PETROLEUM
More CPC payment options
State-run oil refiner CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday said it would today begin providing digital wallet services by three major international mobile payment systems — Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Android Pay — at all 600 gas stations run directly by the company in Taiwan. The service is expanding from a trial run that began in April at 38 CPC gas stations in Taipei, the company said. Consumers simply need to tap their near-field communication-enabled mobile phones to make payments, it added.
CYBERSECURITY
CHT unit to see revenue rise
Chunghwa Telecom Co (CHT, 中華電信) yesterday said its cybersecurity unit — CHT Security Co Ltd (中華資安) — would see revenue grow 50 percent this year and aims to achieve annual sales of NT$3 billion (US$100.1 million) in five years, thanks to growing investment from local corporations to curb malware attacks. CHT Security, which was spun off early this year, plans to expand its headcount by 66 percent from 60 to 100 and launch an initial public offering in about two years, Chunghwa Telecom said. Separately yesterday, Far EasTone Telecommunications Co Ltd (遠傳電信) said it aims to triple its cybersecurity revenue to about NT$600 million per year by 2020.
SEMICONDUCTORS
Mosel Vitelic profit surges
Mosel Vitelic Inc (茂矽), which provides wafer foundry services and manufactures solar cells, yesterday reported net profit of NT$32 million for April, up 346.15 percent year-on-year, with earnings per share of NT$0.27. Revenue also increased 21.22 percent annually to NT$151 million, the highest level in 46 months, on robust sales of metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors, which are used in applications such as electric vehicles and Internet of Things devices. The company released the figures after the Taiwan Stock Exchange requested that it disclose its latest results, as its stock price has been volatile in recent sessions.
WIND POWER
Formosa I, Swancor ink deal
Formosa I Wind Power Co (海洋風電) yesterday signed an operation and maintenance service agreement with Swancor Renewable Energy Co Ltd (上緯新能源) as the wind power company plans to complete second-phase development of a project off the coast of Miaoli County next year. The first phase of the project became operational in April last year. Swancor Renewable is a subsidiary of Swancor Holding Co Ltd (上緯), which owns a 31 percent stake in Formosa I, while Danish energy company Orsted AS and Sydney-based Macquarie Capital Ltd hold stakes of 35 percent and 50 percent respectively in the joint venture.
EQUITIES
Turnover hits 10-year high
The Taipei Exchange yesterday saw daily turnover hit NT$68.783 billion, its highest level in 10 years, led by the strong performance of passive component, biotechnology and construction stocks. On a daily basis, the turnover hit the highest level since July 27, 2007, the exchange said. As of Wednesday, average daily turnover this year had reached NT$37.122 billion, an increase of 18.85 percent from an average of NT$31.234 billion for the whole of last year, the exchange said. The benchmark index on the Taipei Exchange rose 0.45 percent to close at 155.98 points, retreating from a 10-year intraday high of 157.27 and rounding out last month’s performance with a monthly increase of 4.85 percent, exchange data showed.
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],”
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
TRANSFORMATION: Taiwan is now home to the largest Google hardware research and development center outside of the US, thanks to the nation’s economic policies President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday attended an event marking the opening of Google’s second hardware research and development (R&D) office in Taiwan, which was held at New Taipei City’s Banciao District (板橋). This signals Taiwan’s transformation into the world’s largest Google hardware research and development center outside of the US, validating the nation’s economic policy in the past eight years, she said. The “five plus two” innovative industries policy, “six core strategic industries” initiative and infrastructure projects have grown the national industry and established resilient supply chains that withstood the COVID-19 pandemic, Tsai said. Taiwan has improved investment conditions of the domestic economy