PANELMAKERS
CPT haggles with creditors
Debt-ridden flat-panel maker Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd (CPT, 中華映管) yesterday said that its creditors, including LCD material supplier Echem Solutions Corp (新應材), have submitted requests to the Taoyuan District Court that CPT execute its obligations. As the company’s restructuring plan was rejected by the court, it faces an imminent risk of having its assets liquidated if the court approves the creditors’ requests. CPT continues to negotiate with creditors to repay its debts, the company said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
SEMICONDUCTORS
Phoenix files patent suit
Silicon wafer recycler Phoenix Silicon International Corp (昇陽半導體) has filed a patent infringement lawsuit at the Intellectual Property Court alleging that Integrated Service Technology Inc (宜特科技) has infringed on a patent for a wafer thinning process, the company said in a statement yesterday. Phoenix said that it is seeking unspecified damages for patent infringement and requesting that Integrated Service Technology cease using the process.
ENERGY
Taipower inks deal with MOJ
Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Justice’s (MOJ) Investigation Bureau to have its cybersecurity system reinforced. This is the first time that a state-run company is working with the bureau. Taipower said that the bureau would provide it with critical information on cybersecurity management and have the bureau’s forensic investigators support Taipower as it looks to secure the supply and transmission of electricity.
FINANCIAL SERVICES
Fubon opens Jakarta unit
Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank (台北富邦銀行) yesterday opened an office in Jakarta, the bank’s 30th overseas unit, to gain more momentum in Southeast Asia. The office would collaborate with branches in Singapore and Vietnam to provide consultation and hedging services to local clients and Taiwanese businesses in those regions, it said. Taipei Fubon expects to find solid business opportunities in Indonesia, it said, adding that Indonesia’s GDP is growing rapidly and accounts for 40 percent of Southeast Asia’s GDP.
FITNESS
Dyaco to issue 19m shares
Fitness equipment maker Dyaco International Inc (岱宇國際) yesterday announced that its board has approved a plan to issue 19 million new shares, which would increase the company’s paid-in capital by NT$190 million (US$6.12 million) to NT$960.63 million. The funds would be used to repay bank loans and improve its fiscal strength, it said in a regulatory filing. Dyaco’s gross margin increased by 5.37 percentage points to 27.27 percent in the first half of this year, while earnings per share improved to NT$0.49 from NT$0.43, as three of its main sub-brands posted sales increases over the period, the company said in a statement.
BANKING
Yuan deposits rise again
Yuan deposits held by local banks last month rose for the second consecutive month to 266.41 billion yuan (US$37.54 billion), the central bank said yesterday. The latest figures suggested a 0.4 percent increase from the previous month, even though the yuan is losing value against the US dollar. Local insurers and fund houses opted to park money in yuan deposits to meet the need for investment tools after some foreign bond holdings matured, the bank added.
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
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
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