BANKING
Samsung Pay launched
Five domestic and two foreign banks, including Cathay United Bank (國泰世華) and Standard Chartered PLC, yesterday launched Samsung Pay, Samsung Electronics Co’s mobile payment and digital wallet service in Taiwan. The nation is the 16th to roll out Samsung Pay, the South Korean company said, adding that it has collaborated with more than 870 banks worldwide and has processed more than 240 million transactions globally. Samsung said it is aiming to expand its share of Taiwan’s mobile payment market by the collaboration with the seven banks. The banks have about 70 percent of the credit-card holders in the nation, regulatory data showed. About 99 percent of vendors and retailers can use the service, as it can be used with new near field communication point-of-sale terminals, as well as older terminals equipped with magnetic strip readers.
COMPUTERS
QCT to showcase Intel Xeon
Contract notebook manufacturer Quanta Computer Inc’s (廣達) cloud-computing subsidiary, Quanta Cloud Technology (QCT, 雲達科技), is to showcase its full spectrum of hyper-converged infrastructure solutions, including software-defined data center and hyperscale solutions, during the annual Computex Taipei next week, QCT said in a statement yesterday. QCT said it is to introduce a series of servers powered by Intel Corp’s upcoming Xeon scalable processor, making QCT the world’s first cloud-computing firm to showcase Intel’s latest technologies.
AVIATION
Local firms eye Europe
The nation’s aviation industry is keen to develop business opportunities in Europe after attending a industry conference in the French city of Toulouse, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. At the conference on Monday, which was held at the site where Airbus aircraft are assembled, a group of Taiwanese aircraft component makers met with Airbus officials and their suppliers to discuss possible cooperation and buying opportunities, the ministry said. The suppliers included engine maker Rolls-Royce, aerostructure firm Stelia Aerospace, heavy equipment supplier Liebherr Group, and aerospace components manufacturing and repair services provider NORDAM Group, the ministry said.
BROKERAGES
Gordon Yeh suspended
The Financial Supervisory Commission yesterday imposed a six-month suspension on Concord Securities Co (康和證券) chairman Gordon Yeh (葉公亮) for violations of the Securities and Exchange Act (證交法) relating to convertible bonds issued by game developer XPEC Entertainment Inc (樂陞科技). The brokerage and Far Eastern International Bank (遠東銀行) last year arranged to sell XPEC convertible bond asset swaps to a number of company insiders, contravening internal control rules, the commission said.
PANEL MAKERS
AUO to showcase panels
AU Optronics Corp (AUO, 友達光電) yesterday said it planned to showcase a series of mobile displays and technologies during the annual SID’s Display Week in Los Angeles from yesterday to tomorrow. The nation’s No. 2 LCD panel maker planned to display a complete portfolio of LTPS LCDs for notebook PCs, with 4K ultra-high resolution, ultra-narrow borders and low power consumption. AUO would also demonstrate world’s first 1.2-inch and 1.4-inch true circle AMOLED smartwatch displays and 5-inch foldable touch AMOLED for wearable or phablet applications, it said.
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
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group