JAPAN
Agency probes bid-rigging
The Fair Trade Commission yesterday said that it filed criminal complaints against Dentsu Inc and five other firms, as well as seven individuals, over alleged bid-rigging on contracts for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The complaint marks the latest development in months of investigations into alleged corruption in the planning and sponsorship of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics Games, held in 2021 after a COVID-19 pandemic-driven postponement. “We determined that this is a malicious and serious case that will have a broad impact on people’s lives,” commission investigator Goh Okumura told a media briefing.
FOOD
Nestle to halt Myanmar lines
Swiss food giant Nestle SA would halt all production in Myanmar, a spokesperson said yesterday. Due to the “current economic situation,” Nestle’s factory in the commercial hub Yangon, as well as its head office, would “cease operations,” a spokesperson said, without giving a time frame. A Burmese firm would instead market and distribute Nestle products from Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines, the spokesperson said. There were 138 employees at Nestle’s Myanmar factory and head office. Nestle sells Nescafe instant coffee, Maggi noodles and Milo chocolate malt beverage in Myanmar. The Southeast Asian nation has been in turmoil since the military ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s government.
TECHNOLOGY
Toshiba suitors drop out
The US$15 billion buyout of Toshiba Corp is increasingly looking like a purely Japanese affair as most international buyout firms are poised to drop from the deal, people familiar with the matter said. Talks to bring Blackstone Inc, BPEA EQT and CVC Capital Partners on as equity investors have stalled, the people said, asking not to be identified, because the matter is private. The private equity investors are concerned about the valuation, complexity and political nature of the deal, some of the people said. The bidding group led by homegrown fund Japan Industrial Partners Inc includes domestic firms, the people said.
AVIATION
High fares to stay: CEO
High airfares are here to stay as airlines take advantage of the post-pandemic travel boom to lock in higher charges, Capital A chief executive officer Tony Fernandes said. “The fare environment is very good,” Fernandes said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “I think airlines have always underpriced their product. People are getting a little bit of a shock, because they see prices a bit higher, but really we’ve been behind the curve on that as an industry.” After not having traveled for three years, people’s “value of travel has also gone up,” he added.
THAILAND
Minister voices optimism
A slew of billion-dollar infrastructure projects and an upswing in tourism would fuel the country’s expansion this year, shielding the economy from weaker exports and any possible delay in the budget approval due to elections, Minister of Finance Arkhom Termpittayapaisith said yesterday. Government approvals for three projects at a combined investment of about 524 billion baht (US$14.9 billion) would ensure capital spending remains on track, Arkhom said in an interview, citing a high-speed railway line connecting three airports, an expansion of an airport southeast of Bangkok and a deep-sea port.
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
Contract chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電) yesterday said it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Polar Semiconductor LLC to collaborate on the production of 8-inch wafers in the US. The collaboration aims to strengthen 8-inch wafer manufacturing in the US amid Washington’s efforts to increase onshore manufacturing of semiconductors, contribute to supply chain resilience against shifting geopolitical dynamics, and ensure a secure domestic supply of power semiconductors critical to automotive, electric grids, robotic manufacturing and data centers, the companies said in a joint statement. Under the MOU, Polar and UMC will identify devices for Polar to manufacture at
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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