■FINANCE
SWF eyes more hedge funds
China Investment Corp (CIC, 中國投資公司), the nation’s US$200 billion sovereign wealth fund, may invest as much as US$500 million in hedge funds, including those run by Blackstone Group LP, two people familiar with the matter said. CIC aims to allocate US$6 billion to hedge funds by the end of this year, company adviser Felix Chee said at the GAIM International hedge fund conference earlier this week at Monaco’s Grimaldi Forum. CIC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley earlier this month by buying an additional US$1.2 billion in shares.
■AUTOMOBILES
Prius orders top forecast
Toyota Motor Corp received orders for 180,000 Prius hybrid cars in Japan in just a month, far surpassing its target of 10,000 vehicles, the automaker said yesterday. The third-generation Prius, which rolled out a month ago, has been a big hit in its home country, partly because of tax breaks and other new government incentives that are meant to stimulate growth during the economic downturn. The Prius was the No. 1 selling vehicle in Japan last momth, clinching the top spot in the domestic market for the first time and overtaking Honda’s new hybrid, the Insight, which fell to third after taking the top spot in April.
■INVESTMENT
KKR may delay IPO
KKR & Co, the private-equity firm run by Henry Kravis and George Roberts, said it was still considering plans to go public, almost two years after first proposing an initial public offering. KKR filed to go public in July 2007, days before the credit crisis began. Less than a year later, the firm dropped the project in favor of a plan to issue new stock to its Amsterdam- listed buyout fund. The shares would have begun trading on the New York Stock Exchange once the deal was completed in December. KKR delayed the plan again in November after the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc roiled markets worldwide. KKR may push back the plans still further, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday, citing unidentified people familiar with the talks.
■INVESTMENT
Google invests in 23andMe
Google Inc loves 23andMe Inc, a biotechnology startup conceived by co-founder Sergey Brin’s wife. In its latest showing of financial affinity, Google said on Thursday it had invested another US$2.6 million in a company that analyzes people’s DNA to detect potential health problems before they occur. Anne Wojcicki, who married Brin two years ago, started 23andMe while the couple was still dating. Google’s decision to invest in a startup near and dear to Brin hasn’t yet raised complaints about nepotism among the Mountain View-based company’s major shareholders.
■SEMICONDUCTORS
Elpida may seek funding
Elpida Memory Inc, Japan’s biggest maker of memory chips, saw its share price rise 3.3 percent in Tokyo trading after Nikkei English News said the company may apply for funding from the Development Bank of Japan. The company may seek as much as ¥40 billion (US$416 million) by selling up to ¥30 billion in preferred shares and borrowing a maximum of ¥10 billion, Nikkei said. The chipmaker is also in final negotiations with the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd and three other lenders to borrow as much as ¥90 billion, Kyodo News reported.
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
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