TransAsia Airways Corp (TNA, 復興航空) announced yesterday that it would offer NT$14.9 million (US$496,200) each in compensation to the families of 48 passengers and crew who died in the crash of TransAsia Flight GE222 to Penghu last month.
The amount surpasses the highest compensation paid by a Taiwanese airline of NT$14.2 million per victim, which was paid by China Airlines Ltd (中華航空) to the families of the 225 people who died in the Flight CI611 crash of 2002.
Before the final conclusion of investigations into the cause of the crash are made public, TNA reached the decision at a meeting yesterday with families of the victims of the disaster.
Photo courtesy of TransAsia Airways Corp
“As an expression of the company’s highest sincerity, the company decided on the compensation payment by taking into consideration related regulations and precedents internationally and domestically,” the carrier said in a statement.
The Aviation Safety Council, which is leading the investigation into the crash, said it would accelerate the pace of the investigation to make it clear what was responsible for the disaster as soon as possible.
The NT$14.9 million per victim includes an out-of-court settlement of NT$13.5 million, as well as a preliminary pension of NT$200,000 and a funeral subsidy of NT$1.2 million the carrier has already paid.
Families of the people killed have not accepted the offer yet. However, if they decide to do so, TNA losses as a result of the crash would amount to NT$715.2 million. The company has also met the medical expenses and offered other compensation to 10 injured passengers and five Penghu residents.
Part of the compensation for the casualties is set to be covered by aviation insurance, with the amount remaining undecided. TNA did not specify if the compensation payment would impact the company’s business and profitability in the future.
TNA officials are to hold talks with each of the families of the victims to finalize the amount of compensation.
The carrier has posted the highest earnings per share (EPS) for the year among the nation’s three listed airlines on the back of lower operating costs and its expansion of international routes over the past year.
TNA, which operates mainly regional and cross-strait routes, earned NT$158.31 million, or NT$0.29 per share, for the first six months of this year, compared with net losses of NT$186.3 million, or NT$0.34 per share, during the same period last year, the company said in a statement.
WEAKER ACTIVITY: The sharpest deterioration was seen in the electronics and optical components sector, with the production index falling 13.2 points to 44.5 Taiwan’s manufacturing sector last month contracted for a second consecutive month, with the purchasing managers’ index (PMI) slipping to 48, reflecting ongoing caution over trade uncertainties, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. The decline reflects growing caution among companies amid uncertainty surrounding US tariffs, semiconductor duties and automotive import levies, and it is also likely linked to fading front-loading activity, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) said. “Some clients have started shifting orders to Southeast Asian countries where tariff regimes are already clear,” Lien told a news conference. Firms across the supply chain are also lowering stock levels to mitigate
Six Taiwanese companies, including contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), made the 2025 Fortune Global 500 list of the world’s largest firms by revenue. In a report published by New York-based Fortune magazine on Tuesday, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), ranked highest among Taiwanese firms, placing 28th with revenue of US$213.69 billion. Up 60 spots from last year, TSMC rose to No. 126 with US$90.16 billion in revenue, followed by Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) at 348th, Pegatron Corp (和碩) at 461st, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) at 494th and Wistron Corp (緯創) at
NEW PRODUCTS: MediaTek plans to roll out new products this quarter, including a flagship mobile phone chip and a GB10 chip that it is codeveloping with Nvidia Corp MediaTek Inc (聯發科) yesterday projected that revenue this quarter would dip by 7 to 13 percent to between NT$130.1 billion and NT$140 billion (US$4.38 billion and US$4.71 billion), compared with NT$150.37 billion last quarter, which it attributed to subdued front-loading demand and unfavorable foreign exchange rates. The Hsinchu-based chip designer said that the forecast factored in the negative effects of an estimated 6 percent appreciation of the New Taiwan dollar against the greenback. “As some demand has been pulled into the first half of the year and resulted in a different quarterly pattern, we expect the third quarter revenue to decline sequentially,”
ASE Technology Holding Co (ASE, 日月光投控), the world’s biggest chip assembly and testing service provider, yesterday said it would boost equipment capital expenditure by up to 16 percent for this year to cope with strong customer demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications. Aside from AI, a growing demand for semiconductors used in the automotive and industrial sectors is to drive ASE’s capacity next year, the Kaohsiung-based company said. “We do see the disparity between AI and other general sectors, and that pretty much aligns the scenario in the first half of this year,” ASE chief operating officer Tien Wu (吳田玉) told an