US Internet search giant Google Inc yesterday announced that it has signed up Cite Publishing Holding Group (
"Google Book Search aims to help book lovers locate and explore more book resources, and generate more sales for publishers," Rebecca Kuei (
Through the service, readers can search for books and read part -- or up to 20 percent -- of the content online, instead of going "physically" to bookstores to flip through the books. And to ensure copyright protection, the system prevents users from printing or saving the content to a file.
Publishers in the US saw their sales increase after hooking up with Google Book Search, Kuei said.
Of the more than 10,000 Chinese book titles, in both traditional and simplified Chinese characters, about 1,000 will be put online during the initial stage, said Ho Fei-peng (
By the end of the year, Cite, an associate of the Hong Kong-based Tom Group, hopes to have 2,000 to 3,000 titles in Google Book Search, Ho said.
The company has not yet decided on a launch date for the service, Kuei said, as this would depend on how fast it could expand its book database.
"The faster we have more partners join us, the sooner the service would be available," Kuei said.
Besides Cite, Google Taiwan is in talks with other major local publishers, as well as those in China, to accumulate as many Chinese books as possible to provide better services to readers in the Greater Chinese region, she said, without naming the potential partners.
Kuei did not reveal the value of the cooperation with partner publishers, but said they can split part of the ad revenues generated on Google Book Search.
The service also allows readers to order online. Industry sources said that Google Taiwan is in talks with books.com Co (博客來網路 書店), the nation's largest online book retailer which is owned by Uni-President Enterprises Corp (統一企業), to provide booking service.
Kuei refused to comment on the potential deal.
With information access becoming easily available through the Internet, book
sales in Taiwan have been sliding over the past few years, Ho said. The
local publishing market last year shrunk 20 percent to 30 percent from the
previous year, Ho added.
Making use of the Internet, such as working with Google, will help Cite to
extend its marketing reach and enhance its presence, Ho said.
BULK PURCHASE: The French chain and Hong Kong-based Dairy Farm International reached a deal covering 224 stores, which is expected to be finalized by year’s end Carrefour SA yesterday announced it would acquire Wellcome Taiwan Co (惠康百貨) for 97 million euros (US$108.33 million), and bring all the Wellcome supermarkets (頂好超市) and Jasons Market Place stores nationwide under its banner within 12 months of the deal closing. The France-based hypermarket chain reached an agreement with Hong Kong-based Dairy Farm International Holdings (牛奶國際控股), the pan-Asian retailer that launched Wellcome Taiwan in 1987. The transaction involves 199 Wellcome supermarkets, which have average sales areas of 420m2 and 25 high-end Jasons Market Place stores, which have an average sales area of 820m2, as well as a warehouse in Taoyuan, Carrefour Taiwan (家樂福)
‘ONE-STOP SHOP’: A Miaoli official said that the factory in the Jhunan section of the Hsinchu Science Park would create more than 1,000 jobs and boost prosperity A new high-end IC packaging and testing plant planned by contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in Miaoli County is expected to start operations in the middle of next year, Miaoli County Commissioner Hsu Yao-chang (徐耀昌) said. Hsu wrote on Facebook that TSMC, the world’s largest pure wafer foundry operator, would invest NT$303.2 billion (US$10.1 billion) to build the plant, the largest-ever single investment in Taiwan. However, TSMC declined to disclose the financial terms of the deal, while a company board meeting on May 12 approved a spending plan worth NT$168.2 billion as part of its investment plans. Construction of the
SCATTERED: Production would be dispersed among a number of countries, which would bring an end to so-called world factories, Hon Hai chairman Young Liu said Decentralized production would be the new focus in manufacturing, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) yesterday told an online forum held by the Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute (MIC, 產業情報研究所). “The COVID-19 pandemic exerted a heavy impact on supply chains as well as production ... [production] would no longer be concentrated in solely one country, this is the end of what we used to call world factories,” Liu said during a panel discussion hosted by MIC director Victor Tsan (詹文男). As the US and China continue to dominate and sway international relations, the rest of the world is
PLANNED OUT: The government is lifting sale and export restrictions on 60% of the 20 million masks made daily, but people can still make purchases using their NHI cards Twenty thousand boxes of 50 masks each would be on sale at FamilyMart convenience stores starting tomorrow, Taiwan FamilyMart Co Ltd (全家便利商店) said yesterday. A box of 50 masks would cost NT$249 for those with FamilyMart memberships and NT$299 for those without, with no limits placed on how many boxes a person can buy, the company said. Convenience store chain operator Hi-Life International Co Ltd (萊爾富) said that it would also start selling masks from tomorrow. It has yet to announce details about prices and quantity. Hypermarket chain operator Carrefour Taiwan (家樂福) said that it would start selling packs of five
RSS