BANKING
FSC fines Mega International
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) yesterday fined Mega International Commercial Bank (兆豐銀行) NT$3 million (US$93,000) for oversights in its internal control protocols that led to it accepting US$2.44 million in counterfeit money deposits earlier this year. The bank was found to have contravened the Banking Act (銀行法) by failing to detect a sudden rise in transactions in the account involved in the case, which had been idle between December 2013 and January.
SUGAR
Taisugar to pay record profit
Shareholders of state-run Taiwan Sugar Co (Taisugar, 台糖) yesterday approved dividends of NT$2.7 per share. The amount surpassed last year’s distribution of NT$1.9 and is the highest in the company’s history. The Ministry of Economic Affairs, which holds an 86 percent stake in the company, is estimated to contribute NT$13.1 billion in revenue to the treasury. The company reported that operating profit in the first five months of this year totaled NT$3.2 billion, of which NT$2.8 billion was from its core businesses.
AUTOMAKERS
Yulon considering subsidiary
Yulon Group (裕隆集團) yesterday announced that it is mulling plans to establish a NT$3 billion construction subsidiary as part of the automobile conglomerate’s plan to expand into the real-estate market. The subsidiary might oversee the company’s massive land development project at its abandoned factory in New Taipei City’s Xindian District (新店). The company said the project is expected to receive approval from regulators next year and be completed by 2020. Shareholders also approved dividends of NT$0.9 per share, the highest in four years.
TEXTILES
Eclat to pay record dividends
Textile manufacturer Eclat Textile Co (儒鴻) shareholders yesterday approved record-high dividends of NT$10.5 per share. The company expects sales to experience faster growth in the second half of this year as global markets are forecast to see annual growth of between 10 percent and 15 percent this year, barring significant foreign exchange fluctuations. The company plans to continue developing new products based on its expertise in functional fabrics.
CHIPMAKERS
Inotera confirms sale price
DRAM chipmaker Inotera Memories Inc (華亞科技) yesterday confirmed the price of its acquisition by US company Micron Technology Inc at NT$30 per share, the firm said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange. Micron may purchase the remaining 67 percent share of Inotera on Friday, dispelling speculation that the price of the deal had been slashed to less than NT$20 per share. Inotera shares yesterday gained 0.79 percent to close at NT$25.65
EQUITIES
TAIEX ends at day’s high
The TAIEX yesterday rose 58.93 points, or 0.68 percent, closing at the day’s high of 8,684.85 after an early low of 8,627.40 on turnover of NT$68.71 billion. Buying momentum extended from the previous session as investors were encouraged by solid gains on Monday on Wall Street and European markets, amid reduced worries over a possible departure by Britain from the EU, dealers said. However, with turnover remaining low, the broader market failed to overcome technical resistance at 8,700 points, dealers 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
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