Taiwan, Nicaragua talk FTA
A second round of FTA bilateral consultations between Taiwan and Nicaragua has just been completed in San Francisco, marking a step forward in efforts for the two countries to eventually sign an FTA, the Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT) reported yesterday.
Officials headed by ROC Economic Affairs Vice Minister Steve Chen (陳瑞隆) on the Taiwan side and Alejandro Arguello, Nicara-gua's vice-minister of development, industry and commerce on the other, reached consensus upon the conclusion of the consultation on several issues, including market access, trade facilitation and cooperation for the attainment of a third round of such talks.
In detail, the two sides reached consensus on areas including animal quarantine, technical trade barriers, fair competition, labor, intellectual property rights, telephone and other telecommunications, investment and trade regulations as well as procedures.
The two sides agreed that the third round of talks will be held between Jan. 31 and Feb. 4 next year, in the hope that the two countries can complete their bilateral talks and ink a formal FTA in the first half of next year.
Apple to buy more computers
Apple Computer Inc will probably raise purchases of computers and other parts in Taiwan by about a quarter to US$5 billion next year, a Chinese-language newspaper reported, without saying where it obtained the information.
Apple may increase orders on optimism about sales of iMac personal computers and iPod digital music players, the report said.
Apple also hired more people at its Asia procurement office in Taiwan, where the company has about 100 employees, compared with about 20 when it was set up three years ago, the paper said.
China Steel may up bonus
China Steel Corp (中鋼) may increase this year's annual bonus to employees on expectations of higher profits, a Chinese-language newspaper reported, without saying where it obtained the information.
The bonus would increase their annual pay to the equivalent of 26 months' salary from about 22 months last year, the Taipei-based newspaper reported.
China Steel, Taiwan's biggest steelmaker, on Oct. 16 said profits this year will exceed the NT$46.4 billion (US$1.4 billion) forecast made in June because of higher global all-round prices and stron-ger demand.
Formosa ups Vietnam stakes
Formosa Plastics Group (台塑) plans to invest an additional US$268 million on its textile manufacturing and power plant projects in Vietnam, a Chinese-language newspaper reported without saying where it obtained the information.
The additional investment will lift Formosa Plastics' total investment in Vietnam to about US$750 million, the Taipei-based newspaper said.
Formosa Plastics is Taiwan's largest industrial group.
NT dollar rises
The New Taiwan dollar rose against its US counterpart on speculation exporters will buy the local currency after US Treasury Secretary John Snow suggested his government won't act to curb the greenback's decline.
The NT dollar climbed NT$0.13 to close at NT$32.070 on the Taipei foreign exchange market. Turnover was US$754 million.
The local currency this year gained 6 percent against the US dollar.
"The US probably still won't intervene to buy its currency," said William Chou, a currency analyst in Taipei at Hua Nan Commercial Bank (華南銀行). "Exporters may rush to buy NT dollars after the currency rises beyond NT$32."
UNPRECEDENTED PACE: Micron Technology has announced plans to expand manufacturing capabilities with the acquisition of a new chip plant in Miaoli Micron Technology Inc unveiled a newly acquired chip plant in Miaoli County yesterday, as the company expands capacity to meet growing demand for advanced DRAM chips, including high-bandwidth memory chips amid the artificial intelligence boom. The plant in Miaoli County’s Tongluo Township (銅鑼), which Micron acquired from Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電) for US$1.8 billion, is expected to make a sizeable capacity contribution to the company from fiscal 2028, the company said in a statement. It would be an extended production site of Micron’s large-scale manufacturing hub in Taichung, the company said. As the global semiconductor industry is racing to reach US$1 trillion
A man walks past real-estate advertisements outside a house in Taipei yesterday. The central bank yesterday said it plans to establish an “Inflation-at-Risk” gauge as a supplementary tool for observing inflation, as policymakers express wish to communicate more effectively with the public when making inflation forecasts.
ABOVE LEGAL REQUIREMENT: The Ministry of Economic Affairs is prepared if LNG supply is disrupted, with more than the legal requirement of 11 days of inventory Taiwan has largely secured liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies through May and arranged about half of June’s supply, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said yesterday. Since the Middle East conflict began on Feb. 28, Taiwan’s LNG inventories have remained more than 12 days, exceeding the legal requirement of 11 days, indicating no major supply concerns for domestic gas and electricity, Kung said at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee in Taipei. The ministry aims to increase the figure to 14 days by the end of next year, he said. While one or two LNG or crude oil shipments for May
Memory chip stocks extended their losses yesterday after Alphabet Inc’s Google publicized research that could allow more efficient use of the storage needed for artificial intelligence (AI) development. SK Hynix Inc and Samsung Electronics Co, South Korean leaders in the market, fell more than 6 percent and about 5 percent respectively in Seoul. In the US, Micron Technology Inc, Western Digital Corp and Sandisk Corp slid more than 2 percent in pre-market trading, after they all closed lower on Wednesday. Memory companies have been on a tear in recent months as the rapid development of AI infrastructure triggered a spike in chip
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