SHIPPING
Chairman tipped to change
Former Evergreen Group (長榮集團) vice chairman Bronson Hsieh (謝志堅) is expected to become the new chairman of Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp (陽明海運), replacing Frank Lu (盧峰海), local media reported yesterday. Yang Ming Marine Transport, the nation’s second-largest container shipper in terms of fleet size, is likely to hold a board meeting today to approve Hsieh’s appointment, reports said, citing government sources. Yang Ming Marine Transport reported a net loss of NT$7.72 billion (US$239.6) last year, or NT$2.24 in losses per share, with total sales of NT$127.56 billion. Hsieh worked at Evergreen Group for more than 40 years before stepping down from his position earlier this year.
FOOD
UPE names new president
Uni-President Enterprises Corp (UPE, 統一企業), one of Taiwan’s leading food makers, yesterday elected the head of its Chinese subsidiary to serve as its president in a potential move to take over the reins from chairman Alex Lo (羅智先). The board of directors yesterday elected Hou Jung-lung (侯榮隆), president of Uni-President China Holding Co (UPC, 統一中控), to serve as the company’s new president with immediate effect, UPE said in a statement. Hou, 52, has been UPC's president since 2001.
HEALTH
Former premier to head IBMI
The government-funded Institute for Biotechnology and Medicine Industry (IBMI, 生技醫療產業策進會) yesterday announced it had appointed former premier Simon Chang (張善政) as its new chairman, replacing Chen Wei-jao (陳維昭). Chang is to have a four-year tenure as IBMI chairman. The non-profit organization also elected National Taiwan University president Yang Pan-chyr (楊泮池) as vice chairman, along with the selection of 27 new directors and nine new supervisors. IBMI was established in 1988 by former legislative speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), who served as chairman for its first eight years.
SOLAR WAFERS
GW dividend approved
GlobalWafers Co Ltd (GW, 環球晶圓) yesterday obtained shareholders’ approval to distribute a cash dividend of NT$5 per share based on last year’s earnings per share of NT$5.8 per share. GlobalWafers, a subsidiary of solar wafer maker Sino-American Silicon Products Inc (中美矽晶), said it has maintained steady growth in sales since the fourth quarter of last year thanks to better-than-expected demand for small and medium-sized wafers. However, cumulative sales dropped 7.44 percent to NT$6.21 billion for the first five months of this year from the same period last year, company data showed.
PANELMAKERS
CPT heads apologize
Flat-panel maker Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd (CPT, 中華映管) chairman Lin Wei-shan (林蔚山) and president Lin Sheng-chang (林盛昌) yesterday apologized to shareholders over years of losses and said that high-ranking executives had taken a voluntary salary cut of between 10 and 20 percent from last month. To boost its efforts to turn the results around, the company said it would shift its focus to niche products, such as those used in the automotive items and industrial control segments, as well as to dispose of unprofitable affiliates and assets.
CEMENT
TCC remains cautious
Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥), the nation’s biggest cement maker, yesterday said it remains cautious about its business outlook for the near term after reporting a sharp decline in eanings per share of NT$1.56 for last year from NT$2.93 a year earlier. While the company secured shareholders’ approval to issue a cash dividend of NT$1.33 per share, Taiwan Cement dismissed market rumors that it would seek a merger with Asia Cement Corp (亞洲水泥) to help it compete in China.
UNPRECEDENTED PACE: Micron Technology has announced plans to expand manufacturing capabilities with the acquisition of a new chip plant in Miaoli Micron Technology Inc unveiled a newly acquired chip plant in Miaoli County yesterday, as the company expands capacity to meet growing demand for advanced DRAM chips, including high-bandwidth memory chips amid the artificial intelligence boom. The plant in Miaoli County’s Tongluo Township (銅鑼), which Micron acquired from Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電) for US$1.8 billion, is expected to make a sizeable capacity contribution to the company from fiscal 2028, the company said in a statement. It would be an extended production site of Micron’s large-scale manufacturing hub in Taichung, the company said. As the global semiconductor industry is racing to reach US$1 trillion
ABOVE LEGAL REQUIREMENT: The Ministry of Economic Affairs is prepared if LNG supply is disrupted, with more than the legal requirement of 11 days of inventory Taiwan has largely secured liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies through May and arranged about half of June’s supply, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said yesterday. Since the Middle East conflict began on Feb. 28, Taiwan’s LNG inventories have remained more than 12 days, exceeding the legal requirement of 11 days, indicating no major supply concerns for domestic gas and electricity, Kung said at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee in Taipei. The ministry aims to increase the figure to 14 days by the end of next year, he said. While one or two LNG or crude oil shipments for May
Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab Holdings Ltd has applied for regulatory approval to acquire the Taiwan operations of Germany-based Delivery Hero SE's Foodpanda in a deal valued at about US$600 million. Grab submitted the filing to the Fair Trade Commission on Friday last week, with the transaction subject to regulatory review and approval, the company said in a statement yesterday. Its independent governance structure would help foster a healthy and competitive market in Taiwan if the deal is approved, Grab said. Grab, which is listed on the NASDAQ, said in the filing that US-based Uber Technologies Inc holds about 13 percent of
Taiwan’s food delivery market could undergo a major shift if Singapore-based Grab Holdings Ltd completes its planned acquisition of Delivery Hero SE’s Foodpanda business in Taiwan, industry experts said. Grab on Monday last week announced it would acquire Foodpanda’s Taiwan operations for US$600 million. The deal is expected to be finalized in the second half of this year, with Grab aiming to complete user migration to its platform by the first half of next year. A duopoly between Uber Eats and Foodpanda dominates Taiwan’s delivery market, a structure that has remained intact since the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) blocked Uber Technologies Inc’s
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