TAIEX edges higher
Taiwanese share prices closed higher yesterday, with the TAIEX index climbing 10.84 points, or 0.13 percent, to close at 7,822.71.
The local bourse opened at 7,875.27 and fluctuated between a low of 7,822.71 and a high of 7,881.37 during the day’s trading. Market turnover totaled NT$113.55 billion (US$3.6 billion).
Five of the eight major stock categories gained ground, with paper and pulp shares gaining the most at 0.85 percent.
Losers outnumbered gainers 1,595 to 1,323, with 338 shares remaining unchanged.
Foreign investors and Chinese QDIIs were net buyers of NT$4.68 billion in shares.
HTC, Sprint unveil new phone
HTC Corp (宏達電), the manufacturer of the world’s first mobile phone running Google’s operating system, yesterday unveiled its first 4G, or WiMAX, mobile phone, dubbed the HTC EVO 4G, in collaboration with US wireless service provider Sprint. The mobile phone, running the Android operating system, will be available this summer, a joint statement by the companies said.
Sprint customers will be able to purchase the new phone through all Sprint channels and its national retail partners in the US, RadioShack, Best Buy and Walmart, this summer. Pricing will be announced at a later date.
Sprint 4G has more than 30 million subscribers and expects to have up to 120 million by the end of the year.
Former UMC boss warned
The High Court yesterday warned the former head of United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電) that he risks being arrested after shouting at judges and walking out of his trial for alleged illegal investment.
Robert Tsao (曹興誠), one of the nation’s most successful businessmen, on Tuesday accused the bench of violating the Constitution by trying him, before storming out of the court, local media reported.
In a statement the court said: “The court can make a ruling without hearing a defendant who is absent without valid reason and it can arrest a defendant who fails to attend court. The defendant should follow the rules of the court and the judges’ orders to avoid affecting his rights.”
Tsao was indicted in 2006 for breach of trust and violation of accounting rules over an investment by UMC in China-based chip maker Hejian Technology (Suzhou) Co (和艦).
Yahoo announces shakeup
Yahoo yesterday announced a staff shakeup designed to further strengthen its Asia-Pacific leadership team effective next Thursday.
The moves come as Yahoo’s Asia-Pacific regional structure expands to include Southeast Asian countries and India.
Yvonne Chang (張憶芬) will move from her current regional post as vice president of advertising sales and marketplace to take on a new role as head of Southeast Asia based in Singapore.
Ken Mandel, presently head of Yahoo Southeast Asia, will take over Chang’s previous role.
Jeff Han (韓志傑) has been promoted from acting senior director of marketing to vice president in charge of the Asia-Pacific region.
Bond issue planned
Far Eastern New Century Corp (遠東新世紀) plans to issue as much as NT$6 billion in bonds to repay short-term debt and strengthen its finances, the firm said in a filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday.
NT dollar edges higher
The New Taiwan dollar gained ground against the US dollar on the Taipei Foreign Exchange yesterday, edging up NT$0.005 to close at NT$31.845.
A total of US$718 million changed hands during trading.
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
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
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