December, 2021

• 19 December

  Alibaba targets $100b SE  Asian commerce business

  

    Bloomberg Alibaba Group Holding has unveiled ambitious objectives for its Southeast Asian arm Lazada, accelerating an overseas expansion to offset Chinese economic and regulatory headwinds. The Chinese e-commerce leader is targeting a long-term goal of quintupling gross merchandise value, the sum of transactions across Lazada’s platforms, to $100 billion, Alibaba outlined in a presentation to investors. It wants Lazada ...

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• 19 December

  Lufthansa succession clouded as WestJet poaches Austrian CEO

  

    Bloomberg Deutsche Lufthansa AG’s succession options for Chief Executive Officer Carsten Spohr appear less clear after WestJet Airlines Ltd poached one of the German group’s rising-star managers. Alexis von Hoensbroech quit as chief of the Austrian Airlines division to join the Canadian carrier, he said on his LinkedIn page. Lufthansa said earlier that he had chosen to depart and ...

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• 19 December

  Southwest CEO tests positive for Covid after Senate hearing

  

    Bloomberg Southwest Airlines Co Chief Executive Officer Gary Kelly has tested positive for Covid-19, days after a US Senate hearing with other industry executives during which he appeared to downplay the effectiveness of face masks on planes. Kelly, 66, “recently tested positive for Covid-19 after experiencing mild symptoms and taking a PCR test,” the Dallas-based airline said in a ...

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• 19 December

  Ryanair’s O’Leary calls for ban on ‘idiot’ anti-vaxxers

  Bloomberg Ryanair Holdings’s CEO  Michael O’Leary thinks only vaccinated passengers should be allowed to fly, according to the Telegraph. The newspaper said that the European airline chief pushed back against compulsory vaccine programs being rolled out in Austria and Germany. Instead, governments should “make life difficult” for people who refuse to take the vaccine without good reason. “If you’re not ...

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• 18 December

  Intel to build $7 billion chip facility in Malaysia

  

    Bloomberg Intel Corp is spending $7.1 billion on new chip packaging facilities in Malaysia, a major investment to ramp up its global footprint and address a crippling global chip shortage it expects to persist until 2023. The company is earmarking more than 30 billion ringgit towards expanding its capacity in the country, Chief Executive Officer Pat Gelsinger told reporters. ...

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• 18 December

  Oppo’s foldable phone is $500 cheaper than Samsung Z Fold

  

    Bloomberg Oppo took the wraps off a foldable smartphone that’s more than $500 cheaper than Samsung Electronics Co’s Galaxy Fold, launching its maiden attempt to stake out a spot in the nascent category. The Oppo Find N sports a 7.1-inch inner display co-developed with its Korean rival and an exterior 5.5-inch screen. It will start at $1,250 in China ...

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• 18 December

  Google, Facebook face online tracking restrictions

  

    Bloomberg Tech giants such as Google and Facebook face major restrictions on the way they handle content after a committee of European Union (EU) lawmakers proposed expanding measures to protect consumers online. New regulations would limit the targeting of ads to minors and completely ban so-called “dark patterns,” where platforms push people to consent to being tracked online, according ...

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• 18 December

  Yamaha to unveil electric scooters

  Bloomberg Yamaha Motor Corp is set to unveil an electric scooter in key markets next year as Japanese motorcycle manufacturer seeks to deliver greener products. Yamaha will start offering small EV scooters in Europe, and lease medium-sized bikes in Europe, Japan, China, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand starting from spring, CEO Yoshihiro Hidaka said. They are based on the company’s E01, E02 ...

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• 15 December

  Boeing’s pilot charged in 737 Max crash is a ‘scapegoat’: FAA

  

    Bloomberg Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officials have approached US prosecutors to warn them that the lone person charged with a crime after the two fatal crashes of Boeing Co’s 737 Max is being made a “scapegoat,” according to a court filing in the case. Statements by the Department of Justice after it indicted Mark Forkner, Boeing’s former chief technical ...

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• 15 December

  Covid-19: UK to scrap hotel quarantines for Southern Africa arrivals

  

    Bloomberg The UK will remove all 11 countries from its so-called Covid-19 red list, paving a way for the reopening of travel to South Africa and other countries just as the peak Christmas season gets underway. The travel bans and hotel quarantine requirements for people arriving from the nations, including Nigeria and Zimbabwe, will be scrapped, Health Secretary Sajid ...

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