■HEALTHCARE
Crucell in sale talks
Crucell NV, the Leiden-based biotech company, says it is in advanced talks to be acquired by Johnson & Johnson of the US, the world’s largest health care products maker. Crucell says Johnson & Johnson, which already owns a 17.9 percent stake in the Dutch company, will offer about 1.75 billion euros (US$2.29 billion) in cash for the remainder of Crucell, or 24.75 euros per share. That’s a 58 percent premium to Crucell’s closing price on Thursday of 15.70 euros. Crucell makes vaccines and sells a line of cells widely used as a platform for developing vaccines.
■TECHNOLOGY
Oracle revenues jump 48%
Oracle Corp on Thursday reported that its recent quarter profit climbed to US$1.35 billion as revenues rocketed 48 percent to US$7.5 billion. Profit for the quarter that ended Aug. 31 amounted to US$0.27 per share of stock, 18 percent more than was seen in the same quarter a year earlier. Freshly hired Oracle president Mark Hurd predicted that the money-making momentum would continue with the company next week unveiling two new high-end business computer systems.
■TELECOMS
TDC to sell Swiss unit
Danish telecom group TDC said yesterday it had agreed to sell its Swiss offshoot Sunrise to private equity firm CVC Capital Partners for 3.3 billion Swiss francs (US$3.3 billion). “Today CVC and TDC have signed an agreement on selling TDC’s Swiss subsidiary Sunrise to the private equity firm CVC,” TDC said in a statement. The deal should be completed in the fourth quarter, it said.
■COMPUTERS
Dell counting on China
Dell Inc is making a US$100 billion bet that China will remain one of the fastest-growing markets for personal computers over the next decade. Dell said on Thursday it plans to open a manufacturing, sales and service center in Chengdu next year that could eventually employ more than 3,000 workers. The new operations center is a response to rapid growth in business in Western China, Dell said.
■AVIATION
Cebu Pacific to sell shares
Philippine budget carrier Cebu Pacific is aiming to raise up to US$725 million to buy new aircraft when it lists almost a third of its shares next month, the country’s stock exchange said yesterday. The airline’s holding company, conglomerate JG Summit Holdings, has applied to sell about 32.19 billion pesos (US$725 million), or 31 percent, worth of its shares starting on Oct. 8. It said 70 percent of those shares have been put aside for sale in the US as it prepares for a roadshow at the end of this month, while the rest is to be offered to local investors. Cebu Pacific began flying in 1996. It planned to publicly list in 2008, but the global financial crisis forced it to temporarily shelve the idea.
■ECONOMY
FedEx cutting 1,700 US jobs
FedEx Corp said on Thursday that the global economic recovery remains uneven. While strength in international shipments is boosting net income, FedEx is cutting 1,700 jobs in its US freight business to offset losses there. The world’s second-largest package delivery company earned or US$1.20 per share in the fiscal first-quarter that ended last month, compared with US$181 million, or US$0.58 per share a year ago. Revenue rose 18 percent to US$9.46 billion. Projections for the second quarter and full year fell shy of Wall Street expectations.
Taiwan’s Lee Chia-hao (李佳豪) on Sunday won a silver medal at the All England Open Badminton Championships in Birmingham, England, a career best. Lee, 25, took silver in the final of the men’s singles against world No. 1 Shi Yuqi (石宇奇) of China, who won 21-17, 21-19 in a tough match that lasted 51 minutes. After the match, the Taiwanese player, who ranks No. 22 in the world, said it felt unreal to be challenging an opponent of Shi’s caliber. “I had to be in peak form, and constantly switch my rhythm and tactics in order to score points effectively,” he said. Lee got
‘CROWN JEWEL’: Washington ‘can delay and deter’ Chinese President Xi Jinping’s plans for Taiwan, but it is ‘a very delicate situation there,’ the secretary of state said US President Donald Trump is opposed to any change to Taiwan’s “status quo” by force or extortion and would maintain that policy, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the Hugh Hewitt Show host on Wednesday. The US’ policy is to maintain Taiwan’s “status quo” and to oppose any changes in the situation by force or extortion, Rubio said. Hewitt asked Rubio about the significance of Trump earlier this month speaking with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) at the White House, a meeting that Hewitt described as a “big deal.” Asked whether the meeting was an indication of the
‘RELATIVELY STRONG LANGUAGE’: An expert said the state department has not softened its language on China and was ‘probably a little more Taiwan supportive’ China’s latest drills near Taiwan on Monday were “brazen and irresponsible threats,” a US Department of State spokesperson said on Tuesday, while reiterating Washington’s decades-long support of Taipei. “China cannot credibly claim to be a ‘force for stability in a turbulent world’ while issuing brazen and irresponsible threats toward Taiwan,” the unnamed spokesperson said in an e-mailed response to media queries. Washington’s enduring commitment to Taiwan will continue as it has for 45 years and the US “will continue to support Taiwan in the face of China’s military, economic, informational and diplomatic pressure campaign,” the e-mail said. “Alongside our international partners, we firmly
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
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