■ Lin Yi-fu vows to resign
Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Yi-fu (林義夫) said yesterday that he is determined to quit his post since he has completed his mission by helping to improve the economy. Lin claimed that he had twice offered to resign to Premier Yu Shyi-kun as of the end of March and added that he is waiting for the premier to arrange for a new post for him. Lin is to resign along with the other Cabinet members ahead of President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) May 20 inauguration now that "Taiwan's economy has noticeably taken a turn for the better." Lin took over the post from Christine Tsung (宗才怡) in the spring of 2002 amid strong public expectations for an improved domestic economy, which at the time was mired in a persistent recession that had lasted from 2000.
■ New shares for bank buy
Shin Kong Financial Holdings Co (新光金控), the nation's seventh-biggest financial services provider, said it will pay about NT$4.4 billion (US$132 million) in new shares to take over the privately owned United-Credit Commercial Bank (聯信銀行). Shin Kong said it will swap one of its shares for every 2.34 United-Credit shares. Shin Kong will issue 156.4 million new shares for the purchase, based on preliminary estimates, the company said in a statement to the Taiwan Stock Exchange. Shin Kong in March announced the plan to buy United-Credit in an all-stock transaction as it expands into banking. The share swap plan has to be approved by shareholders at a meeting on June 11, and is expected to be completed on Sept. 30, the statement said. United-Credit formed in July 2000 after a merger of two credit cooperatives -- Taichung Sixth Credit Cooperative (台中六信) and Pingtung First Credit Co-operative (屏東一信). It boasts 28 branches around the country.
■ IBM starts education network
IBM yesterday said it has teamed up with the Taiwan National Center for High-performance Computing to deploy one of the largest research and education grid networks in the Asia-Pacific region. The grid network, named the Taiwan Advanced Research and Education Network, connects 11 major research institutes and universities nationwide, IBM said in a statement. Jason Hsu (許朱勝), general manager of IBM Taiwan Corp, said the project supports the government's Challenge 2008 plan, a six-year national development and investment initiative. The project will also influence a number of the nation's industries such as healthcare, education, and information technology, said Joe Juang (莊哲男), director of National Center for High-performance Computing.
■ UMC gains from AU sale
United Microelectronics Corp (聯電), the world's second-largest supplier of made-to-order semiconductors, said it made a gain of NT$439 million (US$13 million) from selling some of its shares in AU Optronics Corp (友達光電).
UMC sold 10.8 million shares of AU Optronics, the country's largest maker of flat-panel displays used in computers and televisions, for a total of NT$591 million, or NT$54.91 apiece, according to a statement to the Taiwan Stock Exchange. The stake sales took place from April 30 to yesterday. AU Optronics last week reported first-quarter profits soared to a record NT$11.7 billion, or NT$2.69 per share.
■ NT dollar rises
The NT dollar rose against its US counterpart, up NT$0.041 to close at NT$33.328 on the Taipei foreign exchange market. Turnover was US$536 million.
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