Real estate market is strong
Taiwan's housing market remains strong ahead of Saturday's presidential election, as consumers are willing to spend on new apartments due to a healthy economic outlook, according to a report released by Sinyi Real Estate Inc (信義房屋) yesterday. "Elections usually rock the local property market. The closer the race is, the bigger the impact will be. But, the rule is totally inapplicable to the situation now," the nation's largest housing agent said.
Judge favors local CD makers
An US administrative law judge at the International Trade Commission maintained a ruling over the weekend on a compact-disc patent-protection lawsuit filed by Royal Philips Electronics NV against two makers of recordable compact discs -- Princo Corp (巨擘科技) and Gigastorage Corp (國碩科技) -- saying that Philips cannot enforce patents on how to make blank CDs for writing or recording. The two companies on average supply a global market worth US$1 billion a year. With the ruling, Princo and Gigastorage have more bargaining chips to lower royalties, which is currently US$0.045 per disk when exporting to the US. The ruling may also help Gigastorage's earnings per share reach NT$3 this year.
NT dollar gains
The New Taiwan dollar moved up against its US counterpart, advancing NT$0.045 to close at NT$33.427 on the Taipei foreign exchange market. Turnover was US$569 million.
purpose: Tesla’s CEO sought to meet senior Chinese officials to discuss the rollout of its ‘full self-driving’ software in China and approval to transfer data they had collected Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk arrived in Beijing yesterday on an unannounced visit, where he is expected to meet senior officials to discuss the rollout of "full self-driving" (FSD) software and permission to transfer data overseas, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Chinese state media reported that he met Premier Li Qiang (李強) in Beijing, during which Li told Musk that Tesla's development in China could be regarded as a successful example of US-China economic and trade cooperation. Musk confirmed his meeting with the premier yesterday with a post on social media platform X. "Honored to meet with Premier Li
Dutch brewing company Heineken NV on Friday announced an investment of NT$13.5 billion (US$414.62 million) over the next five years in Taiwan. The first multinational brewing company to operate in Taiwan, Heineken made the statement at a ceremony held at its brewery in Pingtung County. It also outlined its efforts to make the brewery “net zero” by 2030. Heineken has been in the Taiwanese market for 20 years, Heineken Taiwan managing director Jeff Wu (吳建甫) said. With strong support from local consumers, the Dutch brewery decided to transition from sales to manufacturing in the country, Wu said. Heineken assumed majority ownership and management rights
coverage expansion: The industrial PC maker has proposed to acquire 3.938 million Aures shares to strengthen its global smart retail presence Leading industrial PC maker Advantech Co (研華) plans to acquire Aures Technologies SA, a French company known for its point-of-sale (POS) and kiosk equipment, to expand its global coverage in smart retail products and services. Advantech proposed to acquire 3.938 million Aures shares from the French firm’s major shareholder and through a public tender offer at up to 6.7 euros per share, the PC maker said in a statement after announcing the deal at the Taiwan Stock Exchange late on Friday. The company aims to acquire up to 100 percent equity of Aures, a well-known brand in the western market with a
Microsoft Corp yesterday said that it would create Thailand’s first data center region to boost cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, promising AI training to more than 100,000 people to develop tech. Bangkok is a key economic player in Southeast Asia, but it has lagged behind Indonesia and Singapore when it comes to the tech industry. Thailand has an “incredible opportunity to build a digital-first, AI-powered future,” Microsoft chairman and chief executive officer Satya Nadella said at an event in Bangkok. Data center regions are physical locations that store computing infrastructure, allowing secure and reliable access to cloud platforms. The global embrace of AI