New presidents named
Three subsidiaries of the Formosa Plastics Group (台塑集團), the nation's biggest business conglomerate, yesterday appointed new presidents to take the helms of the companies, effective yesterday.
In separate filings to the Taiwan Stock Exchange, Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said executive vice president Su Chi-yi (蘇啟邑) has taken over the president position from Wilfred Wang (王文潮), who is also chairman of the company.
Wu Chia-chau (吳嘉昭), Nan Ya Plastics Corp's (南亞塑膠) executive vice president has been promoted to president, taking over the position from chairman Wu Chin-jen (吳欽仁).
Formosa Chemical and Fiber Corp (台化) chairman Wong Wen-yuan (王文淵) has handed his president position to vice president Hong Fu-yuan (洪福源), the filing said.
The new appointments showed the group is handing management of the companies to professional managers from chairman Wang Yung-ching's (王永慶) family to enhance corporate efficiency, a company official said.
Aeon to liquidate Taiwan unit
Aeon Co, Japan's second-biggest retailer, said it will liquidate its wholly owned unit in Taiwan, shifting its focus to China.
The subsidiary, which operated one store, generated sales of NT$1.4 billion (US$43.2 million) last business year, Aeon said in a release yesterday. The liquidation will have no impact on its earnings for the current fiscal year, the parent company said.
Aeon, facing stagnant sales growth in Japan, plans to develop shopping centers in China around its flagship Jusco stores to attract customers and compete with Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Carrefour SA.
CPC to restart processing plant
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) plans to restart a fire-damaged crude processing unit within four weeks, a company official said.
The facility in southern Taiwan has been shut since Oct. 26, when a pump leak caused a fire.
The company, based in Taipei, has three refineries with a total capacity of 720,000 barrels a day. CPC closed a 50,000 barrel-a-day unit in 2005 permanently because of local residents' concern over pollution. It controls about 75 percent of Taiwan's gasoline and diesel markets.
Flight fuel surcharge to increase
The fuel surcharge on air tickets issued after Nov. 15 will be increased, the Civil Aeronautics Administration announced on Thursday. The fuel surcharge for short-haul flights -- flights from Taipei to Asian destinations -- will be increased by US$2.5 per sector to US$20.
The surcharge for long-haul flights, including those to Australia and New Zealand, will increase by US$6.5 per sector to US$52 per ticket.
The rate increases reflect rising oil prices, the administration said.
Citic and Bear Stearns link up
China's Citic Securities Co (中信證券) said yesterday its board has approved an alliance with US investment bank Bear Stearns Cos that gives the companies cross-ownership of each other.
The transaction is still pending approval from Chinese and US regulators, China's largest securities firm said in a statement.
Bear Stearns and Citic Securities last month agreed in principle to invest about US$1 billion in each other for minority stakes that could be expanded. They will also operate a 50-50 joint venture in Hong Kong to offer capital market services across Asia.
The investment is the biggest of its kind between a US and Chinese financial institution and highlights China's increasing strength in global financial markets.
ISSUES: Gogoro has been struggling with ballooning losses and was recently embroiled in alleged subsidy fraud, using Chinese-made components instead of locally made parts Gogoro Inc (睿能創意), the nation’s biggest electric scooter maker, yesterday said that its chairman and CEO Horace Luke (陸學森) has resigned amid chronic losses and probes into the company’s alleged involvement in subsidy fraud. The board of directors nominated Reuntex Group (潤泰集團) general counsel Tamon Tseng (曾夢達) as the company’s new chairman, Gogoro said in a statement. Ruentex is Gogoro’s biggest stakeholder. Gogoro Taiwan general manager Henry Chiang (姜家煒) is to serve as acting CEO during the interim period, the statement said. Luke’s departure came as a bombshell yesterday. As a company founder, he has played a key role in pushing for the
China has claimed a breakthrough in developing homegrown chipmaking equipment, an important step in overcoming US sanctions designed to thwart Beijing’s semiconductor goals. State-linked organizations are advised to use a new laser-based immersion lithography machine with a resolution of 65 nanometers or better, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in an announcement this month. Although the note does not specify the supplier, the spec marks a significant step up from the previous most advanced indigenous equipment — developed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co (SMEE, 上海微電子) — which stood at about 90 nanometers. MIIT’s claimed advances last
CROSS-STRAIT TENSIONS: The US company could switch orders from TSMC to alternative suppliers, but that would lower chip quality, CEO Jensen Huang said Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳), whose products have become the hottest commodity in the technology world, on Wednesday said that the scramble for a limited amount of supply has frustrated some customers and raised tensions. “The demand on it is so great, and everyone wants to be first and everyone wants to be most,” he told the audience at a Goldman Sachs Group Inc technology conference in San Francisco. “We probably have more emotional customers today. Deservedly so. It’s tense. We’re trying to do the best we can.” Huang’s company is experiencing strong demand for its latest generation of chips, called
GLOBAL ECONOMY: Policymakers have a choice of a small 25 basis-point cut or a bold cut of 50 basis points, which would help the labor market, but might reignite inflation The US Federal Reserve is gearing up to announce its first interest rate cut in more than four years on Wednesday, with policymakers expected to debate how big a move to make less than two months before the US presidential election. Senior officials at the US central bank including Fed Chairman Jerome Powell have in recent weeks indicated that a rate cut is coming this month, as inflation eases toward the bank’s long-term target of two percent, and the labor market continues to cool. The Fed, which has a dual mandate from the US Congress to act independently to ensure