LUXURY BRANDS
LVMH, Tiffany not talking
LVMH and Tiffany & Co are staying away from the negotiating table, even though a US judge urged them to settle lawsuits over their ill-fated deal to combine, people familiar with their thinking said. The companies instead are preparing for a trial scheduled to begin on Jan. 5 next year, said the people, who did not want to be identified because the matter is private. That could temper investor optimism, after 53 percent of those responding to a Sanford C. Bernstein poll said that they thought the deal could still go through. LVMH jolted Tiffany shareholders earlier this month by announcing that the world’s largest maker of luxury goods had decided to pull out of its US$16 billion acquisition of the jeweler. Tiffany retaliated with a lawsuit. Delaware Chancery Court Judge Joseph Slights earlier this week set the date for the trial after the deal’s original deadline, but before the expiration of US antitrust clearance.
INTERNET
Indoor drone unveiled
Amazon.com Inc on Thursday unveiled an indoor drone for recording security video in homes and products for alerting vehicle owners about attempted break-ins. The news reflects Amazon’s drive into the security business since it acquired the smart doorbell and camera company Ring in 2018. That has led to criticism by civil liberties advocates, who have taken issue with services that let Ring users share videos with law enforcement. Amazon’s indoor drone, called the Ring Always Home Cam, flies to take video in predetermined areas and costs US$249. The company also unveiled a physical vehicle alarm gadget, as well as Ring Car Connect software that first would be compatible with Tesla Inc models. The software plays back video and tells a user if their vehicle is unlocked, among other features.
CHIPMAKERS
Broadcom, EU deal near
Broadcom Inc is nearing a settlement that could end an EU probe into contracts compelling set-top box makers to use its chips, a person familiar with the matter said. The deal with the EU removes a threat of potential fines and is based on Broadcom’s five-year offer to change contracts with customers, said the person, who asked not to be named because the process is not public. The EU is set to accept the US company’s pledge within weeks, formalizing an offer made in April with only minor changes, the person said. Last year, European regulators issued an unusual order in the middle of an investigation, stopping Broadcom temporarily from using contracts that prevented customers from buying chipsets from other suppliers. In response, Broadcom promised in April that it would no longer require original equipment manufacturers to source more than half of their systems-on-a-chip from the company. The offer covered the world outside China. Broadcom also pledged to avoid some inducements for European sales of systems-on-a-chip.
AIRLINES
Simulator revenue eyed
Thai Airways International PCL is opening up its flight simulators to the public, seeking a fresh revenue source amid the slump caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Customers can get into a mock cockpit of an Airbus A380, Boeing 777-300ER, Boeing 747-400 and Boeing 737-400 starting next month, said the carrier, which is coping with debt restructuring under bankruptcy court. Prices start at US$381 for two people for 30 minutes. The company is restructuring about 350 billion baht (US$11.1 billion) of debt after receiving court approval on Sept. 14.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”