AUTOMAKERS
Hyundai eyes India IPO
Hyundai Motor Co is set to hire banks including Citigroup Inc and JPMorgan Chase & Co for an initial public offering (IPO) of its Indian unit that could raise about US$2.5 billion, people familiar with the matter said on Friday. India’s second-largest carmaker is also in talks with other banks as it pulls together a roster of advisers for the offer that might come this year, the people said. If the South Korean company does proceed with an IPO, it will use the cash raised to expand operations, Bloomberg News reported this week. India accounted for 13 percent of Hyundai’s global sales last year.
BANKING
Citi urges moderate drinking
Citigroup Inc dealmakers were told to be disciplined when consuming alcohol at client events after the bank received complaints of unruly behavior, according to people with knowledge of the matter. In calls late this week, bankers at all levels — from analysts to managing directors — were reminded to keep the firm’s reputation in mind when drinking, the people said. The senior bankers leading the calls did not put a complete curb on consumption of alcohol, noting that drinking in business settings has wide cultural acceptance, the people said. Citigroup’s management is cutting 20,000 roles, but has so far left investment banking less affected than other divisions.
REAL ESTATE
Meta frees Singapore space
Meta Platforms Inc is giving up its lease for seven floors of office space in Singapore that is set to expire at the end of September, the Business Times reported on Thursday. The Facebook parent had conveyed its decision to not renew its lease at South Beach Tower in June last year, the newspaper reported, citing Samantha Tan, general manager of developer South Beach Consortium Pte Ltd. That was just three months after a round of global layoffs by Meta in March last year. Meta started moving staff out of its 115,000-square-feet South Beach Tower offices in the first half of last year, consolidating its teams at its office in Marina One in the financial district, the report said.
OIL
Petroleos Mexicanos ‘caa3’
Petroleos Mexicanos would be near default without the Mexican government’s support, Moody’s Investors Service said, downgrading the state oil company’s debt further into junk territory. The credit rating company lowered Pemex’s corporate debt to “B3” from “B1” and maintained its “negative” outlook, according to a statement on Friday. Another measure that considers government dependence, which Moody’s calls the Baseline Credit Assessment, was cut to “ca” from “caa3,” indicating the company would be highly likely to default without backing from the state. Pemex, the world’s most indebted oil company, has seen its debt burden balloon to around US$106 billion while production lags and profits slump.
BRAIN IMPLANTS
Neuralink goes to Nevada
Elon Musk’s brain implant company, Neuralink Corp, switched the location of its business incorporation to Nevada from Delaware, according to the office of the Nevada secretary of state and a notice sent to shareholders in the company. The change, completed on Thursday, follows Musk’s outburst against Delaware after a judge there struck down his US$55 billion Tesla Inc compensation package. In a post on X, the social network he owns, Musk advised founders not to incorporate in the state.
CANADA
Jobs data raise eyebrows
A stronger-than-expected jobs report on Friday led some of Canada’s more dovish forecasters to revise their views on when they think the central bank will start cutting interest rates. The shift came after the nation’s job market on Friday reported the biggest gains in four months last month. The unemployment rate fell to 5.7 percent, the first such decline since December 2022. Capital Economics’ Stephen Brown and Desjardins Securities’ Royce Mendes joined the consensus of economists in a Bloomberg survey who see the Bank of Canada lowering its policy rate at its June 5 decision. Previously, both firms were expecting a cut in April.
CHEMICALS
BASF to shed China stakes
German chemical company BASF AG said on Friday it was speeding up the sale of stakes in two joint ventures in China after its local partner was accused in media reports of human rights abuses. BASF said in a news release that the market for the industrial chemicals made at the production sites in Korla in China’s Xinjiang region was under increased competitive pressure and oversupplied. The company said it had already begun the divestment process. However, it added that recent reports had contained “serious allegations” about activities “inconsistent with BASF’s values.” The company said it remained committed to the China market.
MUSIC
Sony buying half of Jackson
Sony Group Corp is acquiring a half interest in pop star Michael Jackson’s music catalog from the late singer’s estate for at least US$600 million, Billboard reported, saying it’s the largest such deal ever. The agreement might also include songs from other artists that are part of the Mijac publishing catalog, the music industry publication reported, citing sources it did not identify. The assets include ownership of master recordings and publishing for Jackson’s share of his songs, as well as the Mijac catalog. Jackson’s estate had earlier sold its half interest in Sony/ATV Music Publishing, a joint venture that included the Beatles songs.
TECHNOLOGY
Bezos unloads shares
Jeff Bezos unloaded 12 million shares of Amazon.com Inc this week, the first time the billionaire has sold the company’s stock since 2021. The sales took place on Wednesday and Thursday and netted just over US$2 billion, according to a filing. Amazon disclosed on Feb. 2 that Bezos plans to sell as many as 50 million shares of Amazon over the next 12 months, potentially cashing in on a stock surge that has put him within reach of becoming the world’s richest person. His fortune has climbed US$22.6 billion this year to US$199.5 billion as of Friday, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
ENERGY
Mergers to ramp up: Ebel
The surge in energy industry mergers and acquisitions — marked by a series of megadeals among oil producers last year — is set to ramp up further this year as interest rates decline, Enbridge Inc chief executive officer Greg Ebel said on Bloomberg Television on Friday. “After a couple years of tightening you see a couple years of easing, and people will be looking for those growth opportunities,” Ebel said. The energy industry has seen a wave of consolidation in recent months, including Exxon Mobil Corp’s US$60 billion purchase of Pioneer Natural Resources Co and Chevron Corp’s US$53 billion takeover of Hess Corp.
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
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
CHANGING JAPAN: Nvidia-powered AI services over cellular networks ‘will result in an artificial intelligence grid that runs across Japan,’ Nvidia’s Jensen Huang said Softbank Group Corp would be the first to build a supercomputer with chips using Nvidia Corp’s new Blackwell design, a demonstration of the Japanese company’s ambitions to catch up on artificial intelligence (AI). The group’s telecom unit, Softbank Corp, plans to build Japan’s most powerful AI supercomputer to support local services, it said. That computer would be based on Nvidia’s DGX B200 product, which combines computer processors with so-called AI accelerator chips. A follow-up effort will feature Grace Blackwell, a more advanced version, the company said. The announcement indicates that Softbank Group, which until early 2019 owned 4.9 percent of Nvidia, has secured a
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