AUTOMAKERS
Renault dumping AvtoVAZ
Renault SA plans to sell its majority stake in automaker AvtoVAZ to a Russian science institute, the French company said yesterday, adding that the deal includes a six-year option to buy back the stake. Renault said that its holding of nearly 67.69 percent in AvtoVAZ would be sold to the Russian central research and development automobile and engine institute NAMI. Its 100 percent shares in Renault Russia are to go to the city of Moscow. “Today, we have taken a difficult but necessary decision, and we are making a responsible choice towards our 45,000 employees in Russia,” Renault chief executive officer Luca de Meo said. The move preserves the group’s ability to later return to the country in a different context, he added.
CEMENT MAKERS
Holcim to sell India interests
Holcim Ltd has agreed to sell its Indian operations to local billionaire Gautam Adani, another step in chief executive officer Jan Jenisch’s pivot away from traditional cement. The Swiss company is to sell its 63 percent stake in Mumbai-listed Ambuja Cements Ltd to Adani Group, it said in a statement on Sunday. Adani said that it plans to spend about US$10.5 billion on the stake purchases and open offer consideration for Ambuja and related entities. As part of the deal, Adani is to inherit Ambuja’s controlling stake in another publicly traded cement producer, ACC Ltd, and buy Holcim’s direct 4.5 percent holding in the unit. Holcim expects to receive 6.4 billion Swiss francs (US$6.37 billion) of cash proceeds from the sale, the statement said. “We have quite a list of businesses we would like to acquire, so I think we can put this money here very well to use,” Jenisch said in an interview on Sunday. “At the moment, we’re working on more than 10 deals.”
ENERGY
Aramco profits spike 82%
Saudi Arabian Oil Co (Aramco) on Sunday posted an 82 percent jump in first-quarter profits, buoyed by a global surge in oil prices that has made it the world’s most valuable company. The company’s net income of US$39.5 billion was up from US$21.7 billion from the same period last year, it said in a news release. Its net income for the first quarter was a record for the company since its initial public offering in 2019. Also on Sunday, Aramco announced that it was issuing 20 billion bonus shares to shareholders — one share for every 10 shares already owned. A dividend of US$18.8 billion would be paid in the second quarter, the company said. Aramco is Saudi Arabia’s “crown jewel” and primary source of revenue.
UNITED STATES
Blankfein warns of recession
Goldman Sachs Group Inc senior chairman Lloyd Blankfein urged companies and consumers to prepare for a recession, saying that it is a “very, very high risk.” “If I were running a big company, I would be very prepared for it,” Blankfein said on CBS’ Face the Nation on Sunday. “If I was a consumer, I’d be prepared for it.” A recession is “not baked in the cake” and there is a “narrow path” to avoid it, he said. The Federal Reserve has “very powerful tools” to tamp down inflation and has been “responding well,” he said. Goldman’s economic team now expects the US’ GDP to expand 2.4 percent this year, down from 2.6 percent. It reduced its estimate for next year to 1.6 percent from 2.2 percent.
SUPPORT: The government said it would help firms deal with supply disruptions, after Trump signed orders imposing tariffs of 25 percent on imports from Canada and Mexico The government pledged to help companies with operations in Mexico, such as iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), shift production lines and investment if needed to deal with higher US tariffs. The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday announced measures to help local firms cope with the US tariff increases on Canada, Mexico, China and other potential areas. The ministry said that it would establish an investment and trade service center in the US to help Taiwanese firms assess the investment environment in different US states, plan supply chain relocation strategies and
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) is reportedly making another pass at Nissan Motor Co, as the Japanese automaker's tie-up with Honda Motor Co falls apart. Nissan shares rose as much as 6 percent after Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported that Hon Hai chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) instructed former Nissan executive Jun Seki to connect with French carmaker Renault SA, which holds about 36 percent of Nissan’s stock. Hon Hai, the Taiwanese iPhone-maker also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), was exploring an investment or buyout of Nissan last year, but backed off in December after the Japanese carmaker penned a deal
WASHINGTON POLICY: Tariffs of 10 percent or more and other new costs are tipped to hit shipments of small parcels, cutting export growth by 1.3 percentage points The decision by US President Donald Trump to ban Chinese companies from using a US tariff loophole would hit tens of billions of dollars of trade and reduce China’s economic growth this year, according to new estimates by economists at Nomura Holdings Inc. According to Nomura’s estimates, last year companies such as Shein (希音) and PDD Holdings Inc’s (拼多多控股) Temu shipped US$46 billion of small parcels to the US to take advantage of the rule that allows items with a declared value under US$800 to enter the US tariff-free. Tariffs of 10 percent or more and other new costs would slash such
SENSOR BUSINESS: The Taiwanese company said that a public tender offer would begin on May 7 through its wholly owned subsidiary Yageo Electronics Japan Yageo Corp (國巨), one of the world’s top three suppliers of passive components, yesterday said it is to launch a tender offer to fully acquire Japan’s Shibaura Electronics Co for up to ¥65.57 billion (US$429.37 million), with an aim to expand its sensor business. The tender offer would be a crucial step for the company to expand its sensor business, Yageo said. Shibaura Electronics is the world’s largest supplier of thermistors, with a market share of 13 percent, research conducted in 2022 by the Japanese firm showed. If a deal goes ahead, it would be the second acquisition of a sensor business since