Orient, Beijing Tide ink deal
Drugmaker Orient Pharma Co (友霖生技) yesterday said that it inked a deal with Beijing Tide Pharmaceutical Co (北京泰德製藥) to form a partnership for a dementia treatment drug.
In a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange, Orient Pharma said it would transfer technology knowledge to Beijing Tide and authorize the Chinese pharmaceutical company to manufacture the drug in China, as well as register the drug in both China and the US.
If the drug gains regulatory approval in China, Beijing Tide would be granted sole distribution rights for the drug in China, and the firm would provide Orient Pharma with milestone payments and royalties, the filing said. Orient Pharma would be in charge of selling the drug in the US market and share certain profits from US sales with Beijing Tide, it added.
US ruling clears nail firms
The Ministry of Economic Affairs on Friday welcomed the US Department of Commerce’s preliminary ruling that Taiwan’s steel nail firms have not engaged in any dumping activity in the US market.
The Department of Commerce said on Thursday that it found that mandatory respondents PT Enterprises Inc (裕鐵企業) and Quick Advance Inc had not sold certain steel nails in the US market at unfairly low prices. Therefore, the department said it had decided not to impose any anti-dumping tariffs against the Taiwanese exporters.
The US government is scheduled to issue a final determination on the anti-dumping investigations by May 8 next year.
Exports might hit new record
Export orders for last month have been forecast to reach a record level, in part because of strong demand for Apple Inc’s iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said on Saturday.
Orders last month could hit US$46 billion, compared with US$44.91 billion in October, and help record year-on-year growth in export orders for the 10th successive month, the ministry said.
The ministry previously predicted that export orders for this year would hit US$480 billion, compared with US$442.93 billion last year.
The ministry is scheduled to release the export order data today.
HTC to release new 4G Desire
HTC Corp (宏達電) plans to add a new phone to its mid-tier Desire series this week that would be compatible with 4G LTE on all 4G frequency bands (700/900/1800MHz) used in Taiwan.
Sales of the new device are scheduled to begin locally on Wednesday, HTC said, and would be the company’s first addition to the Desire family since introducing the large-screen Desire 820 dual-SIM card model early last month.
The new Desire 820 model, which only allows one SIM card, is powered by a faster 64-bit eight-core processor that can utilize more physical memory and improve user experience, according to HTC.
The new model is set to be a departure from the 5.5-inch Desire 820 dual-SIM, which offers dual SIM card support, but does not implement 4G LTE in all of the frequency bands used in Taiwan.
Adata repurchases shares
Adata Technology Co (威剛科技), the nation’s top DRAM module maker, has spent NT$300 million (US$9.51 million) on its latest share buyback program to shore up its stock price.
The company said on Friday that it has repurchased 5.8 million shares, or 64.5 percent of a buyback program announced in October, at NT$51.88 per share. Adata said it would transfer the shares to employees in an effort to boost worker morale.
Originally, the company planned to repurchase 9 million shares — at between NT$35.49 and NT$93.08 per share — from Oct. 20 to Friday on the open market.
Hotai to up stake in Kuotu
Hotai Motor Co (和泰汽車), which distributes Toyota and Lexus cars in Taiwan, said on Thursday that it plans to inject NT$836.27 million into subsidiary Kuotu Motor Co (國都汽車), which runs retail shops for Hotai.
Kuotu Motor would use the money to set up more shops in Taiwan and remodel its current retail stores, according to Hotai.
After the transaction closes on Wednesday, Hotai’s stake in Kuotu would increase to 20.05 percent from 6.39 percent, the company said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last