TAIEX ends flat on low trade
The nation’s benchmark index prices fell 0.11 percent yesterday in low-volume trading as investors stayed on the sidelines. The market could remain uncertain until the central bank holds its quarterly policy meeting, which is scheduled for tomorrow, dealers said.
The TAIEX closed down 7.55 points to 7,085.03. Turnover totaled NT$59.04 billion (US$1.95 billion). A total of 1,104 stocks closed up and 2,249 finished down, while 540 remained unchanged.
Two banks approved in China
E.Sun Commercial Bank (玉山銀行) and state-owned Bank of Taiwan (臺灣銀行) yesterday won approval from China for their plans to set up branches in Dongguan and Shanghai respectively, the companies said in separate statements.
The two lenders said the permission would allow them to tap into the mass Chinese market and they would aim first to serve Taiwanese firms based there.
Chinatrust units to disband
The boards of three bad-bank units at Chinatrust Financial Holding Co (中信金控) yesterday approved plans to disband and transfer remaining assets to the parent’s asset management subsidiary, the parent firm said in a statement.
The three units, created to process bad-bank business at home and abroad, have completed their mission, the statement said.
Their dissolution would not have a significant impact on the parent firm’s financial health, but would help streamline its structure, the statement said.
As of last month, the three units have a net worth of NT$454 million, NT$1.2 million and US$14.2 million respectively, it said.
Green Energy’s plan rejected
The Financial Supervisory Commission yesterday rejected a capital increase plan by Green Energy Technology Inc (綠能科技), citing insufficient information filed by the nation’s biggest solar wafer maker.
Green Energy had sought to raise NT$500 million by issuing 50 million new common shares valued at NT$10 per share to strengthen its financial health and working capital.
‘US$35’ tablet to get first looks
A “US$35” tablet computer, touted as the world’s cheapest so far, will be introduced in Taiwan at an international conference organized by the Taipei Computer Association (台北市電腦公會) on India’s development of information and communications technology in Taipei today.
The tablet, called “Aakash,” meaning “sky” in Hindi, was developed at the initiative of the Indian Ministry of Human Resource Development to create affordable tablets for ordinary people. It was launched in October.
Office workers pessimistic: poll
Office workers are feeling down about next year as many are worried about rising prices without any prospects for a pay raise, a poll by a human resource company showed yesterday.
The survey, conducted by 360d HR Consultancy Co (360d才庫人力資源), asked office workers between Dec. 15 and Sunday about their hopes for the new year. A total of 1,082 effective samples were collected.
The survey showed 54 percent of respondents were pessimistic about next year. Of those worried about future prospects, 42 percent said they felt blue because there had no hope of a pay raise amid rising consumer prices, 28 percent said they had yet to find a stable better half, while 26 percent said they wanted to change jobs, but couldn’t find any opportunities.
NT dollar loses ground
The New Taiwan dollar lost ground against the greenback yesterday, declining NT$0.004 to close at NT$30.312.
Turnover totaled US$461 million during the trading session.
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],”