■ MANUFACTURING
Nidec to buy Emerson arm
Japan’s Nidec, the world’s largest disk-drive motor maker, said yesterday it would buy the motor and appliance-controls business of US technology giant Emerson. The companies did not disclose financial details of the deal, which the Nikkei Shimbun said was worth ¥60 billion (US$700 million) to ¥70 billion. The move should expand Nidec’s product range to large industrial motors as well as medium-size ones for appliances.
■ AUTOMOBILES
Mazda issues recall
Mazda Motor Corp is recalling more than 300,000 Mazda3 and Mazda5 vehicles in North America to repair problems with the power-steering system that could lead to crashes, a problem the automaker dealt with in Japan a year ago. The Japanese automaker told the government the recall involved vehicles of model years from 2007 to last year, built between April 2007 and November 2008. The recall involves 215,000 vehicles in the US and an additional 100,000 vehicles in Canada and Mexico.
■ BEVERAGES
PepsiCo to invest in Vietnam
Food and drinks giant PepsiCo plans to invest US$250 million in Vietnam to tap growth in the fast-developing country, the company said in a statement obtained yesterday. The investment will be made over three years, Saad Abdul-Latif, chief executive officer of PepsiCo Asia, said in the statement. The money will pay for a variety of projects such as increasing manufacturing capacity and installing extra marketplace equipment including coolers, the statement said.
■ SHIPPING
DP World’s profit rises
Global port operator DP World says its profit rose 17 percent in the first half of the year as it saw signs that trade levels were picking up. The cargo company reported first-half earnings of US$$219.2 million, up from US$187.7 million during the same period a year earlier. Revenue rose 5 percent to US$$1.46 billion. The port company, which runs 50 marine terminals on six continents, says the rise is partly a reflection of increased container cargo trade.
■ SHIPPING
Maersk reports net profit
Danish container shipping and oil group AP Moller-Maersk A/S yesterday reported a net profit of 14.16 billion Danish kroner (US$2.45 billion) for the first half of the year, citing higher freight rates and volumes for its container shipping activities. The result was up from a loss of 3.02 billion kroner in the same period last year. Revenues jumped 20 percent to 153.53 billion kroner from 127.53 billion kroner in the first six months of last year. The Copenhagen-based group said the container shipping market had been “surprisingly positive” because of stronger activity in global trade.
■ AVIATION
SAS AB’s losses narrow
Scandinavian airline group SAS AB saw its losses narrow in the second quarter and said it would have swung back to profit if it weren’t for the ash cloud from an Icelandic volcano. SAS made a net loss of 502 million Swedish kronor (US$68 million) in the April-June quarter, compared with a loss of 1.05 billion kronor a year earlier. The Stockholm-based company said that it would have posted a profit of more than 400 million kronor if the ash cloud had not paralyzed air travel across Europe in April. Revenue was 9.98 billion kronor, down from 12.2 billion kronor in the second quarter of last year.
ENDEAVOR MANTA: The ship is programmed to automatically return to its designated home port and would self-destruct if seized by another party The Endeavor Manta, Taiwan’s first military-specification uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) tailor-made to operate in the Taiwan Strait in a bid to bolster the nation’s asymmetric combat capabilities made its first appearance at Kaohsiung’s Singda Harbor yesterday. Taking inspiration from Ukraine’s navy, which is using USVs to force Russia’s Black Sea fleet to take shelter within its own ports, CSBC Taiwan (台灣國際造船) established a research and development unit on USVs last year, CSBC chairman Huang Cheng-hung (黃正弘) said. With the exception of the satellite guidance system and the outboard motors — which were purchased from foreign companies that were not affiliated with Chinese-funded
PERMIT REVOKED: The influencer at a news conference said the National Immigration Agency was infringing on human rights and persecuting Chinese spouses Chinese influencer “Yaya in Taiwan” (亞亞在台灣) yesterday evening voluntarily left Taiwan, despite saying yesterday morning that she had “no intention” of leaving after her residence permit was revoked over her comments on Taiwan being “unified” with China by military force. The Ministry of the Interior yesterday had said that it could forcibly deport the influencer at midnight, but was considering taking a more flexible approach and beginning procedures this morning. The influencer, whose given name is Liu Zhenya (劉振亞), departed on a 8:45pm flight from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) to Fuzhou, China. Liu held a news conference at the airport at 7pm,
KAOHSIUNG CEREMONY: The contract chipmaker is planning to build 5 fabs in the southern city to gradually expand its 2-nanometer chip capacity Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday confirmed that it plans to hold a ceremony on March 31 to unveil a capacity expansion plan for its most advanced 2-nanometer chips in Kaohsiung, demonstrating its commitment to further investment at home. The ceremony is to be hosted by TSMC cochief operating officer Y.P. Chyn (秦永沛). It did not disclose whether Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) and high-ranking government officials would attend the ceremony. More details are to be released next week, it said. The chipmaker’s latest move came after its announcement earlier this month of an additional US$100 billion
Authorities yesterday elaborated on the rules governing Employment Gold Cards after a US cardholder was barred from entering Taiwan for six years after working without a permit during a 2023 visit. American YouTuber LeLe Farley was barred after already being approved for an Employment Gold Card, he said in a video published on his channel on Saturday. Farley, who has more than 420,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel, was approved for his Gold Card last month, but was told at a check-in counter at the Los Angeles International Airport that he could not enter Taiwan. That was because he previously participated in two
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