ECONOMY
US to escape recession
Britain and the eurozone economies are likely to tip into recession next year, Morgan Stanley said, but the US might make a narrow escape thanks to a resilient job market. Meanwhile, China’s expected reopening after almost three years of COVID-19 curbs is set to lead a recovery in its own economy and other emerging Asian markets, the investment bank’s analysts said in a series of reports published on Sunday. “Risks are to the downside,” the reports said, projecting the global economy to grow by 2.2 percent next year, lower than the IMF’s latest 2.7 percent growth estimate. Morgan Stanley predicts a sharp split next year between developed economies “in or near recession” while emerging economies “recover modestly,” but said an overall global pickup would likely remain elusive.
PHARMACEUTICALS
Singapore plant acquired
German firm BioNTech SE has acquired a manufacturing facility in Singapore, its first in Asia, the company said yesterday. The facility, bought from a Novartis unit, is to be its first messenger ribonucleic acid, or mRNA, facility in Singapore, and support its vaccines production for the Asia Pacific region, BioNTech said in a statement, without disclosing financial details. BioNTech said the facility, which is to double as its regional headquarters, would initially be used to make a range of mRNA-based product candidates as well as authorized vaccines and therapeutics, which might include its COVID-19 vaccine. The Singapore facility is expected to be fully operational by next year and create more than 100 jobs by 2024. The aim is to eventually expand production to other drug classes, said BioNTech, which also plans to set up research and manufacturing centers in Australia.
AIRLINES
Cathay closes US base
Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd (國泰航空) closed its last overseas outpost, bringing some US-based pilots back to Hong Kong as the airline trims expenses after experiencing heavy losses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cathay’s US pilot bases shut on Oct. 31 and some crew are to relocate to Hong Kong in the coming weeks, according to an internal memo. More than 60 US-based employees are leaving the airline, the memo said. Cathay had pilot centers in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Anchorage, a major cargo hub. It has already closed bases in the UK, Canada, Germany, Australia and New Zealand after COVID-19 restrictions shredded flying schedules. While Hong Kong has opened its borders to quarantine-free travel again, Cathay expects it could take two more years to fully recover. The airline flew just 16 percent of pre-pandemic passenger capacity in September.
MACAU
Casinos vie for new permits
Macau casino operators, vying for one of six new licenses in the world’s largest gambling hub, are expected to invest about US$12.44 billion over the next 10 years, local broadcaster TDM reported. The seven applicants, which include incumbents Sands China Ltd (金沙中國), Wynn Macau Ltd (永利澳門), Galaxy Entertainment Group (銀河娛樂集團), MGM China Holdings Ltd (美高梅中國控股), Melco Resorts and Entertainment (新濠博亞娛樂) and SJM Holdings Ltd (澳門博彩控股), as well as new entrant Genting Malaysia Bhd, are competing for the six slots. Galaxy and Sands might invest more than US$2.5 billion each, while the others will invest less than that.
Charming US President Donald Trump one week, angering China the next, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has had a busy start and is riding high in the polls, all on a few hours of sleep a night. However, the honeymoon might end soon for the Margaret Thatcher-admiring leader if a spat with China escalates further and she fails to keep inflation in check. “I believe Prime Minister Takaichi will surely do what she needs to do, so I trust her,” Kozue Otsuka, 50, told reporters at a festival this week for business owners seeking good fortune. While buying a lucky kumade rake featuring
TECH TITANS: Amazon’s latest chip joins Google in competing for the 90 percent market share held by Nvidia, which claims it is ‘a generation ahead of the industry’ Amazon Web Services (AWS) on Tuesday launched its in-house-built Trainium3 artificial intelligence (AI) chip, marking a significant push to compete with Nvidia Corp in the lucrative market for AI computing power. The move intensifies competition in the AI chip market, where Nvidia dominates with an estimated 80 to 90 percent market share for products used in training large language models that power the likes of ChatGPT. Google last week caused tremors in the industry when it was reported that Facebook-parent Meta Platforms Inc would employ Google AI chips in data centers, signaling new competition for Nvidia. This followed the release last month of
INSULATED: The company said it is less exposed to global complications, as it has built a strong footprint worldwide, and has multiple sources of rare earths and raw minerals Merck Group yesterday said it would ramp up production next year at its new flagship facility in Kaohsiung’s Lujhu District (路竹) to satisfy growing demand for advanced semiconductor materials and specialty gases, and to address supply resilience issues amid mounting geopolitical risks. Merck made the remarks during a news conference before the inauguration of its 500 million euros (US$582.1 million) facility, which is also to supply other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, it said. Merck executive board deputy chair and electronics CEO Kai Beckmann told reporters the company adopted a “local-for-local” strategy about seven years ago to address the cycle time of
Two companies wholly owned by the daughter of the founder of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) on Monday reported to the Taiwan Stock Exchange that they would dispose of all of the Hon Hai shares they hold. In filings with the exchange, Hong Wei Investment Co (鋐維) said it would sell the 2.771 million Hon Hai shares it holds and Frontier Investment Corp (承鋒投資) said it would sell its 2.409 million Hon Hai shares from tomorrow until Jan. 3 next year. The two companies are wholly owned and chaired by Shirley Gou (郭曉玲), the eldest daughter of Hon Hai founder Terry
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