Chinese investment plunges
Chinese investments in Taiwan plunged by 33 percent year-on-year to US$14.38 million last month, the Investment Commission said on Wednesday.
The figure contrasts with a massive annual increase of 314 percent in June that topped investments off at US$17.36 million.
Chinese investments in the first seven months of the year took a dive, falling 27.2 percent annually to US$173.3 million. The commission attributed the steep decline to a decrease in large-scale investments.
The numbers paled in comparison with the US$5.6 billion Taiwanese investors injected into China over the first seven months, up 7.62 percent annually, according to the commission.
MediaTek opens center in India
MediaTek Inc (聯發科) said on Wednesday that it had established a new research and development center in Bengaluru, India, which will focus on wireless communications development and expand to other areas, such as connectivity and home entertainment devices, according to a press release.
The Taiwanese handset chip designer said it also plans to invest more than US$200 million in India’s semiconductor industry over the next few years, in view of the country’s good research environment, business landscape and infrastructure that is suitable for MediaTek’s development of what it calls the “super-mid market” for smart devices, the press release said.
Test is a success: Taiwan Star
Taiwan Star Cellular Corp (台灣之星), which holds a 4G license, yesterday said its newly launched campaign to get local users to test its network combining 4G and 3G bandwidth has attracted as many as 6,000 people a day.
The number is six times higher than the company’s expectation, Taiwan Star said in a statement. The test service, launched in the middle of last month, is a warmup for Taiwan Star to launch its 4G service on Monday next week.
Taiwan Star said it aims to have a 4G population coverage of 95 percent by the end of the year from its current 80 percent.
Most brokerages in the black
Taiwanese securities houses posted NT$2.5 billion (US$83.19 million) in net income last month, with integrated securities firms generating NT$2.43 billion, Taiwan Stock Exchange Corp (TWSE, 證交所) said yesterday.
A total of 59 firms recorded profits and 20 incurred losses, the exchange said.
As of last month, cumulative net income totaled NT$19.41 billion for all securities firms, the exchange said.
Taishin’s Tokyo plan approved
The Financial Supervisory Commission yesterday approved a Taishin International Bank (台新銀行) application to Japanese regulators to set up a branch in Tokyo.
Taishin is looking to expand its business in fast-growing northeastern Asia and Tokyo is an important financial market in the region.
Local lenders which have already set up branches in Japan include Bank of Taiwan (台灣銀行), First Commercial Bank (第一銀行), Chang Hwa Commercial Bank (彰化銀行), Mega International Commercial Bank (兆豐銀行) and CTBC Bank (中信銀行), according to the commission’s press release.
Microsoft unveils new Lumia
US software giant Microsoft Corp yesterday launched its new budget smartphone, the Lumia 530, in Taiwan.
The Lumia 530, an update of the Lumia 520, could be the cheapest smartphone ever offered by the US software giant.
The device runs Microsoft’s Windows 8.1 system and carries a price tag of NT$3,990. It is available at Nokia stores or Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) outlets.
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