Foreign exchange reserves rise
Foreign exchange reserves amounted to US$357.56 billion at the end of last month, which represented an increase of US$2.52 billion from the previous month, the central bank said in a statement yesterday.
The main factor responsible for last month’s increase in foreign exchange reserves was returns from foreign exchange reserves management, the central bank said.
Bank sues N Korean lender
A local lender said yesterday it was taking the rare step of suing a bank in North Korea to recoup millions of dollars in unpaid loans.
Taipei-based Mega International Commercial Bank (兆豐國際商銀) said it had granted a two-year, US$5 million loan to North Korea’s Foreign Trade Bank in 2001 but had only been repaid US$462,000.
It filed the lawsuit at a New York court in January after the North Korean bank failed to pay the remaining money plus interest. The first hearing is scheduled for May 17, Mega said.
New York was chosen as it is the usual venue for court hearings into international banking disputes, Mega said.
UMC board approves share sale
United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. 2 contract chipmaker, yesterday said its board had approved a proposal to sell as many as 1.3 billion shares, or 10 percent of its total outstanding shares, via private placement.
UMC intends to seek semiconductor technological cooperation, or strategic alliance with local or overseas companies via the share sale, according to a filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
The share sale could be in form of common shares, global depositary, or corporate bonds, it said.
The proposal will be put up to discussion during the annual shareholder’s meeting scheduled for June 15.
Citigroup hiring hundreds
Citigroup Inc plans to add a “few hundred” employees at its Taiwan unit this year, said Victor Kuan (管國霖), president of the bank’s local operations.
Kuan, speaking in Taipei yesterday, also said Citigroup is “focused” on integrating the 2007 acquisition of Bank of Overseas Chinese (華僑銀行) and how to build the Citigroup Taiwan franchise this year, responding to a question about whether the bank is planning any acquisitions in Taiwan.
Citigroup is targeting “double digit” growth in revenue and pretax profit in Taiwan this year, Morris Li (利明献), chairman of the company’s local operations, said at the same event.
Tracfone sues 20 LCD makers
Tracfone Wireless Inc, the US prepaid phone service division of America Movil SAB, sued 20 LCD makers, including AU Optronics Corp (友達光電), LG Display Co and Sharp Corp, for price fixing.
Tracfone alleges the LCD makers conspired to fix, raise and stabilize prices of panels from 1996 through 2006, according to a filing to the US District Court of the Southern District of Florida (Miami).
Tracfone is seeking a US federal injunction and damages under state laws, according to the filing.
Shipbuilder cancels IPO
A Chinese shipbuilder has abruptly canceled a S$666.4 million (US$482 million) initial public offering (IPO) that would have been the biggest share offer in Singapore this year.
In a statement issued late on Tuesday, New Century Shipbuilding Ltd (新世紀造船) did not give a reason for its surprise decision, which came as equities markets reeled from fears of contagion over Greece’s debt crisis.
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
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”