The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday approved five more applications by firms to participate in a government program to boost investment in Taiwan.
With the five companies’ NT$9.5 billion (US$306.2 million) in combined investments, 89 applications have been approved since the beginning of the year, bringing total investment to more than NT$444.1 billion and creating more than 40,000 job opportunities, the ministry said.
Wiwynn Corp (緯穎科技), which specializes in cloud-based computing technology, plans to invest more than NT$1.5 billion by building a research and development center that would also provide after-sales services at the Southern Taiwan Science Park (南部科學園區), the ministry said.
The company plans to recruit up to 410 local professionals, the ministry said.
YFC-Boneagle Electric Co Ltd (岳豐科技), a manufacturer of power extension cords and networking cables, plans to move part of its Chinese production to Taiwan to avoid US tariffs, the ministry said.
The company would also relocate its headquarters in Taoyuan and build a new manufacturing plant, the ministry said, adding that YFC’s NT$900 million investment is expected to provide 34 jobs, it said.
Automotive parts maker China Fineblanking Technology Co Ltd (和勤精機), a supplier of Volkswagen AG, Magna PT, Danfoss A/S and Tesla Inc, plans to invest more than NT$1.5 billion by relocating part of its production line to its plant at the Central Taiwan Science Park (中部科學園區) and is expected to offer 188 jobs, the ministry said.
Eclat Textile Co (儒鴻企業) plans to invest NT$1.02 billion to establish a new digital printing plant in Miaoli County and recruit an estimated 60 tech professionals to produce high-value-added printed fabric, it said.
A listed company — which the ministry did not name — that supplies core materials to flat-panel makers, plans to invest several billion New Taiwan dollars by setting up a new production site, adding battery material production lines and expanding its plant in Taiwan, it 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],”
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
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