Japan’s Nippon Steel Corp has hired former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo as an adviser to help with its proposed acquisition of US Steel Corp, Kyodo News reported on Saturday.
The Japanese firm described Pompeo as being “respected by both” the Democratic Party and Republican Party, and as having “unparalleled insight into US geopolitical and security challenges,” Kyodo said.
Critics such as the United Steelworkers union see the deal as a threat to the industry in Pennsylvania, where US Steel is based, and the acquisition plan has become a political issue ahead of the US presidential election in November.
Photo: REUTERS
US President Joe Biden and former US president and Republican Party candidate Donald Trump have vowed to annul the deal, as they compete for blue-collar votes, putting the transaction into limbo probably until after the election.
The plan was announced in December last year, with the Japanese steelmaker promising investments to keep Pennsylvania factories competitive with foreign producers, as well as newer “mini-mills” in the US South that are less taxing on the environment.
Nippon Steel said in April that the proposed US$14 billion takeover was going through an official US merger review, following a report that the US Department of Justice had launched an antitrust investigation.
Pennsylvania is a key election battleground state, carried by Biden in 2020, but won by Trump in 2016.
Restaurant chain Din Tai Fung (鼎泰豐) today announced it is to close 14 stores in northern China, completely exiting the market by the end of October. Beijing Hengtaifeng Catering Co (北京恆泰豐餐飲), which operates Din Tai Fung restaurants in northern China, said its 20-year operating license expires this year. As the board was unable to reach a consensus on continuing operations, its 14 restaurants in the region are to close by Oct. 31, it said. The company apologized for the inconvenience and disappointment the news would cause among its customers, and said it would provide compensation for its workers. “We continue to be optimistic about
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STRATEGIC SHIFT: Diversifying away from the volatile flat-panel industry, AUO aims to boost sales contribution from non-panel business to half of total revenue by 2027 AUO Corp (友達) yesterday said it has agreed to sell its idled manufacturing facility and land in Tainan to Micron Technology Inc for NT$7.4 billion (US$231.8 million) as the company shifts strategy to reduce the impact from the boom-and-bust flat-panel display industry. The company expects to book NT$4.17 billion in disposal gains from the sale, it said in a Taiwan Stock Exchange filing. The Tainan factory produced color filters used in monitors, notebook computers and flat-panel TVs before being shut down last year, as AUO sought to optimize its asset utilization. The company has been striving to diversify and broaden its business
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