FINANCE
Banks downplay default risk
A number of domestic banks contributing to a NT$7 billion (US$214.03 million) syndicated loan to scandal-ridden optical thin-film manufacturer Solar Applied Materials Technology Co (Solar, 光洋科) yesterday downplayed concerns about a default, citing adequate collateral. Chang Hwa Commercial Bank Ltd (彰化銀行) said that it has instructed the company to allocate additional collateral, including manufacturing plants and land. Domestic banks have extended a credit line of about NT$14 billion to the company. Trading of Solar shares on the Taipei Exchange is to be halted today, as the company was discovered to have falsified its financial statement, regulators said.
POLICY INITIATIVES
Duh touts ‘Productivity 4.0’
Outgoing Vice Premier Woody Duh (杜紫軍) yesterday urged the incoming government to continue promoting a productivity transformation and upgrade program, which he described as a “no regrets” policy. Duh said the government began its “Productivity 4.0” initiative last year after seeing a drop in exports and changes in the international economic environment. The policy was designed to “enhance the productivity and competitiveness of the services, manufacturing and agricultural sectors through the use of digital and intelligent processes and by applying cloud computing and big data analysis,” he said.
GAMING
XPEC revamps investments
Game developer XPEC Entertainment Inc (樂陞科技) yesterday said that it is revamping its investment allocations to improve profitability. The company booked a NT$53.6 million loss as it halted operations of Proficient Success, which operates Tiny Piece, a mobile gaming platform based in China. It also reported that a deal to acquire Chinese mobile app distributor Tongbu (同步網路) is 70 percent complete. In addition, the company said it is acquiring a 20 percent stake in Japanese game developer AltPlus Inc.
STOCKS
Taiwanese shares edge up
Taiwanese shares edged higher yesterday, despite cautious sentiment that led to the fifth-lowest single-day turnover of the year on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, dealers said. The weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange closed up by 13.91 points, or 0.17 percent, at 8.067.60, after moving between 8,003.93 and 8,091.48, on turnover of NT$62.49 billion. Dealers said some of the uncertainty came from weaknesses shown by US high-tech stocks and the continued withdrawal of funds by foreign institutional investors, who sold a net NT$4.46 billion worth of local shares yesterday.
BIOTECHNOLOGY
OBI Pharma stock surges
Shares of controversy-embroiled OBI Pharma Inc (台灣浩鼎) yesterday surged nearly 10 percent to NT$413 per share, following the company’s announcement last week that it plans to issue bonds to raise funds for a share repurchase. The company said that the repurchased shares would be transferred to employees to raise morale and to retain talent. Market watchers said that the company’s stance became more aggressive after its shares began to plummet from their height of more than NT$600 following unfavorable clinical trial results for its new breast cancer vaccine. It appears to be anticipating marked earnings growth, observers said.
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
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last