■ Forex reserves expand
The nation's foreign exchange reserves amounted to a record US$259.03 billion at the end of last month, up US$1.98 billion compared with the previous month, according to central bank statistics released yesterday. The increase reflected investment returns on the foreign exchange reserves and the appreciation of the euro and the pound, the bank said in a statement. The nation's reserves are the third-highest in the world, trailing those of China and Japan.
■ BenQ seeks bank loan
BenQ Corp (明基), the nation's biggest cellphone maker, is seeking a NT$10 billion (US$315.5 million) secured loan after it scrapped a planned bond sale in March following a fourth-quarter loss, bankers involved in the deal said. The loan will be secured using some of the shares the firm owns in AU Optronics Corp (友達光電), the nation's biggest liquid-crystal display maker, said the bankers, who declined to be named. The company is still negotiating the loan terms with the banks, said David Huang (黃仁宏), BenQ's deputy spokesman, in an interview on Wednesday.
■ NT dollar heads higher
The New Taiwan dollar rose against the greenback yesterday, as foreign fund inflows for local stock purchases continued, dealers said. The local currency climbed NT$0.043 to close at NT$31.646 on the Taipei foreign exchange market. Turnover was US$822 million, compared with US$1.201 billion the previous day. Foreign investors bought a net NT$16.63 billion (US$526 million) in local stocks yesterday.
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