OIL
Fuel prices to drop
Domestic gasoline prices could fall by NT$1.1 to NT$1.2 per liter next week to reflect the decline in global crude oil prices this week. State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 中油) is expected to announce tomorrow its domestic fuel prices for next week. Based on CPC’s floating oil price mechanism — which is composed of 70 percent Dubai crude and 30 percent Brent crude — the average oil price dropped to US$58.05 per barrel early yesterday from US$62.84 per barrel a week earlier.
CRIME
Fake apparel siezed
Police in central Taiwan yesterday said they have seized about 1,500 items of counterfeit brand-name clothing in a copyright infringement case valued at NT$10 million (US$317,740). The clothes, bearing brand labels like Puma, Adidas, Nike and Burberry, were confiscated at three traditional markets in Greater Taichung and Changhua County, police said. The sellers admitted that the clothing items, which were being sold at NT$690 to NT$1,200 each, had been purchased in China and South Korea for NT$100 to NT$300 apiece, police said.
BANKING
Dual-currency cards planned
State-run Mega International Commercial Bank (兆豐國際商銀), the banking arm and main source of income for Mega Financial Holdings Co (兆豐金控), plans to issue dual-currency credit cards, starting next year. The international trade-focused lender has obtained regulatory approval from the Financial Supervisory Commission for the new business, the bank said in a statement yesterday. The new credit cards would allow cardholders more convenience when shopping abroad, the statement said.
TECHNOLOGY
Chip tester mulls IPO
UTAC Holdings Ltd, the Singapore-based chip tester owned by Affinity Equity Partners Ltd and TPG Capital, is considering an initial public offering (IPO), people with knowledge of the matter said. The buyout firms are weighing a Singapore or NASDAQ listing for UTAC and have invited potential advisers to pitch for the deal, the sources said. The sale could take place around the middle of next year and proceeds would be used mainly to repay debt, they said. UTAC employs about 12,000 people across 10 manufacturing facilities in Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand and China.
PROPERTY
Fosun ups Club Med bid
Chinese conglomerate Fosun International (復星) yesterday raised its offer to buy French holiday group Club Med as it strives to win the longest bidding war in Paris market history against an Italian tycoon. Fosun bid 24.60 euros per share for Club Med, which values the iconic holiday brand at 939 million euros (US$1.15 billion).
TECHNOLOGY
Samsung might up dividends
Shares of Samsung Electronics Co finished 4.9 percent higher in Seoul trading yesterday after the company said it might increase dividends by as much as 50 percent. The Suwon, South Korea-based company said in a stock exchange filing that it would finalize its dividend plan late next month. Samsung paid out 14,300 won (US$13) per share in dividends last year. Samsung’s share price has underperformed due to concerns about shrinking sales of Galaxy smartphones and a slump in earnings. Shareholders have pressured the company to pay more dividends from its large cash reserves.
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
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has appointed Rose Castanares, executive vice president of TSMC Arizona, as president of the subsidiary, which is responsible for carrying out massive investments by the Taiwanese tech giant in the US state, the company said in a statement yesterday. Castanares will succeed Brian Harrison as president of the Arizona subsidiary on Oct. 1 after the incumbent president steps down from the position with a transfer to the Arizona CEO office to serve as an advisor to TSMC Arizona’s chairman, the statement said. According to TSMC, Harrison is scheduled to retire on Dec. 31. Castanares joined TSMC in
EUROPE ON HOLD: Among a flurry of announcements, Intel said it would postpone new factories in Germany and Poland, but remains committed to its US expansion Intel Corp chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger has landed Amazon.com Inc’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) as a customer for the company’s manufacturing business, potentially bringing work to new plants under construction in the US and boosting his efforts to turn around the embattled chipmaker. Intel and AWS are to coinvest in a custom semiconductor for artificial intelligence computing — what is known as a fabric chip — in a “multiyear, multibillion-dollar framework,” Intel said in a statement on Monday. The work would rely on Intel’s 18A process, an advanced chipmaking technology. Intel shares rose more than 8 percent in late trading after the
FACTORY SHIFT: While Taiwan produces most of the world’s AI servers, firms are under pressure to move manufacturing amid geopolitical tensions Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) started building artificial intelligence (AI) servers in India’s south, the latest boon for the rapidly growing country’s push to become a high-tech powerhouse. The company yesterday said it has started making the large, powerful computers in Pondicherry, southeastern India, moving beyond products such as laptops and smartphones. The Chinese company would also build out its facilities in the Bangalore region, including a research lab with a focus on AI. Lenovo’s plans mark another win for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who tries to attract more technology investment into the country. While India’s tense relationship with China has suffered setbacks