Analysts applauded Far Eastern Group (FEG 遠東集團) after it reaffirmed its support for debt-ridden Far Eastern Air Transport (FAT
"It is positive news," said an airline industry analyst who declined to be identified. "But injecting more cash cannot solve the problem in the long run."
FEG, headed by Douglas Hsu (
However, FEG said the scale of its financial assistance would be appropriate to its 15.22 percent stake in FAT.
FEG called for a concerted effort by both the government and the private sector to solve the company's financial crisis and demanded a transparent financial restructuring plan and financial report from FAT.
After the Taipei District Court on Friday suspended trading of FAT shares for 180 days and granted FAT protection from creditors for 90 days, the stock attracted large orders at the lowest daily limit price the same day, Macro Securities Investment Consultant Co (
"There is no information about who the buyers might have been," Wang said. "However, one thing is certain -- investors are optimistic that FAT will make every effort to find money."
However, the anonymous analyst said injecting more money into a company that has become a black hole was not a viable solution without other measures.
"At least two-thirds of FAT's financial problems are a result of investment losses and the rest is the result of keen competition from the high-speed railway combined with high fuel costs," the analyst said.
The analyst said FAT's financial crisis was only the tip of the iceberg that represents an ailing industry.
Domestic airlines are losing competitiveness, which is a problem that cannot be solved without help from the Civil Aeronautic Administration, the analyst said.
"I don't think the implementation of direct flights or charter flights between Taiwan and China is a panacea to solve all their problems," the analyst said. "After all, [if Taiwan allows direct cross-strait flights] they will compete against China Airlines (
"This is an important turning point for the domestic airline industry," the analyst said. "Whether through mergers or acquisitions or by allowing market competition to push out the losers, the Civil Aeronautic Administration has to give the airlines a clear direction for the future."
Wang saw other difficulties.
"Without transparent administration, it is difficult for FEG or future investors to take full control of FAT," Wang 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