RETAIL
CPC plans stores at stations
State-run oil refiner CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday outlined plans to expand into the convenience store business in an effort to stave off a string of losses amid falling international crude oil prices. The company had set a goal of NT$800 billion (US$23.9 billion) in revenue and NT$5.8 billion in profit for this year, but booked losses of NT$4 billion last month. The company hopes to use 600 directly run and 2,000 franchised gas stations across the nation as a platform to offer retail and auto maintenance services.
LOGISTICS
THI reports sales increase
THI Global Holdings Corp (台驊國際投資控股), a freight-forwarder and logistics operator, on Monday reported that sales last month rose 11.5 percent annually to NT$876 million. The bulk of contribution to sales came from operations in China and Hong Kong, which rose 2.91 percent year-on-year to represent 76.84 percent of total revenue during the period, while sales in Taiwan, representing 18.83 percent of the total, fell 13.21 percent. The company reported a slight uptick in freight volume and rates, but prices remained low amid a supply glut.
INVESTMENT
Concard net income surges
Concord Securities Co (康和證券) yesterday reported that its net income last year surged to a new six-year high of NT$226 million, or earnings per share (EPS) of NT$0.34. The company hopes to extend its streak of improvement as it continues restructuring efforts to transition into an investment bank. To reduce costs, the company plans to reduce the number of securities brokerage branches and fulfill services through digital channels, chairman Gordon Yeh (葉公亮) said.
TAXES
Tax collections dip: ministry
The Ministry of Finance yesterday said that tax collections last month totaled NT$133.1 billion, a 0.7 percent decrease from a year ago. Land value increment taxes fell by NT$4.2 billion to NT$6.6 billion, a four-year record low. Taxes levied on domestically produced new cars tumbled 40 percent annually to NT$1.3 billion, while taxes for imported cars skyrocketed 97.2 percent annually to NT$3.7 billion. Officials said that the widening gap indicates that vehicles made in Japan are gaining popularity due to the yen weakening.
TELECOMS
FET sets growth targets
Far EasTone Telecommunications Co Ltd (FET, 遠傳電信), the nation’s No. 3 telecom operator, yesterday set operating targets for this year of growing sales by 1 percent annually to NT$98.22 billion and generating net income of NT$11.09 billion, which would translate into an EPS of NT$3.4. The company also said that dividend payout would likely reach NT$3.75 per share. The company said that its 4G subscribers totaled 3.1 million as of the end of last year, with average monthly revenue per user rising 3 percent from 2014 to NT$891, which bested growth reported by rivals Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) and Taiwan Mobile Corp (台灣大哥大), the company said. FET said that its operating results for last year were in line with expectations and earnings per share performance was gauged at NT$3.52, while its mobile service revenue recorded annual growth of 1.4 percent. FET shares yesterday fell 1 percent to NT$69.1 in Taipei trading, while Chunghwa Telecom rose 0.48 percent to NT$105.5 and Taiwan Mobile rose 1.5 percent to NT$101.5.
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
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],”
Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day
Thousands of parents in Singapore are furious after a Cordlife Group Ltd (康盛人生集團), a major operator of cord blood banks in Asia, irreparably damaged their children’s samples through improper handling, with some now pursuing legal action. The ongoing case, one of the worst to hit the largely untested industry, has renewed concerns over companies marketing themselves to anxious parents with mostly unproven assurances. This has implications across the region, given Cordlife’s operations in Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, the Philippines and India. The parents paid for years to have their infants’ cord blood stored, with the understanding that the stem cells they contained