TRADE
Computex visitors increase
This year’s Computex Taipei trade show attracted 42,495 visitors from 171 nations, a slight increase on 42,284 visitors from 168 nations last year, according to data on the Computex Web site. The five-day computer and technology expo, held from May 28 to Saturday, invited 76 “heavyweight” buyers to participate in 470 one-on-one talks with exhibitors, the Web site said, adding that the top 10 buyers this year were from China, the US, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Germany, Malaysia and India.
ELECTRONICS
Lite-On approves offer
Electronic components supplier Lite-On Technology Corp (光寶科技) yesterday said its board of directors approved acquiring all the outstanding shares of Lite-On Japan Ltd through a tender offer on the Japanese high tech-oriented stock exchange JASDAQ. The offer period begins today and is to close on July 16, the company said, adding that it aims to make Lite-On Japan a wholly-owned unit. The company currently owns a 49.49 percent stake in the Japanese unit, while its two affiliates Silitech Technology Corp (閎暉實業) and Lite-On Semiconductor Corp (敦南科技) both hold 7.87 percent stakes respectively.
ELECTRONICS
Ichia revenue falls
Handset keypad maker Ichia Technologies Inc (毅嘉科技) yesterday posted revenue of NT$515 million (US$16.35 million) for last month, down 20 percent from a year earlier and 1 percent from April, as orders from clients continued to lose steam. Last month’s revenue included about NT$403 million in sales of flexible printed circuit integrated components and about NT$119 million from mechanical integrated components, Ichia said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
CHIPMAKERS
Global Unichip shares fall
Global Unichip Corp (創意電子) shares yesterday declined 1.79 percent to close at NT$219.5 in Taipei trading after going ex-dividend with a reference opening price of NT$223.5. The IC designer paid a NT$5 cash dividend per share from last year’s earnings. Dealers said the stock’s reference opening price attracted buying soon after the local bourse opened. However, the shares started to fall in the middle of trading session following a brief upside, as the market faced sell-off pressure amid US-China trade tensions, they said.
AUTOMAKERS
New vehicle sales rise
Sales of new vehicles last month rose 9.1 percent month-on-month and 6 percent year-on-year to 37,829 units, according to data compiled by the Directorate-General of Highways. Hotai Motor Co (和泰汽車) continued to lead the market, selling 12,008 Toyota and Lexus vehicles last month, a market share of 31.7 percent, the data showed. In the first five months, total vehicle sales decreased 8.5 percent from a year earlier to 168,683 units, the data showed.
ENERGY
Taipower plans Cigu facility
State-owned Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) plans to build a large solar energy power facility on the salt flats of Tainan’s Cigu District (七股). The firm is to invest about NT$7.4 billion to build a solar power facility with a capacity of 150,000 kilowatts, making it the largest solar energy generation facility in the nation. Taipower has installed 430 electricity feed lines in Tainan and by the end of 2025 the number is expected to increase by 630.
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