COSMETICS
Shiseido discusses sale
Shiseido Co is in advanced talks to sell its shampoo and affordable skincare business to CVC Capital Partners for ￥150 billion to ￥200 billion (US$1.45 billion to US$1.93 billion), as the Japanese cosmetics maker shifts its focus to premium beauty products, people with knowledge of the matter said. The board of Shiseido is preparing to vote on the divestment soon, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is not public. The operations targeted for sale includes the company’s Tsubaki haircare products. The unit is mainly active in Japan, China and other parts of Asia. The lifestyle and personal care business represented about a 10th of Shiseido’s revenue in 2019, with annual sales of about ￥100 billion.
UNITED KINGDOM
Retail misses expectations
Retail sales rose less than expected last month, adding to evidence that a succession of lockdowns amid the COVID-19 pandemic is dragging down the economy. Sales in shops and online edged up 0.3 percent after declining in November last year, the Office for National Statistics said yesterday. That is a percentage point less than economists had expected. Sales rose 2.9 percent from a year earlier. The report casts doubt about the resilience of the economy during a third round of restrictions that started this month. While the lockdowns might be distorting the seasonal adjustment of the figures, last month and the holiday shopping season are nevertheless crucial for retailers. Clothing sales rose sharply last month, while supermarkets and department stores declined. The drop in retail sales would knock 0.02 percentage point off overall output in the fourth quarter, the office said.
CRYPTOCURRENCIES
Cryptos won’t work: UBS
Cryptocurrencies might never be able to work as actual currencies, UBS Global Wealth Management (GWM) said. The “fundamental flaw” inherent in cryptocurrencies is that supply cannot be reduced when demand is slumping in most cases, UBS GWM chief economist Paul Donovan said in a video this week. That means they cannot be considered currencies, he said. A “proper currency,” as Donovan termed it, can be a stable store of value, providing certainty that it will be able to buy the same basket of goods tomorrow as it buys today. That confidence is derived from central banks’ ability to reduce supply when demand is falling. There is no such mechanism for switching off supply on most cryptocurrencies, and therefore their value can slide — leading to a collapse in spending power, he said.
AUTOMAKERS
Batteries give Nissan edge
Nissan Motor Co has emerged from Brexit with an edge over rivals that lack a UK battery supply chain, a big relief for the nation’s largest auto manufacturing plant. The maker of packs that power the Leaf electric vehicles built at Nissan’s massive factory in Sunderland, England, is to add production of a longer-range battery in the coming months, Nissan chief operating officer Ashwani Gupta said on Thursday. The supplier investment is the latest development for the Nissan facility, which employs about 6,000 people and faced existential risks without a Brexit trade agreement. However, CEO Carlos Tavares said that while good sense had prevailed with regard to Brexit, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s move to ban gasoline and diesel cars from 2030 could be problematic.
UNCERTAINTY: Innolux activated a stringent supply chain management mechanism, as it did during the COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure optimal inventory levels for customers Flat-panel display makers AUO Corp (友達) and Innolux Corp (群創) yesterday said that about 12 to 20 percent of their display business is at risk of potential US tariffs and that they would relocate production or shipment destinations to mitigate the levies’ effects. US tariffs would have a direct impact of US$200 million on AUO’s revenue, company chairman Paul Peng (彭雙浪) told reporters on the sidelines of the Touch Taiwan trade show in Taipei yesterday. That would make up about 12 percent of the company’s overall revenue. To cope with the tariff uncertainty, AUO plans to allocate its production to manufacturing facilities in
Taiwan will prioritize the development of silicon photonics by taking advantage of its strength in the semiconductor industry to build another shield to protect the local economy, National Development Council (NDC) Minister Paul Liu (劉鏡清) said yesterday. Speaking at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee, Liu said Taiwan already has the artificial intelligence (AI) industry as a shield, after the semiconductor industry, to safeguard the country, and is looking at new unique fields to build more economic shields. While Taiwan will further strengthen its existing shields, over the longer term, the country is determined to focus on such potential segments as
TAKING STOCK: A Taiwanese cookware firm in Vietnam urged customers to assess inventory or place orders early so shipments can reach the US while tariffs are paused Taiwanese businesses in Vietnam are exploring alternatives after the White House imposed a 46 percent import duty on Vietnamese goods, following US President Donald Trump’s announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs on the US’ trading partners. Lo Shih-liang (羅世良), chairman of Brico Industry Co (裕茂工業), a Taiwanese company that manufactures cast iron cookware and stove components in Vietnam, said that more than 40 percent of his business was tied to the US market, describing the constant US policy shifts as an emotional roller coaster. “I work during the day and stay up all night watching the news. I’ve been following US news until 3am
COLLABORATION: Given Taiwan’s key position in global supply chains, the US firm is discussing strategies with local partners and clients to deal with global uncertainties Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) yesterday said it is meeting with local ecosystem partners, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), to discuss strategies, including long-term manufacturing, to navigate uncertainties such as US tariffs, as Taiwan occupies an important position in global supply chains. AMD chief executive officer Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) told reporters that Taiwan is an important part of the chip designer’s ecosystem and she is discussing with partners and customers in Taiwan to forge strong collaborations on different areas during this critical period. AMD has just become the first artificial-intelligence (AI) server chip customer of TSMC to utilize its advanced
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