MANUFACTURING
Sector showing growth
The local manufacturing sector continued to show signs of improvement in August as Taiwan’s exports rebounded, the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research said yesterday. The institute said the manufacturing composite index for August rose 1.32 points from a month earlier to 11.84, flashing “yellow-blue” — which indicates that the sector is in a transition period between recession and growth — for the second consecutive month. Prior to July, the index saw 15 months of “blue” lights, indicating sector decline. Among the five sub-indices in the composite index, four showed signs of improvement, the institute said.
STEELMAKERS
CSC name acting chairman
Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Shen Jong-chin (沈榮津) has been named acting chairman of China Steel Corp (CSC, 中鋼) after Andrew Sung (宋志育) yesterday retired from the post. The Ministry of Economic Affairs is still discussing possible candidates with the Executive Yuan to lead the nation’s largest steel mill, local media reported. The company’s aggregate pre-tax profit for the first eight months of the year grew 24.48 percent from the same period of last year to NT$13.91 billion (US$443.5 million), the company reported earlier this week.
HOME APPLIANCES
Tatung shares plunge
Shares of Tatung Co (大同), a home-appliances manufacturer, tanked yesterday, after the Taiwan High Court ordered chairman Lin Wei-shan (林蔚山) to pay NT$2.29 billion to investors for embezzling Tatung funds to pay a NT$2 billion loan from Nature Worldwide Technology Corp (通達), a friend’s company in which Lin had invested. Lin’s actions contributed to losses of up to NT$1.7 billion for Tatung between 2007 and 2010, and triggered the Securities and Futures Investors Protection Center to file a class-action lawsuit against Lin. Tatung shares plummeted 8.27 percent to NT$7.76 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange. Lin can still appeal the case.
BANKING
Apple Pay applications open
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) has started accepting applications from local banks to provide Apple Pay mobile services, DigiTimes reported on its Web site yesterday. The report said the commission would only allow credit card payments initially, while other methods, such as debit cards, might be allowed later. CTBC Bank (中國信託銀行), Cathay United Commercial Bank (國泰世華銀行), E.Sun Commercial Bank (玉山銀行) and Taishin International Bank (台新銀行) are among the banks who might start offering Apple Pay when it becomes available, the report said.
ELECTRONICS
Sharp to invest in LED
Sharp Corp is investing ¥57.4 billion (US$567 million) to develop organic LED display production facilities, with the aim of starting output by June 2018. The funds are to be used for equipment and to deliver sample products to customers, the Osaka, Japan-based company said in a statement yesterday. Sharp is investing in its factories in Mie and Osaka. The investment is part of the company’s ¥200 billion commitment to OLED technology, part of a strategic plan it adopted with its new owner, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密). The proposed investment will be for smartphone displays, according to Sharp, which is among suppliers that provide screens for Apple Inc’s products.
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