■CHINA
Loans dropped after quake
Millions of dollars in bad loans caused by China’s massive earthquake will be written off in an effort to help disaster victims, the China Banking Regulatory Commission said in a statement posted on its Web site yesterday. The commission also ordered banks to write off bad credit card loans whose holders and guarantors died or went missing in the quake and who have no other assets to pay back the loans. It was not immediately clear how many loans would be written off, but the Agricultural Bank of China estimated it was facing up to 6 billion yuan (US$863 million) in bad loans linked to the earthquake.
■AUTOMOBILES
Hyundai chief stays home
The chairman of Hyundai has pulled out of a visit to China with South Korea’s president, an official at the presidential office said yesterday. Chung Mong-koo, who has been convicted of embezzling millions of dollars from Hyundai Motor Co, was among a group of South Korean business leaders due to accompany President Lee Myung-bak on an official visit to Beijing. Chung, 69, was sentenced to three years in jail in February last year for breach of trust and embezzling US$93 million in company funds.
■AVIATION
Boeing delays new jet
The Boeing Co has pushed back the date for a possible replacement to its popular 737 jet by several years, saying it needs more time to advance the underlying technology. Chicago-based Boeing spokeswoman Sandy Angers said in an interview on Friday that conversations with airline customers made it clear that requirements for a replacement plane — 15 percent to 20 percent better fuel efficiency, 25 percent lower maintenance costs — would require major technological advances in aerodynamics, materials, and the jet’s engine and electrical systems, among other areas. Angers said that first deliveries of a replacement 737 are now expected in the latter part of the next decade instead of in 2012.
■AUTOMOBILES
Suzuki may import Splash
Suzuki Motor Corp is considering selling its European-made Splash family car in Japan, the first time the automaker would import vehicles for the domestic market. “We’re considering the introduction of the model” in Japan from our Hungarian plant, company spokesman Yoichi Kojima said yesterday by telephone. Suzuki will import the model this year because its factories at home are already running at full capacity, the Nikkei Shimbun reported. The Splash was developed as the third global strategic model after the Swift and SX models.
■FINANCE
Brazil to vote on fund
Plans for the country to invest state assets in a new sovereign wealth fund will likely head to the nation’s congress in the next few weeks, Finance Minister Guido Mantega said on Friday. The fund will likely hold the equivalent of US$10 billion to US$20 billion, Mantega said when he announced its creation about 10 days ago. Much of the cash would be lent to Brazilian companies looking to boost trade and investments abroad, he said. The bill will be sent next week for the president’s approval before being forwarded to the legislature for consideration, the finance minister said.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday obtained the government’s approval to inject an additional US$7.5 billion into its US subsidiary, the Department of Investment Review said in a statement. The department approved TSMC’s application of investing in TSMC Arizona Corp, which is engaged in the manufacturing, sales, testing and design of IC and other semiconductor devices, it said. The latest capital injection follows a US$5 billion investment for TSMC Arizona approved in June. The chipmaker has broken ground on two advanced fabs in Arizona with aggregated investments approved by the department totaling US$24 billion thus far. According to TSMC, the first Arizona
The lethal hack of Hezbollah’s Asian-branded pagers and walkie-talkies has sparked an intense search for the devices’ path, revealing a murky market for older technologies where buyers might have few assurances about what they are getting. While supply chains and distribution channels for higher-margin and newer products are tightly managed, that is not the case for older electronics from Asia where counterfeiting, surplus inventories and complex contract manufacturing deals can sometimes make it impossible to identify the source of a product, analysts and consultants say. The response from the companies at the center of the booby-trapped gadgets that killed 37
FRIENDLY TAKEOVER: While Qualcomm Inc’s proposal to buy some or all of Intel raises the prospect of other competitors, Broadcom Inc is staying on the sidelines Qualcomm Inc has approached Intel Corp to discuss a potential acquisition of the struggling chipmaker, people with knowledge of the matter said, raising the prospect of one of the biggest-ever merger and acquisition deals. California-based Qualcomm proposed a friendly takeover for Intel in recent days, said the sources, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information. The proposal is for all of the chipmaker, although Qualcomm has not ruled out buying some parts of Intel and selling off others. It is uncertain whether the initial approach would lead to an agreement and any deal is likely to come under close antitrust scrutiny
SECURITY CONCERNS: The proposed ban on Chinese autonomous vehicle software and hardware would go into effect with the 2027 and 2030 model years respectively The US Department of Commerce today is expected to propose prohibiting Chinese software and hardware in connected and autonomous vehicles on US roads due to national security concerns, two sources said. US President Joe Biden’s administration has raised concerns about the collection of data by Chinese companies on US drivers and infrastructure as well as the potential foreign manipulation of vehicles connected to the Internet and navigation systems. The proposed regulation would ban the import and sale of vehicles from China with key communications or automated driving system software or hardware, said the two sources, who declined to be identified because the