■ CPC to hike gas prices
Chinese Petroleum Corp (中油) announced price hikes on wholesale gasoline and diesel by NT$0.6 per liter, an average increase of 3.56 percent. The price adjustment went into effect at midnight last night. Smaller oil refiner Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said they would decide today whether to follow suit or not.
■ ProMOS signs loan
ProMOS Technologies Inc (茂德科技), one of Taiwan's largest memory chipmakers, said yesterday it signed a NT$3 billion syndicated loan on buying new equipment for an advanced 12-inch plant in Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park (新竹科學園區). Nine domestic lenders including Taiwan Cooperative Bank (合作金庫) and Hsinchu International Commercial Bank (新竹國際商銀) signed the loan contract, the company said in a statement. ProMOS expected at least half of its output will come from the advanced 12-inch plant in the second half of the year. ProMOS currently has one 8-inch and one 12-inch fabs in operation. The company is slated to build its second 12-inch fab in Taichung next month.
■ Hon Hai buys Dominant shares
Hon Hai Precision Industrial Co (鴻海精密), one of Taiwan's largest makers of electronics components, reported yesterday its fully-owned subsidiary Foxconn (Far East) Ltd had acquired 47-million-euros-worth of shares in Dominant Elite Holdings Ltd under Thomson SA, a leading manufacturer of consumer electronics based in France. Hon Hai could acquire manufacturing technology in key components of optical memory products like DVD and MP3 players through the deal, helping strengthen its foothold in the component, module, move and services (CMMS) sector, the company said in a statement. The company started undertaking its transformation scheme in 2002, aiming to become a leading high-tech company in the integrated optoelectronics and electrical machinery industry by 2008. Hon Hai is scheduled to hold its annual shareholder's meeting on June 10 to report on the progress in the acquisition of wireless equipment maker Ambit Microsystem Corp (國電) as well as to re-elect board members.
■ Alcatel to set up R&D center
Handset maker Alcatel yesterday signed a contract with the Ministry of Economic Affairs to inaugurate the Alcatel Taiwan ICT R&D Applications Center, marking the fist telecom company to set up a research center in Taiwan. The center will focus on the broadband wireless applications market. The key areas for research range from E2E solutions, 2.5G/3G solution Interoperability testings (IOT), 3G/B3G Real Time Call Control technology and other wireless broadband applications such as communications middle-ware technology..
■ Cap company bounces checks
San Sun Hat & Cap Co (三勝製帽), Taiwan's largest maker of baseball caps, bounced NT$20 million in checks after an uprising in Haiti forced the company to shut its factory, ETTV reported, citing chairman Day Sheng-tong (戴勝通). The company invested NT$200 million in Haiti in 2000 as part of Taiwan's commitment to maintaining diplomatic relations, the report said. The company has asked the Taiwan government to provide loans to bail it out, the report said. Haiti is one of 27 countries that recognizes Taiwan.
■ NT dollar moves up
The New Taiwan dollar yesterday moved up by NT$0.034 to NT$33.251 against the US greenback on turnover of US$478 million on the Taipei foreign exchange market.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last