Government sells half of bonds
The government sold NT$9.9 billion (US$300 million) of 20-year bonds, less than half the amount it had sought to raise, at a yield of 2.647 percent, higher than the rate of return from the last sale of comparable debt.
Yesterday's auction drew bids equal to 1.04 times the offering, compared with 2.15 times at the last sale, the central bank said in a statement yesterday.
The yield in the previous sale, on Feb. 9, was 2.08 percent. The government had planned to sell NT$20 billion of bonds yesterday.
TSMC increases Vanguard share
Representatives from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world's biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday said it has acquired an additional 169 million shares of local chipmaker Vanguard Semiconductor Corp (世界先進) for NT$4.93 billion (US$150 million), boosting its stake in Vanguard to 36.8 percent from 26.8 percent. The acquisition aims to expand its capacity to meet rising demand.
TSMC said last week it has no intention to merge Vanguard.
Asustek to launch US$199 model
Asustek Computer Inc (華碩電腦), a leading Taiwanese computer maker, will launch its much anticipated low-price computer next month, becoming one of the first companies marketing the ultra-mobile product for the developing world.
Developed in conjunction with Intel Corp, the Asustek laptop with a 7-inch screen will also come in a more sophisticated model that will target the developed world, company chairman Jonney Shih (施崇堂) said.
"It will be a laptop that's easy to learn how to use, easy to play with and easy to work with ... one targeting both the emerging and mature markets," Shih said in an interview.
More than 500 engineers, mostly from Asustek's bases in Taiwan and China, were involved in the development of the low-price laptop, Shih said.
A simple model of the product will be priced at US$199 at the retail level, while a more advanced model with more features will sell for between US$245 and US$299, he said.
Using the Linux operating system, the laptop will carry the company's ASUS brand, Shih said.
Motech opens US office
Motech Industries Inc (茂迪), the nation's largest solar cell maker, said yesterday that it has established an US office in Golden, Colorado to expand its business in the rapidly growing market.
The US market contributed about 8 percent of Motech's revenues last year, and the figure increased to 11 percent in the first quarter this year.
Tom Surek, who worked with the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory for more than 29 years, will head the US operation, Motech said in a filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
Motech also hopes to form partnerships with US research institutions to further advance the company's technology through Surek's expertise and connections in the industry, the statement said.
Hsinchu convention center set
The Hsinchu Science Park will soon have its own international convention center, the head of the park administration said yesterday.
Huang Teh-jui (黃得瑞) told a press conference that the convention center and an elite guest house will be officially inaugurated at the end of this year or early next year.
The new facilities will provide more convenience to the nearly 400 high-tech companies in the park in accommodating foreign visitors and holding international conferences or technical seminars, Huang said.
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
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
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