26/05/2026

BIZ & FINANCE TUESDAY | MAY 26, 2026

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His solution was to make signage out of duct tape, covering the station’s walls with directions to the myriad train lines, exits and more. He loved the work, the result was effective, and the station master kept asking for more. “No one would think to ask a security guard to make signs or posters, so when someone requests one, I can’t help but do my best,“ said the bespectacled 72-year-old, dressed in a bright-yellow jumpsuit uniform. As more signs went up, discerning eyes noticed. Soon, Sato was getting requests from all over Japan, to make lettering for movie posters, a museum sign. He even got work from corporate giants such as Nintendo and Suntory. Last year, he won the Japan Sign Design Association’s platinum award for his unique typography – now known as “Shuetsu-tai” after his name – characterised by rounded edges aimed at soothing commuters’ irritation. One of Sato’s latest projects is collaborating on a logo for Nike’s new brick-and-mortar store, which opened last month in the Shinjuku shopping district. Shun Sasaki, a graphic designer hired by the sporting goods giant, said he immediately thought of Sato when he was asked to come up with a logo that evoked Shinjuku. “I was blown away by his cool, powerful lettering,“ Sasaki said. “He’s overflowing with incredible passion – a strong desire to create.” SHANGHAI: Huawei Technologies said yesterday its high-end chips will have transistor density equivalent to 1.4-nanometre processes in five years, underscoring Beijing’s efforts to neutralise US sanctions that have made it hard for China to build advanced chips. Huawei did not provide independent performance data, but the target, unveiled at a semiconductor symposium in Shanghai, is significant because 1.4 nm is expected to be close to the global frontier for advanced chipmaking around the end of the decade. China is widely seen as unlikely to reach that level through conventional manufacturing alone because Washington has restricted its access to advanced lithography tools and other key semiconductor technologies. Taiwan’s TSMC, the world’s largest producer of the most advanced chips, currently uses a 2-nm manufacturing technology and plans to introduce a 1.4-nm process for mass production in 2028. Huawei unveiled yesterday a new principle for improving chips, noting the industry can no longer rely mainly on making transistors smaller. The Tau Scaling Law, as the principle is called, focuses on cutting the time it takes signals and data to move through chips and computing systems, Huawei said. If successful, it could offer the company a way to improve performance and chip density despite restrictions on China’s access to the most advanced semiconductor equipment. The stakes of Huawei’s chip breakthroughs are high, as frontier technologies have become an increasingly important pillar of future

Huawei reveals chip design breakthrough

Delivery Hero shares surge to 18-month high on raised offer FRANKFURT: Uber is weighing a raised takeover bid for rival Delivery Hero after its initial €33-per-share offer on Saturday was rebuffed, the Financial Times reported, sending the German group’s stock up as much as 12.7% to their highest since late 2024. At the €7.85 intraday high – a peak since Nov 29, 2024 – Delivery Hero was valued at €11.5 billion (RM53 billion). The German food delivery company’s stock was set for an 11th session of gains, or a jump of more than 80% over this period. Delivery Hero, which has faced major shareholder pressure over strategy and earlier in May said its CEO would step down in March 2027, had said on Saturday that Uber had reached out with an indicative proposal of €33 per share. On Sunday, the FT reported that Uber’s board met on Saturday to discuss raising its offer for Delivery Hero after approaching one of the German firm’s top shareholders with a €38 bid, which was rebuffed. The FT said several shareholders were seeking a price of more than €40 per share. Delivery Hero declined to comment beyond Saturday’s statement. Uber was not immediately available for comment. Uber is already Delivery Hero’s largest shareholder after increasing its holding in the German company to 19.5% of issued capital from roughly 7% earlier this month. Brokerage Jefferies, in a note to clients, pointed to “a myriad of antitrust issues to unravel”, given Uber overlaps with Delivery Hero in 22 markets, nine of which are in Europe. – Reuters Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said earlier this month that the company had “largely conceded” China’s AI chip market to Huawei. – Reuters 5G-capable Mate 60 series smartphones, powered by a system-on-chip produced by China’s biggest contract chipmaker, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC), using 7-nm technology. SMIC shares rose 7.6% yesterday after Huawei’s announcement of its LogicFolding architecture. Huawei’s latest chip design strategy is seen as evidence that Huawei and its Chinese partners had made progress despite US restrictions, though analysts say China remains behind global leaders in the most advanced process technology. It also follows Huawei’s October release of a long-term development roadmap for its AI chips including the Ascend series. Demand for Ascend chips has risen in China this year, as domestic tech firms seek alternatives to US company Nvidia, whose most advanced AI processors are restricted from sale to China.

traditional node-driven scaling to system-level efficiency scaling,” said He Hui, director of semiconductor research at Omdia. “Rather than depending solely on smaller transistors, the company is focusing on shortening interconnect, lowering latency and improving data movement inside the chip, which is a credible way to extract more performance when leading-edge lithography is constrained.” Huawei was placed on an American trade blacklist in 2019 that cut it off many US-origin technologies, including chips and software, and restricted its ability to rely on global contract chipmakers. Huawei entered what it described as an “extreme survival mode” after the restrictions were imposed. A secret backup chip project led by He Tingbo, president of Huawei’s semiconductor business and director of its Scientist Committee, became central to its survival strategy. The company mounted a surprise comeback in 2023 with the launch of its

o Strategy focuses on scaling, rather than making transistors smaller economic development and geopolitical leverage for China. Huawei’s Ascend chip series has become increasingly central to powering Chinese AI models, including DeepSeek’s latest flagship model V4, released last month. Huawei said its Kirin chips scheduled to launch later this year would be the first to use a related architecture called LogicFolding, which the company said would shorten wiring inside chips and considerably improve performance. It had designed and mass-produced 381 chips over the past six years based on the Tau Scaling Law for use in industries including smartphones and AI computing, the company said. “What Huawei is proposing is a shift from

Security guard finds fame as designer of duct tape signs TOKYO: One of Japan’s most in-demand graphic designers is neither hip nor an artist by training: he is a septuagenarian security guard who works the graveyard shift at a train station in Tokyo. Shuetsu Sato found his hidden passion when he was asked in 2004 to help travellers navigate the crowded, labyrinthine Shinjuku station as it underwent renovations.

Sato poses with duct-tape signs which he made at a security company office where he works in Tokyo. – REUTERSPIC

“For Shinjuku, I think I got a certificate of appreciation from the station master, and a shampoo set,“ Sato said. Another station master he did signs for thanked him with new socks. “I couldn’t help but laugh at that ... But for me, it’s just fun, and as long as it makes people happy, that’s really all I need.” – Reuters

For all his work’s popularity, Sato – who sometimes gets so lost in making signs he forgets to eat or sleep – has never charged a set fee, leaving compensation up to his clients. He only asks for meals to be provided while he works and transportation costs, and the understanding that he will use only duct tape to create his designs.

Thai car production falls to lowest level in five years BANGKOK: Car production in Thailand dropped to its lowest level in five years in April, the Federation of Thai Industries said yesterday, due to export disruptions from the war in the Middle East and higher energy prices. Auto production dropped 0.44% in April from a year earlier to 103,794 units, following a 2.69% rise in March. Domestic sales rose 2.54%, partly from bookings at the Bangkok Motor Show, coming in at 48,394 vehicles, said Surapong Paisitpatanapong, president of the FTI auto club, at a press conference.

Chinese brands like BYD and Great Wall Motors, who have invested in recent years to supply locally and to export markets. FTI maintained its forecast that car production will rise by 3% to 1.5 million units in 2026, after a 0.9% dip to 1.455 million last year. – Reuters

Thailand auto exports dropped 8.43% to 60,190 units. Thailand is Southeast Asia’s biggest auto production centre. It is an export base for some of the world’s top carmakers, including Toyota, Honda and