MOBILE
HTC, China Mobile ink deal
HTC Corp (宏達電) yesterday said it has signed an agreement with China Mobile Ltd (中國移動通信) to work together on a 5G program in China. “The program aims to launch the first batch of pre-commercial 5G devices for a large-scale trial application showcase, encompassing applicable scenarios for 5G devices, product configuration, technical solutions, testing and verification and product research and development,” HTC said in a statement. By collaborating with China Mobile, HTC said it aims to advance the development of 5G technologies, as well as accelerate mass adoption of virtual-reality and augmented-reality devices.
ELECTRONICS
Chilisin net profit skyrockets
Chilisin Electronics Corp (奇力新), the nation’s largest power inductor manufacturer, yesterday reported record net profit of NT$274 million (US$8.96 million) for last month, up 119 percent year-on-year. Earnings per share were NT$1.15, the company said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange. Revenue also increased 35 percent annually to NT$1.37 billion, also a record high. In the first five months of this year, net profit totaled NT$702 million, or earnings per share of NT$2.95, Chilisin said in the filing.
FITNESS
Johnson Health optimistic
Johnson Health Tech Co (喬山), the No. 3 fitness equipment maker in the world, yesterday said it expects revenue to increase by a double-digit percentage this year on the back of stable orders in the first half of the year. The Taichung-based company said it would forge close collaboration with key clients in China, Europe, Canada, Australia and the US, and continue new product launches targeting young consumers. It made the remarks after shareholders approved a plan to distribute a cash dividend of NT$0.3 per share. It reported net profit of NT$130 million for last year, or earnings per share of NT$0.43.
ELECTRONICS
AUO secures NT$42bn loan
AU Optronics Corp (AUO, 友達光電) yesterday said it has obtained a syndicated loan of NT$42 billion. The proceeds are to be used to repay debts, it said. A total of 25 banks are participating in the syndicated loan, which was arranged by state-run Bank of Taiwan (台灣銀行), it added.
HOSPITALITY
Cosmos to launch third hotel
Cosmos Hotel & Resorts Group (天成飯店集團) is to launch its third creative hotel, Hua Shan Din (華山町), on July 12, the group said in a statement. The hotel is to have 72 guest rooms with an average room rate of NT$3,600 per night. Hua Shan Din is near Taipei’s MRT Zhongxiao Xinsheng Station and would target local and foreign travelers, the statement said.
INSURANCE
Cathay Life EV rises 10%
Cathay Financial Holdings Co (國泰金控) on Wednesday said in a statement that the embedded value (EV) of its life insurance unit, Cathay Life Insurance Co (國泰人壽), as of Dec. 31 last year totaled NT$944 billion, an increase of 10 percent from 2016. Due to a capital injection last month, the number of Cathay Life’s outstanding shares rose to 5.7 billion, it said. Embedded value per share for the life insurer was NT$164.8 based on its 5.7 billion shares, while embedded value per share for Cathay Financial was NT$75.1 based on its 12.6 billion shares, the statement said.
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