COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

CSL to manufacture vaccine

Pharmaceutical company CSL Ltd said it had agreed to manufacture a Covid-19 vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University if trials prove successful, with doses for Australia expected by early 2021.

The company also said it had agreed with the Australian government to manufacture an alternative potential vaccine it is developing with the University of Queensland (UQ), with first doses of that vaccine expected by mid-2021.

The supply deals come as Australia grapples with a second wave of infections in Victoria state. Australia has recorded more than 26 000 infections and 753 deaths.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is expected to announce the government's agreements for the supply of both vaccine candidates with the respective companies later Monday.

CSL expects to manufacture about 30 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine in Australia, backed by government funding, it said in a statement. Under its agreement with the government, CSL expects to supply 51 million doses of the UQ vaccine by mid-2021 if trials are successful. – Nampa/Reuters

Abu Dhabi's extends wage cuts

Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways has extended the period of reduced pay for their staff until the end of the year, a spokeswoman for the carrier said on Sunday.

Employees will have their salaries reduced by 10% from September until the end of December, she said, compared to an earlier cut of between 25% and 50% which ended last month.

The aviation industry has been hit hard by the outbreak which has shattered demand for air travel and forced airlines to preserve cash.

Etihad and rival Emirates have laid off staff and asked employees to take months of voluntary unpaid leave. Emirates has cut wages until the end of September. – Nampa/Reuters

Sinovac employees took vaccine

About 90% of Sinovac Biotech Ltd employees and their families have taken an experimental coronavirus vaccine developed by the Chinese firm under the country's emergency use programme, its chief executive said on Sunday.

The extent of inoculations under the emergency programme, which China launched in July but has released few details about, points to how actively it is using experimental vaccines in the hopes of protecting essential workers against a potential Covid-19 resurgence, even as trials are still underway.

The programme is intended for specific groups, including medical staffers and those who work at food markets and in the transportation and service sectors.

Sinovac, whose CoronaVac is in Phase 3 clinical trials and has been included in the emergency scheme, offered the candidate vaccine to approximately 2 000 to 3 000 employees and their families on a voluntary basis, CEO Yin Weidong told Reuters.

"As a vaccine developer and manufacturer, a new outbreak could directly impact our vaccine production," Yin said on the sidelines of an international trade fair in Beijing, explaining why his company was included in the emergency programme. – Nampa/Reuters

Samsung wins US$6.7 bln

Samsung Electronics said yesterday that its US unit won a 7.9 trillion won (US$6.7 billion) order to provide wireless communication solutions to Verizon in the United States.

The order is for network equipment, a Samsung spokesman said, but declined to comment on detailed terms the contract, such as the portion of 5G-capable equipment included.

Samsung said in a regulatory filing the period of the contract, signed with Verizon Sourcing LLC, is from June 30, 2020 to Dec. 31, 2025. It did not give details in the filing.

Verizon had already been a customer of Samsung before the order. Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg told CNBC in July last year that Verizon doesn't use any Huawei equipment.

Verizon is believed to be Nokia’s biggest customer, JP Morgan research said in a July note. – Nampa/Reuters

Nikkei dips SoftBank Group

Japan's Nikkei average dipped on yesterday following a fall in Wall Street shares while SoftBank Group sank as news revealed it had made massive bets on US technology shares just as a rally in the sector cooled off.

The Nikkei was down 0.34% at 23,126.92, while the broader Topix was down 0.21% at 1 613.19, with both indexes staying off their six-month highs touched last Thursday. "Because the market had risen by factoring all the positive factors ranging from more stimulus and vaccine developments, it is hard from here to advance further," said Daisuke Uchiyama, senior strategist at Okasan Securities.

Concerns about high valuations sent Wall Street's tech-heavy Nasdaq sharply lower during the last two sessions, its biggest setback after almost six months of strong gains. In Japan, SoftBank Group sank 6.6% to a two-month low.

Mobile phone carriers such as KDDI, SoftBank Corp and NTT DoCoMo fell between 0.7% and 1.4% as Yoshihide Suga, who is expected to win a ruling party leadership election next week to succeed Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, has been calling for lower mobile tariffs.

Bank shares rose 0.5%, with Aomori Bank and Michinoku Bank adding 6.1% and 9.6%, respectively, after local media reported that the two banks based in northern Japan were discussing business integration. Although the banks said a decision has not been made, the news fanned hopes for more mergers in Japan's crowded banking sector. – Nampa/Reuters