COMPUTERS
Asustek holds Brazil launch
Asustek Computer Inc (華碩電腦) yesterday launched its first made-in-Brazil laptop — the ZenBook 14 (UX433) — in Sao Paulo. It simultaneously introduced its ZenBook Pro Duo, which it unveiled at the Computex trade show in Taipei last month. The company has already made a name for itself in Brazil, as its ZenFone smartphones are among the top five best-sellers in the nation. The company reported that cumulative revenue from January to last month slipped 7.55 percent to NT$129.31 billion (US$4.15 billion) from a year earlier. Shareholders last week approved the distribution of a cash dividend of NT$15 per share.
MANUFACTURING
Brinno approves dividends
Shareholders of Brinno Inc (邑錡), which designs and produces photography equipment, yesterday approved a plan to distribute a cash dividend of NT$1.2 per share, representing a payout ratio of 83.92 percent based on earnings per share (EPS) of NT$1.43 for last year. The company has reported positive revenue growth of more than 20 percent since January. Cumulative sales in the first five months of the year surged 65.9 percent to NT$298.68 million. Brinno said in a statement that it started courting original design manufacturers last year to boost its supply chain.
TECHNOLOGY
Start-ups at InnovFest
The Taiwan Tech Arena (TTA, 國際科技創業基地, ), established by the Ministry of Science and Technology, yesterday said that it is leading 28 start-up teams to participate in Singapore’s innovation-centered trade show — InnovFest Unbound — which opens today. The event is one of the largest of its kind in Southeast Asia, with more than 3,000 start-up teams from more than 80 countries attending. TTA is hosting an international forum, titled “Scale up your global tech ventures with Taiwan tech ecosystem,” today to gain prominence in the Southeast Asian region, the ministry said in a statement.
LEISURE
KTV firms approve dividends
Cash Box KTV (錢櫃) shareholders yesterday approved a proposal to distribute a cash dividend of NT$6 per share, suggesting a payout ratio of 62.18 percent based on last year’s EPS of NT$9.65. Chairman Lien Tai-sheng (練台生) said that if the Fair Trade Commission approves its application to acquire Holiday Entertainment Co (好樂迪), it would close some Holiday outlets. Meanwhile, shareholders of Holiday Entertainment yesterday approved the plan to make it a wholly owned unit of Cash Box, with the price set at NT$67.7 per share. They also agreed to a cash dividend distribution plan of NT$5.4, implying a payout ratio of 89.1 percent based on last year’s EPS of NT$6.06.
APPAREL
KLE building research center
Kwong Lung Enterprise Co (KLE, 光隆實業), a supplier of down material and related products, yesterday held a groundbreaking ceremony for its new apparel research center in Yilan County. KLE has invested NT$210 million in the center to develop automatic laser-cutting and quilting machines, large-sized extruders, down stretching machines and resin cotton development equipment. The center, which would provide textile technology and equipment to the company’s foreign units, is expected to be completed in the second half of next year at the earliest, creating more than 100 job opportunities and annual output of NT$200 million.
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