■ Automakers
China Motor plans stake sale
China Motor Corp (中華汽車), which makes Mitsubishi-brand vehicles in Taiwan, aims to sell a stake in a Chinese unit to Mitsubishi Motors Corp in the first quarter of next year to help it expand in China. Mitsubishi Motors has agreed to buy 20 percent of South East (Fujian) Motor Co (東南汽車) from China Motor, and negotiations on the price are continuing, said Yang Ming-te (楊明德), a spokesman for the Taipei-based carmaker. "We hope to reach an agreement before the end of the year," Yang said on Friday. "The deal will be a plus for us, as it will help sales of South East Motor," he said. South East Motor, a 50-50 venture between China Motor and the government of southeastern China's Fujian Province, has capital of US$138 million, Yang said.
■ Investment
Snow cleared in bonds probe
US Federal investigators have concluded that US Treasury Secretary John Snow did not violate conflict-of-interest rules in inadvertently investing in the bonds of two government-sponsored mortgage giants. The conclusion was contained in a document from the Treasury Department's Office of the Inspector General, released on Friday as a result of a Freedom of Information Act request. "No evidence or information was developed during the course of the investigation which would suggest Secretary Snow knowingly held [government-sponsored enterprise] securities," according to the Treasury document. Snow was a top executive at the railroad company CSX Corp before he became Treasury secretary in February 2003. As he prepared to move into the federal post, Snow has indicated he instructed his adviser to invest in treasury bonds to avoid any conflict of interest. But his adviser in 2003 ended up buying US$10.87 million in bonds held by government-sponsored enterprises of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are big players in the mortgage market, and Snow has pressed for tighter regulation of them.
■ Singapore casinos
Wynn's bid eliminated
US casino operator Wynn Resorts has been eliminated from the race to build Singapore's first casino after failing to submit a background check by a deadline imposed by the city-state, authorities said. Only five candidates had met Friday's deadline for submission of documents for a compulsory background check, the Singapore Tourism Board said in a statement late on Friday. The government had asked shortlisted candidates to send in personal and corporate history disclosure forms. The Friday deadline was only for the Marina Bay project. Singapore will tender the Sentosa project next year.
■ Trade secrets
Ex-CEO admits conspiracy
The former chief executive of a software company has pleaded guilty to federal charges of stealing a rival's trade secrets. John O'Neil, the ex-CEO of Business Engine Software Corp, on Wednesday pleaded guilty in San Francisco to conspiracy to steal trade secrets and interstate transportation of stolen property, Assistant US Attorney Christopher Sonderby said. O'Neil, 43, the third Business Engine Software executive to plead guilty in the case, faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of US$250,000. O'Neil admitted that he conspired over a 10-month period to illegally access the computer network of rival Niku Corp in order to steal trade secrets, according to the US Attorney's office.
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],”