■ COMPUTERS
Wistron to invest in Vietnam
Hsinchu-based Wistron Corp (緯創) plans to invest US$10 million to build a factory in Vietnam for expansion. Wistron's board approved the Vietnam investment via its offshore unit, VNCap, the company said in a statement to the Taiwan Stock Exchange late on Friday, without elaborating. Wistron's shipments could reach 19 million units this year, up from about 11 million to 12 million units last year and 9 million in 2006, the Chinese-language Commercial Times newspaper said yesterday, without citing a source. Wistron is the world's third-largest contract manufacturer of notebook computers behind Quanta Computer Inc (廣達電腦) and Compal Electronics Inc (仁寶電腦).
■ PETROLEUM
Caracas reroutes oil to China
Venezuela is rerouting oil to China that had previously been sent to a US refinery co-owned by its state oil company and Exxon Mobil Corp, Venezuela's oil minister said on Friday. Rafael Ramirez said Exxon has stopped ordering crude for a refinery in the New Orleans suburb of Chalmette as legal wrangling between the Irving, Texas-based company and Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) continues. PDVSA and Exxon are locked in a fierce legal battle over compensation for the nationalization of a jointly owned heavy oil project in Venezuela's Orinoco basin last year.
■ COMPUTERS
Neo, Intel launch mini laptop
Philippine PC manufacturer Neo and multinational computer processor maker Intel have jointly launched a new 16,999 peso (US$406) mini laptop, spokesmen said yesterday. The Neo Explore is a "ruggedized and shock-proof" laptop with a keyboard that will not be damaged by spillages of liquids, Neo spokeswoman Mariel Que said. It weighs 0.66kg and is the size of a schoolchild's lunchbox, but will have the memory capacity and usual features of a standard basic laptop. Though the Explore is primarily designed for primary school children here, it can also be used by first-time PC users for word-processing and Internet access, Intel Philippines country manager Ricky Banaag said.
■ AUTOMOBILES
Jaguar deal under review
The European Commission said on Friday it would rule on Tata Motors' takeover of Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford by the end of next month after the Indian company reported the deal to Europe's top antitrust watchdog. Tata said in the notification that the deal did not represent a "significant impediment to effective competition" because the companies' "combined market shares are small." Tata Motors said on Wednesday it was buying the two British luxury icons Jaguar and Land Rover from ailing US carmaker Ford for US$2.3 billion.
■ BANKING
BayernLB losses may mount
Losses at Bavarian regional bank BayernLB stemming from the collapse of the US market for high-risk mortgages may be far higher than forecast, the state's premier said on Friday. Bavarian leader Guenther Beckstein told the daily Nordbayerischer Kurier in an interview yesterday that the writedowns could reach 4 billion euros (US$6.3 billion). Last month the bank estimated that losses could reach 1.9 billion euros. A BayernLB spokesman declined to comment ahead of the bank's annual press conference on Thursday. The heavy losses prompted chief executive Werner Schmidt to resign last month.
STIMULUS PLANS: An official said that China would increase funding from special treasury bonds and expand another program focused on key strategic sectors China is to sharply increase funding from ultra-long treasury bonds this year to spur business investment and consumer-boosting initiatives, a state planner official told a news conference yesterday, as Beijing cranks up fiscal stimulus to revitalize its faltering economy. Special treasury bonds would be used to fund large-scale equipment upgrades and consumer goods trade-ins, said Yuan Da (袁達), deputy secretary-general of the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission. “The size of ultra-long special government bond funds will be sharply increased this year to intensify and expand the implementation of the two new initiatives,” Yuan said. Under the program launched last year, consumers can
Citigroup Inc and Bank of America Corp said they are leaving a global climate-banking group, becoming the latest Wall Street lenders to exit the coalition in the past month. In a statement, Citigroup said while it remains committed to achieving net zero emissions, it is exiting the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA). Bank of America said separately on Tuesday that it is also leaving NZBA, adding that it would continue to work with clients on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The banks’ departure from NZBA follows Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Wells Fargo & Co. The largest US financial institutions are under increasing pressure
TRENDS: The bitcoin rally sparked by US president-elect Donald Trump’s victory has slowed down, partly due to outflows from exchange-traded funds for the token Gold is heading for one of its biggest annual gains this century, with a 27 percent advance that has been fueled by US monetary easing, sustained geopolitical risks and a wave of purchases by central banks. While bullion has ticked lower since US president-elect Donald Trump’s sweeping victory in last month’s election, its gains this year still outstrip most other commodities. Base metals have had a mixed year, while iron ore has tumbled, and lithium’s woes have deepened. The varied performances highlight the absence of a single, over-riding driver that has steered the complex’s fortunes, while also putting the spotlight
Twenty years after he was a young, struggling actor in Toronto, Thomas Lo (盧瑞麟) is now the one giving young Asian actors their big breaks. He just had to go to Hong Kong to do it. The Chinese Canadian has been the creative director of one of the territory’s biggest TV broadcasting companies for only a few years, but is already making original English-language content to reach viewers around the world. “It was a bit of a full-circle moment for me,” Lo said. “You see more Asians, but you’re still seeing the same Asians on screen, right? We’re looking for more opportunities
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