STOCKS
Advantech replaces Yulon
Leading local automaker Yulon Motor Co (裕隆) has been removed from the FTSE TWSE Taiwan 50 Index, making way for industrial computer maker Advantech Co (研華) after a quarterly review by the Taiwan Stock Exchange Co (TWSE) and FTSE Group. Despite being dropped from the top-50 index, Yulon Motor has been added to the FTSE TWSE Taiwan Mid-Cap 100 Index. The adjustments are scheduled to take effect on June 23, the TWSE said.
STOCKS
Alchip applies to TWSE
Chip designer Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯) has filed an application with the TWSE for a primary listing, the exchange said on Saturday. According to Alchip’s prospect, the company is planning to issue 7.68 million new shares for the listing at NT$67 per share in a bid to raise NT$514.6 million (US$17.1 million). The fundraising is scheduled to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year, Alchip said.
BANKING
Land Bank set for Wuhan
The Financial Supervisory Commission said on Saturday that it has approved an application filed by Land Bank of Taiwan (土地銀行) to open a branch in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. Land Bank already has a branch in Shanghai.
EMPLOYMENT
TSMC head voted best boss
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) chairman Morris Chang (張忠謀) topped a list of “dream bosses” for first-time jobseekers, with 39.1 percent of respondents voting for him, online human resources agency yes123 said on Saturday. Wowprime Corp (王品) chairman Steve Day (戴勝益) came in second with 37.1 percent of the vote.
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
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],”
TRANSFORMATION: Taiwan is now home to the largest Google hardware research and development center outside of the US, thanks to the nation’s economic policies President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday attended an event marking the opening of Google’s second hardware research and development (R&D) office in Taiwan, which was held at New Taipei City’s Banciao District (板橋). This signals Taiwan’s transformation into the world’s largest Google hardware research and development center outside of the US, validating the nation’s economic policy in the past eight years, she said. The “five plus two” innovative industries policy, “six core strategic industries” initiative and infrastructure projects have grown the national industry and established resilient supply chains that withstood the COVID-19 pandemic, Tsai said. Taiwan has improved investment conditions of the domestic economy
Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day