CHEMICALS
CMFC to move up inspection
China Man-Made Fiber Corp (CMFC, 中國人造纖維) yesterday said that it plans to move forward a routine inspection of its plant in Kaohsiung’s Dashe District (大社) as prices of a main product, mono ethylene glycol (MEG), remain low. CMFC vice president Liu Yung-ta (劉永達) told a shareholders’ meeting that a US-China trade dispute has lowered the demand for MEG in the Taiwanese and Chinese markets. The company posted net losses of NT$103.06 million (US$3.28 million) for the first quarter, or losses per share of NT$0.09, compared with net profit of NT$536.41 million a year earlier.
OPTOELECTRONICS
Largan revenue inches up
Smartphone camera lens supplier Largan Precision Co (大立光) yesterday reported revenue of NT$5.03 billion for last month, up 1 percent month-on-month and 16 percent from a year earlier. Last month, 20 to 30 percent of Largan’s shipments consisted of 20-megapixel lenses, 10-megapixel lenses contributed 50 to 60 percent and 8-megapixel lenses made up 10 to 20 percent, it said. In the first five months of this year, cumulative revenue totaled NT$19.84 billion, an increase of 19 percent from the same period last year, Largan said in a statement.
SMARTPHONES
Asustek, Tencent to team up
Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) yesterday said that it is to partner with Chinese technology giant Tencent Holdings Ltd’s (騰訊) Tencent Games (騰訊遊戲) through its Republic of Gamers (ROG) product line in an effort to improve the gaming experience for a second-generation gaming smartphone. The upcoming ROG Phone II would have improved core features, as well as ameliorated game designs, Asustek said. Separately, Asustek is to launch its ZenFone 6 in Taiwan today after an initial release in Spain three weeks ago.
ELECTRONICS
Apple to open second store
Apple Inc is to open its second retail store in Taiwan on Saturday next week, the US company said yesterday. Apple Xinyi A13 is located on the corner of Songshou Road and Songren Road in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義), next to the planned site for a new Far Eastern Department Stores Co (遠東百貨) branch. After its grand opening, the store is to hold a series of sessions over six weeks called “Stage For Creativity,” which would feature local creatives, including designers, illustrators, photographers and music creators, who have won international awards, Apple said.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Reserves fall over volatility
The nation’s foreign exchange reserves amounted to US$464.43 billion as of the end of last month, a decrease of US$394 million from the previous month, official data showed. The decline reflected the effects of excess volatility in the foreign exchange market last month, the central bank said, adding that it had stepped in to maintain an orderly market.
ELECTRONICS
Hon Hai revenue sets May record
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday reported consolidated revenue of NT$384.22 billion for last month, up 10.69 percent from NT$347.10 billion a year ago. Cumulative revenue totaled NT$1.82 trillion in the first five months, increasing 5.92 percent year-on-year. In terms of performance of its product lines compared to that of last year, Hon Hai said that consumer goods emerged at the top followed by communication products while computing products came in third.
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
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