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.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last