DISPLAY MAKERS
AUO unit sells properties
LCD panel maker AU Optronics Corp (AUO, 友達光電) yesterday announced that subsidiary AU Optronics (Slovakia) s.r.o. is to book asset disposal gains of 30.37 million euros (US$34.6 million) as it carries out an asset revitalization program. The Slovakian unit has sold a 120,100m2 factory along with a 196,400m2 parcel of land to ZNO Slovakia s.r.o. for 87.66 million euros, AUO said, adding that the disposal gains would be booked under nonoperating profits either late this year or early next year.
INDUSTRY
CNFI, associations ink MOUs
The Chinese National Federation of Industries (CNFI, 全國工業總會) yesterday signed six memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with Philippine industry associations and is looking for further opportunities for cooperation in the electronics, electric motorbike and plastics industries. At the annual Taiwan-Philippines Industrial Collaboration Summit in Taipei, Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) said that the MOUs would increase the willingness of local firms to invest in the Philippines, where the two nations have long cooperated in the electronics industry. As a trade dispute between the US and China continues, the Philippines — which has a domestic market of more than 100 million people and tariff exemptions for exports to the US and the EU — could be an option for Taiwanese investors to reduce risk, Wang said.
SEMICONDUCTORS
ASML opens new office
Dutch semiconductor firm ASML Holding NV yesterday opened a new office at the Hsinchu Science Park X, a 28 hectare project to cultivate businesses developing next-generation technologies. Headed by Hsinchu Mayor Lin Chih-chien (林智堅), the NT$900 million (US$29.2 million) project hopes to relieve a shortage of land at the Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區) and bring an additional NT$40 billion in potential business opportunities. ASML also celebrated its 15th year in Taiwan, with the firm saying that its local headcount is expected to exceed 2,500 by the end of this year.
EQUITIES
TAIEX flat after early surge
Local stocks yesterday opened higher, but ended flat despite a positive lead from Wall Street on Wednesday. The TAIEX opened up 75 points and surged 117.54 points in just one minute to break 10,000 points. The rise was driven by high-tech shares, after the US’ benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 617.7 points, or 2.5 percent, on Wednesday. However, three minutes after the TAIEX soared above 10,000 points, it dropped again on heavy selling. It closed up 1.05 points, or 0.01 percent, at 9,885.36. Turnover totaled NT$142.906 billion, the second-highest level since November last year.
INSURANCE
Taiwan Life receives fines
The Financial Supervisory Commission yesterday fined Taiwan Life Insurance Co (台灣人壽保險) NT$2.4 million for contravening the Regulations Governing Implementation of Internal Control and Auditing System of Insurance Enterprises (保險業內部控制及稽核制度實施辦法). The insurer had failed to save and retain material evidence and records related to decisions made by its board of directors, the regulator said. The insurer was also fined another NT$1.8 million for its failure to evaluate counterparty risks when making investment decisions, it added. It also did not save evaluation reports related to its transactions of interest-sensitive assets, for which it was fined NT$600,000, the commission said.
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
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