Governance to the forefront
First was the case of Sime Darby Bhd , where the former chief executive officer and four other executives were ordered to pay RM350mil jointly and severally to the company as restitution for wrongful payments made to consultants in Sime's Qatar Petroleum Project.
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The Star
16 hours ago
- The Star
Tesla awards Elon Musk US$29bil in stock amid compensation battle. What to know
Tesla is awarding Elon Musk around US$29bil (RM 122.60bil) in shares as a legal battle looms over a prior multibillion dollar compensation plan for the chief executive. A special committee of the company's board of directors said the interim pay package would motivate Musk to "stay focused" on Tesla as the electric vehicle maker pivots to robotics and artificial intelligence. Under the pay plan, Musk would receive 96 million shares valued at around US$300 (RM1,268) each as long as he remains in an executive position at Tesla for the next two years. On Musk's social media platform X, the special committee said the executive has not received "meaningful compensation" for his work for eight years. One of the world's richest people, Musk owns about 13% of Tesla shares, making him the largest individual shareholder. The company is worth more than US$969bil (RM4 trillion) based on current share prices. Tesla shares on Monday closed at US$309.26 (RM1,307), up 2%. Why did the board approve this plan? Tesla board members Robyn Denholm and Kathleen Wilson-Thompson said on X that the US$29 billion award is a first step, "good faith" effort to compensate Musk in lieu of a longer term plan. As Musk splits his time and energy among several ventures, including AI startup xAI and space exploration firm SpaceX, Tesla board members said they are eager to keep his attention focused on the electric vehicle maker. Musk has garnered criticism from investors for getting distracted by his temporary role in the Trump administration. Tesla shares have fallen more than 18% this year following significant brand damage and plunging vehicle sales. The company is at a critical turning point where it must pivot to robotics and autonomous driving technology to remain competitive, analysts said. Musk has overseen Tesla's robotaxi launch in Austin, Texas, and frequently touts the potential of the humanoid robot Optimus. "While these impending changes are exciting, the outcomes are not guaranteed," wrote Denholm and Wilson-Thompson. "It is imperative to retain and motivate our extraordinary talent, beginning with Elon." "We are confident that this award will incentivise Elon to remain at Tesla," they wrote. What happened to Musk's previous pay package? A Delaware judge has twice struck down a 2018 executive pay package that would have awarded Musk more than US$55bil (RM 232.51bil) in stock, arguing that Musk exerted unfair control over the negotiation process. In 2018, Tesla shareholder Richard Tornetta sued the company to block the compensation plan, claiming the board misled investors and was not transparent about the approval process. Tornetta and his attorneys also argued that the board was too susceptible to Musk's influence. Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick, the judge in the case, sided with Tornetta and rescinded the entire pay package, calling it an "unfathomable sum." McCormick denied the pay plan again in 2024, after the board held another vote to approve it. Tesla has since appealed McCormick's second decision, citing his contributions to Tesla's growth. "This compensation issue has been a constant concern of shareholders once the Delaware soap opera began," Tesla analyst Dan Ives wrote in a note. If the 2018 plan is ultimately approved after legal battles, the recent US$29bil package will be thrown out to prevent double dipping, the board said. How does Musk's pay compare to other chief executives? The pay package brought to court in 2018 was the largest potential compensation plan for an executive of a publicly traded company, McCormick said, worth 250 times as much as the median peer pay. The new plan is still the highest executive compensation package by far. Blackstone chief executive Stephen Schwarzman earned US$1.39bil in in 2008, compared to the US$29bil interim package for Musk. Another top earner, Palantir CEO Alexander Karp, earned US$1.10bil in 2020. In 2018, Musk agreed to forgo a cash salary for his work at Tesla and instead receive stock options based on his ability to meet company milestones. Board members argue that the value Musk brings to the company is worth hefty compensation. "We can all agree that Elon has delivered the transformative and unprecedented growth that was required to earn all milestones of the 2018 CEO Performance Award," the board's special committee wrote. "Retaining Elon is more important than ever before." – Los Angeles Times/Tribune News Service
The Star
2 days ago
- The Star
Fujifilm raises camera and lens prices in the US amid tariffs
Camera bodies, which are popular with creators and professionals on account of their film simulations and unique color rendering, are now US$200 (RM847) more expensive than they were on last Thursday evening. — Pixabay Fujifilm Holdings Corp raised US prices for the majority of its digital cameras and lenses last Friday, in some cases by hundreds of dollars, as President Donald Trump's tariffs continue to reverberate across the consumer tech industry. Many of the company's camera bodies, which are popular with creators and professionals on account of their film simulations and unique color rendering, are now US$200 (RM847) more expensive than they were on last Thursday evening. For instance, Fujifilm's premier consumer camera, the X-T5, sold for US$1,699 (RM 7,196) earlier but now costs US$1,899 (RM 8,043) , a 12% bump. Fujifilm did not respond to an emailed request for comment. The company is headquartered in Japan, which is subject to a baseline 15% tariff under a deal that the Trump administration struck with the country last month. Fujifilm subsequently relocated manufacturing for a few camera models from China to Japan; during that time, the prices remained stable. Other consumer hardware makers have also raised prices in recent months, including Kyoto-based Nintendo Co, which earlier announced a US price increase for the original Switch handheld games console, citing "market conditions.' Fujifilm is the fourth-largest camera maker behind Canon Inc, Sony Group Corp and Nikon Corp, according to market research firm Techno Systems Research. But the brand's products often stir an outsized buzz on social media among tech enthusiasts. Its X100 series went viral on TikTok during the Covid pandemic and has consistently been on backorder at most retailers since then. The latest model in that lineup, the X100VI, has risen to US$1,799 (RM7,620) with the latest price changes – up from US$1,599 (RM6,772). As for the other major camera manufacturers, Canon, Sony and Nikon already raised prices for a number of products earlier this year. Smaller players like Sigma have also given in after months of global tariff anxiety; that brand increased the cost of its lenses by around 10% in June, the photography outlet PetaPixel reported at the time, but the company told retail partners it's not planning another hike despite the new 15% rate levied on Japan. Fujifilm's most recently announced mirrorless camera, the X-E5 unveiled in June, has not undergone any price adjustments. That product is scheduled to ship later in August. The X Half, a compact, lightweight model the company introduced this year to attract more Gen Z customers, has also maintained its US$850 (RM3,600) price for the time being. – Bloomberg
The Star
4 days ago
- The Star
This robot uses Japanese tradition and AI for sashimi that lasts longer and is more humane
A Los Angeles-area startup is using artificial intelligence and robotics in an unlikely way: making sashimi and other fish dishes taste better, last longer and more humane. El Segundo, California-based Shinkei Systems wants to bring a traditional Japanese method of handling fish to fine dining in America, using technology to replace the labour-intensive process historically handled by practitioners on board ships. Investors have just bet millions that it will succeed. The company's AI-driven robot – called Poseidon – has been designed to do a traditional form of fish handling called ikejime in Japanese. It is a method of killing fish that enthusiasts say enhances flavour, texture and shelf life. Although fish processed in this way is found in some of the best restaurants in Japan, it hasn't been promoted in the US because it is generally too expensive. Automating the process will make it more readily available to Americans, said Saif Khawaja, the company's chief executive. "My end goal is that you're walking into your local grocery store and can buy fish that lasts three times as long, tastes better and is handled humanely," he said. The company raised US$22mil (RM 94.10mil) in a funding round last month, co-led by Founders Fund and Interlagos, bringing total funding to US$30mil (RM 128.32mil) since its inception. It has four Poseidons working on ships in the Pacific and Atlantic and hopes to have 10 more working in the coming year. The ikejime process involves taking live fish that has just been caught and quickly putting them out of their misery by killing them with a spike through the brain and cutting their gills. This stops the stress hormone and lactic acid buildup that can hurt flavor and texture when fish are left to asphyxiate. Although traditional practitioners sometimes add a step in which the spinal cord is destroyed, Poseidon just does the first steps of the ikejime technique. The method has remained largely artisanal even in Japan, where only some fishermen will make the effort to process batches of fish in this way to sell to specific sushi chefs who are obsessed with having the highest-quality ingredients. Even in Japan, the method "is still too labour-intensive to replicate at a high speed without damaging the fish," Khawaja said, adding that, "It's impractical and unsustainable for fishermen to adopt methods that require significant hands-on work," in the US. Shinkei says it also has a higher calling than just better-tasting fish. Khawaja said one of the motivations for developing the technology was to try to find a kinder, gentler way to kill fish than letting them die gasping for air. During childhood fishing trips with his father in the Red Sea, he remembers it being "very hard to watch" fish suffocating after they were caught. Poseidon is roughly refrigerator-sized and sits on fishing boat decks. — Courtesy Shinkei Systems/TNS While he was in graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania, Khawaja was moved by an essay that argued that fish suffer inhumane deaths because they cannot vocalise pain. He even once considered developing sensors to make fish's pain audible. Shinkei provides Poseidon machines to fishermen, who then sell fish processed through the machines back to Shinkei at a premium. Shinkei in turn sells the fish to restaurants and other retailers under its fish company Seremoni. Poseidon is roughly refrigerator-sized and sits on fishing boat decks. It processes fish within seconds of being caught. The fish is fed through an opening in the machine and into a small vinyl cavity. The machine then uses AI to identify what kind of fish it is and where exactly its brain and gills are. Fish emerge with a hole in the head and incisions near the gills before being placed in an ice slurry for blood drainage. Quickly killing the fish, bleeding it and chilling it without freezing leads to fish that is noticeably better, Khawaja said. "There's going to be a flavour profile difference and there's going to be texture profile difference," he said. The company chose Los Angeles for its headquarters and production because it has the right mix of potential employees as well as customers. It has the mechanical engineering talent as well as a major fishing fleet and lots of high-end restaurants. "The best mechanical engineering talent in the world, in my opinion, is in Southern California," said Seremoni co-founder Reed Ginsberg. The city is also a major health and consumer products hub as well as a trend setter for cutting-edge food fads. Chef Michael Cimarusti, co-owner of the Michelin starred Providence restaurant in Los Angeles, says he tries to buy local ikejime fish when he can because it preserves the quality and color. The fish preserved using ikejime look as if they "were just pulled from the water minutes ago," he said in an interview posted on YouTube by the American Fishing Tackle Co. Shinkei currently processes thousands of pounds weekly across operations in Washington, Central California and Massachusetts, with expansion to Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico planned this year. After feedback from fishermen that the bots took up too much deck space, the company developed "Block 2" robots that have roughly half the footprint while processing fish twice as fast. Currently, black cod and black sea bass processed through Poseidon are sold under Shinkei's brand Seremoni at retailers such as Happier Grocery and served at upscale restaurants including Atomix and Sushi Zo. This summer, the company plans to add salmon and red snapper to its offerings. – Los Angeles Times/Tribune News Service
