NZ trade delegation visiting
A trade delegation from New Zealand is visiting Taiwan to seek more opportunities for bilateral trade cooperation, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, the country’s international business development agency, said yesterday.
The arrival of the 30-member delegation marks the first such mission to Taiwan since the Agreement between New Zealand and the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu on Economic Cooperation took effect in December, the agency said.
The trade delegation is scheduled to depart tomorrow.
Acer leads in US Chromebook
PC vendor Acer Inc (宏碁) yesterday said it led the US Chromebook market in the first quarter of the year, with a 46.7 percent market share, citing statistics provided by market researcher NPD Group Inc.
Acer, which launched its first Chromebook model in 2011, said the strong showing reflects its competitiveness in building sales channels and determination to make a comeback in the Chromebook market.
Asustek retains Taiwan lead
Asustek Computer Inc (華碩), the world’s fifth-largest PC vendor, yesterday said its commercial desktop products remained the bestsellers in Taiwan’s market during the January-to-March period, citing data compiled by the International Data Corp (IDC).
Asustek’s commercial desktops accounted for more than 30 percent of the home market during the first quarter, IDC said.
The company said it has held the record for more than five years since 2009.
Macquarie upbeat on Catcher
Metal casing supplier Catcher Technology Co’s (可成科技) sales could surge from next month, as it enters its peak third-quarter season and Apple Inc releases its new iPhone later this year, Macquarie Capital Securities said last week.
The research house forecast a quarterly sales growth of more than 20 percent in the third quarter for Catcher, which could push its revenue to a record high.
In the April-to-June period, the company posted NT$13.32 billion (US$445 million) in consolidated sales, up 27.9 percent from the first quarter.
Macquarie raised its forecast for Catcher’s earnings per share by 2.1 percent to NT$21.71.
Bond sale may see high yield
The Ministry of Finance may have to offer the highest yield for five-year bonds since 2008 at an auction today on speculation the central bank will raise interest rates.
Six of nine traders surveyed by Bloomberg say the government may sell less than the planned NT$40 billion (US$1.3 billion), with their median estimate for the cut-off yield at 1.24 percent. The rate may rise to 1.25 percent in the absence of a cut-off yield, according to the median of all nine forecasts.
The yield on the securities due in July 2019 was at 1.243 percent in when-issued trading in Taipei yesterday, GRETAI Securities Market data show.
Plastics show in September
The 2014 Taipei International Plastics and Rubber Industry Show will be bigger than ever when it opens on Sept. 26, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) said yesterday.
The five-day event, which will take place at the Taipei World Trade Center Nangang Exhibition Hall, is expected to attract more than 2,700 international buyers and generate US$200 million in business, TAITRA said.
The biennial trade show, now in its 14th year, has attracted 511 local and foreign exhibitors occupying 2,640 booths this year. That represents 14 percent more booths than the 2012 show, it said.
ISSUES: Gogoro has been struggling with ballooning losses and was recently embroiled in alleged subsidy fraud, using Chinese-made components instead of locally made parts Gogoro Inc (睿能創意), the nation’s biggest electric scooter maker, yesterday said that its chairman and CEO Horace Luke (陸學森) has resigned amid chronic losses and probes into the company’s alleged involvement in subsidy fraud. The board of directors nominated Reuntex Group (潤泰集團) general counsel Tamon Tseng (曾夢達) as the company’s new chairman, Gogoro said in a statement. Ruentex is Gogoro’s biggest stakeholder. Gogoro Taiwan general manager Henry Chiang (姜家煒) is to serve as acting CEO during the interim period, the statement said. Luke’s departure came as a bombshell yesterday. As a company founder, he has played a key role in pushing for the
China has claimed a breakthrough in developing homegrown chipmaking equipment, an important step in overcoming US sanctions designed to thwart Beijing’s semiconductor goals. State-linked organizations are advised to use a new laser-based immersion lithography machine with a resolution of 65 nanometers or better, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in an announcement this month. Although the note does not specify the supplier, the spec marks a significant step up from the previous most advanced indigenous equipment — developed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co (SMEE, 上海微電子) — which stood at about 90 nanometers. MIIT’s claimed advances last
CROSS-STRAIT TENSIONS: The US company could switch orders from TSMC to alternative suppliers, but that would lower chip quality, CEO Jensen Huang said Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳), whose products have become the hottest commodity in the technology world, on Wednesday said that the scramble for a limited amount of supply has frustrated some customers and raised tensions. “The demand on it is so great, and everyone wants to be first and everyone wants to be most,” he told the audience at a Goldman Sachs Group Inc technology conference in San Francisco. “We probably have more emotional customers today. Deservedly so. It’s tense. We’re trying to do the best we can.” Huang’s company is experiencing strong demand for its latest generation of chips, called
GLOBAL ECONOMY: Policymakers have a choice of a small 25 basis-point cut or a bold cut of 50 basis points, which would help the labor market, but might reignite inflation The US Federal Reserve is gearing up to announce its first interest rate cut in more than four years on Wednesday, with policymakers expected to debate how big a move to make less than two months before the US presidential election. Senior officials at the US central bank including Fed Chairman Jerome Powell have in recent weeks indicated that a rate cut is coming this month, as inflation eases toward the bank’s long-term target of two percent, and the labor market continues to cool. The Fed, which has a dual mandate from the US Congress to act independently to ensure