ELECTRONICS
Delta to reveal new solutions
Delta Electronics Inc (台達電), the nation’s leading power, thermal management and automation solutions provider, yesterday said it is to launch its newest integrated solutions and framework for “smart” manufacturing at the SPS IPC Drives Nuremberg exhibition in Germany. Delta said in a statement that its latest framework covers the company’s new automation technologies and products, including a cloud-based industrial Internet of Things platform and its EtherCAT motion controller AH10EMC for smart machines.
TRADING
Electronics drag market
Shares yesterday closed down as the bellwether electronics sector continued to slide, led by contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), after integrated circuit stocks in the US fell overnight, dealers said. While the broader market moved lower, the market-lagging financial sector appeared resilient, lending some support to keep the weighted index from falling further, they said. Sentiment was also cautious because of concerns over when foreign institutional investors are to shift to buying after recent heavy selling and whether a tax reform bill will clear the US Senate floor later this week, they said.
BANKING
Taishin joins loyalty network
Taishin International Bank (台新銀行) on Friday said it has joined the Global Loyalty Network, an organization aiming to facilitate trading of loyalty and reward points across its member financial institutions and retail outlets in Asia, North America and Europe. Point trading would be conducted on a new platform run on blockchain technology. Taishin also said it has completed the initial test to serve as a node on the blockchain platform, which is slated to be launched in February during the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Visitors to South Korea could trade for loyalty points issued by KEB Hana Bank, which can be used during their stay.
FINANCE
Fubon to issue new shares
Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控) yesterday said its board approved a plan to raise nearly NT$40 billion (US$1.33 billion) via a preferred shares B issue at NT$60 apiece. The company said that 667 million preferred shares would be issued, making it the largest fundraising initiative in Taiwan's financial sector this year. Under the plan, Fubon Financial will pay dividends at a rate of up to 8 percent on the preferred shares, and while the shares will not have a maturity date, the company said it will start to buy them back seven years after they are issued. Fifteen percent of the planned preferred shares will be reserved for Fubon employees, 75 percent will be for existing shareholders and 10 percent will be opened to the public for subscription, the company said.
MANUFACTURING
TSMC biggest R&D spender
TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, spends more on research and development (R&D) than any other manufacturer listed on the local equity market, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said. Ministry data showed that TSMC spent NT$59.5 billion on R&D in the first nine months, an increase of 16.1 percent from a year earlier. The amount was equivalent to 8.5 percent of the chipmaker’s total sales for the period, the data showed. No other Taiwanese manufacturer spent that much, although Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), the world’s largest contract electronics maker, increased its R&D spending by 30.7 percent from a year earlier, the data showed.
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
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last