STOCK MARKET
TWSE approves chairman
The the Taiwan Stock Exchange’s (TWSE) board of directors on Friday approved the appointment of former minister without portfolio Hsu Chang-yao (許璋瑤) as its chairman. The 66-year-old Hsu from 2004 to 2008 served as head of the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, and was named minister without portfolio in charge of accounting, statistics and financial affairs in May last year. The government had been looking for a new chairman for the exchange since former chairman Shih Jun-ji (施俊吉) became vice premier in September.
ENERGY
New CPC chair appointed
The Ministry of Economic Affairs on Friday appointed Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology principal Tai Chein (戴謙) to lead CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油). The state-run oil refiner is scheduled to convene a board meeting today to officially elect Tai as chairman, the ministry said. Tai was formerly vice minister of the National Science Council before he became principal of the university in August 2007. The ministry said Tai’s appointment reflects his expertise in science and his management capabilities.
AVIATION
CAL partners with Airbus
Airbus SE has chosen China Airlines Ltd (CAL, 中華航空) to become one of its maintenance, repair and overhaul suppliers in Asia, a press release said on Thursday. CAL senior vice president Houng Wang (王宏) said the company will also provide aircraft conversion services for the European firm. After opening a new hangar next year, Wang said the company is confident that its growing capabilities will offer comprehensive solutions to support Airbus aircraft in Taiwan.
Popular vape brands such as Geek Bar might get more expensive in the US — if you can find them at all. Shipments of vapes from China to the US ground to a near halt last month from a year ago, official data showed, hit by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and a crackdown on unauthorized e-cigarettes in the world’s biggest market for smoking alternatives. That includes Geek Bar, a brand of flavored vapes that is not authorized to sell in the US, but which had been widely available due to porous import controls. One retailer, who asked not to be named, because
Real estate agent and property developer JSL Construction & Development Co (愛山林) led the average compensation rankings among companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) last year, while contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) finished 14th. JSL Construction paid its employees total average compensation of NT$4.78 million (US$159,701), down 13.5 percent from a year earlier, but still ahead of the most profitable listed tech giants, including TSMC, TWSE data showed. Last year, the average compensation (which includes salary, overtime, bonuses and allowances) paid by TSMC rose 21.6 percent to reach about NT$3.33 million, lifting its ranking by 10 notches
CHIP DUTIES: TSMC said it voiced its concerns to Washington about tariffs, telling the US commerce department that it wants ‘fair treatment’ to protect its competitiveness Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday reiterated robust business prospects for this year as strong artificial intelligence (AI) chip demand from Nvidia Corp and other customers would absorb the impacts of US tariffs. “The impact of tariffs would be indirect, as the custom tax is the importers’ responsibility, not the exporters,” TSMC chairman and chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said at the chipmaker’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Hsinchu City. TSMC’s business could be affected if people become reluctant to buy electronics due to inflated prices, Wei said. In addition, the chipmaker has voiced its concern to the US Department of Commerce
STILL LOADED: Last year’s richest person, Quanta Computer Inc chairman Barry Lam, dropped to second place despite an 8 percent increase in his wealth to US$12.6 billion Staff writer, with CNA Daniel Tsai (蔡明忠) and Richard Tsai (蔡明興), the brothers who run Fubon Group (富邦集團), topped the Forbes list of Taiwan’s 50 richest people this year, released on Wednesday in New York. The magazine said that a stronger New Taiwan dollar pushed the combined wealth of Taiwan’s 50 richest people up 13 percent, from US$174 billion to US$197 billion, with 36 of the people on the list seeing their wealth increase. That came as Taiwan’s economy grew 4.6 percent last year, its fastest pace in three years, driven by the strong performance of the semiconductor industry, the magazine said. The Tsai