MANUFACTURING
String of contractions end
Taiwan’s manufacturing sector last month ended a 15-month contraction, as the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research’s (TIER, 台灣經濟研究院) composite index for the local manufacturing sector showed a “yellow-blue light” for the month after growing 0.77 points from June to 10.59 points. The yellow-blue light was the first uptick after the index saw 15 months of blue lights, thanks to improving performance in trade, the institute said in a report yesterday. However, TIER Economic Forecasting Center director Gordon Sun (孫明德) said it was still too early to say whether the economy has rebounded based on one month’s data.
TEXTILES
Formosa to produce Gore-tex
Formosa Taffeta Co (福懋興業), a textile subsidiary of Formosa Plastics Group (台塑集團), yesterday said it has invested NT$160 million (US$5.043 million) to retrofit a plant to produce Gore-tex fabrics for US-based W.L. Gore & Associates Inc. This is the first time Gore has outsourced production of its Gore-tex fabrics, according to the joint statement. The plant, which is in Yuanlin County’s Douliu Township (斗六), is to begin operations next quarter, Formosa Taffeta said. Formosa Taffeta and Gore made the announcement on Monday after they launched the BumbleBee Project a year ago to build the plant.
TECHNOLOGY
HTC eyes investments
HTC Corp (宏達電) on Tuesday night announced that it would inject US$9 million into its subsidiary H.T.C. (B.V.I) to support it in carrying out strategic investments. In a separate filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange, HTC Corp said it increased its strategic investment through H.T.C. (B.V.I.) in virtual-reality (VR) start-up Surgical Theater to a total of US$11 million and holds 21.09 percent stake in the start-up. This is the second time in a year that HTC Corp invested in the Cleveland, Ohio-based start-up. The VR start-up develops software that helps surgeons plan operations using VR technologies.
INSURERS
HK sales to China rise
Hong Kong’s insurance sales to Chinese residents more than doubled in the second quarter to a record, even as Chinese regulators took further steps to limit purchases of the products, which can serve as a way to sidestep Beijing’s capital controls. Mainland Chinese purchases of insurance and insurance-related investment policies in the three months ended June climbed to HK$16.9 billion (US$2.2 billion) from HK$7.1 billion a year earlier, according to numbers derived from first-half figures reported yesterday by the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance in Hong Kong. That compared with the previous high of HK$13.2 billion in the first quarter.
OIL
Japan-Saudi tie-up expected
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc and Mizuho Financial Group Inc this week plan to sign a non-binding agreement in Tokyo with Saudi Arabian Oil Co to expand lending to the state-run firm as it considers an initial public offering (IPO), people with knowledge of the matter said. The Tokyo-based lenders are seeking to get involved in the IPO of the oil firm known as Saudi Aramco, the people said. The Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has asked the oil company to list its shares on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, people with knowledge of the matter said earlier this week.
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