STEELMAKERS
CSC profit up 20 percent
China Steel Corp (CSC, 中鋼), the nation’s only integrated steelmaker, yesterday posted pretax profit of NT$2.7 billion (US$89.45 million) for last month, a 20 percent increase from April, backed by demand for its steel products. That brought pretax profit in the first five months of this year to NT$10.68 billion, a 25 percent increase from NT$8.54 billion in the same period last year, the company said in a statement. CSC has sold 4.6 million tonnes of carbon steel so far this year, company data showed. The steelmaker is to hold an annual meeting tomorrow in Kaohsiung, where shareholders are to vote on a dividend distribution plan based on last year’s earnings of NT$16.91 billion.
HOSPITALITY
TTFB dividend approved
Tai Tong Food & Beverage Group (TTFB, 瓦城泰統集團) shareholders yesterday approved a proposal to distribute a cash dividend of NT$12.6 per common share, representing a payout ratio of 89.24 percent based on the company’s record-high earnings of NT$14.12 per share last year. Earnings last year totaled NT$328 million, with sales increasing 6.57 percent to NT$4.1 billion, thanks to better cost controls and continued outlet expansion, according to the company’s annual report. TTFB, whose benchmark brands include Thai Town Cuisine (瓦城泰式料理) and Very Thai Noodles (大心泰式麵食), is planning to launch its seventh brand shortly, it said.
AVIATION
CAL to launch Jakarta route
China Airlines (CAL) yesterday said it is to launch a new route from Kaohsiung to Jakarta via Hong Kong on July 1 to continue exploring the Southeast Asia travel market. Boeing B737-800 aircraft are to be used on the route, departing from Kaohsiung International Airport at 2:10pm and arriving in Hong Kong at 3:35pm, CAL said. On the next leg, the flight departs Hong Kong at 4:35pm and lands in Jakarta at 8:20pm, the airline said. On the return flight, the times are a 6:25am departure from Jarkata, 12:25pm arrival and a one-hour stop in Hong Kong, and a 2:55pm arrival in Kaohsiung, CAL said. Currently, the airline has 28 weekly services to Indonesian destinations, including Jakarta, Surabaya and Bali, the most flights by a single airline between Taiwan and Indonesia. CAL said it has an optimistic outlook on the Indonesian market and is targeting Indonesian travelers who wish to transit through Taiwan on their way to Europe or North America.
TOURISM
Kinmen targeting weddings
The Kinmen County Government has launched a new two-part tourism promotion drive to market the outlying islands as a destination for weddings, honeymoons and romantic travel tours, Kinmen Tourism Department Director-General Chen Mei-ling (陳美齡) said. During the first promotion period, from Friday next week to July 3, Kinmen is to offer special wedding packages that include ceremonies, banquets and photography, Chen said. Registration has been limited to 30 couples, including foreign nationals, who would receive a range of gifts and free souvenirs. In the second round, Kimen is to host 200 weddings and romantic tours between July 1 and Nov. 15, and is to offer a variety of giveaways, Chen said, adding that registration for that period is now open. The county government is also promoting visits to 20 scenic spots on the islands for newlyweds and honeymooners. As part of the promotion, a wedding was held on June 8 at the Kinmen Military Headquarters, with the couple dressed in traditional wedding attire.
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
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
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