SRI LANKA
Food import tariffs raised
The cash-strapped country raised tariffs on a wide range of goods including wine and cheese, in a new drive to discourage imports and preserve foreign currency reserves, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The government has scrapped licensing for 369 items and replaced it with sharply higher taxes, officials said. From Wednesday, foreign cheese and yogurt attract a new tax of 2,000 rupees (US$5.50) per kilogram. Duty on chocolates was raised by 200 percent. Additional levies also apply to imported fruit, while duties on all alcoholic drinks and on electronic appliances were doubled.
TOURISM
Singapore cruises restart
After nearly two years of cruises to nowhere, holidaymakers from Singapore can set sail for Malaysia, Royal Caribbean International said in a statement. The company’s Spectrum of the Seas would begin sailing to Penang and Kuala Lumpur from June 30, it said. Cruise lines operating out of Singapore launched cruises to nowhere — essentially multiday trips on the high seas — in November 2020. They became popular among the city-state’s residents seeking holiday options while the nation’s borders, and those of its near neighbors, remained largely closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
E-COMMERCE
Amazon to shut China unit
Amazon.com Inc is to shut its Chinese e-book store next year, pulling a small, but prominent business from a market where it has failed to make major inroads against local rivals. The US firm would discontinue the Kindle eBook store on June 30 next year, a spokesperson said in an e-mailed statement. It promised to continue supporting Kindle readers or refund any device purchases made after January this year. The company said the withdrawal was not due to Chinese government pressure or censorship, and was part of a periodic re-evaluation of its offerings around the world.
AIRLINES
Delta eyes revenue rebound
Delta Air Lines Ltd on Wednesday said that it expects second-quarter revenue would be back to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels, even with fewer flights. The airline said revenue per seat should be up to 8 percentage points better than it originally expected. However, the Atlanta, Georgia-based airline is facing surging prices for jet fuel. Other expenses — primarily labor — are spiking too. Delta expects non-fuel costs to soar up to 22 percent above 2019 levels on a per-seat basis, more severe than an April forecast of 17 percent. Heading into summer, travelers are paying more for any type of seat, from basic to premium, Delta CEO Ed Bastian told an investors’ conference.
ELECTRONICS
Hewlett Packard cuts outlook
Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co lowered its full-year profit forecast, citing unfavorable currency movements, supply chain disruptions and the effects of exiting the Russian market. Profit, excluding some items, would be as much as US$2.10 a share in the fiscal year. Earnings in the current period, which ends in July, would be US$0.44 to US$0.54 per share, the company said in a statement. While earnings were affected by supply chain challenges and the costs of pulling out of Russia in the aftermath of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, customer demand remains strong, Hewlett Packard CEO Antonio Neri said in an interview. “We have an amazing high-quality backlog that is firm,” Neri said.
PROTECTIONISM: China hopes to help domestic chipmakers gain more market share while preparing local tech companies for the possibility of more US sanctions Beijing is stepping up pressure on Chinese companies to buy locally produced artificial intelligence (AI) chips instead of Nvidia Corp products, part of the nation’s effort to expand its semiconductor industry and counter US sanctions. Chinese regulators have been discouraging companies from purchasing Nvidia’s H20 chips, which are used to develop and run AI models, sources familiar with the matter said. The policy has taken the form of guidance rather than an outright ban, as Beijing wants to avoid handicapping its own AI start-ups and escalating tensions with the US, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the
Taipei is today suspending its US$2.5 trillion stock market as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed-income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Yesterday, schools and offices were closed in several cities and counties in southern and eastern Taiwan, including in the key industrial port city of Kaohsiung. Taiwan, which started canceling flights, ship sailings and some train services earlier this week, has wind and rain advisories in place for much of the island. It regularly experiences typhoons, and in July shut offices and schools as
Her white-gloved, waistcoated uniform impeccable, 22-year-old Hazuki Okuno boards a bullet train replica to rehearse the strict protocols behind the smooth operation of a Japanese institution turning 60 Tuesday. High-speed Shinkansen trains began running between Tokyo and Osaka on Oct. 1, 1964, heralding a new era for rail travel as Japan grew into an economic superpower after World War II. The service remains integral to the nation’s economy and way of life — so keeping it dazzlingly clean, punctual and accident-free is a serious job. At a 10-story, state-of-the-art staff training center, Okuno shouted from the window and signaled to imaginary colleagues, keeping
Arm Holdings PLC approached Intel Corp about potentially buying the ailing chipmaker’s product division, only to be told that the business is not for sale, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter. In the high-level inquiry, Arm did not express interest in Intel’s manufacturing operations, said the source, who asked not to be identified because the discussions were private. Intel has two main units: A product group that sells chips for personal computers, servers and networking equipment, and another that operates its factories. Representatives for Arm and Intel declined to comment. Intel, once the world’s largest chipmaker, has become the
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