GREEN’ ENERGY
Fubon eyes solar investment
Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控) yesterday said it plans to invest NT$300 million (US$9.51 million) in a solar power joint venture through Fubon Life Insurance Co (富邦人壽), according to a Taiwan Stock Exchange filing. The solar power venture will invest in solar power plants in Taiwan and Fubon Life Insurance will hold 30 percent of the venture, Fubon Financial said. Last year, Cathay Life Insurance Co (國泰人壽) — through Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控) — announced that it would invest NT$1.58 billion in a solar venture along with solar cell maker Neo Solar Power Corp (新日光能源) to build power plants in Taiwan.
FOOD
Pre-holiday fruit prices rise
In the run-up to the Lunar New Year holiday, meat prices have remained relatively stable while prices for fruit have seen the biggest increase compared with last year, the Council of Agriculture said on Thursday. On average, fruit was being sold at NT$72.1 per kilogram at the Taipei Fruit and Vegetable Market on Thursday, 29.2 percent more than the NT$55.8 recorded during the same period last year, the council said. Indian jujubes, in particular, were 94.9 percent more expensive than last year and tangerines 30 percent higher, the council said. Vegetable prices were 45.8 percent cheaper than last year, while seafood was 9.4 percent more expensive, it said.
APPS
Public safety app launched
Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) yesterday launched a mobile app in collaboration with the National Police Agency that enables users to report incidents and send the information on their locations to the police. Users can also use the app to check real-time traffic information. Asustek chairman Jonney Shih (施崇棠) said the work with the police agency aims to help the government provide a safer environment for the public. Shih said the app will be preinstalled in all of the ZenFones in the Taiwanese market.
FINANCING
Chang Wah secures loan
Chip packaging and testing materials supplier Chang Wah Electromaterials Inc (長華電材) and its semiconductor materials subsidiary, Chang Wah Technology Co Ltd (長華科技), yesterday secured a NT$6.85 billion syndicated loan from six domestic banks led by the Bank of Taiwan (臺灣銀行). Chang Wah Electromaterials said it plans to use NT$2.85 billion of the new loan to repay old bank loans and strengthen its working capital, while Chang Wah Technology said it would use NT$4 billion to fund its acquisition of SH Asia Pacific Pte Ltd of Singapore. In November last year, the two companies announced the would acquire SH Asia Pacific Pte Ltd for ￥15 billion (US$141 million), with Chang Wah Electromaterials taking a 30 percent stake and Chang Wah Technology 70 percent.
TAITRA
Appointments approved
The board of the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA, 外貿協會) yesterday approved the appointment of New Southbound Policy Office Director James Huang (黃志芳) as its new chairman, replacing Francis Liang (梁國新), who took over as the nation’s representative to Singapore last month. It also approved the appointments of Chuang Suo-hang (莊碩漢) and Kuo Lin-wu (郭臨伍) as vice chairmen of the council, while naming Walter Yeh (葉明水) as executive president, the council said in a statement.
A proposed 100 percent tariff on chip imports announced by US President Donald Trump could shift more of Taiwan’s semiconductor production overseas, a Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER) researcher said yesterday. Trump’s tariff policy will accelerate the global semiconductor industry’s pace to establish roots in the US, leading to higher supply chain costs and ultimately raising prices of consumer electronics and creating uncertainty for future market demand, Arisa Liu (劉佩真) at the institute’s Taiwan Industry Economics Database said in a telephone interview. Trump’s move signals his intention to "restore the glory of the US semiconductor industry," Liu noted, saying that
On Ireland’s blustery western seaboard, researchers are gleefully flying giant kites — not for fun, but in the hope of generating renewable electricity and sparking a “revolution” in wind energy. “We use a kite to capture the wind and a generator at the bottom of it that captures the power,” said Padraic Doherty of Kitepower, the Dutch firm behind the venture. At its test site in operation since September 2023 near the small town of Bangor Erris, the team transports the vast 60-square-meter kite from a hangar across the lunar-like bogland to a generator. The kite is then attached by a
Foxconn Technology Co (鴻準精密), a metal casing supplier owned by Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), yesterday announced plans to invest US$1 billion in the US over the next decade as part of its business transformation strategy. The Apple Inc supplier said in a statement that its board approved the investment on Thursday, as part of a transformation strategy focused on precision mold development, smart manufacturing, robotics and advanced automation. The strategy would have a strong emphasis on artificial intelligence (AI), the company added. The company said it aims to build a flexible, intelligent production ecosystem to boost competitiveness and sustainability. Foxconn
STILL UNCLEAR: Several aspects of the policy still need to be clarified, such as whether the exemptions would expand to related products, PwC Taiwan warned The TAIEX surged yesterday, led by gains in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), after US President Donald Trump announced a sweeping 100 percent tariff on imported semiconductors — while exempting companies operating or building plants in the US, which includes TSMC. The benchmark index jumped 556.41 points, or 2.37 percent, to close at 24,003.77, breaching the 24,000-point level and hitting its highest close this year, Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) data showed. TSMC rose NT$55, or 4.89 percent, to close at a record NT$1,180, as the company is already investing heavily in a multibillion-dollar plant in Arizona that led investors to assume
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