COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

Goldman Sachs to buy NNIP

Dutch insurer NN Group said Goldman Sachs will buy NNIP, its asset management arm, for 1.7 billion euros (US$1.98 billion) in the biggest acquisition by the American firm since David Solomon became chief executive in 2018.

The deal is part of Solomon’s strategy to make the bank’s revenue stream less reliant on earnings from global markets and advising on deals.

"This acquisition allows us to accelerate our growth strategy and broaden our asset management platform," Solomon said in a statement.

NNIP, or NN Investment Partners, has US$335 billion in assets under management, and the acquisition will double the total that Goldman Sachs manages in Europe to more than US$600 billion.

Goldman said NNIP's 900 employees will join GS and the Netherlands will become "a significant location" in its European business.

Additionally, the two companies will enter a 10-year strategic partnership under which Goldman will provide asset management services to NN Group on an investment portfolio of US$190 billion, the companies said. -Nampa/Reuters

Toyota to slash September production

Toyota Motor Corp will reduce global production for September by 40% from its previous plan due to the worldwide shortage of semiconductors, the Nikkei business daily reported yesterday.

The automaker had been aiming to make a little under 900 000 cars, but has reduced that to about 500 000, according to the report. Toyota had no immediate response to a request for comment.

A resurgence in Covid-19 cases has disrupted parts supplies and production at car companies, compounding a months-long pandemic-fuelled chip crunch.

Toyota, the world's largest automaker by sales volumes, said his month it was facing an unpredictable business environment due to fresh Covid-19 cases in emerging countries, semiconductor shortage, and soaring material prices. -Nampa/Reuters

Cisco's profit forecast disappoints

Cisco Systems Inc's first-quarter profit forecast fell short of estimates on Wednesday, with the network gear maker warning that supply chain issues would continue to drive up component costs and delivery backlogs.

Businesses across the globe have been facing an unprecedented semiconductor shortage that has inflated costs of even the cheapest parts, hurting companies like Cisco which use those chips in their routers.

"Looking ahead, we expect the supply challenges and cost impacts to continue through at least the first half of our fiscal year and potentially into the second half," Chief Executive Officer Chuck Robbins said on a call with analysts.

The shortage has also held back Cisco from fully cashing in on a rise in demand for chips from telecom companies swiftly upgrading their networks to 5G.

The San Jose, California-based company said it expects first-quarter profit per share between 79 cents and 81 cents, with the midpoint narrowly missing Refinitiv IBES estimates of 81 cents. -Nampa/Reuters

Apple urged to drop plans

More than 90 policy and rights groups around the world published an open letter yesterday urging Apple to abandon plans for scanning children’s messages for nudity and the phones of adults for images of child sex abuse.

"Though these capabilities are intended to protect children and to reduce the spread of child sexual abuse material, we are concerned that they will be used to censor protected speech, threaten the privacy and security of people around the world, and have disastrous consequences for many children," the groups wrote in the letter, which was first reported by Reuters.

The largest campaign to date over an encryption issue at a single company was organized by the US-based non-profit Centre for Democracy & Technology (CDT).

Some overseas signatories in particular are worried about the impact of the changes in nations with different legal systems, including some already hosting heated fights over encryption and privacy.

"It's so disappointing and upsetting that Apple is doing this, because they have been a staunch ally in defending encryption in the past," said Sharon Bradford Franklin, co-director of CDT's Security & Surveillance Project. -Nampa/Reuters

SC Capital targeting Japanese hotels

Singapore's SC Capital Partners aims to raise around US$550 million for a new fund targeting hard-hit Japanese hotels, its chairman told Reuters, betting tourism will come back strongly once the coronavirus pandemic subsides.

The asset manager is one of a number of foreign investors, including Blackstone Group, aiming to scoop up Japanese hotels as owners put assets up for sale to generate cash.

"I believe very strongly that the trend of foreign visitors coming to Japan will recover and gather strength and continue for a very long time," Suchad Chiaranussati, chairman and founder of SC Capital Partners, told Reuters in an interview.

"And among all the Asia Pacific markets, today I am most optimistic on the recovery of tourism in Japan."

Before the pandemic, Japan had been in the midst of a tourism boom with the annual number of foreign visitors more than doubling in five years to 32 million in 2019.-Nampa/Reuters