The Taipei-based American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) said it was pleased to see that economic relations between Taiwan and China improved significantly over the past year and that Taiwan’s government acted on a number of the group’s suggestions on cross-strait trade and other economic issues.
In the latest issue of its monthly publication, Topics, AmCham offered an assessment of the status of issues raised by the group in its Taiwan White Paper released in June, covering areas such as banking, chemical manufacturing, infrastructure, insurance, intellectual property, pharmaceuticals, retail, transportation and taxation.
“AmCham is gratified that the government has continued to take the White Paper recommendations extremely seriously and has made progress in a number of areas, “ chamber president Andrea Wu (吳王小珍) was quoted as saying.
“We look forward to further close interaction with government agencies in hopes that even more issues can be resolved before the next edition of the White Paper is ready for publication,” she said.
Wu listed three areas that require further government attention to enhance Taiwan’s investment competitiveness, including reconsideration of the “unrealistically aggressive” schedule set for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the elimination of the requirement that foreign employees of non-tech companies have at least two years of work experience.
Taiwan should also expedite environmental impact approval for important pending projects, including proposed new power plants and the Kuokuang petrochemical complex, she said.
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
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has appointed Rose Castanares, executive vice president of TSMC Arizona, as president of the subsidiary, which is responsible for carrying out massive investments by the Taiwanese tech giant in the US state, the company said in a statement yesterday. Castanares will succeed Brian Harrison as president of the Arizona subsidiary on Oct. 1 after the incumbent president steps down from the position with a transfer to the Arizona CEO office to serve as an advisor to TSMC Arizona’s chairman, the statement said. According to TSMC, Harrison is scheduled to retire on Dec. 31. Castanares joined TSMC in
EUROPE ON HOLD: Among a flurry of announcements, Intel said it would postpone new factories in Germany and Poland, but remains committed to its US expansion Intel Corp chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger has landed Amazon.com Inc’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) as a customer for the company’s manufacturing business, potentially bringing work to new plants under construction in the US and boosting his efforts to turn around the embattled chipmaker. Intel and AWS are to coinvest in a custom semiconductor for artificial intelligence computing — what is known as a fabric chip — in a “multiyear, multibillion-dollar framework,” Intel said in a statement on Monday. The work would rely on Intel’s 18A process, an advanced chipmaking technology. Intel shares rose more than 8 percent in late trading after the
FACTORY SHIFT: While Taiwan produces most of the world’s AI servers, firms are under pressure to move manufacturing amid geopolitical tensions Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) started building artificial intelligence (AI) servers in India’s south, the latest boon for the rapidly growing country’s push to become a high-tech powerhouse. The company yesterday said it has started making the large, powerful computers in Pondicherry, southeastern India, moving beyond products such as laptops and smartphones. The Chinese company would also build out its facilities in the Bangalore region, including a research lab with a focus on AI. Lenovo’s plans mark another win for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who tries to attract more technology investment into the country. While India’s tense relationship with China has suffered setbacks