■SOFTWARE
ABB to buy Ventyx
Swedish-Swiss engineering group ABB said yesterday it has agreed to buy US software firm Ventyx from Vista Equity Partners for more than US$1 billion. The cash acquisition would triple the energy management software market available to ABB, which provides power and automation technology, it said in a statement. Based in Atlanta Georgia, Ventyx employs 900 people and posted sales of about US$250 million last year.
■INSURANCE
Prudential delays issue
British insurer Prudential said yesterday it had decided to delay launching a rights issue aimed at helping to fund a US$35.5 billion takeover of AIA, the Asian arm of troubled US insurer AIG. Prudential, which had been expected to reveal details of its launch for a rights issue worth about US$20 billion yesterday, said it had been forced into a delay as it was still in talks with British regulators. The insurer said it still expects to complete takeover during the third quarter of this year.
■BREWING
AB InBev’s profits fall
The world’s largest brewer and maker of Budweiser said its first-quarter profit fell 34 percent to US$475 million as global beer sales remained stagnant and were not forecast to rebound this year. Anheuser-Busch InBev SA (AB InBev) made a US$716 million profit a year earlier. It sold 0.8 percent more beer and soft drinks in the first quarter and said yesterday that an expected improvement in profitability would be delayed until the second half due to lower expected sales and marketing expenses. AB InBev also said its second-quarter earnings would be hit by higher one-off financing costs stemming from a refinancing and bond issue in the first quarter.
■AUTOMOBILES
BMW posts strong growth
BMW yesterday posted “sharp growth” in first-quarter profits, erasing its loss a year earlier amid a pick-up in global sales of high-end automobiles. BMW reported a net profit of 324 million euros (US$420 million) and upgraded its full-year outlook. Chairman Norbert Reithofer said the group was “aiming to achieve significantly higher group earnings” this year than it did last year.
■BANKING
Westpac’s profit rises 32%
Westpac Banking Corp said Wednesday its first-half net profit rose 32 percent to A$2.875 billion (US$2.617 billion) as it benefited from a strengthening Australian economy and lower bad debts. The Sydney-based bank, one of Australia’s largest, said in a statement its profit for the latest six months through March grew from AU$2.175 billion in the corresponding period a year earlier. Westpac said bad debts had been reduced by AU$732 million to AU$879 million for the half.
■BANKING
Societe Generale cautious
French bank Societe Generale SA said yesterday its exposure to Greece’s government debt was 3 billion euros (US$3.93 billion) and it has tightened credit at its Greek unit in response to the financial crisis there. The Paris-based bank said in a statement that the financial crisis had hurt the performance of its majority-owned Geniki Bank Greek subsidiary in the first quarter, and that it was tightening loan approval conditions there among other precautionary measures. Societe Generale disclosed the Greek exposure alongside its first quarter earnings report which showed net profit increased to 1.06 billion euros in the period.
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
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