■ Electricity
Taipower proposes rate hike
Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) drafted a proposal to raise electricity prices for the first time in more than two decades amid increasing fuel costs, a Chinese-language newspaper reported, citing chairman Morgan Hwang (黃營杉). The proposal seeks government authorization for state-run Taipower to adjust prices when fuel costs increase or decrease by 1 percent to 1.5 percent, the newspaper said. Taipower expects recent increases in domestic fuel prices may widen its losses to NT$4.7 billion (US$14.7 million) this year, from an original estimate of NT$3.1 billion, the report said, citing Hwang.
■ Privatization
Land Bank to sell stakes
The government plans to sell a 20.5-percent stake in the state-run Land Bank of Taiwan (土地銀行) for listing on the Taiwan Stock Exchange by the end of the year, a Chinese-language business daily reported, citing an official at the bank. The initial public offering will be the first step in privatizing the 100 percent government-owned lender, the newspaper said, citing Land Bank president Chang Yi-hsiung (張義雄). The government may introduce foreign insurance companies as strategic investors of Land Bank by selling another stake in a second phrase of its disposal, the report said, citing Chang.
■ Investment
Vietnamese officials to visit
A delegation organized by Vietnam's Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) is scheduled to hold a one-day workshop on Thursday at the Taipei International Convention Center, officials of the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. The delegation, to be headed by Phan Huu Thang, chief of the MPI's Foreign Investment Agency, will be made up of MPI officials and ranking executives of two state-run companies -- Vietnam Steel Corp and Electricity of Vietnam Corp. The group will introduce the investment environment and relevant regulations on investing in Vietnam. For more details on the event, phone (02) 2516-6626, Ext. 18.
■ Semiconductors
IBM doubles chip's speed
International Business Machines Corp, the largest maker of semiconductors for game consoles, has doubled the speed of its Silicon Germanium chips used in mobile phones and other wireless and digital devices. The so-called SiGe chip combines communications and computing on one chip. The new chip will cut the cost of wireless devices and speed product development, the Armonk, New York-based company said in an e-mailed statement yesterday. The new SiGe chip will allow the development of automobile safety systems to help drivers avoid crashes.
■ Tourism
China approves six countries
Tourists from China will be allowed to visit six more nations starting Sept. 15, bringing to 76 the number of government-approved destinations, according to the China National Tourism Administration's Web site. The six are Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, and Laos, according to the Web site. There are no direct flights from China to Latin America, so tourists would have to transfer via North America or Europe, Xinhua said. There are direct flights between Laos and China. The World Tourism Organization estimates 100 million Chinese tourists will travel annually within 15 years, and China will become the fourth-biggest source of world travelers, the London-based Times newspaper reported last month.
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