State-run Taiwan Power Co (Taipower,
Taipower posted a pre-tax loss of NT$2.06 billion for the first seven months of the year, citing the rising fuel costs and damage caused by Tropical Storm Mindulle that struck the nation earlier last month, a statement released by the the Commission of National Corporations under the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said.
The price of coal that Taipower imports from Australia surged from US$25 per tonne to US$60 per tonne, Taipower spokesman Lee Jiin-tyan (
"Despite a steep increase in expenditures, we will not raise electricity rates this year as was stated earlier," Lee said.
The company has revised its financial forecast for the year to NT$7.5 billion, nearly 50 percent lower than its previous forecast, Lee said. But even this target may be difficult to hit, he said.
going private
As the company's privatization timetable set for the end of next year might be delayed, Lee said it could save up to NT$6.9 billion from a retirement preparation fund.
Taipower is attempting to reduce operating costs and bolster capacity at its thermal power plants, Lee said.
advantage CPC
Higher fuel costs, however, are benefitting state-run Chinese Petroleum Corp (CPC,
Even as oil prices rose, CPC achieved record pre-tax profit of NT$14.93 billion, or 120.4 percent of its fiscal-year target of NT$12.4 billion.
"We hope surging international oil prices will ease," said Liao Tsang-long (
CPC has already hiked oil prices three times this year to reflect the rising costs.
Wu Fong-sheng (
It required Taipower, for example, to make electricity transmission more efficient, Wu said.
HEAVY INDUSTRY
"We're very pleased that Tang Eng Iron Works Corp (
Aided by economic recovery and brisk demand from China, Tang Eng Iron Works Corp (
China Shipbuilding Corp (
Taiwan Sugar Corp (
IN THE RED
Money losers include Taiwan Water Supply Corp (
The water company saw losses of NT$286 million in July because of a rise in raw-materials costs. The company reported NT$60 million in aggregate losses in the January-July period.
AIDC reported losses of NT$254 million for the first seven months, while the 12-month goal is set at NT$236 million in pre-tax profits.
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
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
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