FITNESS
Pure Group to exit Taiwan
Hong Kong-based lifestyle and fitness brand Pure Group yesterday announced that it would close its Pure Yoga business in Taiwan on Jan. 25 because of poor results. However, the company did not elaborate on what measures it planned to take to support its members in Taiwan. The Chinese-language United Daily News cited a Pure Yoga public relations officer as saying that the closure would affect its 5,000 members and 100 workers in Taiwan, and that members would be assisted with refund procedures to protect their rights. The group, which has operated two yoga studios in Taipei for 12 years, said that the move was specific to its Taiwan business and had no effect on other operations in Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai and Beijing, where its expansion is continuing as planned. The expansion includes the opening of three new locations next month: a Pure Fitness and a Pure Yoga in Shanghai’s Century Link and a Pure Yoga in Singapore’s Republic Plaza.
CHIPMAKERS
TSMC gets approval for fab
Environmental regulators yesterday gave the green light for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to open a 3-nanometer fab in Tainan’s Southern Taiwan Science Park (南部科學園區). TSMC pledged to source at least 20 percent of its energy and half of its water from renewable and recycled sources. The new facility is estimated to cost up to NT$600 billion (US$19.47 million), with construction to begin in 2020, the company has said. The first semiconductor production equipment is scheduled to be installed in 2021, with mass production to commence in 2022 or 2023, it added. The Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Bureau of Energy said that the nation has ample energy to power all industrial expansion.
CONSTRUCTION
Continental names new CEO
Continental Engineering Corp (大陸工程) yesterday approved the appointment of Simon Buttery as its CEO and agreed to the retirement of president Ken Hung (洪義乾). Buttery has significant experience in engineering and construction projects, having led numerous design and build initiatives, and specializes in large-scale commercial development. Prior to joining the firm, Buttery was CEO of Carillion International Ltd, where he was responsible for the management of more than 15,000 employees at its operations in North America, the Middle East and North Africa. During his tenure as CEO of Carillion Canada and the Caribbean, he successfully grew the business and doubled turnover within five years. The personnel reshuffle is to take place on Jan. 7.
PHARMACEUTICALS
TAHO to delist from TPEX
TAHO Pharmaceuticals Ltd (泰合生技) yesterday announced that its board of directors has approved a decision to delist its shares from the Emerging Stock Board on the Taipei Exchange (TPEX). Despite gaining marketing approval in Japan for TAH4411, a drug to ease nausea and vomiting for patients undergoing chemotherapy, the company has been beset by tepid sales and cooling reception from investors. The firm’s shares yesterday closed at NT$2.2 in Taipei trading, down 65 percent since the beginning of this year. It reported losses per share of NT$0.64 at the end of June. Freed from the regulations imposed on publicly traded companies, the firm said it would have more room to develop its long-term strategy and bolster its finances.
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