Hua Nan wins China approval
Hua Nan Commercial Bank (華南銀行), the banking arm of state-run Hua Nan Financial Holdings Co (華南金控), has won approval from China to operate yuan--denominated businesses, the lender said in a statement yesterday.
The development will allow its branch in Shenzhen, China, to strengthen services to Taiwanese firms there, the lender said, adding that it would increase the branch’s capital from 300 million yuan (US$47.4 million) to 500 million yuan to meet demand.
Wintek posts revenue growth
Wintek Corp (勝華), one of Apple Inc’s touch panel suppliers, yesterday posted 35.64 percent year-on-year growth in revenue for last month at NT$10.49 billion. That was a 11.37 percent expansion from February’s NT$9.42 billion.
In the first three months of this year, Wintek accumulated NT$28.8 billion in revenue, up 35.64 from NT$21.23 billion in the same period of last year.
Fubon fund manager resigns
Fubon Asset Management Co (富邦投信) said in a statement yesterday that the resignation of fund management chairman Thomas Tsao (曹幼非) had been approved by the board. Fubon Securities Co (富邦證券) vice chairman Gang Shyy (史綱) has been selected for the post.
With a doctoral degree in economics from National Taiwan University, Shyy is familiar with the Chinese market and will be well placed to help fund mangers expand there, the statement said. The statement did not detail the reasons for Tsao’s resignation.
TransAsia recruits staff
TransAsia Airways (復興航空) is set to recruit an unusually high number of flight attendants this year in anticipation of higher demand from China and the launch of new flights to Japan.
The carrier announced plans yesterday to hire 70 attendants after the government confirmed on Sunday that it would expand its Free Independent Traveler program that allows Chinese tourists into the country without requiring them to be part of a tour group.
The program, which is currently restricted to residents of Beijing, Shanghai and Xiamen, will soon be open to people from 10 other cities, and the number of tourists allowed in per day will increase from 500 to 1,000 soon and probably to 4,000 in the near future.
To deal with the potential increase in demand, TransAsia plans to launch new routes to China every month from now until June, according to the company, which typically recruits 25 to 30 new attendants every year.
Yuanta approves merger
Yuanta Financial Holding Co (元大金控) said in a stock filing yesterday that the board of its brokerage unit approved the merger of its Hong Kong subsidiary with that of Polaris Securities Co (寶來證券) to strengthen operations there.
The integration is slated to take effect on June 1 if regulators give the go-ahead, the filing said.
NT dollar rises slightly
The New Taiwan dollar rose against the US dollar yesterday, up NT$0.024 to close at NT$29.506 as the local currency extended momentum in line with its counterparts in the region, dealers said.
Turnover totaled US$525 million.
Regional currencies showed their optimism after China reported better-than-expected manufacturing activity for last month. China’s purchasing manager’s index rose to a one-year high of 53.1 last month from 51 the previous month, higher than the market had expected.
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
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