AIRLINES
ANA raises climate goal
Japan’s biggest airline ANA Holdings Inc yesterday said that it aims to become carbon neutral by 2050 through new technology, emissions trading and other efforts. It comes after Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga last week announced that Japan would target a 46 percent cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, significantly more than previously pledged. Last year, the company set a target to halve carbon emissions by 2050 compared with 2005 levels. Japanese auto giant Honda Motor Co also last week said that it would aim to have electric and fuel-cell vehicles account for all sales by 2040 to promote climate goals.
ENERGY
Exxon mired in fossil fuels
Exxon Mobil Corp faces an “existential business risk” by pinning its future on fossil fuels as governments move to slash emissions, the Financial Times reported, citing an investor presentation prepared by activist hedge fund Engine No 1. Exxon still has no credible plan to protect value in an energy transition, said the 80-page investor presentation seen by the Financial Times. The San Francisco-based hedge fund also criticized the company’s “value destruction” and “refusal to accept that fossil fuel demand may decline.” Exxon last month said that proposals put forth by the hedge fund, pushing for changes at the oil giant, threaten cash flow and the sustainability of its dividend.
BANKING
Migros settles for US$2.9m
Switzerland’s Migros Bank has agreed to pay German justice authorities about 2.4 million euros (US$2.9 million) to settle allegations it allowed German clients in the past to hide assets from the tax authorities, the bank said yesterday. “The solution that has been reached covers both the bank and its affected employees. The agreement is effective for all German states and brings corresponding legal certainty,” the bank, owned by the Migros cooperative, said in a statement. With a balance sheet of more than 50 billion Swiss francs (US$54.7 billion), Migros Bank is one of the five biggest mortgage lenders in Switzerland.
ENERGY
Qatar plans bond issuance
Qatar Petroleum plans to issue up to US$10 billion of bonds as soon as this quarter to fund a massive natural-gas project, a person with knowledge of the matter said. The state producer is inviting banks to arrange what would be its first US dollar bonds, the person said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. The company is seeking US$7 billion to US$10 billion of five, 10 and 30-year notes, the person said. That would make it one of the largest corporate deals this year, and one of the biggest of any kind from emerging markets.
INTERNET
Darktrace lowers IPO value
British cybersecurity company Darktrace is cutting the value of its imminent London flotation as it adopts a cautious approach aimed at avoiding a repetition of Deliveroo’s disastrous public debut, Sky News reported citing people it did not identify. Darktrace and its advisers are leaning toward a price range that would put a valuation of about ￡2.4 billion to ￡2.7 billion (US$3.3 billion to US$3.8 billion) on the loss-making company, Sky said. Darktrace’s initial public offering (IPO) in London is expected to value the company at about US$3 billion to US$4 billion, Bloomberg News reported on April 12, citing a person familiar with the matter.
Vincent Wei led fellow Singaporean farmers around an empty Malaysian plot, laying out plans for a greenhouse and rows of leafy vegetables. What he pitched was not just space for crops, but a lifeline for growers struggling to make ends meet in a city-state with high prices and little vacant land. The future agriculture hub is part of a joint special economic zone launched last year by the two neighbors, expected to cost US$123 million and produce 10,000 tonnes of fresh produce annually. It is attracting Singaporean farmers with promises of cheaper land, labor and energy just over the border.
US actor Matthew McConaughey has filed recordings of his image and voice with US patent authorities to protect them from unauthorized usage by artificial intelligence (AI) platforms, a representative said earlier this week. Several video clips and audio recordings were registered by the commercial arm of the Just Keep Livin’ Foundation, a non-profit created by the Oscar-winning actor and his wife, Camila, according to the US Patent and Trademark Office database. Many artists are increasingly concerned about the uncontrolled use of their image via generative AI since the rollout of ChatGPT and other AI-powered tools. Several US states have adopted
A proposed billionaires’ tax in California has ignited a political uproar in Silicon Valley, with tech titans threatening to leave the state while California Governor Gavin Newsom of the Democratic Party maneuvers to defeat a levy that he fears would lead to an exodus of wealth. A technology mecca, California has more billionaires than any other US state — a few hundred, by some estimates. About half its personal income tax revenue, a financial backbone in the nearly US$350 billion budget, comes from the top 1 percent of earners. A large healthcare union is attempting to place a proposal before
KEEPING UP: The acquisition of a cleanroom in Taiwan would enable Micron to increase production in a market where demand continues to outpace supply, a Micron official said Micron Technology Inc has signed a letter of intent to buy a fabrication site in Taiwan from Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電) for US$1.8 billion to expand its production of memory chips. Micron would take control of the P5 site in Miaoli County’s Tongluo Township (銅鑼) and plans to ramp up DRAM production in phases after the transaction closes in the second quarter, the company said in a statement on Saturday. The acquisition includes an existing 12 inch fab cleanroom of 27,871m2 and would further position Micron to address growing global demand for memory solutions, the company said. Micron expects the transaction to
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