CURRENCY
Forex reserves increase
The nation’s foreign-exchange reserves totaled US$444.45 billion as of the end of last month, up US$2.51 billion from the end of the previous month, due to a rising euro and an increase in returns on the funds managed by the central bank, according to data released on Friday. The central bank said the nation’s foreign reserves are adequate to cover the holdings of Taiwanese assets held by foreign investors.
TRANSPORTATION
Gogoro 2 boosts sales
Electric scooter maker Gogoro Inc (睿能創意) last month delivered 4,042 scooters, thanks to the launch of the Gogoro 2 in late May, Gogoro chief marketing executive Chen Yen-yang (陳彥揚) said on Friday. More than 5 million battery swaps had occurred as of the end of last month, he said.
LENSES
Largan revenue down
Handset camera lens supplier Largan Precision Co (大立光) on Saturday reported revenue of NT$4.44 billion (US$147 million) for last month, down 3.27 percent from a year earlier, but up 15.09 percent from the previous month. In the first seven months of the year, consolidated revenue totaled NT$326.56 billion, Largan said.
GOVERNMENT
FSC appointments approved
The Executive Yuan on Friday approved several key appointments to the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC), with Jean Chiu (邱淑真) taking over as head of the commission’s Banking Bureau, Wang Li-chuan (王儷娟) assuming the post of director-general of the Examination Bureau, and Wu Quei-mao (吳桂茂) becoming new head of the Insurance Bureau. The changes are to take effect next month.
To many, Tatu City on the outskirts of Nairobi looks like a success. The first city entirely built by a private company to be operational in east Africa, with about 25,000 people living and working there, it accounts for about two-thirds of all foreign investment in Kenya. Its low-tax status has attracted more than 100 businesses including Heineken, coffee brand Dormans, and the biggest call-center and cold-chain transport firms in the region. However, to some local politicians, Tatu City has looked more like a target for extortion. A parade of governors have demanded land worth millions of dollars in exchange
Hong Kong authorities ramped up sales of the local dollar as the greenback’s slide threatened the foreign-exchange peg. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) sold a record HK$60.5 billion (US$7.8 billion) of the city’s currency, according to an alert sent on its Bloomberg page yesterday in Asia, after it tested the upper end of its trading band. That added to the HK$56.1 billion of sales versus the greenback since Friday. The rapid intervention signals efforts from the city’s authorities to limit the local currency’s moves within its HK$7.75 to HK$7.85 per US dollar trading band. Heavy sales of the local dollar by
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) revenue jumped 48 percent last month, underscoring how electronics firms scrambled to acquire essential components before global tariffs took effect. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp reported monthly sales of NT$349.6 billion (US$11.6 billion). That compares with the average analysts’ estimate for a 38 percent rise in second-quarter revenue. US President Donald Trump’s trade war is prompting economists to retool GDP forecasts worldwide, casting doubt over the outlook for everything from iPhone demand to computing and datacenter construction. However, TSMC — a barometer for global tech spending given its central role in the
An Indonesian animated movie is smashing regional box office records and could be set for wider success as it prepares to open beyond the Southeast Asian archipelago’s silver screens. Jumbo — a film based on the adventures of main character, Don, a large orphaned Indonesian boy facing bullying at school — last month became the highest-grossing Southeast Asian animated film, raking in more than US$8 million. Released at the end of March to coincide with the Eid holidays after the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, the movie has hit 8 million ticket sales, the third-highest in Indonesian cinema history, Film
RSS