construction in Japan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a news release. The ministry green-lit the plan for the facility in Kumamoto, which is scheduled to start installing equipment and come online in 2028 with a monthly production capacity of 15,000 12-inch wafers, the ministry said. The Department of Investment Review in June 2024 authorized a US$5.26 billion investment for the facility, slated to manufacture 6- to 12nm chips, significantly less advanced than 3nm process. At a meeting with
Taiwan’s food delivery market could undergo a major shift if Singapore-based Grab Holdings Ltd completes its planned acquisition of Delivery Hero SE’s Foodpanda business in Taiwan, industry experts said. Grab on Monday last week announced it would acquire Foodpanda’s Taiwan operations for US$600 million. The deal is expected to be finalized in the second half of this year, with Grab aiming to complete user migration to its platform by the first half of next year. A duopoly between Uber Eats and Foodpanda dominates Taiwan’s delivery market, a structure that has remained intact since the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) blocked Uber Technologies Inc’s
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