Archive for the 'Industries' Category
May 9th, 2010 by admin
SAN FRANCISCO, April 13 (Xinhua) — Intel Corp. on Tuesday reported that its profit in the most recent quarter nearly quadrupled from a year ago, which are seen as reflections of growing computer market demands and recovery in information technology (IT) spending.
In the three months ended on March 27 this year, Intel posted net income of 2.44 billion U.S. dollars or 43 cents a share, compared with 629 million dollars or 11 cents a share in the same period the previous year.
Revenues also jumped 44 percent over the year-ago quarter to 10. 3 billion dollars, said the world\’s largest computer chip maker.
Numbers of profit and sales both beat Wall Street\’s estimates. According to Bloomberg, analysts had projected earnings of 38 cents a share on sales of 9.85 billion dollars.
\”The investments we\’re making in leading edge technology are delivering the most compelling product line-up in our history,\” Paul Otellini, Intel\’s chief executive officer, said in a statement.
\”These leadership products combined with growing worldwide demand and continued outstanding execution resulted in Intel\’s best first quarter ever,\” he added.
Looking forward, Intel expects sales in the current quarter to be in the range of 9.8 billion dollars to 10.6 billion dollars, above analysts\’ average estimate of 9.7 billion dollars.
Intel is a kind of barometer for the technology industry as it holds a share of more than 80 percent in the global microprocessor market. The chip maker is the first major technology company to release results in the first quarter of 2010.
Analysts believed that Intel\’s performance in the most recent quarter embodies some general trends in the overall semiconductor and technology industry.
Chip makers now are more profitable than any time in the last decade, reflecting the industry\’s increasingly aggressive management of costs, capacity and competitive positioning, according to analysts at research firm iSuppli.
The reason that the semiconductor market showed unusually year- over-year strength in the first quarter of 2010, is in part due to catastrophic economic conditions early in 2009, they noted.
\”After a poor 2009, the global PC (personal computer) and microprocessor businesses are continuing to return to a state of normality in the first quarter of 2010,\” Matthew Wilkins, principal analyst of compute platforms for iSuppli, said in a statement on Tuesday.
Chip sales in the first quarter are driven by continuing strong sales growth of notebook PCs and the overall computer market is expected to benefit further from the return of corporate spending in 2010, Wilkins said.
After declining 4.5 percent last year, global IT spending will grow 5.3 percent to 3.4 trillion dollars in 2010, research firm Gartner projected on Monday.
In addition to robust consumer spending on mobile PCs, enterprise hardware spending is expected to grow again in 2010 though remain below 2008 level, Gartner said.
May 9th, 2010 by admin
Lexus GX series cars sit in the lot at a Lexus dealer in Los Angeles. Embattled Japanese automaker Toyota announced Tuesday it was temporarily suspending sales of the 2010 Lexus GX 460 after a respected US consumer magazine warned readers not to buy the SUV model.?(Xinhua/AFP Photo)
BEIJING, April 14 (Xinhuanet) — Toyota Motor Corp. is temporarily halting sales of the 2010 Lexus GX 460 after Consumer Reports issued a rare \”Don\’t Buy\” warning.
The magazine said on Tuesday the Lexus problem occurred during tests on its track. In a standard test, the driver approached a turn unusually fast, then released the accelerator pedal to simulate the response of an alarmed driver. This caused the rear of the vehicle to slide outward.
According to the Associated Press reports, the Japanese automaker said it has asked dealers to temporarily suspend sales of the SUV while it conducts its own tests on the GX 460.
\”We are taking the situation with the GX 460 very seriously and are determined to identify and correct the issue Consumer Reports identified,\” said Mark Templin, Lexus vice president and general manager.
It is reported that about 6,000 have been sold since the vehicle went on sale in late December.
Toyota has suffered a serial of blows after the recall of millions of cars and trucks. Just on April 5, the U.S. federal regulators wanted to impose a civil fine of 16.4 million U.S. dollars against Toyota Motor Corp. for failing to notify the auto safety agency of the dangerous \”sticky pedal\” defect for at least four months.
Approximately 2.3 million vehicles in the U.S. were recalled in January for the sticky pedal defect. Toyota separately has recalled 5.4 million vehicles over pedal entrapment issues, though some vehicles are impacted by both.
(Agencies)
A Lexus GX series car sits in the lot at a Lexus dealer in Los Angeles. Embattled Japanese automaker Toyota announced Tuesday it was temporarily suspending sales of the 2010 Lexus GX 460 after a respected US consumer magazine warned readers not to buy the SUV model.?(Xinhua/AFP Photo)
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May 9th, 2010 by admin
The photo taken on March 23, 2010 shows Volvo assembly plant in the suburbs of western Belgian city of Gent. China\’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group signed a deal worth 1.8 billion U.S. dollars with Ford Motor Co. in Goteborg of Sweden on March 28, 2010 to acquire the U.S. auto giant\’s Volvo car unit. (Xinhua/Wu Wei)
BEIJING, March 30 (Xinhua) — Chinese auto maker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group is ready to inject 900 million U.S. dollars operating capital into Volvo on top of the 1.8 billion U.S. dollars purchase price, Geely chairman Li Shufu said Tuesday.
\”We should not only inject money into Volvo, but also endeavor to improve Volvo\’s profit-making capability,\” Li said at a press conference to discuss the Volvo takeover.
The Zhejiang-based Geely signed a deal with Ford Motor Co. Sunday in Sweden to acquire the U.S. auto giant\’s Volvo car unit.
\”Geely is Geely, while Volvo is Volvo. Geely will not produce Volvo, and Volvo will not produce Geely,\” said Li, also the founder of the firm, adding that Volvo would keep its unique characteristics after the takeover.
Li said Volvo\’s biggest problem was its small production scale and high research and development expenses, adding Volvo should try to increase production and sales to cut costs.
Related:
Geely could find Volvo a tough nut to crack
BEIJING, March 31 — When Li Shufu, chairman of Zhejiang Geely Group Holding Co Ltd, celebrated the company\’s agreement taking over Swedish luxury brand Volvo on Tuesday, nobody could foresee the challenges and risks ahead for the Chinese automaker. Full story
Geely-Volvo deal a new chapter for Chinese companies
BEIJING, March 30 (Xinhua) — Chinese automaker Geely has finally married Sweden\’s iconic Volvo brand with a wedding gift valued at 1.8 billion U.S. dollars. Full story
China\’s Geely inks $1.8B deal to buy Volvo cars
BEJING, March 29 — China\’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group has signed a deal with the Ford Motor Corporation to acquire the US firm\’s Volvo vehicle unit. Full story
China\’s Geely buys Volvo unit for 1.8 bln U.S. dollars
Geely Chairman Li Shufu (FRONT L) shakes hands with CFO of Ford Motor Company, Lewis Booth (FRONT R) after signing a deal in Goteborg of Sweden, March 28, 2010. China\’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group signed a deal with Ford Motor Co. here on Sunday on the takeover of Sweden\’s Volvo Cars. (Xinhua/Wu Wei)
GOTEBORG, Sweden, March 28 (Xinhua) — China\’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group signed a deal worth 1.8 billion U.S. dollars with Ford Motor Co. here Sunday to acquire the U.S. auto giant\’s Volvo car unit. Full story
May 9th, 2010 by admin
By LI XIANG
BEIJING, April?14 — AirPlus International, a global business travel management services company, hopes to accelerate growth in China, one of its fastest growing markets, in a move designed to help it recoup losses incurred during the global economic downturn.
\”Expansion of our presence in China is a strategic priority and our competitive advantage during the downturn has enabled us to continue to increase our investments here,\” said AirPlus President Patrick Diemer.
Diemer declined to give specific details on investment or expansion plans for China.
The Neu-Isenburg, Germany-headquartered company saw a significant business decline in almost all of its markets globally except China in 2009, posting a 10 percent decline in net revenue to $276 million.
The decline was mainly caused by slowed business travel and lower ticket prices, but growth in emerging markets such as China has significantly helped soften the recession\’s impact on its global business, Diemer said.
AirPlus managed to gain about 1,000 new corporate clients during the crisis in 2009, 100 of which were Chinese.
Diemer said the company\’s objective for 2010 is to regain 65 percent settlement volume it lost during the economic recession.
AirPlus, a subsidiary of Lufthansa, sees great potential in the Chinese business travel sector which demonstrated itself to be robust despite being hit by the economic crisis in 2009.
AirPlus became the first mover in the Chinese business travel payment market in 2008 by establishing a strategic partnership with Air China, the country\’s flag carrier.
The Air China AirPlus Company Account is the first centrally billed lodge account in China which corporations can use to invoice airline tickets.
The company has also teamed up with China Merchant Bank to launch a co-branded corporate credit card, which allows corporations to better monitor and manage their employees\’ travel expenses occur on the road, such as hotel and restaurant bills and telephone calls.
Although the concept of business travel payments is relatively new in China – a country that still remains a cash-based society – the corporate credit card industry is expected to see further growth in the future.
So far only 13 percent of Chinese companies uses credit cards for travel payments while 87 percent conduct payments through cash or bank transfers, according to a recent report of Maverick China Research.
But the situation is changing as the volume of business travel grows and demand increases for travel payment management and cost control measures from Chinese companies.
The World Tourism Organization projected that China will become the No 1 tourism destination by 2020 and earn an estimated $69 billion on business travel annually.
Diemer said that China currently accounts about 5 percent of AirPlus\’s global business but the number is expected to grow significantly higher over the next five years.
May 9th, 2010 by admin
Lexus GX series cars sit in the lot at a Lexus dealer in Los Angeles. Embattled Japanese automaker Toyota announced Tuesday it was temporarily suspending sales of the 2010 Lexus GX 460 after a respected US consumer magazine warned readers not to buy the SUV model.?(Xinhua/AFP Photo)
LOS ANGELES, April 13 (Xinhua) — Toyota said on Tuesday it will temporarily stop selling the Lexus GX460 after Consumer Reports said the SUV carried an unusually high risk of a rollover accident during certain types of turns, the New York Times reported.
In the latest blow to Toyota\’s reputation, the Japanese automaker said it will suspend sales of the SUV while it conducts its own testing.
Consumer Reports gave the GX460 a rare \”Don\’t Buy: Safety Risk, \” saying that in handling tests, the seven-seat SUV slid until it was nearly sideways before the electronic stability system regained control. The magazine said this could lead to a rollover accident in real-world driving.
The Japanese major auto manufacturer has sold about 5,000 GX460s in three months since it went on sale. It is not covered by Toyota\’s faulty gas-pedal recalls.
Toyota has recalled 8.5 million vehicles globally since November for problems including sticky gas pedal that causes sudden acceleration. Unintended acceleration in the company\’s Toyota and Lexus vehicles has been linked to at least five U.S. crash deaths since 2007. Forty-seven other fatalities over the past decade were also believed to have had link with the Japanese auto manufacturer.
Related:
Toyota recalls 155,000 Prius and Lexus vehicles in U.S.
Toyota to recall 1,335 Prius in Israel for brake problems: report
Los Angeles court chosen for runaway Toyota car lawsuits
Toyota to change production structure to boost profitability
Toyota holds 1st special committee meeting for global quality
Toyota holds 1st global committee meeting in Japan to shore up quality control
Toyota Prius tops Japan\’s auto sales for 11th straight month
Growing too quickly at unsustainable speed leads to Toyota\’s fall
Toyota recalls 12,500 cars in Romania over faulty accelerator pedals
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A Lexus GX series car sits in the lot at a Lexus dealer in Los Angeles. Embattled Japanese automaker Toyota announced Tuesday it was temporarily suspending sales of the 2010 Lexus GX 460 after a respected US consumer magazine warned readers not to buy the SUV model.?(Xinhua/AFP Photo)
http://www.gemuhope.com
May 9th, 2010 by admin
SHANGHAI, April 13 (Xinhua) — China\’s Tencent Holdings Ltd. said it will pay 300 million U.S. dollars for a 10.26 percent stake in Digital Sky Technologies Ltd. (DST), a Russian Internet investment firm and an investor in Facebook.
Tencent, based in south China\’s Shenzhen City, popular for its instant messaging services, QQ, and online game platforms, QQ Game, said in a Hong Kong stock exchange filing late Monday the transaction would allow the companies to form \”a long-term strategic partnership.\”
But the type of shares Tencent bought will give the company only 0.51 percent of Digital Sky\’s total voting power, according to the statement.
Digital Sky, an investor in leading Russian Web portals, purchased 200 million U.S. dollars of Facebook preferred stock, representing a 1.96 percent equity stake in the US firm, in May 2009.
http://www.ceshq.com
May 9th, 2010 by admin
By Wang Xing
BEIJING, April?14 — Chinese Internet conglomerate Tencent Holdings Ltd will acquire a 10 percent stake in Digital Sky Technologies, a Russian Internet investment firm and Facebook shareholder, as the company seeks to expand outside its home country.
Tencent, best known for its popular instant messaging service called QQ in China, said that it will pay $300 million for the stake in Digital Sky Technologies (DST), which has a 3.5 percent stake in the US social networking site Facebook.
\”The investment allows us to benefit from the fast-growing Internet market in Russia, as well as to leverage our technical and operational know-how to strengthen the leadership position of Digital Sky,\” said Martin Lau, Tencent president, in a statement.
The company also said it will develop a long-term strategic partnership with Digital Sky and the companies in which it has invested, as well as \”explore further business cooperation with them\”.
Tencent provides free instant messaging services for hundreds of millions of Chinese users and profits from selling virtual items and other online value-added services.
The company also enjoys a strong revenue stream from its online gaming business and manages a portal website as well as an online search engine.
Last month, the company reported $1.8 billion in revenue in 2009, with a gross margin of almost 70 percent. That made Tencent one of China\’s most profitable Internet firms.
According to the deal, Tencent will get roughly a 10.26 percent stake in Digital Sky and 0.51 percent voting power in the Russian firm.
Dick Wei, analyst for JP Morgan in Hong Kong, said in a report that Tencent\’s latest move will expose the company to the fast growing Russian market. \”Tencent is positioning itself to benefit from global Internet growth,\” he said.
Wei noted that Tencent will also benefit if the company is able to strengthen cooperation with Digital Sky\’s portfolio companies, which includes e-mail firm mail.ru, social gaming company Zynga, online payment company OE Investments as well as a recruitment site and an e-commerce platform.
Last week, media cited unnamed sources as saying that Tencent, Digital Sky and Russians Prof-Media were in competition to acquire AOL\’s instant messaging platform ICQ.
It was also reported earlier this week that Facebook may also considering enter the China market, although U.S. search engine Google last month shut down its domestic website and rerouted traffic to Hong Kong.
(Source: China Daily)
http://www.cne.cc
May 9th, 2010 by admin
SINGAPORE, April 13 (Xinhua) — The China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC) and Singapore\’s Pacific International Lines ( PIL) opened a joint venture – CSIC Pacific – here on Tuesday.
Speaking at the opening of the company, Lim Hwee Hua, Singapore \’s Minister in Prime Minister Office and Second Minister for Finance and Transport, said that this CSIC-PIL\’s partnership is reflective of the close links between China and Singapore.
She said that the partnership is forged against a backdrop of an extremely difficult period for the shipping industry, adding that setting up of the company to provide alternative ship financing options for distressed shipping assets during this period \”would surely be most welcomed by industry players.\”
CSIC Pacific will also designate Singapore as the place of arbitration for its contracts. Lim said that this is the strongest endorsement of the transparency and efficiency of Singapore\’s legal regime.
http://www.cne.cc
May 9th, 2010 by admin
SEOUL, April 13 (Xinhua) — Hyundai Merchant Marine Co., South Korea\’s second largest shipper, in partnership with a Chinese local firm, announced Tuesday that it has signed a deal worth 315 million U.S. dollars with China\’s Hebei Steel Group to transport iron ore for the next 15 years.
The deal calls for Hyundai Merchant and China\’s ShangDong Far East Marine Group to deliver a total of 23 million tons of iron ore, including 1.5 million tons annually from Brazil and Australia, to China by 2025 for the Hebei Steel Group, the world\’s second largest steelmaker, the company said in a statement.
It added the deal could bring in 21 million U.S. dollars in annual sales, which add up to a total of 315 million U.S. dollars over the next 15 years for the South Korean company.
\”China has the largest steel market in the world, and we will continue to expand our market presence there,\” Hyundai Merchant said in a statement. Hyundai Merchant and ShangDong Far East have signed a strategic partnership earlier this year.
Related:
Domestic ore prices up again, but cheaper than imports
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http://www.gtrip.net
May 9th, 2010 by admin
BEIJING, April 13 (Xinhua) — Xining Special Steel Co., northwest China\’s largest special steel maker, said Tuesday its 2009 net profit leaped 314.57 percent despite a 25.62 percent drop in revenue.
Net profit hit 34.77 million yuan (5.1 million U.S. dollars) last year on revenue of 5.19 billion yuan, according to its annual report filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
Earnings per share quadrupled to 0.05 yuan.
The company attributed its profit growth to lower production costs and rising work efficiency.
It said steel demand will grow this year as the country\’s economic growth picks up.
Urbanization and industrialization drives bring great potential for the development of nation\’s special steel industry in the long run, the company added.
But the company noted China\’s steel overcapacity may weigh on its profitability and cause trade tensions.
Coupled with fierce competition from domestic steel makers, the company may face more uncertainties this year, the report said.
The steel maker\’s A-shares fell 3.1 percent to 10.33 in Tuesday morning trade.
http://www.pq365.com
