AUTOMAKERS
Tesla cuts China prices
Electric vehicle giant Tesla Inc has cut starter prices for its Model 3 and Model Y vehicles by as much as 9 percent in China, listings on the company’s Chinese Web site showed yesterday. The starting price for the Model 3 sedan was reduced to 265,900 yuan (US$36,727) from 279,900 yuan, while that for Model Y sport utility vehicle was cut to 288,900 yuan from 316,900 yuan, the Web site showed. Tesla has been adjusting the prices in line with costs, the company told Reuters in a statement. Capacity utilization at its Shanghai Gigafactory has improved, while the supply chain remains stable, leading to lower costs, it said. The price cut is the first by Tesla in China this year, after it raised the prices for the two models earlier in the year due to rising raw material costs.
PHARMACEUTICALS
Sumitovant to buy Myovant
A fully owned subsidiary of Sumitomo Pharma Co agreed to buy the rest of drugmaker Myovant Sciences Ltd for US$1.7 billion after raising its offer, as it seeks to bolster the development of medicines for women’s health and prostate cancer. Sumitovant Biopharma Ltd, which already owns 52 percent of Myovant, offered US$27 a share cash for the rest of Myovant — 10 percent more than the drugmaker’s closing on Friday, Osaka-based Sumitomo Pharma said in a statement yesterday. The acquisition represents an enterprise value of US$2.9 billion for Myovant, it said. The transaction is scheduled to close in the first quarter of next year, subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals, Sumitomo Pharma said.
AVIATION
Riyadh, Airbus in talks
Saudi Arabia is in advanced negotiations to order almost 40 A350 jets from Europe’s Airbus SE as part of strategic efforts to launch a new airline and challenge heavyweight carriers in the Persian Gulf, industry sources said. If confirmed, the purchase by the sovereign Public Investment Fund, worth US$12 billion at list prices, could be announced as early as this week when Riyadh hosts a major forum, the Future Investment Initiative, the sources said. It remained unclear whether Boeing Co would also seize part of a substantial shopping list for the new airline, which would be named RIA, the sources said. One source familiar with the negotiations said that it was “not over yet.” The fund has been negotiating to buy about 75 jets and another source said the kingdom was leaning toward the Boeing 787.
SHIPPING
MSC to buy Italian firm
Shipping giant Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) is to buy Italy’s Rimorchiatori Mediterranei SpA, an e-mailed statement said on Sunday. Deal terms were not disclosed. Through its unit SAS Shipping Agencies Services Sarl, MSC agreed to acquire 100 percent of Rimorchiatori Mediterranei — an international towage operator active in Italy, Malta, Singapore, Malaysia, Norway, Greece and Colombia — from Rimorchiatori Riuniti and a fund managed by DWS’ Infrastructure Investment business, it said in the statement. MSC, the shipping company founded by Gianluigi Aponte, has been recently active in the Italian transport market, where in partnership with Deutsche Lufthansa AG it missed out in the bidding for Alitalia successor ITA Airways as Italy’s government instead selected an investor group led by US fund Certares Management LLC.
Semiconductor shares in China surged yesterday after Reuters reported the US had ordered chipmaking giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to halt shipments of advanced chips to Chinese customers, which investors believe could accelerate Beijing’s self-reliance efforts. TSMC yesterday started to suspend shipments of certain sophisticated chips to some Chinese clients after receiving a letter from the US Department of Commerce imposing export restrictions on those products, Reuters reported on Sunday, citing an unnamed source. The US imposed export restrictions on TSMC’s 7-nanometer or more advanced designs, Reuters reported. Investors figured that would encourage authorities to support China’s industry and bought shares
TECH WAR CONTINUES: The suspension of TSMC AI chips and GPUs would be a heavy blow to China’s chip designers and would affect its competitive edge Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, is reportedly to halt supply of artificial intelligence (AI) chips and graphics processing units (GPUs) made on 7-nanometer or more advanced process technologies from next week in order to comply with US Department of Commerce rules. TSMC has sent e-mails to its Chinese AI customers, informing them about the suspension starting on Monday, Chinese online news outlet Ijiwei.com (愛集微) reported yesterday. The US Department of Commerce has not formally unveiled further semiconductor measures against China yet. “TSMC does not comment on market rumors. TSMC is a law-abiding company and we are
FLEXIBLE: Taiwan can develop its own ground station equipment, and has highly competitive manufacturers and suppliers with diversified production, the MOEA said The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) yesterday disputed reports that suppliers to US-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) had been asked to move production out of Taiwan. Reuters had reported on Tuesday last week that Elon Musk-owned SpaceX had asked their manufacturers to produce outside of Taiwan given geopolitical risks and that at least one Taiwanese supplier had been pushed to relocate production to Vietnam. SpaceX’s requests place a renewed focus on the contentious relationship Musk has had with Taiwan, especially after he said last year that Taiwan is an “integral part” of China, sparking sharp criticism from Taiwanese authorities. The ministry said
US President Joe Biden’s administration is racing to complete CHIPS and Science Act agreements with companies such as Intel Corp and Samsung Electronics Co, aiming to shore up one of its signature initiatives before US president-elect Donald Trump enters the White House. The US Department of Commerce has allocated more than 90 percent of the US$39 billion in grants under the act, a landmark law enacted in 2022 designed to rebuild the domestic chip industry. However, the agency has only announced one binding agreement so far. The next two months would prove critical for more than 20 companies still in the process
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