■ Central bank gets e-cash OK
A Legislative Yuan committee introduced an amendment to the Law for Central Bank of China yesterday to accommodate the possible issuance of electronic cash. The Finance Committee adopted the proposal by Legislator Norman Yin (殷乃平) of the opposition People First Party to add a paragraph to the revised law to give the bank the authority to issue electronic cash. Yin said the amendment, which was not initiated by the central bank, will lay the groundwork for dealing in electronic cash through e-commerce via the Internet, although the bank has no intention of launching any kind of electronic cash such as prepaid credit cards, e-wallets or value-stored cards. Some local banks have issued value-stored cards for their customers to pay parking fees or other small-ticket items. However, most people still prefer to use paper currency, a bank official said on the condition of not being identified.
■ TSMC mulls spending boost
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world's biggest contract chipmaker, might increase its 2004 capital spending due to heavy demand, a spokesman said yesterday. But extra investment may not help the chipmaker keep up with surging orders this year, TSMC spokesman Tzeng Jinnhaw (曾晉皓) said. The additional spending ``probably won't impact this year's capacity,'' he said. Tzeng said TSMC executives at a US technology symposium recently discussed the possibility of raising spending on new production lines from the current NT$66 billion (US$2 billion), but he said that TSMC has no plans to do so. Last week, TSMC said the company was producing more chips than its equipment was designed to handle. TSMC's possible spending increased spending highlights stronger chip demand this year.
■ Bogus Web site offers prizes
A Hong Kong financial services company complained yesterday that a bogus Web site has been claiming that it offers prizes through ``lucky draws'' in Taiwan. Celestial Asia Securities Holdings Ltd said it does no business in Taiwan, and it's unsure who put up the Internet site with the company's name and logo. The company, known as CASH, said it has received inquiries from Taiwanese who had logged on to the site. CASH spokeswoman Magdalene Tsang said she did not know if anyone had been cheated out of any money. ``We just know that they're using our name and our logo,'' Tsang said. ``There are a lot of cases in Taiwan like this.'' CASH said it had made a complaint to the Hong Kong police, who ``are working closely with relevant authorities in Taiwan for further investigation.''
■ TAITRA sets auto trade trip
To help Taiwan makers of key parts and accessories gain business from the world's leading automakers, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) will organize two missions to explore the European and North American markets. One mission is slated to head for destinations in Europe in late April, while the other will depart for North America in early May, according to TAITRA. The trade mission will visit top car makers, such as MG-Rover and Ford Motor Co, and leading local manufacturers of key parts and accessories in search of additional business and cooperation opportunities.
■ NT dollar rises
The NT dollar rose NT$0.05 to close at NT$32.925 against the greenback on the Taipei foreign exchange market. Turnover was US$460 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
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”