TRANSPORTATION
Gogoro to expand network
Electric scooter maker Gogoro Inc (睿能創意) yesterday unveiled plans to expand its network of battery-swapping stations into the nation’s western regions, after installing 19 new stations in Kaohsiung and Tainan earlier this year. In the second quarter, Gogoro plans to set up stations in Pingtung County’s Donggang Township (東港) and Pingtung City; Nantou County’s Caotun Township (草屯) and Nantou City; and Changhua County’s Yuanlin Township (員林), Gogoro vice president for energy service Alan Pan (潘璟倫) said. The company also plans to install new stations in Taichung’s coastal Qingshui (清水), Shalu (沙鹿) and Dajia (大甲) districts, as well as Changhua’s Lugang Township (鹿港), he said. Gogoro operates about 300 battery-swapping stations nationwide.
AIRLINES
VietJet to operate in Hualien
Budget carrier VietJet Aviation Joint Stock Co is to begin services between Bangkok and Hualien County in June, the Hualien County Government said yesterday. Starting on June 24, the Vietnamese budget carrier will offer one charter flight every five days on the route, catering mainly to Thai visitors, who are granted visa-free entry to Taiwan, Hualien County Bureau of Tourism Acting Director Pen Wei-tsu (彭偉族) said. VietJet is the second regional budget carrier to commit to Hualien Airport, following the launch of daily flights between the eastern county and Hong Kong last year by Hong Kong Express Airways Ltd (香港快運航空). After Taiwan granted visa-free status to citizens of Thailand and Brunei in August last year, visitor arrivals from the two countries over the next four months rose 81 percent and 62 percent respectively, compared with the same period in 2015, government statistics showed.
ENTERTAINMENT
Brogent to expand client list
Visual effects production company Brogent Technologies Inc (智崴科技) yesterday said it plans to expand its customer base this year and expects revenue to grow from last year. At an investors’ conference in Taipei, Brogent, which produces simulators and game appliances for theme parks or large-scale amusement and leisure venues, said it plans to focus more on low and middle-end attractions this year, after securing a 40 percent share of the high-end market last year. The company reported revenue of NT$882 million (US$29.01 million) for the whole of last year, up 25 percent year-on-year. Operating income was NT$109 million, down 16 percent, and net income of NT$104 million, down 13 percent. Earnings per share were NT$2.3, lower than NT$2.57 in 2015.
DISPLAY MAKERS
E Ink, Sony to form venture
E Ink Holdings Inc (元太科技), the world’s biggest e-paper display supplier, yesterday said it has signed an agreement with Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corp to form an e-paper display joint venture to expand the use of e-paper displays. The venture is to develop e-paper display applications, sell e-paper displays and license e-paper display technologies, E Ink said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange. The new entity is to have initial capital of NT$420 million, the filing said. E Ink and Sony would hold a combined 70 percent stake in the venture, while 30 percent would be owned by venture capital funds, it said. The venture is to be registered in Taiwan some time this month, E Ink said. E Ink general manager Lee Cheng-hau (李政昊) is to be chairman of the venture.
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