HOTELS
Hyatt to buy Apple Leisure
US hotel operator Hyatt Hotels Corp on Sunday said it entered a deal to purchase resort company Apple Leisure Group from its private-equity owner KKR & Co and travel-and-leisure specialist KSL Capital Partners for US$2.7 billion in cash. In 2017, KKR and KSL bought the Pennsylvania-based resort operator from Bain Capital for an undisclosed price. The acquisition of Apple Leisure Group’s asset-light business would increase the percentage of revenues and earnings Hyatt would generate from fees, Hyatt said in a statement. After the deal is completed, Hyatt would double its global resort footprint, it added.
SINGAPORE
Residential deals pick up
The city-state’s residential market rebounded the most in six months, signaling the sector’s resilience as buyers anticipate COVID-19 restrictions easing. Purchases of new private units rose 82 percent to 1,589 last month, from 872 in June, Urban Redevelopment Authority data showed yesterday. It is the highest increase since January, when 1,633 homes were sold. The jump is due to buyers rushing to purchase homes out of fear of being priced out, especially as the economy is poised for further recovery amid the government’s plans to reopen the country, said Christine Sun (孫燕清), senior vice president of research and analytics at OrangeTee & Tie (橙易產業).
AVIATION
Sydney ready for bidders
Sydney Airport yesterday said that it is prepared to hold discussions with suitors over a takeover offer of more than US$16.8 billion as the company’s largest shareholder, UniSuper Ltd, agitated for negotiations to start. The airport said it is “open to engaging” with the bidders, led by IFM Investors, if they make an offer that reflects “long-term value.” At the same time, Sydney Airport rejected a small sweetener from the group that boosted the newest proposal to A$22.8 billion (US$16.73 billion). UniSuper, which would fold its 15 percent stake into the take-private group, said the latest A$8.45-a-share bid, up from A$8.25, was “the basis for a reasonable negotiation.”
PETROCHEMICALS
Liaoning Bora investigated
The management of troubled private oil refiner Liaoning Bora Enterprise Group (遼寧寶來) has been taken over by government officials from China’s Panjin city amid a tax probe that could lead to heavy fines and possible insolvency, people familiar with the situation said. A team led by officials from the northeastern city, where the conglomerate is based, has been appointed to run the company from this month, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the matter is sensitive. Bora is seeking to restructure and avoid collapse due to mounting financial woes brought on by unpaid taxes.
AIRLINES
Berlin to cut Lufthansa stake
Germany plans to sell up to one-quarter of its 20 percent stake in Lufthansa AG over the coming weeks, the German Finance Agency said yesterday, citing positive developments at the bailed-out airline. Lufthansa had received a 9 billion euro (US$10.6 billion) package from the German Economic Stabilization Fund (WSF), which was set up to help companies to ride out the COVID-19 pandemic. The WSF has said it would sell the complete stake, which is worth more than 1 billion euros, before the end of 2023. Lufthansa plans to issue new shares, probably before the Sept. 26 parliamentary elections, to help it to return bailout money to taxpayers.
Cairo’s new monorail slices across the city skyline, running above the familiar chaos of blaring horns and aging buses’ exhaust fumes that mark rush hour below. The US$4.5 billion monorail, opened this month, is among Egypt’s most prominent new transport projects, part of a debt-funded infrastructure drive criticized for sapping state finances while bringing limited benefits to most of the country’s 109 million people. “It feels like you’re in a different country,” said Ramy Sayed, a restaurant manager, aboard a driverless Innovia 300 train. “No noise, no traffic, we’re not used to this.” The eastern line runs 56km from the bustling middle-class
Starlux Airlines Co (星宇航空) today unveiled a long-haul network expansion plan at a shareholders’ meeting in Taipei, including direct flights to Barcelona, Spain, and Zurich, Switzerland, as well as a service connecting Taipei, Sydney and New Zealand. Starlux is to become the first Taiwanese carrier to offer non-stop services to the two European cities, while the inaugural oceanic route is expected to expand transit opportunities within the Australia-New Zealand market, Starlux said. Flight services to Chicago, Dallas, Washington and New York are under evaluation, the airline added. Prior to the shareholders’ meeting, the airline earlier this year announced that it would be
Taiwanese prosecutors suspect that three people successfully smuggled at least one shipment of Nvidia Corp artificial intelligence (AI) chips to China after first exporting them to Japan, people familiar with the matter said. The trio was detained last week by the Keelung District Prosecutors’ Office for allegedly falsifying documents related to exports of Super Micro Computer Inc servers containing advanced Nvidia chips, which the US has barred from sale to China without a license from Washington. The move marked Taiwan’s first public crackdown on AI chip diversion after years of pressure from the US to take a more active role in curtailing
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) employee bonuses are likely to grow more than 30 percent this year, in line with the past few years as the company’s profits continue to set new records, an anonymous source cited TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) as saying yesterday. TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, is committed to taking care of its workers, the source said, citing Wei’s meeting with employees yesterday morning. Wei also expressed gratitude to employees for their contribution to the company’s improving bottom line, the source added. Since 2023, TSMC’s employee bonuses have grown at an annual rate of
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