Nan Shan transfer completed
Ruen Chen Investment Holding Co (潤成投資) yesterday formally took over American International Group Inc’s (AIG) Taiwanese unit, Nan Shan Life Insurance Co (南山人壽), after completing the share transfer, the company said in a statement.
Ruen Chen, a local consortium comprising supermarket operator Ruentex Development Co (潤泰新), cement and chemical fiber maker Ruentex Industries Ltd (潤泰全) and shoemaker Pou Chen Corp (寶成工業), acquired AIG’s 97.57 percent share in Nan Shan for US$2.16 billion.
Nan Shan Life called a board meeting yesterday and approved the appointment of former Nan Shan chairman Koay Boon-teik (郭文德) as its new chairman and Du Ying-tsong (杜英宗), chairman of Citigroup Global Markets Taiwan Ltd, as its vice chairperson.
The insurer also tapped former Chinatrust Financial Holding Co’s (中信金控) executive vice president Hsu Miao-chiu (許妙靜) as chief financial officer.
Fubon, others to issue bonds
Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控) plans to issue as much as NT$6 billion (US$207 million) in unsecured bonds with maturity of up to seven years to replenish its working capital and strengthen its capital structure, it said in a statement to the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday.
Separately, textile manufacturer Far Eastern New Century Corp (遠東新世紀) plans to issue as much as NT$6 billion in unsecured bonds with maturity of up to five years to repay short-term debts and strengthen its financial structure, the company said in a stock exchange statement yesterday.
Shining Building Business Co (鄉林建設), a property developer based in Greater Taichung, plans to sell as much as US$143 million in five-year unsecured overseas convertible bonds at an interest rate of up to 3 percent, the company said in a stock exchange statement. The proceeds will be used to invest in China through its overseas units, it said.
Genesis signs loan deal
LED lamp maker Genesis Photonics Inc (新世紀光電) signed a NT$6 billion, five-year syndicated loan with 20 banks, including Mega International Commercial Bank (兆豐國際商銀), the Taiwan-based company said in a stock exchange statement yesterday.
The proceeds will be used to repay debts, build plants, buy equipment, replenish working capital and invest overseas, it said.
A company unit also signed US$15 million in loans with banks, it said, without giving details.
Meanwhile, HannsTouch Solution Inc (和鑫光電) signed a NT$6 billion, five-year syndicated loan with nine banks, according to a statement to the stock exchange.
The proceeds will be used to fund capital expenditure and replenish working capital, HannsTouch said.
All-in-one PC sales stable
Sales of desktop computers, especially all-in-one models, have been stable despite fierce competition from advanced laptops and tablet PCs, a report by German market researcher GfK said.
The report said that consumers in Southeast Asian countries bought nearly 800,000 desktops, worth more than US$488 million, during the first half of this year.
Of that number, 44,000 were all-in-one models — desktop computers that combine the monitor and CPU in a single unit — up 10 percent year-on-year, GfK said.
Sales of all-in-one units reached US$44 million during the period, GfK said.
NT dollar retreats
The New Taiwan dollar fell NT$0.086 against the US dollar to close at NT$29.076 on turnover of US$953 million yesterday.
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
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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
FUTURE PLANS: Although the electric vehicle market is getting more competitive, Hon Hai would stick to its goal of seizing a 5 percent share globally, Young Liu said Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), a major iPhone assembler and supplier of artificial intelligence (AI) servers powered by Nvidia Corp’s chips, yesterday said it has introduced a rotating chief executive structure as part of the company’s efforts to cultivate future leaders and to enhance corporate governance. The 50-year-old contract electronics maker reported sizable revenue of NT$6.16 trillion (US$189.67 billion) last year. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), has been under the control of one man almost since its inception. A rotating CEO system is a rarity among Taiwanese businesses. Hon Hai has given leaders of the company’s six