Handset chip designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) on Saturday said it is preparing to apply for a permit to continue exporting to ZTE Corp (中興通訊), after the government announced new restrictions on high-tech exports to the Chinese firm.
MediaTek plans to follow requirements set out by the Ministry of Economic Affairs in applying for the export permit, a company filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange said, adding that it hopes to continue sending shipments to its customer with only minor disruption.
The ministry late on Friday announced new measures for shipments from local companies to ZTE and its subsidiary, ZTE Kangxun Telecommunications Ltd (中興康訊), two weeks after the US banned US companies from selling products to the two Chinese companies for seven years.
In a statement posted on the ministry’s Web site, the Bureau of Foreign Trade said it informed trade associations on April 23 that all Taiwanese companies that ship “strategic, high-tech commodities” to the two Chinese firms must obtain export permits from the ministry to clear customs.
Domestic companies would receive export permits in three to five days after applying if the goods being shipped to ZTE do not involve “nuclear, biotech or chemical developments for military weapons,” the bureau said.
However, goods that cause concern would necessitate other government agencies participating in the review, which would possibly delay receipt of the permits, with companies having to wait 10 to 15 days, the bureau added.
Asked if the government’s measures aim to bar local companies from doing business with ZTE, bureau Director-General Yang Jen-ni (楊珍妮) told the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister publication of the Taipei Times) on Saturday that the permit requirements are to serve as a reminder for local companies of the “red line” drawn by the US government and ensure that their dealings with the Chinese firms are legal.
Taiwan in July 1995 started its strategic high-tech commodities export control system to adhere to a control list set by the Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls agreement, Yang said.
US trade sanctions were imposed on ZTE and its subsidiary on April 15, after they failed to comply with an agreement with Washington to discipline employees who had violated US restrictions on exports of US technology to Iran and North Korea, but instead paid them bonuses.
While the seven-year ban — which took effect on April 15 and is to continue through March 13, 2025 — might jeopardize ZTE’s development, MediaTek has little exposure to the Chinese firm, it told a teleconference on Friday, adding that the US penalties imposed on ZTE would have no significant effect on its short-term operations.
Cairo’s new monorail slices across the city skyline, running above the familiar chaos of blaring horns and aging buses’ exhaust fumes that mark rush hour below. The US$4.5 billion monorail, opened this month, is among Egypt’s most prominent new transport projects, part of a debt-funded infrastructure drive criticized for sapping state finances while bringing limited benefits to most of the country’s 109 million people. “It feels like you’re in a different country,” said Ramy Sayed, a restaurant manager, aboard a driverless Innovia 300 train. “No noise, no traffic, we’re not used to this.” The eastern line runs 56km from the bustling middle-class
Starlux Airlines Co (星宇航空) today unveiled a long-haul network expansion plan at a shareholders’ meeting in Taipei, including direct flights to Barcelona, Spain, and Zurich, Switzerland, as well as a service connecting Taipei, Sydney and New Zealand. Starlux is to become the first Taiwanese carrier to offer non-stop services to the two European cities, while the inaugural oceanic route is expected to expand transit opportunities within the Australia-New Zealand market, Starlux said. Flight services to Chicago, Dallas, Washington and New York are under evaluation, the airline added. Prior to the shareholders’ meeting, the airline earlier this year announced that it would be
Taiwanese prosecutors suspect that three people successfully smuggled at least one shipment of Nvidia Corp artificial intelligence (AI) chips to China after first exporting them to Japan, people familiar with the matter said. The trio was detained last week by the Keelung District Prosecutors’ Office for allegedly falsifying documents related to exports of Super Micro Computer Inc servers containing advanced Nvidia chips, which the US has barred from sale to China without a license from Washington. The move marked Taiwan’s first public crackdown on AI chip diversion after years of pressure from the US to take a more active role in curtailing
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) employee bonuses are likely to grow more than 30 percent this year, in line with the past few years as the company’s profits continue to set new records, an anonymous source cited TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) as saying yesterday. TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, is committed to taking care of its workers, the source said, citing Wei’s meeting with employees yesterday morning. Wei also expressed gratitude to employees for their contribution to the company’s improving bottom line, the source added. Since 2023, TSMC’s employee bonuses have grown at an annual rate of