TECHNOLOGY
Quanta lays off employees
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達電腦) yesterday said it has laid off an unspecified number of employees at its Taoyuan factories as it streamlines some of its product lines, a statement filed with the Taiwan Stock Exchange showed. Quanta’s comments came after the Chinese-language Commerical Times reported yesterday that the world’s biggest contract laptop computer maker has fired an estimated 100 employees after shutting down its tablet product line. The line was originally intended to produce tablets for Canadian smartphone company Blackberry Ltd — previously named Research In Motion. Quanta said in the filing that the streamlining would have a limited impact on the company’s overall production, business and finances.
JAPAN
Abe seeks help for BOJ pick
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday said he plans next week to seek the backing of junior coalition partner the New Komeito Party and opposition parties over the nomination of a new central bank governor. “I’ll be back in Japan on Sunday [today]. From around Monday, I want to make headway on new governor and deputy governors,” Abe said at a news conference in Washington. “Next week, I would like to ask for help from opposition parties, notify candidates ... and work to win endorsement from New Komeito.” Abe did not say who he had in mind for the nomination. Abe has made clear he wants to replace Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Masaaki Shirakawa, who steps down along with two deputies on March 19, with someone who agrees with the prime minister’s push for aggressive monetary policy measures to escape the deflation that has plagued the nation for decades.
PHARMACEUTICALS
J&J to be probed by US
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) on Friday said that the US Justice Department is investigating the company’s marketing practices related to a hip replacement product it recalled in 2010 over safety concerns. The diversified healthcare company has also had to recall over-the-counter drugs, contact lenses, heart devices such as stents and insulin pump cartridges over the past couple of years. In August 2010, J&J recalled two types of its ASR metal-on-metal hip implants after they were linked to high failure rates. About 93,000 of the ASR hips were sold prior to the recall, which has generated more than 10,000 lawsuits alleging harm from the devices. J&J said in a regulatory filing that the US government is investigating false claims or false statements affecting US federal healthcare programs in connection with the marketing and use of the ASR XL Hip device.
LATVIA
Nation ready for euro: PM
Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis yesterday said the nation, which is seeking to become the 18th country to adopt the euro, meets all conditions for the switch next year. The government is ready to be evaluated on its preparedness to become part of the currency union, Minister of Finance Andris Vilks said yesterday. The Cabinet on March 4 will decide on an application for a report that will deliver the EU’s verdict on whether the country meets the terms, Vilks said. Both made the remarks at a news conference in Riga.
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
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last