INVESTMENT
Interest in Taiwan grows
A total of 66 companies yesterday expressed willingness to invest a total of NT$166 billion (US$5.3 billion) in Taiwan over the next three years at the Taiwan Business Alliance Conference in Taipei, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said. The potential investment, 6.4 percent more than the amount pledged last year, could create 15,458 jobs, the ministry said. It signed letters of intent with 20 of the companies for investments totaling NT$105 billion over the next three years. Investment Commission director-general Vivian Lien (連玉蘋) said the US had the most companies pledging investment, at 22, followed by Europe and Japan with 20 and 18 respectively. The government’s focus on five industries — “green” energy, an Asian Silicon Valley, biomedicine, smart machinery and defense and aeronautics — has attracted interest, Lien said, adding that 60 percent of the pledged investment was directed at those areas.
STEELMAKERS
Vice minister to lead CSC
China Steel Corp (CSC, 中鋼), the nation’s biggest steelmaker, yesterday said that Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Shen Jong-chin (沈榮津) would assume the top position at the 45-year-old firm after former chairman Andrew Sung (宋志育) retired on Friday last week, according to a company filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange. Shen is to take control during an interim period before a final candidate is tapped by the ministry. Shen is to retain his job at the ministry.
TOURISM
Taipei rises in travel ranking
Taipei ranked 15th out of 20 of the world’s most popular cities for tourists, while rising to the seventh most popular option in Asia, according to MasterCard Inc’s Global Destination Cities Index, Taipei’s best showing in the ranking. Foreign tourists on average spend US$1,306 during visits to Taipei, surpassing the US$1,154 spent in Tokyo and US$1,206 in Seoul, MasterCard said. In addition, the number of foreign visitors to Taiwan this year has grown by 500,000 year-on-year to 7.35 million, MasterCard said.
AIRLINES
Tigerair to reassess routes
Tigerair Taiwan (台灣虎航), a budget airline that is a joint venture between Tiger Airways Singapore Pte Ltd and China Airlines (CAL, 中華航空), yesterday said that it would next year begin re-evaluating flights to Japan and Malaysia after sales failed to meet expectations. The budget carrier yesterday was the subject of scrutiny after netizens discovered that it had hiked its prices significantly, with some routes becoming more expensive than full-service airlines. Netizens said that the company is trying to deter travelers from buying tickets as it prepares to scale down operations.
STOCK MARKET
TAIEX edges up 0.73 percent
The TAIEX yesterday closed up 0.73 percent, at 9,234.20, reflecting nearly 1 percent gains in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the NASDAQ on Friday last week. Turnover totaled an anemic NT$54.76 billion during the session. Trading in old economy stocks was mixed. Formosa Plastics Corp (台塑企業) rose 0.51 percent to NT$78.20, despite a protest against Formosa Plastics Group’s (台塑集團) steel unit in Vietnam on Sunday by local fishermen over pollution they say has destroyed their livelihoods. Plastics stocks rose 0.25 percent, while food and papermaking each surged by more than 1 percent. Flat-panel makers AU Optronics Corp (友達光電) and Innolux Corp (群創) rose 5.65 percent and 2.83 percent to close at NT$12.15 and NT$10.90 respectively.
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