■AUTOMOBILES
Mazda to recall cars
Mazda Taiwan Corp said on Friday it will recall approximately 13,250 vehicles to deal with potentially problematic power steering lines that could make steering difficult. The recall involves Mazda3 2.0, Mazda3 2.0 Sport and Mazda 5 series models produced from March 2007 to December 2008 in which the power steering lines may have been contaminated during the manufacturing process. Mazda said it will replace the steering pump and oil pipe in each of the recalled vehicles and clean the steering system for free. Drivers of these vehicles may experience poor driving performance or have difficulty steering, according to the company, or the steering system’s warning light may come on.
■BANKING
AgBank breaks IPO record
Agricultural Bank of China (AgBank, 中國農業銀行) has claimed the title of the world’s largest initial public offering (IPO) after fully exercising the over-allotment option of its Shanghai share offering, Dow Jones Newswires said. The lender raised an additional 9.11 billion yuan (US$1.34 billion) from the Shanghai portion of the IPO by selling an extra 3.4 billion shares at 2.68 yuan each, the report said, citing a person familiar with the deal late on Friday. The IPO has now raised a record US$22.1 billion , the report said. The previous record was set by Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (中國工商銀行), which raised US$21.9 billion in its 2006 IPO.
■PETROLEUM
Brazil reports profit increase
Brazil’s state-run oil company says its second-quarter net profit rose 1.7 percent from the same period a year earlier. Net profit for Petroleo Brasileiro SA totaled 8.3 billion reals (US$4.7 billion) in the April to June quarter, compared with a net profit of 8.2 billion reals in the same quarter last year. Revenue increased to 53.6 billion reals from 44.6 billion reals. The company’s statement on Friday said its modest gain in profit came in part from decreased operational costs.
■ECONOMY
Sweden’s rating ‘resilient’
Ratings agency Fitch on Friday affirmed Sweden’s long-term foreign currency debt rating at AAA, calling the Nordic country’s public finances “resilient.” “Sweden’s public finances have been resilient in the face of a 5 percent real contraction of the economy in 2009, and together with the high savings rate, reflected in the large current account surplus, are key strengths underpinning the sovereign ratings,” Eral Yilmaz, a director in Fitch’s sovereign group, said in a statement. The agency also praised Sweden’s large banking sector, saying it “has not had to turn to the sovereign for any notable capital support despite its significant exposure to the Baltic countries.”
■POWER
Blackstone acquires Dynergy
Blackstone Group LP agreed to acquire Dynegy Inc, the Texas power producer that lost 94 percent of its market value in the past three years, for more than US$540 million. Owners of Houston-based Dynegy will get US$4.50 in cash for each of their shares, the seller said on Friday in a statement. The agreement allows Dynegy to pursue a better offer. Blackstone, the world’s largest buyout firm, also agreed to assume Dynegy’s debt, bringing the acquisition’s total value to about US$4.7 billion. Power producer NRG Energy Inc said it agreed to pay Blackstone US$1.36 billion for Dynegy plants in California and Maine. Dynegy also has plants in the US Midwest and Northeast.
DOLLAR CHALLENGE: BRICS countries’ growing share of global GDP threatens the US dollar’s dominance, which some member states seek to displace for world trade US president-elect Donald Trump on Saturday threatened 100 percent tariffs against a bloc of nine nations if they act to undermine the US dollar. His threat was directed at countries in the so-called BRICS alliance, which consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Turkey, Azerbaijan and Malaysia have applied to become members and several other countries have expressed interest in joining. While the US dollar is by far the most-used currency in global business and has survived past challenges to its preeminence, members of the alliance and other developing nations say they are fed
LIMITED MEASURES: The proposed restrictions on Chinese chip exports are weaker than previously considered, following lobbying by major US firms, sources said US President Joe Biden’s administration is weighing additional curbs on sales of semiconductor equipment and artificial intelligence (AI) memory chips to China that would escalate the US crackdown on Beijing’s tech ambitions, but stop short of some stricter measures previously considered, said sources familiar with the matter. The restrictions could be unveiled as soon as next week, said the sources, who emphasized that the timing and contours of the rules have changed several times, and that nothing is final until they are published. The measures follow months of deliberations by US officials, negotiations with allies in Japan and the Netherlands, and
Qualcomm Inc’s interest in pursuing an acquisition of Intel Corp has cooled, people familiar with the matter said, upending what would have likely been one of the largest technology deals of all time. The complexities associated with acquiring all of Intel has made a deal less attractive to Qualcomm, said some of the people, asking not to be identified discussing confidential matters. It is always possible Qualcomm looks at pieces of Intel instead or rekindles its interest later, they added. Representatives for Qualcomm and Intel declined to comment. Qualcomm made a preliminary approach to Intel on a possible takeover, Bloomberg News and other media
Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) yesterday said it expects any impact of new tariffs from US president-elect Donald Trump to hit the company less than its rivals, citing its global manufacturing footprint. Young Liu (劉揚偉), chairman of the contract manufacturer and key Apple Inc supplier, told reporters after a forum in Taipei that it saw the primary impact of any fresh tariffs falling on its clients because its business model is based on contract manufacturing. “Clients may decide to shift production locations, but looking at Foxconn’s global footprint, we are ahead. As a result, the impact on us is likely smaller compared to
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