ENTERTAINMENT
‘Mario Bros’ holds No. 1
The Super Mario Bros. Movie easily held its first-place position on North American movie screens this weekend, while its accumulated global total pushed past the US$1 billion mark, analysts said on Sunday. The video game-based film earned an estimated US$40 million for the Friday-through-Sunday period in the US and Canada for a domestic total so far of US$490 million, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported. With overseas earnings at US$532 million, its accumulated global total has reached US$1.02 billion. That makes The Super Mario Bros. Movie — a joint project of Universal Pictures, Nintendo Co and Illumination — the year’s first film to pass the billion-dollar mark and only the 10th animation ever to do so, The Hollywood Reporter said.
PHARMACEUTICALS
Astellas to buy Iveric
Japanese drugmaker Astellas Pharma Inc has agreed to acquire Iveric Bio Inc, which develops drugs to treat age-related blindness, for about US$5.9 billion. The deal, which is to be funded by cash and debt, is for 100 percent of Iveric Bio for US$40 per share, a premium of 75 percent to the drugmaker’s 30-day volume-weighted average price through the end of March 31, the companies said in a statement yesterday. Iveric Bio shares closed at US$32.89 on Friday. The acquisition gives Astellas a key product to offer therapies for blindness and eye conditions, a growth area identified by the company as it seeks to make up for declining sales of other products. Iveric Bio is developing a drug to treat geographic atrophy, a condition that leads to the loss of retinal tissue in the eye.
FRANCE
Fitch cuts credit rating
The nation’s credit rating was cut by Fitch Ratings in another blow to politically embattled President Emmanuel Macron as he tries to bolster the country’s public finances with unpopular overhauls. Fitch reduced France’s credit rating to “AA-” from “AA,” with a stable outlook, bringing the eurozone’s second-largest economy to the same notch as countries including Ireland and the Czech Republic. France’s projected budget deficits for this year and next year “are well above” the median for countries with AA ratings, Fitch said in a note. It is only the second time France has been downgraded since Macron took office in 2017 and the first time by one of the three major rating firms. In 2020, DBRS Morningstar cut France to “AA (high)” from the top-notch “AAA.”
EDUCATION
Byju’s offices raided
Byju’s, India’s most valuable start-up, sought to reassure employees and partners after a weekend raid of the education company’s offices by the agency that investigates money laundering in the country. Indian Directorate of Enforcement officials searched the Bengaluru-based start-up’s offices and seized documents and digital data, the agency wrote in a post on Twitter. The probe is occurring under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, it said. The investigations come as the company, valued at US$22 billion, is in talks with investors to raise funds to address a liquidity crunch. The firm had also been trying to appease creditors seeking restructuring of a US$1.2 billion term loan after the once high-flying start-up missed deadlines to file financial accounts for the year to March 31 last year. The company, which claims to have 150 million registered students, offers education programs through an app service.
Taiwan’s technology protection rules prohibits Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) from producing 2-nanometer chips abroad, so the company must keep its most cutting-edge technology at home, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. Kuo made the remarks in response to concerns that TSMC might be forced to produce advanced 2-nanometer chips at its fabs in Arizona ahead of schedule after former US president Donald Trump was re-elected as the next US president on Tuesday. “Since Taiwan has related regulations to protect its own technologies, TSMC cannot produce 2-nanometer chips overseas currently,” Kuo said at a meeting of the legislature’s
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
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