STEELMAKERS
China Steel dismisses report
China Steel Corp (中鋼), the nation’s biggest steelmaker, yesterday said it has no plans to cut output next quarter, contradicting a report in the Chinese-language Economic Daily News. The newspaper yesterday reported that China Steel planned to reduce production by 10 percent next quarter in reaction to a slump in the industry. The reduction would be China Steel’s first cut in production in 15 years, the report said. China Steel said that meeting the supply needs of a new steel manufacturing venture in Vietnam would require the full operation of its remaining foundries, as one furnace is set to undergo a major maintenance beginning next quarter and lasting five months. China Steel said it is cutting costs and improving product quality to accommodate a slump in the industry.
FINANCIAL SERVICES
Chailease income plunges
Chailease Holding Co Ltd (中租控股), the nation’s top leasing services provider, yesterday said that its net income last month declined 14.1 percent year-on-year to NT$593.5 million (US$18.01 million). Aggregate net income in the January-to-July period rose 2.72 percent to NT$417.87 million, from NT$406.81 million in the same period last year. The company’s shares have fallen nearly 30 percent from NT$65 on Aug. 11 and plunged 7 percent to trade at NT$45.9 in Taipei yesterday.
TRADE
TAITRA inks US deal
The Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA, 外貿協會) — Taiwan’s main trade promotion agency — yesterday signed a pact with the US’ Rhode Island Commerce Corp to jointly explore trade and investment opportunities. The memorandum of understanding was inked in Taipei by TAITRA executive vice president Walter Yeh (葉明水) and Rhode Island secretary of commerce Stefan Pryor, who is leading a business trade mission to the nation through tomorrow. As Rhode Island’s seventh-largest global export market, and its second-largest in Asia, Taiwan’s total imports from the state were valued at US$90.8 million last year, putting it ahead of all European nations except Germany.
SALARIES
Graduates feel underpaid
The majority of recent college graduates are dissatisfied with their salaries, with many having trouble making ends meet, according to a survey released yesterday. The survey, conducted by online job bank yes123, found that the average monthly salary of a recent college graduate is NT$25,694. However, respondents reported that their expected monthly salary is NT$28,498. According to the results of the survey, 30 percent of recent graduates receive less NT$22,000 per month. For recent graduates who have found a job, an average of 66 resumes were sent out before they received their first offer, the results showed. Among recent graduates 60.6 percent are still looking for a job, while only 39.4 percent have found work, said yes123, which conducted the poll from Aug. 4 to Friday last week.
AVIATION
V Air launches Busan route
V Air (威航), a low-cost carrier owned by Taiwan’s TransAsia Airways Corp (復興航空), launched direct flights to Busan on Monday, becoming Taiwan’s first low-cost carrier operating flights to South Korea. Flight ZV302 took off at 4:30pm from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, carrying 194 passengers in a sold out Airbus A321 jet. “We are optimistic about the market potential of the route and hope to add more flights to provide more flexible travel options,” V Air chief executive Eleni Lung (隆章琪) said.
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
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”