UNITED STATES
Li Ning goods intercepted
Goods made by Chinese sportswear giant Li Ning Co (李寧) have been held at US ports after a probe found North Korean labor in the company’s supply chain, Customs and Border Protection said. Li Ning was required to provide evidence within 30 days that its merchandise was not produced with convict labor, forced labor or indentured labor, or it “may be subject to seizure and forfeiture,” the agency said on its Web site. It said the company’s products had been held at ports since March 14. Li Ning did not respond immediately to an inquiry for comment yesterday.
PHILIPPINES
Tax break offer rejected
The country’s economic managers rejected calls to suspend excise taxes on petroleum products. The government is expecting to collect 131.4 billion pesos (US$2.5 billion) this year from excise taxes on fuel, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said in a Tuesday briefing televised yesterday. Yielding to some lawmakers and transport groups’ call to suspend the levy would cut this year’s revenue by 0.5 percent of GDP, he said. Instead, Secretary of Socioeconomic Planning Karl Chua (蔡榮富) pitched for more direct aid to affected sectors. He also proposed a four-day work week to reduce costs for businesses and workers, a move done in past oil shocks.
ENTERTAINMENT
EU approves MGM sale
The EU on Tuesday approved the purchase by Amazon.com Inc of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) studios, but the deal, which would boost the tech giant’s streaming ambitions, still needs to clear regulatory hurdles in the US. The US$8.4 billion buyout would bolster Amazon Prime Video with about 4,000 films and 17,000 television shows as it faces off with the likes of Netflix Inc and Walt Disney Co in a fast-evolving market. The European Commission said in a statement that the proposed transaction would raise “no competition concerns” and “cleared the case unconditionally.”
AUTOMOTIVE
BYD hikes prices again
Chinese automaker BYD Co (比亞迪) is raising the prices of its new-energy vehicles for a second time in less than two months, citing surging raw material costs. The Shenzhen-based auto manufacturer that is backed by Warren Buffett is increasing prices on its Dynasty and Ocean series of vehicles by 3,000 yuan to 6,000 yuan (US$473 to US$945), the company said on Sina Weibo (微博) late on Tuesday. Tesla Inc also hiked prices in China and the US twice in less than a week, with CEO Elon Musk warning the company is facing “significant” inflationary pressures around raw materials and logistics.
COMMODITIES
Glencore issues warning
Global commodity markets will need to adapt to a lack of supply from Russia and Ukraine, global miner and commodities trader Glencore PLC said in its annual report yesterday. “Over time, global commodity trade flows will need to adapt to some or all of Russian/Ukrainian supply being unavailable, whether due to infrastructure damage, sanctions or ethical concerns,” Glencore said. Russia is a key supplier of oil, natural gas, coal, aluminum and nickel, while Ukraine is a major grain producer and exporter. Volatility in all these commodities has spiked, Glencore said. Uncertainty over the supply of commodities might disrupt trade flows, and push commodity prices and input costs up, it said.
China has claimed a breakthrough in developing homegrown chipmaking equipment, an important step in overcoming US sanctions designed to thwart Beijing’s semiconductor goals. State-linked organizations are advised to use a new laser-based immersion lithography machine with a resolution of 65 nanometers or better, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in an announcement this month. Although the note does not specify the supplier, the spec marks a significant step up from the previous most advanced indigenous equipment — developed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co (SMEE, 上海微電子) — which stood at about 90 nanometers. MIIT’s claimed advances last
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has appointed Rose Castanares, executive vice president of TSMC Arizona, as president of the subsidiary, which is responsible for carrying out massive investments by the Taiwanese tech giant in the US state, the company said in a statement yesterday. Castanares will succeed Brian Harrison as president of the Arizona subsidiary on Oct. 1 after the incumbent president steps down from the position with a transfer to the Arizona CEO office to serve as an advisor to TSMC Arizona’s chairman, the statement said. According to TSMC, Harrison is scheduled to retire on Dec. 31. Castanares joined TSMC in
EUROPE ON HOLD: Among a flurry of announcements, Intel said it would postpone new factories in Germany and Poland, but remains committed to its US expansion Intel Corp chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger has landed Amazon.com Inc’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) as a customer for the company’s manufacturing business, potentially bringing work to new plants under construction in the US and boosting his efforts to turn around the embattled chipmaker. Intel and AWS are to coinvest in a custom semiconductor for artificial intelligence computing — what is known as a fabric chip — in a “multiyear, multibillion-dollar framework,” Intel said in a statement on Monday. The work would rely on Intel’s 18A process, an advanced chipmaking technology. Intel shares rose more than 8 percent in late trading after the
FACTORY SHIFT: While Taiwan produces most of the world’s AI servers, firms are under pressure to move manufacturing amid geopolitical tensions Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) started building artificial intelligence (AI) servers in India’s south, the latest boon for the rapidly growing country’s push to become a high-tech powerhouse. The company yesterday said it has started making the large, powerful computers in Pondicherry, southeastern India, moving beyond products such as laptops and smartphones. The Chinese company would also build out its facilities in the Bangalore region, including a research lab with a focus on AI. Lenovo’s plans mark another win for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who tries to attract more technology investment into the country. While India’s tense relationship with China has suffered setbacks
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