MEDIA
iQiyi vows to stay in nation
China’s biggest video-on-demand provider, iQiyi (愛奇藝), yesterday said in a statement that it would not leave the local market, despite authorities’ rejection of its application to establish a subsidiary in Taiwan. The Chinese company’s remarks came after the Investment Commission on Monday turned down iQiyi’s request to establish an information service company. The commission’s decision will not affect the interests of iQiyi’s members in Taiwan, nor the company’s plan to expand its operations here, iQiyi said. The company will continue to communicate with officials in the hopes of changing the government’s mind, it added. The company operates in Taiwan via a local content distributor, OTT Entertainment Ltd (歐銻銻).
TAIWAN
Asustek tops brand rankings
Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) was named the top Taiwanese global brand for the fourth straight year with an estimated brand value of US$1.74 billion, according to an annual list of top brands released yesterday by the Ministry of Economic Affairs. Internet security company Trend Micro Inc (趨勢科技) and Want Want China Holdings Ltd (中國旺旺控股) secured second and third place with estimated brand values of US$1.36 billion and US$1.02 billion respectively, the ministry’s report said. Acer Inc’s (宏碁) ranking dropped from fourth last year to seventh, with its estimated brand value falling 26 percent to US$426 million, the report said. Companies in the top 20 saw their cumulative brand value expand 3.21 percent to US$9.24 billion, the report added. The brand value research was organized by the ministry’s Industrial Development Bureau and carried out by the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (台灣經濟研究院) and brand consultancy Interbrand.
AIRLINES
TransAsia controls tightened
Restrictions on trading of TransAsia Airways Corp (復興航空) shares have been tightened, as the troubled carrier has been unable to meet its obligations to debtors, the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) announced yesterday. A check issued by the carrier bounced on Wednesday last week, and the airline yesterday said it would default on European convertible bonds worth US$75 million due to a lack of funds, according to the TWSE. Beginning today, trading of TransAsia shares is to be processed under the periodic call auction trading method, the TWSE said. In periodic call auction trading, buy and sell orders are manually matched once every 30 minutes. TransAsia shares yesterday swung wildly throughout the session, opening 10 percent lower than on the previous day at NT$3.08 and rising 10 percent to close at NT$3.76.
TELECOMS
Commission warns providers
The Fair Trade Commission yesterday warned the nation’s telecoms that they are at risk of breaking rules against collusion amid deliberations on whether to phase out unlimited mobile data plans. Taiwan Mobile Co (台灣大哥大) and Far EasTone Telecommunications Co (遠傳電信) have on numerous occasions publicly announced that they would phase out unlimited data plans if the nation’s biggest carrier, Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信), makes the first move, commission Vice Chairman Chiu Yung-ho (邱永和) said. Such actions are approaching collusion, which is punishable with fines ranging from NT$100,000 to NT$50 million (US$3,143 to US$1.57 million), Chiu said, adding that Taiwan Mobile and Far EasTone should refrain from making similar public statements.
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