HOTELS
Michelin stars boost shares
Hotel stocks moved higher yesterday after restaurants linked to them were awarded stars in Michelin SCA’s first Taipei restaurant guide, which was launched on Wednesday. Shares in FDC International Hotels Corp (雲品國際) surged as much as 9.9 percent and closed up 3.08 percent after Michelin named its affiliate Le Palais (頤宮) the only three-star restaurant in Taipei. Shares in My Humble House Hospitality Management Consulting Co (寒舍餐旅) rose as much as 10 percent and ended 3.89 percent higher after its The Guest House (請客樓) restaurant was awarded two stars. The TAIEX was down 20.35 points, or 0.18 percent, at 11,018.45, on turnover of NT$110.823 billion (US$3.795 billion).
BANKING
Monthly yuan deposits drop
Yuan deposits held by local banks, including negotiable certificates of deposit, dropped 0.62 percent to 321.88 billion yuan (US$50.96 billion) at the end of last month, the central bank said yesterday. Yuan deposits held by banks’ domestic units totaled 292.097 billion yuan, a monthly decrease of 0.76 percent, the central bank said, adding that holdings by offshore banking units totaled 29.785 billion yuan, down 0.69 percent monthly.
SHIPPING
Dimerco sees NT$206m profit
Dimerco Express Group (中菲行), which offers global freight-forwarding and logistics services, yesterday said it aims to improve operating profit this year through business expansion and information system integration. The Taipei-based company posted NT$206 million in net profit last year, down 23.6 percent year-on-year, with earnings per share of NT$1.67. Dimerco said its board proposed to offer shareholders a cash dividend of NT$1.19 per share, which makes for a payout ratio of 71.26 percent.
INTERNET
Chief Telecom gets listed
Chief Telecom Inc (是方電訊), a Taipei-based virtual private network (VPN) service provider, on Wednesday won listing approval from the Taipei Exchange. The company, 68.9 percent of which is held by Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信), has paid-in capital of NT$600 million and reported revenue of NT$2.13 billion and net profit of NT$384 million, or NT$6.24 per share, for last year. Chief Telecom is likely to debut its shares on the over-the-counter market in June, local media reported.
FOOD PROCESSING
Namchow agrees dividend
Namchow Holdings Co (南僑投資控股), which produces baking oil and frozen food, on Wednesday said its board has approved the distribution of a cash dividend of NT$2.7 per share, marking the second-highest payout in the company’s history. The proposed dividend, slightly lower than last year’s NT$2.81, was based on last year’s earnings of NT$4.06 per share, the company said, adding that net profit decreased 16.45 percent year-on-year to NT$1.01 billion last year, while revenue rose 5.42 percent to NT$17.18 billion.
AIRLINES
EVA to get 24 Dreamliners
Boeing Co on Wednesday took a jab at rival Airbus SA as EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) is ready to take delivery of 24 Boeing 787 Dreamliners in the third quarter. “The 787 Dreamliner is unmatched by the Airbus A350 and is the ideal choice for carriers looking for growth in Asia’s highly competitive market,” Boeing Commercial Airplanes division managing director Darren Hulst said in Taipei, adding that orders for the 787 Dreamliner totaled 1,319, exceeding the A350’s 859.
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],”
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
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