【Veolia】【Sanofi】

French companies expect continued growth, deepened cooperation in China

A logo of Veolia Environnement is seen on the lectern during the company's 2014 annual results presentation in Paris in this February 26, 2015 file photo. [Photo/Agencies]

BEIJING -- The Niukouyu Wetland Park in Southwest Beijing, which occupies an area of 140 hectares, is a witness to the successful collaboration between Chinese and French companies.

The site of the park had been home to an industrial wastewater reservoir of Sinopec Yanshan Petrochemical Company. In 2006, SYPC and Veolia Environnement of France started cooperating on wastewater treatment, discharge, and ecology restoration. In 2017, the site became a wetland park and opened to the public for free, with this treated wastewater as its main water source.

Today, the Niukouyu Wetland Park is a habitat for over 140 species of birds, including rare ones, and a hot destination for tourists and shutterbugs.

Christophe Maquet, Veolia's senior executive vice president for the Asia-Pacific Zone, said that Veolia is 'one of the companies that are providing solutions for customers in terms of CO2 savings,' and China's 'dual carbon' goal is 'a very important driver' for the company.

'What we expect from the Chinese market for us in the future will be about decarbonization, de-pollution, as well as the circular economy,' Estelle Brachlianoff, CEO of Veolia, said on Wednesday in Beijing.

Earlier this week, in the southern metropolis of Shenzhen in Guangdong province, French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi signed a letter of intent for cooperation with the government of Shenzhen's Pingshan district.

The two sides agreed to accelerate the market access to innovative vaccines and promote innovative development of the biopharmaceutical industry in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Thomas Triomphe, executive vice president and head of vaccines at Sanofi, said the company is currently committed to promoting the landing of several innovative product pipelines in China.

A bio-industry cluster has formed in Pingshan district over recent years. Data showed that by 2022, the number of biopharmaceutical enterprises in Pingshan had exceeded 1,000.

'Sanofi's steady growth in China, especially in vaccines, owes much to the open international business environment created by the Shenzhen municipal government and Pingshan district,' said Triomphe.

He added the company would introduce more innovative products and preventive solutions to help support China's public health system and contribute to Shenzhen and the Greater Bay Area's economic growth.

【SUEZ】

SUEZ to invest more in green market

SUEZ Group, a French environmental solutions provider, will invest more in China's water and waste management market, thanks to the priority the Chinese government is giving to environmental initiatives, said a top company official.

'We expect revenue from the Chinese market to continue growing during the 2023-27 period, as China's top policymakers have assured greater efforts to attract foreign capital, widen market access and promote further opening-up of modern service industries,' said Sabrina Soussan, SUEZ chairwoman and CEO, in an interview in Beijing on Thursday.

'We see massive business potential in the country, a key market for the future of our group and our growth plans. After 50 years in China, during which we aided the country's transition to a low-carbon economy, we will continue working with local partners and develop a long-term strategic partnership in China.'

At the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Thursday, the company signed a cooperation agreement with its Chinese partners Wanhua Chemical Group and China Railway Shanghai Engineering Bureau Group for a seawater desalination project in Penglai district of Yantai in Shandong province.

The new project broadens SUEZ's scope of cooperation with Wanhua and furthers the ambition of the three partners to build a green industrial ecosystem for sustainable development. It will also strengthen SUEZ's commitment to China's ecological transition, it said.

Soussan said China will remain one of the top growth areas for SUEZ, if not the top one.

'China is already one of our strongest growth markets and we aim to grow even more quickly in the water and waste management sectors in the country through partnerships with local enterprises,' she said.

China's steady average growth rate of 5.2 percent over the past five years indicates that the long-term fundamentals of the economy remain strong. 'The projected growth rate of 5 percent for 2023 also signals overall improvement of the economy and a return to its potential growth rate,' she said.

'We can see the environmental agenda is the priority in the country with substantial progress made in the environmental and ecological sectors in recent years. SUEZ is committed to further step up investment as well as expand its existing business in water, waste and energy management sectors in China this year and in the years to come.'

Lin Boqiang, head of the China Institute for Studies in Energy Policy at Xiamen University, said as the Chinese government has continued to prioritize environmental protection, there has been and will be massive growth opportunities for foreign companies.

It is believed opportunities arising from China's environment sector would offer excellent prospects for foreign companies to contribute their technology and expertise, he said.

To date, SUEZ has built more than 400 water and wastewater treatment plants in China, providing drinking water and waste services to over 25 million people.

The company's new hazardous waste management project, in partnership with Shanghai Chemical Industry Park and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp, will be commissioned around June or July, it said.

【Airbus】

Airbus inks deal for 160 aircraft in China

European aircraft manufacturer Airbus signed an agreement with China Aviation Supplies Holding Co on Thursday and landed orders of 160 Airbus commercial aircraft, including 150 A320 family aircraft and 10 A350-900 wide-body aircraft, reflecting a strong demand for new airplanes by Chinese carriers after the country optimized its COVID-19 response measures and the continuous recovery of the air travel market.

Accompanying French President Emmanuel Macron's state visit to China, Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury also signed with the Tianjin Free Trade Zone Investment Co Ltd and Aviation Industry Corp of China Ltd, an agreement to expand its A320 family final assembly capacity with a second line at its site in Tianjin, which is expected to be put into operation by the end of 2025.

The agreement will contribute to Airbus' objective of producing 75 A320 family aircraft per month by 2026 throughout its global production network, Airbus said.

'We are a global business by nature, and it's time to come together again after the pandemic. We are honored to continue our long-standing cooperation by supporting China's civil aviation growth,' said Guillaume Faury, CEO of Airbus.

'It underpins the positive recovery momentum and prosperous outlook for the Chinese aviation market. Airbus values its partnership with the Chinese aviation stakeholders, and we feel privileged to remain a partner of choice in shaping the future of civil aviation in China,' Faury said.

In line with its sustainability strategy, Airbus and the China National Aviation Fuel Group signed a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen Chinese-European cooperation on the production, competitive application and common standards formulation for sustainable aviation fuels.

【Tesla】

Tesla plans Shanghai factory for power storage

Electric car maker Tesla Inc. plans to build a factory in Shanghai to produce power-storage devices for sale worldwide, state media reported Sunday.

Plans call for annual production of 10,000 Megapack units, according to the Xinhua News Agency and state television. They said the company made the announcement at a signing ceremony in Shanghai, where Tesla operates an auto factory.

The factory is due to break ground in the third quarter of this year and start productions in the second quarter of 2024, the reports said.

Tesla didn't immediately respond to requests for information.

【General Motors】

GM Cruise recalls 300 robotaxis after crash involving bus

General Motors' Cruise autonomous vehicle unit has recalled 300 robotaxis to update software after one of them rear-ended a municipal bus in San Francisco.

Cruise says in government documents posted Friday that the robotaxi inaccurately predicted how the bus would move as it pulled out of a bus stop on March 23. The “articulated” two-section bus slowed as it was leaving the stop and was hit by the self-driving vehicle.

Cruise characterized the crash as a fender-bender and said no one was hurt. The company says in documents sent to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that it did the software update on March 25.

“Cruise determined that the collision was caused by an issue related to prediction of the unique movements of articulated vehicles in rare circumstances,” the company said in documents.

The company said no other crashes have happened due to the problem and that the same thing won't happen again after the update. Cruise said it did the recall to be transparent and add to public understanding of the crash.

【Ethiopian Airlines】

Ethiopian Airlines celebrates 50th anniversary of serving China

Ethiopian Airlines, the leading and fastest growing Airline in Africa, is celebrating the 50th year of the commencement of its service to China.

The carrier carried out its first flight to Shanghai on February 21, 1973, and operated there for a while before shifting its flights to Beijing on November 7, 1973, which remains one of its popular destinations in Asia.

Ethiopian Airlines is the first African carrier to fly to China, and has been connecting the country with the whole of Africa for half a century now.

China is one of the biggest markets for carrier with passenger services to four destinations, namely, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Chengdu and Hong Kong.

Marking the 50 years of service to China, Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO Mesfin Tasew said, 'The beginning of flights to China 50 years ago heralded an important milestone in the history of the Airline. Ethiopian was among the first to serve China and has ever since been providing reliable services to the country. As China is one of the key destinations in Asia, we will maintain our commitment to serve the country, thereby providing access for the Chinese people to the big African market. China-Africa relation is projected to grow significantly in the coming years, and Ethiopian Airlines continues to serve the needs of the travelling public by availing the best connections to Africa and beyond, using its ultramodern aircraft. We are pleased to have served the people of China for the last 50 years, and we will continue to be a bridge connecting China with African nations.'

【Saudi Aramco】

Saudi Aramco Hikes Crude Prices To Asia

Just days after the unexpected OPEC+ oil production cut, Saudi Aramco, the Saudi state-owned oil company, has raised prices of crude to Asia by 30 cents per barrel.

The price hike in Aramco’s flagship Arab Light crude to Asia for May delivery represents the monthly increase in a row, Bloomberg reports.

The move to increase the May OSP was not unexpected, though prior to the surprise OPEC+ announcement traders surveyed by Bloomberg had expected Arab Light prices to fall by 43 cents per barrel.

Earlier this week, analysts speculated that Aramco could potentially hike May crude prices to Asia by 20 cents per barrel, to $2.7 per barrel, based on a Reuters survey of Asian refiners.

Already tight supply will now be further squeezed with the additional 1.6 million bpd cut. This, in turn, will increase the upward momentum for Middle East medium and sour grades, which are closing that gap with light grades, Reuters reports.

The benchmarks major GCC producers use to price their crude bound for Asia have soared, narrowing the gap with the price of Brent Crude in the past couple of days. Analysts are not discounting the possibility for Dubai crude to entertain a premium to Brent in the coming months, with Asian economic recovery.

While Wednesday’s OSP increase was anticipated in light of the OPEC+ output cuts, the first in the three consecutive hikes that came in February took the market by surprise. The February hike for March OSP of 20 cents per barrel (to a premium of $2 a barrel over the Dubai/Oman average) was the first increase in six months and was primarily based on Asian demand expectations.

The May OSP price increase further solidifies analysis that the Saudis view coming Asian demand as particularly robust.

【TotalEnergies】

QatarEnergy, TotalEnergies partner on $10 billion natural gas project in Iraq

QatarEnergy has agreed to hold a 25% share in the Gas Growth Integrated Project (GGIP) - a multi-billion-dollar project aimed at monetizing and developing the natural gas resources of the Republic of Iraq.

The GGIP consortium will be composed of Basra Oil Company (30%), TotalEnergies (Operator - 45%), and QatarEnergy (25%), subject to the finalization of necessary contractual arrangements and obtaining customary regulatory approvals.

Signed in September 2021, the GGIP is a key strategic project that involves investing approximately $10 billion to design and construct facilities for recovering significant volumes of otherwise flared gas throughout the Basra region and supplying such recovered gas to power stations, as well as a seawater treatment and distribution system to supply water for injection into oil reservoirs for pressure maintenance purposes.

His Excellency Mr. Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the President & CEO of QatarEnergy, said, “We are pleased to be part of this significant development, which is important for Iraq’s energy sector, and we look forward to working with TotalEnergies and Basra Oil Company to progress it to fruition. I would like to express our appreciation to the Government of Iraq for their valuable support to reach this point, and for the trust they have placed in QatarEnergy as a reliable partner.”

【ExxonMobil】

ExxonMobil outlines its lower-carbon future

On Tuesday, ExxonMobil hosted its Low Carbon Solutions Spotlight, to explain how the company is “growing its Low Carbon Solutions business, to help accelerate progress toward reaching society’s net-zero goals.” In a presentation to investors, Chairman and CEO Darren Woods and Dan Ammann, President of Low Carbon Solutions, said that ExxonMobil could deliver emissions-reduction solutions “at a scale that matters.”

The firm said its ambition is for exponential growth in the Low Carbon Solutions business in the coming years, as demand expands for products and services like carbon capture and storage (CCS), hydrogen and biofuels.According to the executives, ExxonMobil is focused on the hardest-to-decarbonize sectors, including heavy industry, commercial transportation and power generation. Together, those areas account for 80% of global energy-related CO2 emissions, they said.

Capital allocation for emissions. In addition, Woods and Ammann said that the firm’s Low Carbon Solutions business can help their customers significantly reduce emissions. Current planned projects could abate about 20 MMmt of CO2 per year. FAnalysts at Morgan Stanley noted that the firm reiterated its intentions to devote around $17 billion in lower-emissions spending during the 2022-2027 period. Of that amount, about 60% will go toward reducing the ExxonMobil’s own emissions, with the other 40% dedicated to reducing third-parties’ emissions. “Importantly, the company emphasized that its low-carbon investments must compete for capital with the rest of its traditional business segments,” noted the Morgan Stanley analysts.

CCS progress. Woods and Ammann stated that ExxonMobil expects revenue from its first CCS projects may begin as early as 2025. Accordingly , they announced a long-term agreement with Linde. As part of the deal, the operator will transport and permanently store as much as 2.2 MMtpa of CO2 from the new Linde clean hydrogen plant in Beaumont, Texas. In addition, ExxonMobil said it is moving forward with CF industries on its CCS project in Louisiana. Morgan Stanley said the project will capture up to 2.0 MMtpa of CO2 from CF facility in Donaldsonville, La, beginning in 2025.

Hydrogen efforts. The executives also extolled their efforts to harness hydrogen. One such project is the new 1-Bcfd blue hydrogen facility in Baytown, Texas. They said that site work has begun on what will be the world’s largest low-carbon hydrogen producer at start-up in 2027-2028.

Finally, ExxonMobil said that it continues to make progress on our own emissions goals. The firm is on track to reduce corporate-wide greenhouse gas emissions intensity (Scopes 1 and 2) from operated assets 20% to 30% by 2030, compared to 2016’s levels.

【Shell】

Shell sees stronger LNG volumes and oil product performance in Q1

Shell expects higher liquefied natural gas (LNG) output in the first quarter after outages at its Australian plants last year as well as stable earnings from LNG trading, it said on Thursday.

Shell, which recorded a record $40-B profit last year, said In an update ahead of results due on May 4 that it expected first-quarter liquefaction volumes of 7 to 7.4 million tons, up from 6.8 million tons in the previous quarter.

Its oil products division also likely boosted earnings through a 'significantly higher' trading performance, the world's biggest fuel retailer said.

It expects to have paid between $2.6 and $3.4 B in tax for the first quarter, down from $4.4 billion.

Its renewables unit is set to contribute $100 to $700 MM to adjusted earnings, compared with $300 million in the last quarter of 2022.

【Chevron】【Marathon Oil】

Chevron, Marathon Oil and Equatorial Guinea govt pursuing further development of Gas Mega Hub

Houston-based energy company Marathon Oil Corporation, through its affiliated company Marathon E.G. Holding Limited, has inked a Heads of Agreement (HOA) with the Republic of Equatorial Guinea (E.G.) and Chevron’s Noble Energy E.G. Ltd, to move forward with the next phases in the development of the Equatorial Guinea Regional Gas Mega Hub (GMH).

Marathon Oil disclosed on Thursday, 20 March 2023, that it would be working on further developing the GMH’s Phase II and III, as Phase I?was achieved with the tie-back of the Alen field, located in the Douala Basin offshore Equatorial Guinea, to Punta Europa onshore facilities, which delivered first gas in February 2021.

The company explains that gas from the Alen field is processed under the combination of a tolling and profit-sharing arrangement through Alba Plant LLC’s onshore liquified petroleum gas (LPG) plant and Equatorial Guinea LNG Holdings Ltd’s LNG facility.

According to Marathon Oil, the announced HOA builds on the success of Phase I, aligning all parties on necessary commercial principles to advance Phases II and III of the GMH. Phase II involves processing Alba Unit gas from 1 January 2024 under new contractual terms following the legacy Henry Hub-linked Alba sales and purchase agreement expiration at the end of this year.

The company expects Phase II to materially increase exposure to global LNG pricing, improving the firm’s earnings and cash flow significantly while Phase III of the GMH is anticipated to facilitate gas processing from the Aseng field at Punta Europa facilities.

Marathon Oil holds a 63 per cent operated working interest under a production sharing contract in the Alba field and an 80 per cent operated working interest in Block D, both of which are offshore Equatorial Guinea. On the other hand, the Aseng oil and gas field (previously known as Benita) just like the Alen field is operated by Chevron’s affiliate in Equatorial Guinea.

Lee Tillman, Marathon Oil Chairman, President, and CEO, remarked: “We are excited about this critical milestone in the ongoing development of Punta Europa as a world-class hub for the monetization of local and regional natural gas.

“This announcement builds on our successful partnership of more than 20 years with the E.G. government, further leveraging and extending the life of Equatorial Guinea’s world-class gas monetization infrastructure, including the critical Equatorial Guinea LNG facility, into the next decade.”

Moreover, Marathon Oil outlines that a recently established bilateral treaty on cross-border oil and gas development between Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon provides other opportunities to further expand the GMH through fast-track monetization of cross-border wet gas fields.

The country’s government, represented by the Ministry of Mines & Hydrocarbons, has taken an active role in leading the successful implementation of this GMH expansion and is committed to ensuring subsequent activities and negotiations progress in a timely manner, says the company.

“Beyond the commercial benefits, the expanded development also secures future fuel gas?volumes?for Equatorial Guinea’s power generation needs, provides longer-term employment opportunities for Equatoguineans, and will positively impact?the?local communities’ economy,” concluded Marathon Oil.

【Enbridge】

Pipeline Operator Enbridge to Invest $2.9 Billion to Build Ammonia Plant in Texas

Norwegian fertilizer maker Yara and Canadian pipeline company Enbridge plan to invest up to $2.9 billion to build a low-carbon blue ammonia production plant in Texas, they said on Friday.

Blue ammonia, rather than green ammonia derived from renewable energy, refers to ammonia produced from natural gas, with the carbon dioxide (CO2) byproduct captured and stored.

The plant, which would be Yara's biggest, would be built at an Enbridge oil storage and export facility near Corpus Christi, with production to start around 2027-28.

The companies have not yet made final investment decisions.

Yara is the latest European company to announce a major investment in the United States. More than 200 low-carbon ammonia facilities are being planned globally and the U.S. Gulf Coast is becoming a major hub due to existing infrastructure, cheap natural gas and high government subsidies, said Alexander Derricott, senior analyst at consultancy CRU.

The number of projects that actually proceed depends largely on how much of a premium buyers of low-emission ammonia are willing to pay for the costlier production, Derricott said.

While the project was planned long before last year's U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the increase in carbon storage tax credits in that law made it more attractive, Yara said.

'We've focused on the United States for two reasons and the first is low energy prices, naturally, and the other is that carbon capture is accessible at an attractive cost,' Magnus Krogh Ankarstrand, president of the Yara Clean Ammonia subsidiary, told Reuters.

Yara intends to buy all of the plant's output for feedstock in its global production system, including Europe, as well as for new clean ammonia markets such as shipping fuel.

The plant will supply 1.2 million to 1.4 million tonnes of low-carbon ammonia per year.

About 95% of the CO2 generated from production would be captured and transported for nearby permanent storage.

The Oslo-listed firm last year cut much of its European production, citing high energy costs, and currently imports about 1 million tonnes of ammonia to Europe per year.

High gas prices in Europe have made the case to build in the U.S. stronger, Ankarstrand said.

'But prices in the U.S. have been attractive for a long time, and in addition there is already a tax credit in place for carbon capture in the U.S.,' he said.

The IRA offers companies a tax credit of as much as $85 per tonne of captured carbon stored underground.

Many similar facilities are in development and demand for low-carbon ammonia looks strong, said Vince Paradis, Enbridge's vice president of business development.

He said the project has the advantage of using Enbridge's existing export terminal and gas pipelines.

【Goldman Sachs】

Goldman Sachs Raises Oil Price Forecast Following OPEC+ Cut

Hours after OPEC+ announced it would reduce its combined oil production by more than 1 million bpd, Goldman Sachs issued a revision of its oil price forecast, raising it to $95 from $90 at the end of the year for Brent crude.

The bank also raised its Brent crude forecast for 2024, now seeing it at $100 at the end of the year from an earlier projection of $97.

Last month, Goldman Sachs said that crude oil prices could rise to $107 per barrel if OPEC stood by its production targets. At the time, Brent was trading at around $84 per barrel.

In that same March forecast, Goldman’s analysts predicted that a slow increase in non-OPEC production could prompt the cartel to reconsider its targets and start boosting output from June onwards.

Even under that scenario, however, Goldman’s analysts noted that oil prices would rise in the second half of the year. And that scenario saw 1 million bpd added to global supply.

Then, at the end of March and with oil prices still quite subdued, Goldman reiterated its bullish outlook, advising traders to buy the dip while it lasted.

“We would argue you are buying the dip at this point,” the banl’s head of commodities Jeffrey Currie said, adding, “I have never seen a market sell off that sharply, but retain a bullish structure.”

'Today's surprise (production) cut is consistent with the new OPEC+ doctrine to act preemptively because they can without significant losses in market share,' the investment bank said, as quoted by Reuters.

OPEC+ announced an unexpected update to its production cuts, to the tune of 1.16 million bpd, with Saudi Arabia accounting for the lion’s share, at 500,000 bpd.

【Huawei】

Huawei plans to develop 50,000 ICT talents in South Asia

China's telecommunication giant Huawei plans to develop 50,000 information and communication technology talents in South Asia in the next five years.

The strategy will include various programs like building ICT academies, different ICT and startup competitions, online course enrollment and fresh employee recruitment.

The announcement was made at the 'Building a Smart Talent Ecosystem, In South Asia, For South Asia' held at its South Asia representative office in the Bangladesh capital on Monday.

The event has been attended by journalists and Huawei officials from Huawei South Asia countries.

The Dhaka office aims to support the region with more attention and create better value for the customers, partners and ecosystem, as well as society with the inspiration 'In South Asia, For South Asia.'

Huawei has developed more than 6,000 ICT talents last year in South Asia. 'And now this company has the plan to develop 50,000 new ICT talents in the next five years,' the Chinese company said in a statement.

【Lenovo】

Lenovo to accelerate service-oriented transformation

Chinese tech heavyweight Lenovo Group Ltd said it will ratchet up efforts to accelerate its service-oriented transformation and fully promote technology-driven innovation.

Yang Yuanqing, chairman of Lenovo, said on Thursday that the company aims to grow its personal computer business at a growth rate that outpaces the overall industry growth and maintain industry-leading profitability in its new fiscal year.

Meanwhile, the company aims to grow the proportion of non-personal computer business turnover by more than 2 percentage points, Yang said.

According to him, in the past three years, Lenovo's annual revenue has increased to 460 billion yuan ($66.9 billion) from 350 billion yuan, an increase of more than 100 billion yuan, and its net profit has almost tripled compared with three years ago.

Meanwhile, the company has stepped up the recruitment of cutting-edge technology talents, adding a total of 8,800 research and development personnel in the period.

While the industry faces significant macroeconomic pressures, Lenovo said it sees long-term opportunities ahead as the global trends of digitalization and intelligent transformation continue accelerating and IT spending is expected to recover to a moderate growth rate in the mid-to long-term.

【Samsung】

Samsung to cut chip production after posting lowest profit in 14 years

SeoulReuters — Samsung Electronics said on Friday it would make a “meaningful” cut to chip production after flagging a worse-than-expected 96% plunge in quarterly operating profit, as a sharp downturn in the global semiconductor market worsens.

Shares in the world’s largest memory chip and TV maker rose 3% in early trading, while rival SK Hynix shares surged 5% as investors welcomed plans to cut production to help preserve pricing power.

Samsung (SSNLF) estimated its operating profit fell to 600 billion won ($455.5 million) in January-March, from 14.12 trillion won a year earlier, in a short preliminary earnings statement. It was the lowest profit for any quarter in 14 years.

“Memory demand dropped sharply … due to the macroeconomic situation and slowing customer purchasing sentiment, as many customers continue to adjust their inventories for financial purposes,” it said in the statement.

“We are lowering the production of memory chips by a meaningful level, especially that of products with supply secured,” it added, in a reference to those with sufficient inventories.

The production cut signal is unusually strong for Samsung, which previously said it would make small adjustments like pauses for refurbishing production lines but not a full-blown cut.

It did not disclose the size of the planned cut.

The first-quarter profit fell short of a 873 billion won Refinitiv SmartEstimate, weighted toward analysts who are more consistently accurate. Multiple estimates were revised down earlier this week.

It was the lowest since a 590 billion won profit in the first quarter of 2009, according to company data.

With consumer demand for tech devices sluggish due to rising inflation, semiconductor buyers including data center operators and smartphone and personal computer makers are refraining from new chip purchases and using up inventories.

Analysts estimated the chip division sustained quarterly losses of more than 4 trillion won ($3.03 billion) as memory chip prices fell and its inventory values were slashed.

This would be the chip business’ first quarterly loss since the first quarter of 2009, a major divergence for what is normally a cash cow that generates about half of Samsung’s profits in better years.

Revenue likely fell 19% from the same period a year earlier to 63 trillion won, Samsung said.

The company is due to release detailed earnings, including divisional breakdowns, later this month.

【Twitter】

Twitter brands BBC a ‘government funded media’ organization

The BBC is seeking a swift resolution after Twitter branded it as “government funded media.”

Britain’s national broadcaster is predominantly funded by UK households via a license fee, which is also required to watch non-BBC channels or live services. This is supplemented by income from commercial operations.

The @BBC account – which has 2.2 million followers – is currently branded as government funded. The label has not been given to the BBC’s other accounts, including BBC News (World) and BBC Breaking News.

Twitter has not given a definition for what it considers “government funded media” to constitute.

In a statement provided to CNN, the BBC said: “We are speaking to Twitter to resolve this issue as soon as possible.

“The BBC is, and always has been, independent. We are funded by the British public through the licence fee.”

The BBC received the label after a similar one was given to America’s National Public Radio (NPR).

Twitter initially designated the US broadcaster as “state-affiliated media,” putting it on a par with Russian propaganda network RT and China’s Xinhua News Agency.

Following backlash from NPR – who said it would not tweet from the account while the label was in place – it was instead changed to “government funded media.”

NPR receives some funding from public institutions but the vast majority comes from sources such as corporate sponsorships and NPR membership fees.

Twitter defines state-affiliated media outlets as outlets “where the state exercises control over editorial content through financial resources, direct or indirect political pressures, and/or control over production and distribution.”

【Kraft Heinz】

Kraft Heinz seeks gains in 'gigantic' Chinese market

As a key part of its emerging market, US-based Kraft Heinz has high expectations for China's huge potential. The food and beverage company has made consistent investments in the country to better satisfy market demand despite the COVID-19 pandemic, said Miguel Patricio, CEO of Kraft Heinz.

'The Chinese food market is gigantic …Today, China is still a small part of our business, but we have big ambitions. China has the potential to be our biggest future growth market,' Patricio told China Daily.

Patricio said such strong confidence is backed by China's 1.4 billion population, its continuous economic growth, the important role that food plays in Chinese society and its many innovations in the food industry.

'These reasons make us believe that China is a country where we want to invest and grow. We want to grow with China,' he said.

As its business keeps growing along with its significance in China, Kraft Heinz advanced a slew of investments even during the pandemic, when food service experienced a decline.

The investments included relocating its Asian headquarters from Singapore to Shanghai in 2020 and some 47 million yuan ($6.83 million) in the expansion of its Qingdao, Shandong province ketchup production line in 2021, as well as investing around 27 million yuan in the new office and experience center in Shanghai. The experience center consists of a Western kitchen, a Chinese kitchen and sensory, sauce, analytical and packaging labs.