TOKYO: Nintendo is expecting to sell more than 20 million of its new “Switch” consoles in the next fiscal year, the firm’s president said, with sales outpacing its smash-hit Wii console in some places.
Tatsumi Kimishima told Thursday’s Kyoto Shimbun newspaper that the momentum for Switch is stronger in some markets than that of the Wii, a smash-hit household console that sold more than 100 million units worldwide.
Kimishima said he expected Switch to sell “more than 20 million” units in the year to March 2019.
Nintendo launched the console in March 2017 with a price tag of $300 and aims to sell 14 million units through March 2018.
Switch can be played both as a household console as well as a hand-held device.
It has flown off the shelves and also sold well online, sparking an upgrade in the Kyoto-based company’s annual profit forecast.
“We are seeing momentum beyond our expectations,” Kimishima told the Kyoto Shimbun.
“People have accepted the unique game experience that you cannot find anywhere else, where you can take it outside while also using it as a household console,” he said.
“In some countries, the pace is beyond what we saw with Wii,” he said.
In a separate interview with the Asahi Shimbun, Kimishima said holiday sales had been in line with expectations.
He also said the company was “starting to think” what console would come after the Switch.
Nintendo eyes 20 mn Switch sales
Nintendo eyes 20 mn Switch sales
Pakistan to enhance production of indigenous petroleum products— minister
- Cash-starved Pakistan spends over $20 billion each year on petroleum imports to meet energy demand
- Pakistan welcomes foreign companies to invest in its oil and gas sector, says Petroleum Minister Musadik Malik
KARACHI: Pakistan wants to enhance the production of its indigenous petroleum products, Petroleum Minister Musadik Malik said on Wednesday, citing the financial burden that expensive crude oil imports have on the country’s fragile economy.
Cash-strapped Pakistan relies heavily on imported petroleum products as its energy demands grow. Struggling with a balance of payments crisis, high inflation and steep currency devaluation, Pakistan is looking to secure cheaper energy imports and find alternate ways to lessen the cost of power generation.
According to the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), the country’s indigenous oil production meets only about one-fifth of Pakistan’s current oil needs. The rest is met through high-cost imports.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has urged the government to turn toward renewable energy resources. Last month, he said the country currently imports oil worth $27 billion to meet its power and transportation needs, which puts a strain on the cash-strapped nation.
Speaking at the Pakistan Energy Symposium, Malik said it would be difficult to manage the country with such a huge energy import bill when Pakistan’s exports were around $30 billion.
“We want to first of all, produce as much of the petroleum products, including gas and crude, indigenously as much as possible,” the minister said, adding that the government has put blocks for bidding and is actively trying to attract global players in exploration activities.
Malik said the government is expediting oil and gas exploration within the country, adding that it welcomes foreign companies to invest in the sector.
“So, we are telling the world that Pakistan is open for business, our regulatory process, particularly the petroleum concession process is very dense and opaque,” he said.
He said investment processes and information about oil and gas exploration have been digitized and simplified to facilitate the government’s aims to enhance indigenous production of energy resources.
Malik advocated for increasing the utilization of Pakistan’s abundant renewable energy resources, pointing out that the country’s solar energy costs have significantly decreased.
Speedy and secure, Haramain High Speed Railway enhances Hajj experience
- The Haramain High Speed Railway plays a crucial role in the Hajj season’s transportation system
- Its operational plan incorporates more than 3,800 trips, offering more than 1.6 million seats to serve pilgrims and visitors in Madinah
RIYADH: The Haramain High Speed Railway offers pilgrims and travelers a safe and efficient way to navigate between holy sites.
The Saudi Press Agency recently witnessed the smooth operations at the Madinah station, the punctual arrivals and departures of trains carrying hundreds of pilgrims, Umrah performers, citizens and residents.
The train travels with regularity and is easy to use. At the station, SPA witnessed a streamlined process — travelers verify their reservations, head to the departure hall and board the train. The 13 rail cars offer ample seating. One car is dedicated to food and beverages.
Yahya Al-Sharqawi, from Egypt, expressed satisfaction with the ease and safety of the journey, highlighting the convenience of traveling directly from Jeddah airport to Madinah. He commended the Kingdom’s commitment to facilitating pilgrims’ movement.
Anwar Badr, another Egyptian visitor, was pleased with the many transportation options available, and the ease with which the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque can be reached, and expressed gratitude for the exceptional services provided to pilgrims.
Ali Rajabi, from Iran, echoed these sentiments, praising the comfort and convenience offered by the Haramain High Speed Railway. He said that the project serves pilgrims from all corners of the globe.
The Madinah station caters to travelers’ needs with a variety of amenities. Parking is available below the station, and self-service kiosks handle reservations and ticketing.
Information and assistance offices help to navigate the facilities. Multiple arrival and departure halls ensure smooth passenger flow, with seasonal halls specifically dedicated to serving pilgrims during peak periods.
For added convenience, the station boasts retail outlets selling food and beverages, as well as companies offering housing and car rental services. A permanent health center provides on-site medical care.
The Haramain High Speed Railway plays a crucial role in the Hajj season’s transportation system. Its operational plan incorporates more than 3,800 trips, offering more than 1.6 million seats to serve pilgrims and visitors in Madinah.
This efficient and modern railway system is a testament to Saudi Arabia’s dedication to ensuring a smooth and fulfilling Hajj experience for all, SPA reported.
Closing Bell: Saudi benchmark index edges up to close at 12,157
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index rose on Wednesday, gaining 34.55 points, or 0.28 percent, to close at 12,157.03.
The total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR5.3 billion ($1.413 billion), as 54 stocks advanced while 136 retreated.
Similarly, the MSCI Tadawul Index increased slightly by 3.54 points, or 0.23 percent, to close at 1,523.94.
However, the Kingdom’s parallel market Nomu dipped by 88.34 points, or 0.33 percent, to close at 26,845. This comes as 25 stocks advanced while as many as 35 retreated.
The best-performing stock was Naseej International Trading Co., whose share price surged 9.81 percent to SR81.70.
Other top performers included Gulf General Cooperative Insurance Co. and Makkah Construction and Development Co., whose share prices soared by 6.68 percent and 6.01 percent, to stand at SR15.02 and SR97 respectively.
Saudi Cable Co. and Saudi Ground Services Co. also performed well.
The worst performer was Amlak International Finance Co., whose share price dropped by 5.03 percent to SR11.34.
Batic Investments and Logistics Co. as well as Al-Jouf Agricultural Development Co., share prices dropped by 4.94 percent and 4.37 percent to stand at SR3.27 and SR63.50, respectively.
On the announcements front, Saudi IT company Rasan has set the final offering price for its upcoming initial public offering on the Kingdom’s stock market at the upper limit of SR37 per share.
This follows the successful completion of the book-building process for institutional investors, which saw the offering oversubscribed approximately 129.1 times the total offer shares.
Institutions subscribed to the entire offering, with 22.74 million ordinary shares allocated to them, representing 100 percent of the total holdings offered in the first phase.
This information comes from a statement issued by Saudi Fransi Capital, the IPO manager, as well as the financial advisors and book-runners for the institutional tranche, Saudi Fransi Capital and Morgan Stanley Saudi Arabia.
The statement on Tadawul added that following the successful completion of the book-building process, up to 2.274 million ordinary shares, representing 10 percent of the total holdings offered, will be allocated to individual investors in the second phase.
France says conditions not right to recognize Palestinian state
- “France does not consider that the conditions have yet been met for this decision to have a real impact on this process,” Sejourne said
- Paris has previously said recognizing a Palestinian state is not taboo
PRAIS: France said on Wednesday conditions were not right to officially recognize a Palestinian state and that such a decision must be more than just symbolic or political posturing.
Remarks by Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne distanced France from Ireland, Spain and Norway, which said on Wednesday they would recognize a Palestinian state on May 28, hoping to accelerate efforts to secure a ceasefire in the Gaza war.
“France does not consider that the conditions have yet been met for this decision to have a real impact on this process,” Sejourne said after talks in Paris with Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz.
Paris has previously said recognizing a Palestinian state is not taboo, but should be part of a broader effort to achieve a two-state solution between Palestinians and Israelis.
Despite lobbying by several European countries and some Arab states to recognize a Palestinian state, France has said that doing so would do little to change the situation on the ground without genuine negotiations.
“This is not just a symbolic issue or a question of political positioning, but a diplomatic tool in the service of the solution of two states living side by side in peace and security,” Sejourne said.
French diplomats say symbolic recognition will be of no use, especially without real momentum toward a political process supported by the United States, Israel’s main ally.
France has been working on a draft UN Security Council resolution that it hopes to table over the summer.
It wants to bring the parameters for talks on a two-state solution back to the Security Council, while also underpinning clear condemnation of Islamist militant group Hamas after the deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel that triggered the Gaza war. The negotiating process has been moribund for a decade.
The US believes a Palestinian state should be achieved through negotiations and not unilateral recognition, and has the power of veto at the United Nations.
Joy in Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut as European trio advances cause
- “We hope that the whole world will recognize Palestine, and we are happy with this decision... It is a beautiful feeling,” said Alaa Ghozlan
- Israel was enraged by the move announced Wednesday by Ireland, Norway and Spain, arguing that it amounts to “rewarding terrorism”
SHATILA, Lebanon: In Beirut’s impoverished Palestinian refugee camp of Shatila — a maze of alleyways where posters honor fallen martyrs — residents expressed joy Wednesday after three European countries said they would recognize a Palestinian state.
“We hope that the whole world will recognize Palestine, and we are happy with this decision... It is a beautiful feeling,” said Alaa Ghozlan, 26, whose family is originally from Haifa, now in northern Israel.
“We now have hope to return to our country — a country I was not born in and was deprived of but which lives inside me despite everything,” he told AFP on a winding street in the camp.
Israel was enraged by the move announced Wednesday by Ireland, Norway and Spain, arguing that it amounts to “rewarding terrorism” after Palestinian militant group Hamas launched its unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel that sparked the bloodiest ever Gaza war.
Seven other European countries including Sweden have already recognized Palestinian statehood.
Lebanon hosts an estimated 250,000 Palestinian refugees, many living in poverty in the country’s 12 official camps, according to the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).
Most are descendants of survivors of what Palestinians call the Nakba — the “catastrophe” — when about 760,000 Palestinians fled or were forced from their homes by the 1948 war over Israel’s creation.
Shatila resident Samah Omari, 50, a housewife, said she was “very happy” with the decision, and expressed hope that it would eventually impact her and her family.
“People are dying in Palestine. We demand our rights and defend our land so that our state can be recognized by all countries,” she said.
“We hope to return to our country and not be refugees anymore,” she added.
The camp’s tumbledown walls are adorned with Palestinian flags and posters in support of militant groups including Hamas and their leaders.
Men on motorbikes and tuk-tuks squeeze past women shopping and schoolchildren making their way through the streets.
Above, matted electricity wires and plastic water tubes are bound precariously with rope or cables, some weighed down by clothes that have fallen from washing lines.
The United States and most Western European nations have said they are willing to one day recognize Palestinian statehood, but not before agreement is reached on thorny issues like final borders and the status of Jerusalem.
But Israel’s war against Hamas militants in Gaza, with its mounting death toll, has given the issue new impetus.
Suliman Abdel Hadi, 70, an official at the camp, said the timing of the decision was “important after October 7 because of the massacres carried out by the brutal Zionist enemy.”
“We see a bright future for the Palestinian cause,” said Abdel Hadi, whose family is from the Acre area, now in northern Israel.
“What happened today is the result of sacrifices made by the Palestinian people over 76 years of persecution, killing and destruction,” he added.
Hamas’s October 7 attack resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Militants also took 252 hostages, 124 of whom remain in Gaza, including 37 the army says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 35,709 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.
On another street in Shatila, a man who gave his name as Abu Majdi, and whose father originally hailed from Haifa, called the decision “great” and said it was “baptised in the blood of martyrs.”
“This recognition will change the future of coming generations and the future of the Palestinian cause,” said the 63-year-old man, a Palestine pendant hanging from his neck.
