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.
Shiina Ito has had fewer Chinese customers at her Tokyo jewelry shop since Beijing issued a travel warning in the wake of a diplomatic spat, but she said she was not concerned. A souring of Tokyo-Beijing relations this month, following remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi about Taiwan, has fueled concerns about the impact on the ritzy boutiques, noodle joints and hotels where holidaymakers spend their cash. However, businesses in Tokyo largely shrugged off any anxiety. “Since there are fewer Chinese customers, it’s become a bit easier for Japanese shoppers to visit, so our sales haven’t really dropped,” Ito
The number of Taiwanese working in the US rose to a record high of 137,000 last year, driven largely by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) rapid overseas expansion, according to government data released yesterday. A total of 666,000 Taiwanese nationals were employed abroad last year, an increase of 45,000 from 2023 and the highest level since the COVID-19 pandemic, data from the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) showed. Overseas employment had steadily increased between 2009 and 2019, peaking at 739,000, before plunging to 319,000 in 2021 amid US-China trade tensions, global supply chain shifts, reshoring by Taiwanese companies and
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) received about NT$147 billion (US$4.71 billion) in subsidies from the US, Japanese, German and Chinese governments over the past two years for its global expansion. Financial data compiled by the world’s largest contract chipmaker showed the company secured NT$4.77 billion in subsidies from the governments in the third quarter, bringing the total for the first three quarters of the year to about NT$71.9 billion. Along with the NT$75.16 billion in financial aid TSMC received last year, the chipmaker obtained NT$147 billion in subsidies in almost two years, the data showed. The subsidies received by its subsidiaries —
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) Chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) and the company’s former chairman, Mark Liu (劉德音), both received the Robert N. Noyce Award -- the semiconductor industry’s highest honor -- in San Jose, California, on Thursday (local time). Speaking at the award event, Liu, who retired last year, expressed gratitude to his wife, his dissertation advisor at the University of California, Berkeley, his supervisors at AT&T Bell Laboratories -- where he worked on optical fiber communication systems before joining TSMC, TSMC partners, and industry colleagues. Liu said that working alongside TSMC
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