Germany’s government expects to receive a large revenue boost by tapping windfall profits generated by energy companies if they keep benefiting from disruptions in Europe’s electricity market, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Sunday.
Germany will take in “many, many billions” of euros under the scenario and would use the revenue to help consumers affected by rampant inflation, Scholz said in an interview with broadcaster ZDF.
The government will use “earnings that exceed a threshold at companies that don’t have such high production costs and give it back to the citizens,” Scholz said.
Photo: AP
He also expressed confidence that Europe’s biggest economy would not face power blackouts.
The German government earlier on Sunday presented a 65 billion euro (US$64.5 billion) package to help citizens and companies cope with surging energy prices. The agreement, which brings total relief to almost 100 billion euros since the start of the Ukraine war, was hammered out overnight by Germany’s three-way ruling coalition of the Social Democrats, the Greens and the Free Democratic Party.
The government promised to support an EU effort to introduce levies on windfall profits as surging earnings at some energy companies amid rising electricity prices cause public outrage.
Germany has faced an energy crisis since Russia decided to all but shut down gas deliveries through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline in retaliation for Western sanctions imposed after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
The decision by Russian supplier Gazprom PJSC on Friday not to restart the pipeline as planned after three days of maintenance has deepened the crisis. Europe is bracing for energy rationing this winter and perhaps even electricity blackouts.
Scholz told ZDF that his government is doing everything possible to prevent blackouts.
“I am also very certain” that such a scenario would not unfold this winter, he said.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said its materials management head, Vanessa Lee (李文如), had tendered her resignation for personal reasons. The personnel adjustment takes effect tomorrow, TSMC said in a statement. The latest development came one month after Lee reportedly took leave from the middle of last month. Cliff Hou (侯永清), senior vice president and deputy cochief operating officer, is to concurrently take on the role of head of the materials management division, which has been under his supervision, TSMC said. Lee, who joined TSMC in 2022, was appointed senior director of materials management and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Thursday met with US President Donald Trump at the White House, days before a planned trip to China by the head of the world’s most valuable chipmaker, people familiar with the matter said. Details of what the two men discussed were not immediately available, and the people familiar with the meeting declined to elaborate on the agenda. Spokespeople for the White House had no immediate comment. Nvidia declined to comment. Nvidia’s CEO has been vocal about the need for US companies to access the world’s largest semiconductor market and is a frequent visitor to China.
MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR: Revenue from AI servers made up more than 50 percent of Wistron’s total server revenue in the second quarter, the company said Wistron Corp (緯創) on Tuesday reported a 135.6 percent year-on-year surge in revenue for last month, driven by strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers, with the momentum expected to extend into the third quarter. Revenue last month reached NT$209.18 billion (US$7.2 billion), a record high for June, bringing second-quarter revenue to NT$551.29 billion, a 129.47 percent annual increase, the company said. Revenue in the first half of the year totaled NT$897.77 billion, up 87.36 percent from a year earlier and also a record high for the period, it said. The company remains cautiously optimistic about AI server shipments in the third quarter,
Hypermarket chain Carrefour Taiwan and upscale supermarket chain Mia C’bon on Saturday announced the suspension of their partnership with Jkopay Co (街口支付), one of Taiwan’s largest digital payment providers, amid a lawsuit involving its parent company. Carrefour and Mia C’bon said they would notify customers once Jkopay services are reinstated. The two retailers joined an array of other firms in suspending their partnerships with Jkopay. On Friday night, popular beverage chain TP Tea (茶湯會) also suspended its use of the platform, urging customers to opt for alternative payment methods. Another drinks brand, Guiji (龜記), on Friday said that it is up to individual
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