■ Taxation
Minimum rates reviewed
The government may not apply the minimum tax rates on foreign investors' income from stock transactions, the Chinese-language Economic Daily News reported, without saying where it got the information. The Cabinet has asked the Ministry of Finance, the Financial Supervisory Commission and the central bank to study the issue amid concern that foreign investors may sell Taiwanese stocks because of the minimum tax rates, the paper said. Lawmakers on Dec. 9 approved a minimum income tax of 10 percent to 12 percent for companies and 20 percent for high-income individuals, with effect from Jan. 1 this year.
■ Agriculture
Mangoes shipped to Tokyo
The nation's first shipment of mangoes to Tokyo this year -- a total of 5.2 tonnes -- set sail yesterday. According to the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), besides Tokyo, the council is taking steps to open markets in Fukuoka and Osaka for Taiwanese mangoes, which have proven popular among Tokyo consumers due to their delicate texture and sweetness, despite being expensive. In Japan, the average market price of Taiwanese mangoes is ?599 (US$5.36) per kilogram, far higher than that of Philippine mangoes at ?279, Mexican mangoes at ?374 or Thai mangoes at ?382, TAITRA said. Saucon, a major fruit importer in Fukuoka, has expressed interest in introducing frozen Taiwanese mangoes to supply local consumers with the tropical fruit throughout the year, the council said.
■ Foreign exchange
Rogue traders found guilty
Two currency dealers were found guilty yesterday for their part in a rogue trading scandal that cost Australia's biggest bank A$360 million (US$270 million). Vince Ficarra, 27, and David Bullen, 34, told the Victorian County Court in Melbourne they believed they were following instructions from the head of National Australia Bank's foreign exchange desk when they made fictitious trades to mask huge losses between September 2003 and January 2004. Ficarra was found guilty on 12 charges of gaining financial advantage for himself and others and one of gaining financial advantage by deception. Bullen was found guilty on 17 out of 19 counts of using his position dishonestly with the intention of gaining an advantage.Last June, their boss, Luke Duffy, was sentenced to 29 months in prison for his role in the scandal. A fourth trader, Gianni Gray, was sentenced to 16 months jail last month.
■ Computers
Dell founder raises stake
Dell Inc founder and Chairman Michael Dell spent US$70 million buying shares in the world's largest personal computer maker this week, a sign of confidence in the company as it attempts to revive its share price. Dell, 41, purchased 2.92 million shares on May 24 for US$23.99 each, Round Rock, Texas-based Dell said on Friday in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Dell is the largest shareholder in the computer maker, with a stake of more than 10 percent, according to Bloomberg data. The purchase is a show of support by the company's founder after Dell shares slumped 39 percent in the past year. Dell has twice missed its sales forecasts and fell short of its profit expectations last quarter.
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],”