■ HannStar delays expansion
HannStar Display Corp (瀚宇彩晶), a local maker of liquid-crystal-display panels, said it would delay increasing its production capacity until the fourth quarter because of a slowdown in demand.
The Taoyuan-based company was originally scheduled to raise capacity at its fifth-generation production line in the current quarter, said HannStar spokesman Justin Chien (簡宏毅). Production at the plant will be raised to 120,000 substrates a month in the second half of the year from 80,000 at present, he said.
HannStar will not cut staff or production in the current quarter, Chien said, adding that shipment this month was likely to stay flat from last month's 927,000 panels.
■ UMC adding equipment
United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world's second-largest made-to-order chip supplier, recently bought NT$3.88 billion (US$119 million) in equipment from ASML Holding NV.
The Hsinchu-based UMC purchased 15 machines for an average price of NT$258.8 million from ASML between April 12 and June 16, the company said yesterday in a statement filed with the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
ASML is the world's largest maker of machines used to project circuits onto silicon wafers from which chips are cut.
■ Tsann Kuen elects new chair
Tsann Kuen Group (燦坤實業), operator of the nation's largest consumer electronics and home appliance chain, elected Chuang Hsing (莊興) as the company's new chairman at a board meeting on Sunday.
The group's founder, Wu Tsann-kuen (吳燦坤), resigned from his post as chairman and president to strengthen corporate governance and facilitate leadership handover, according to a company statement filed with the Taiwan Stock Exchange Sunday.
Chuang, Wu's long-time right-hand man, is a board member and had served as the firm's president.
The board meeting also elected Jerry Yen (閻俊傑) as general manager of operations and Millie Pei (裴敏麗) as general manager of risk management.
■ Far Glory retains stadium deal
The Far Glory Group (遠雄企業團) yesterday gained the city government's approval to continue with its contract to build Taipei's first dome stadium.
A construction team led by Far Glory won the contract to build the multifunctional stadium on the site of the historic Sungshan Tobacco Factory (松山菸廠) in downtown Taipei in May 2004. But the company was forced to change its team after the appointed designer of the stadium pulled out of the build-operate-transfer (BOT) project in October last year.
Far Glory formed a new team with HOK Sport+Venue+Event and Japanese construction firm Obayashi Corp, but the team was rejected by the Taipei City Government, citing its "lower capability."
Following years of appeal, Far Glory yesterday got seven out of nine votes from a government review committee to continue with the project. Far Glory plans to start construction early next year and complete the 45,000-seat stadium by the end of June 2011.
■ Peter Chen taking over at EVA
EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) announced that Chang Kuo-wei (張國煒) has resigned from his post as president to study flying and airline management in the US.
Peter Chen (陳欣德), who currently serves as chief executive vice president, will take over Chang's position from July 1, according to a statement filed with the local exchange yesterday.
■ NT dollar slips
The New Taiwan dollar lost ground against the US dollar on the Taipei Foreign Exchange yesterday, falling NT$0.118 to close at NT$32.598 on turnover of US$763 million.
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