03/04/2025

BIZ & FINANCE THURSDAY | APR 3, 2025

18

Fatal Xiaomi crash raises questions about assisted driving tech in China BEIJING: Chinese EV maker Xiaomi said it would cooperate with a police investigation into a fatal crash involving one of its cars which had been in autonomous mode just before the accident. Three college students died on Saturday night after their Xiaomi SU7 hit a concrete barrier on a section of the Dezhou-Shangrao Expressway in eastern Anhui province. Before the crash, the vehicle was in Xiaomi’s Navigate On Autopilot (NAO) assisted driving mode, travelling at 116kph, according to a company statement posted online. While travelling on a highway section with roadworks, the vehicle detected an obstacle ahead, issued a warning, and handed control to the driver, Xiaomi said. But seconds later, the vehicle hit a barrier at around 97kph. Footage posted online showed a car in flames on the highway and later the burned-out wreckage. Xiaomi founder Lei Jun said in a social media post late on Tuesday that he was“heavy-hearted” and that his company would “continue to cooperate with the police investigation”. Since the crash, many online have questioned Xiaomi’s assisted driving functions, why the car caught fire, and whether the doors could be opened in an emergency. On the X-like Weibo, an account identified by the platform and local media as the driver’s mother accused Xiaomi of failing to contact her and “not taking the lives of three kids seriously”. “As family members, we have many questions. Why did the vehicle catch fire after hitting the barrier? We just want an explanation.” Xiaomi says cars using its intelligent driving system can overtake and change lanes on the highway, though it cautions that it is not a replacement for drivers. – AFP India’s March palm oil imports rise but stay below normal levels MUMBAI: India’s palm oil imports in March increased from the previous month but remained below normal levels for the fourth consecutive month, as its premium over rival soyoil prompted refiners to boost soyoil purchases, according to five dealers. Lower-than-normal palm oil imports by India, the world’s biggest buyer of vegetable oils, could pressure Malaysian palm oil prices and support US soyoil futures. Palm oil imports in March rose 13.2% to 423,000 metric tons month-on-month, according to estimates from dealers. In early March, dealers had expected imports to surpass 500,000 tons for the month. India imported an average of more than 750,000 tons of palm oil each month during the marketing year that ended in October 2024, said the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India, which is set to publish its March import data by mid-April. “Palm oil has been more expensive than soyoil for the past few months, and it’s reducing core demand,” said Rajesh Patel, managing partner at GGN Research, an edible oil trader. Soyoil imports in March jumped 24% to 352,000 tons month-on-month, while sunflower oil imports fell 15.5% to 193,000 metric tons, the lowest in six months, dealers said. Higher shipments of palm oil and soyoil lifted the country’s total edible oil imports in March to 968,000 tons, marking a 9.3% jump from the prior month, which saw imports fall to a four-year low, according to dealers’ estimates. India buys palm oil mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia, while it imports soyoil and sunflower oil from Argentina, Brazil, Russia and Ukraine. – Reuters

Heavy machinery is used to clear the debris at the site of the collapsed building collapse in Bangkok yesterday. – AFPPIC

Chinese developer under scrutiny over tower collapse o Tests show substandard

The local partner in the project, Italian-Thai Development (ITD) offered condolences on Monday to quake victims but said it was “confident” the incident would not impact its other projects. Beijing-owned CREC is one of the world’s largest construction and engineering contractors, with projects in more than 90 countries and regions, according to its website. The Bangkok construction collapse is not the first time CREC and its subsidiaries have come under fire after deadly incidents. A tide of anger was unleashed at authorities in Serbia following the deaths of 14 people when a roof collapsed in November last year at a train station built by CREC subsidiaries – largely focused on reports of alleged shortcuts made with building projects. Roisai Wongsuban of the Migrant Working Group advocacy organisation said there have been a large number of complaints from migrant workers employed by China firms in Thailand about lax safety standards and poor labour rights. Paetongtarn said an investigation into the collapse launched on Monday would not be “specific to one country”. “We do not want one particular country to think we are only keeping eyes on (it).” – AFP

happened,” said Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who has ordered a probe into the materials and safety standards at the construction site. “What happened from the beginning since it was designed? How was this design approved? This was not the first building in the country.” The development near Bangkok’s popular Chatuchak market was a joint project involving China Railway No. 10 Engineering Group (Thailand) – an offshoot of China Railway Group (CREC). Testing of steel rebars – struts used to reinforce concrete – from the site has found that some of the metal used was substandard, Thai safety officials said on Monday. Industry Minister Akanat Promphan announced that a committee would be set up to investigate, saying one supplier of the steel had failed safety tests in December and may have its licence withdrawn. He did not name the supplier. Ladkrabang Suchatwee Sunaswat, a professor of civil engineering at King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology, said there were questions to be answered. “We have to look at the design. At the beginning, how they calculate, how they design.”

steel used to reinforce concrete: Thai officials

BANGKOK: A Chinese construction company is facing questions over the deadly collapse of a Bangkok skyscraper – the only major building in the capital to fall in a catastrophic earthquake that has killed more than 2,000 people in Thailand and Myanmar. The 30-storey tower, still under construction, was to house government offices, but the shaking reduced the structure to a pile of rubble in seconds, killing 13 people and injuring nine. It was the deadliest single incident in Thailand after Friday’s 7.7-magnitude quake, with the majority of the kingdom’s 20 fatalities thought to be workers on the building site and hopes fading for around 70 still trapped. Sprawling Bangkok bristles with countless high-rise blocks, but none have reported major damage, prompting many to ask why the block under construction gave way. “We have to investigate where the mistake

17 S’pore transport firms to face greater govt controls SINGAPORE: Singapore has designated 17 transport companies as critical firms subject to greater regulatory scrutiny under a new law effective on Tuesday, which authorities have said aims to guard against extreme scenarios involving “malicious actors”. The companies include Singapore-listed Singapore Airlines , ground services handling firm SATS, aircraft maintenance firm SIA Engineering Company and bus and rail operator SBS Transit. transport operator SMRT Corporation, Jurong Port and PSA Marine. In remarks to Parliament in May last year, Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat said the law was designed to guard against “extreme scenarios” in future of malicious actors gaining control and adversely influencing transport companies and jeopardising services.

The companies must also inform authorities of events like lawsuits and insolvency that impair their ability to provide essential services, according to the law published in the government gazette. Unlisted companies also designated as critical include Changi Airport Group, public

The Transport Sector (Critical Firms) Act would give the government tighter control over major Singaporean companies in the air, land and sea transport sectors, with approval required for key leadership changes and when an entity gains control of more than 5% of a firm.

Companies subject to the law were strategically important firms whose services were not readily replaceable due to their significant market shares or expertise, he said. – Reuters