Exclusive-EU antitrust regulators set to clear Prosus, Just Eat Takeaway deal, sources say
Amsterdam-headquartered Prosus has proposed incrementally selling down its 27.4% stake in Delivery Hero and giving up its board seat to address EU competition concerns, other people familiar with the matter told Reuters earlier this month.
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(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, Editing by Louise Heavens)
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The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Laos diversifies into nuclear energy with Russian support
FILE PHOTO: Aerial photo taken on July 31, 2020 shows the construction site of the Nam Theun 1 hydropower project in Borikhamxay Province, Laos. Laos aims to diversify power sources, instead of relying heavily on hydropower- Sinohydro 3/Hangout via Xinhua VIENTIANE: Laos is looking to Russian nuclear energy technology to boost its domestic power sector - a vital source of revenue for the landlocked nation. The two governments agreed to sign a roadmap to develop Laos's nuclear energy during Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith's visit to Moscow recently, along with several other bilateral agreements. "One of them is a roadmap for cooperation in the nuclear sector between the Russian nuclear corporation Rosatom and the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Laos,' Russian News Agency TASS reported, but no further details were revealed. The Moscow-headquartered Rosatom is the world leader in nuclear energy production. Vientiane Times on Monday (Aug 4) reported that both parties signed the agreement to pursue the nuclear energy programme. "This comes at a time when Laos seeks to harness the peaceful use of nuclear energy to diversify power sources, instead of relying heavily on hydropower,' said the English daily. At least 80 per cent of electricity is produced by hydropower plants. The Lao economy is largely driven by agriculture, tourism, electricity generation, mining, manufacturing and transport sectors. The energy diversification also comes at a crucial time after the United States imposed a 40 per cent tariff on Laos' exports into the country, which could hurt its economy. Nicknamed the "battery of Asia', Laos is trying to emerge as a major energy player in the Asean region and currently exports electricity to Thailand and Cambodia. Last year, it earned about RM4 billion (US$980 million) in electricity exports. It is also part of the ambitious Asean Power Grid, a regional network earmarked to be fully integrated by 2045. The initiative aims to supply affordable energy to about 670 million people in the South-East Asian region. According to the International Energy Agency, coal makes up 38.9 per cent of the Lao's energy mix, followed by 35 per cent hydropower, biofuel and waste at 16.5 per cent, and oil at 9.5 per cent. The Lao president visited Russia from July 30 to August 1 at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin. - Bernama
The Star
4 hours ago
- The Star
Taiwan cultivates young overseas chip talent with summer camps, university courses
TAIPEI (Reuters) -Dressed in a white protective suit and face mask, Nicolas Chueh listened intently as a guide introduced a series of silver machines used in manufacturing Taiwan's cutting-edge semiconductors. The 16-year-old was among students from eight countries at the summer camp staged to raise interestin Taiwan's most vital industry amid a fast-declining birth rate that could leave tens of thousands of critical jobs vacant. "I myself really enjoy playing video games. So I'm really just always using these semiconductor products," said Chueh, whose parents enrolled him after he expressed interest. The camp, organised by U.S. chip design software firm Synopsys, is among several such events staged by chip companies and Taiwanese universities in recent years as demand for semiconductors, which power most electronics and AI servers, surges across the globe. But for the first time this year, Synopsys, which has significant operations in Taiwan to be closer to the semiconductor supply chain, hosted the events both in Mandarin and English as Taiwan searches for overseas talent. "There is an urgent need to strengthen STEM education from an early age," said Robert Li, Synopsys's Taiwan chairman, who believes the camps can increase interest in the chip industry and help prime some of its future leaders. "That is why we are launching this initiative in Taiwan, where its strength in semiconductors meets the challenge of demographic decline. Taken together, it is clear we must act here first." Given limitations posed by Taiwan's ageing population, Synopsys is also considering hosting camps internationally to spur interest in chip making and designing, he added. The company charges T$33,000 ($1,103) for the English versions and T$10,900 for Mandarin. Chueh, a dual Taiwan-Belgian national who lives in Singapore, said he views semiconductors as an attractive career choice. "I want to lean into it to some extent because I think it will be crucial in the future with AI." SLUMPING BIRTH RATE Taiwan, which has a population of around 23 million, holds outsized influence over the global semiconductor supply chain, thanks to its chip companies such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, the world's largest contract chipmaker, MediaTek, and UMC. Any decline in the industry poses an existential threat to Taiwan, which faces the threat of invasion from Beijing and draws much of its global significance from the chip behemoths. But job openingsin the semiconductor sector have risen from 19,401 in the second quarter of 2020 to 33,725 in the same period this year, according to 104 Corporation, a local human resources firm. The industry is grappling with a shortage of both highly skilled professionals, such as IC design and semiconductor R&D engineers, and essential production staff, including operators and assembly technicians. Filling those jobs locally is becoming harder each year as Taiwan's annual number of births has dropped from over 210,000 in 2014 to around 135,000 in 2024, according to government statistics. STEM graduates have also fallen by around 15% in that period, Ministry of Education statistics showed. "Growth in Taiwan's semiconductor industry has been quite rapid, faster than what our schools can produce in terms of engineering talent each year," said Leuh Fang, chairman of Vanguard International Semiconductor, a Taiwan-based chipmaker affiliated with TSMC. 'THE FUTURE WORKFORCE' Last year, the National Taiwan University launched a global undergraduate semiconductor program for foreign students, which included Mandarin courses to help them reach the proficiency needed to stay and work in Taiwan. The program now enrols over 40 students from more than 10 countries. TSMC also began looking toward foreign talent by throwing its weight behind a program in Germany's Saxony state, which would send German students to study for a semester at Taiwanese universities before interning at TSMC. Other initiatives are attempting to create interest among children as young as 10. Taiwan's National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU) launched an outreach programin July, backed by TSMC, aimed at making chip science fun through interactive teaching tools and online games. "The issue everyone is discussing now is where the future workforce will come from," said NYCU President Chi-Hung Lin. "If they're curious now, they won't reject it later and some may even grow to like this kind of work." (Reporting by Wen-Yee Lee; Editing by Brenda Goh and Saad Sayeed)
New Straits Times
4 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Switzerland could revise offer on Trump tariffs, business minister says
ZURICH: The Swiss government is open to revising its offer to the United States in response to planned heavy tariffs, Business Minister Guy Parmelin said, as experts warned the 39 per cent import duties announced by President Donald Trump could trigger a recession in Switzerland. Switzerland was left stunned on Friday after Trump hit the country with one of the highest tariffs in his global trade reset, with industry associations warning of tens of thousands of jobs being put at risk. The country's cabinet will hold a special meeting on Monday to discuss its next steps, with Parmelin telling broadcaster RTS that the government would move quickly before the US tariffs are imposed on August 7. "We need to fully understand what happened, why the US president made this decision. Once we have that on the table, we can decide how to proceed," Parmelin said. "The timeline is tight, it may be hard to achieve something by the 7th, but we'll do everything we can to show goodwill and revise our offer," he added. Parmelin said Trump was focused on the US trade deficit with Switzerland, which stood at 38.5 billion Swiss francs (US$48 billion) last year, with Switzerland buying U.S liquefied natural gas (LNG) among the options under consideration. Another option could be further investments by Swiss companies in the United States, Switzerland's biggest export market for its pharmaceuticals, watches and machinery. "Look at the European Union, they promised to buy LNG. Switzerland imports LNG too — maybe that's one path," Parmelin said. "Maybe more investments. But to be sure it's a strong enough basis for continuing talks, we have to fully understand what the US expects." Both Parmelin and Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter were also ready to travel to Washington to pursue talks if necessary, he added. Swiss officials rejected reports that the higher than expected tariffs were imposed after a bad-tempered telephone call between Keller-Sutter and Trump late on Thursday. "The call was not a success, there was not a good outcome for Switzerland," a government source told Reuters. "But there was not a quarrel. Trump made it clear from the very beginning that he had a completely different point of view, that 10 per cent tariffs were not enough. "We are working hard to find a solution and are in contact with the American side," the source added. "We hope we can find a solution before August 7." Tariffs would have a huge impact on Switzerland's export-orientated economy and raised the risk of a recession, said Hans Gersbach, an economist at ETH, a university in Zurich. Swiss economic output would be reduced by 0.3 per cent to 0.6 per cent if the 39 per cent tariff was imposed, a figure which could rise to above 0.7 per cent if pharmaceuticals - which are currently not covered by the US import duties - were included. Prolonged disruptions could shrink Swiss GDP by more 1 per cent, Gersbach said. "There would be a risk of a recession," Gersbach said. Swiss shares are expected to be hit by the tariffs news when the stock market reopens on Monday after being closed during the Swiss National Day holiday on Friday. The tariffs could also see the Swiss National Bank cut interest rates in September, said Nomura. "We expect one more 25bp policy rate cut from the SNB in September, which would take the rate to -0.25 per cent," the bank said. "A hit to growth from US tariffs on exports would likely weaken economic growth and cause further deflation pressures, adding to the likelihood of easing to a negative policy rate."
