theSun | TUESDAY FEBRUARY 10 2009 19

business

TOKYO: Nissan Motor Co

yesterday announced 20,000
job cuts and warned of its first
annual loss since Carlos Ghosn
took the helm of the Japanese
automaker almost a decade ago.
Nissan blamed the global
economic crisis for an expected
net loss of ¥265 billion (RM10
billion) in this financial year
to March – a dramatic reversal
from the previous year’s profit
of ¥482 billion (RM18 billion).
Ghosn said the depth of the
global economic crisis had sur-
passed Nissan’s expectations.
“The global auto industry is
in turmoil. Nissan is no excep-
tion,” said Ghosn, who also
heads France’s Renault.
Japan’s third largest auto-
maker, which is 44% owned
by Renault, said it would slash
its global workforce by 8.5% to
215,000 in the next financial
year to March 2010.
It forecast an operating loss
of ¥180 billion (RM6.79 million)
this year – its first since Renault
parachuted in Ghosn to rescue
the company from the brink of
bankruptcy in 2000. Last year,
Nissan made an operating profit
of ¥790.8 billion (RM29.8 billion).
Nissan sees big loss,
to cut 20,000 jobs
“In 1999 Nissan had a crisis.
It was doing badly while many
other car manufacturers were
doing very well. Today everybody
has a problem,” Ghosn said.
Nissan posted a net loss of
¥83.2 billion for the fiscal third
quarter to December, blaming
the global economic slowdown
and the strong yen.
The automaker is cutting
its global production by 20%
this financial year compared
with its previous target to meet
sharply weaker demand.
The group made a third-
quarter operating loss of ¥99.2
billion as revenue tumbled
34.4% to ¥1.82 trillion.
Nissan sold 731,000 vehicles
worldwide in the third quarter,
down 18.6% from a year ear-
lier.
As part of efforts to slash
costs, the company will scrap
its bonuses for the board of di-
rectors this year. From March,
salaries for top management
will be reduced by 10% until
the situation shows clear signs
of improvement.
Nissan will also suspend its
joint participation in a new fac-
tory in Morocco with Renault.
The Tangiers factory was due
to start operating in 2010 with
an investment of €600 million
(RM2.85 billion).
Nissan said it would con-
tinue participation with Renault
in another joint factory in the
southern Indian city of Chen-
nai, but it will scale back plans
to step up production there.
Ghosn said Nissan had no
plans to shut existing plants
permanently, adding: “We don’t
think this crisis is going to last
forever.”
All Japanese carmakers have
seen a drastic turnaround in
their fortunes in recent months
as recessions in major markets
have battered demand for cars.
World number one Toyota is
bracing for its first ever annual
loss. – AFP

Barclays rides Half of Chinese toy makers

China, Malaysia enter swap
agreement, says Beijing
BEIJING: The central banks of China and Malaysia
have signed a currency swap agreement, the Chinese
government said, as Asia’s second-largest economy
strengthens regional ties amid the global crisis.
The People’s Bank of China and Bank Negara Ma-
laysia announced the three-year, 80-billion-yuan (RM41
billion) agreement on Sunday, the Chinese central bank
said in a statement on its website.
“The arrangement aims to promote bilateral trade
and investment to boost the economic development.”
Arrangements such as these ease liquidity trouble
as they boost the amount of yuan that Malaysian banks
can draw on while servicing local companies that use
the Chinese currency when trading. – AFP
We’re ‘printing money’, claims
Macau casino tycoon
HONGKONG: Macau gaming magnate Stanley Ho
has ridiculed a magazine article that claimed his
personal fortune dropped 89% in the past year,
insisting his casinos were “printing money”, the
South China Morning Post reported yesterday.
Forbes magazine last week said Ho’s fortune
had dropped from US$9 billion (RM31.5 billion) to
US$1 billion, mainly due to a disappointing listing
of his gaming firm Sociedade de Jogos de Macau.
“Our casinos are the equivalent of printing
money. We are printing every day, how could we be
getting poor?” Ho said, according to the report.
“I suppose I should thank them (Forbes) for this,
since now when you ask me to give donations, I
don’t have to donate so much,” he said. – AFP
Taiwan suffers record 44%
plunge in January exports
TAIPEI: Taiwan saw a record drop of 44.1% in its ex-
ports last month as demand for its products slackened
around the world, the government said yesterday.
The island’s exports for the month totalled US$12.37
billion (RM44 billion), down US$9.76 billion (RM34 bil-
lion) from a year earlier, marking the fifth consecutive
monthly decline, the ministry of finance said.
January’s imports fell 56.5% from a year ago to
US$8.97 billion (RM31 billion), marking the fourth con-
secutive monthly decline, the ministry said. – AFP
out storm to
post profit wiped out in crisis: Report
BEIJING: Nearly half of China’s toy makers Smart Union, a Hongkong-listed maker
LONDON: Britain’s Barclays bank closed last year due to shrinking exports of products for US giants Mattel and Disney,
said yesterday it had overcome brought about by the global financial crisis, shut down in October last year, causing
writedowns and losses of £8.1 bil- Chinese media reported Monday. 7,000 people to lose their jobs.
lion (RM41.3 billion) last year to post At the start of 2008, China had 8,610 China’s toy industry had already been
healthy profits that declined only companies that produced and exported toys, facing problems before the economic crisis
slightly from 2007. but by the end of the year, that number had struck.
In a statement, the group said net declined by 49% to 4,388, the Beijing Times Recalls around the world of dangerous
profit for 2008, boosted by one-off said, citing customs data. Chinese-made toys severely tarnished the
gains including the acquisition of Chinese toy exports grew marginally industry’s reputation, while rising labour
the North American operations of in 2008 by 1.8% to US$8.6 billion (RM30.1 and land costs also caused problems.
bankrupt Lehman Brothers, reached billion), but the overall figure masked a Adding to the woes, India banned Chinese
£4.38 billion (RM22.34 billion) com- dramatically worsening performance to- toy imports in late January for six months,
pared with £4.42 billion in 2007. wards the end of the year, according to the triggering trade tensions between the world’s
“In a very difficult economic newspaper. two biggest emerging economies.
environment in 2008, Barclays has In November, toy exports declined by In reaction, Chinese officials are now
steered a course that has enabled us 8.6% from the same month a year earlier, deciding whether they should appeal to the
to be solidly profitable despite strong while December marked a drop of 7.6%, the WTO Dispute Settlement Body, state media
headwinds,” the bank said. paper said. said last week.
Chief executive John Varley said China’s southern province of Guangdong, Overall, China’s exports have also been
the group would not pay a dividend which produces roughly half of the world’s hit hard by the crisis, with shipments abroad
for 2008 because of the need to hold toys, has seen some large-scale factory declining for the first time in seven years in
cash and also announced a shake-up closures. November and December. – AFP
of its compensation scheme.
“Executive directors will receive
no bonuses for 2008. For 2009
and beyond, we are reviewing our
compensation policies and practices
to ensure that they evolve appropri-
ately,” he said.
Barclays shares fell 2% to 102.7
pence in opening trade in a broadly
weaker market.
Compensation systems and
bonuses for bankers – seen as hav-
ing encouraged reckless risk-taking
during the boom years – are under
scrutiny in the new crisis environ-
ment, particularly at banks that have
received government help to stay
afloat.
Barclays has not received direct
capital from the British government,
unlike peers Royal Bank of Scotland
or Lloyds, but it has benefited from
state guarantees and liquidity from
the Bank of England.
On Sunday, British finance min-
ister Alistair Darling announced an
investigation into whether the prom-
ise of big bonuses lured bankers into
taking excessive risks, precipitating
the global financial crisis.
In a wide ranging review of how
banks are managed, the Treasury
said former City regulator Sir David
Walker will also report on how bank
boards operate and on Britain’s
general approach to banking.
For this, Barclays forecast another
challenging year but said that its
credit market losses would be lower
than last year. – AFP