Far EasTone picks Ericsson's 3G
Far EasTone Telecommunications Co (遠傳電信), has selected Sweden-based Ericsson AB as its third-generation (3G) network equipment supplier, an executive of the company announced yesterday.
"Ericsson has worked with Far EasTone as a network infrastructure supplier since we first launched our mobile network in January 1998. We are delighted to further strengthen this relationship by working together on the speedy roll-out of our 3G network." Jan Nilsson, President of Far EasTone. said.
Based on the US$39 million deal, Ericsson will begin to deliver core network equipment in the first quarter of this year, according to Melissa Chen (陳柔君), a public relations specialist at the company.
She added that the deal only applies to Far EasTone's phase-one 3G roll-out plan which set to finish the network establishment in metropolitan areas in the second half of this year.
CPC raises price of product
Chinese Petroleum Corp (中油), Taiwan's state oil company, raised the price of imported liquefied natural gas, used for power generation in winter, by 2.9 percent because of rising crude oil costs.
Chinese Petroleum is selling the imported fuel to power companies during December through March at NT$7.48 (US$0.22) a cubic meter, according to a statement on its Web site. The price increase is based on an import cost of NT$6.479 a cubic meter.
The price change is effective immediately, Chinese Petroleum said. The company last adjusted its LNG prices in September 2001.
Banks' NPL ratios remain high
Eight out of 52 domestic banks had non-performing loan ratio of more than 20 percent as of the end of September last year, the central bank said in a statement yesterday. Another 13 banks had NPL ratio between 10 percent and 20 percent during that time, it added.
The Ministry of Finance has requested domestic banks to cut their NPL ratios to less than five percent by the end of 2004.
Among banks in deep financial trouble, Chung Shing Bank (中興銀行) had a ratio of 68.72 percent, followed by Kaohsiung Business Bank's (高雄企銀) 49.38 percent and Hualien Business Bank's (花蓮企銀) 47.66 percent.
In contrary, Export-Import Bank of ROC (中國輸出入銀行) had a lowest NPL ratio of 0.64 percent as of September last year, followed by Taiwan Industrial Bank's (台灣工銀) 1.29 percent and Taishin International Bank's (台新銀行) 3.31 percent.
Compal expects sales growth
Compal Electronics Inc (仁寶電腦) expects sales to rise by a third as the world's second-largest maker of notebook computers shifts production to China, where it will start selling under its own brand, Chairman Rock Hsu (許勝雄) said in a local newspaper report.
In the report, Hsu said Compal expects 2003 sales to reach NT$150 billion (US$4.3 billion) from NT$116 billion last year.
He said Compal and listed unit Kinpo Electronics Inc (金寶電子) will invest together in a Beijing office that will manage distribution and marketing in the world's third-largest PC market.
Compal plans to boost notebook PC production by a quarter this year, and expects to more than triple its handset output this year to 10 million units, Hsu said.
NT dollar continues rise
The New Taiwan dollar had its highest close in eight weeks on expectations overseas investors will boost demand for the currency after they were net purchasers of the island's stocks. The currency gained NT$0.046 to close at NT$34.599 against the greenback on the Taipei foreign exchange market. Turnover was US$659.5 million, compared with the previous day's US$636 million.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
FUTURE PLANS: Although the electric vehicle market is getting more competitive, Hon Hai would stick to its goal of seizing a 5 percent share globally, Young Liu said Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), a major iPhone assembler and supplier of artificial intelligence (AI) servers powered by Nvidia Corp’s chips, yesterday said it has introduced a rotating chief executive structure as part of the company’s efforts to cultivate future leaders and to enhance corporate governance. The 50-year-old contract electronics maker reported sizable revenue of NT$6.16 trillion (US$189.67 billion) last year. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), has been under the control of one man almost since its inception. A rotating CEO system is a rarity among Taiwanese businesses. Hon Hai has given leaders of the company’s six