Stainless steel pipe manufacturer Froch Enterprise Co (彰源企業) is to invest more than NT$600 million (US$19.66 million) to set up a new plant in Yunlin County’s Douliou City (斗六), the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday, as it added the firm’s application to the list of companies returning to invest in Taiwan.
A total of 154 companies have pledged up to NT$697.7 billion in investments since the ministry started a program in January to encourage Taiwanese firms to return and invest at home.
The ministry also announced that it has given the green light to four companies’ applications to invest more than NT$4.6 billion to take part in another government program aimed at encouraging local firms to deepen their roots in Taiwan while upgrading their businesses.
Taichung-based Gain How Printing Co (健豪印刷) plans to invest NT$1.3 billion by introducing smart production lines at a new plant in the Taichung Industrial Park (台中工業區) as it looks to sharpen its competitive edge, the ministry said.
As the trade conflict between the US and China weighs down on the steel industry, carbon steel pipe manufacturer Tension Steel Industries Co (天聲工業) plans to invest NT$1.2 billion by setting up a smart production facility to optimize and elevate its production process, the ministry said.
Wooden furniture hardware manufacturer Zyh Yin Enterprise Co (至盈實業), which supplies Swedish furniture retailer IKEA, is to invest more than NT$900 million by establishing a smart production plant in Kaohsiung’s Yanchao District (燕巢).
The company is also to transform its existing warehouse into a smart facility, the ministry said, adding that Zyh Yin would continue to work with the Industrial Development Bureau to apply artificial intelligence technology at its plant.
Automatic optical inspection specialist Machvision Inc Co (牧德科技), whose clientele covers about 90 percent of Taiwan’s printed circuit board makers, is to invest NT$1.2 billion to expand its production capacity at the Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區) to support clients relocating to Taiwan, the ministry said.
The program, launched in July, has welcomed 24 companies’ applications, representing more than NT$54.1 billion in investments thus far, the ministry said.
Taiwan’s exports soared 56 percent year-on-year to an all-time high of US$64.05 billion last month, propelled by surging global demand for artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance computing and cloud service infrastructure, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) called the figure an unexpected upside surprise, citing a wave of technology orders from overseas customers alongside the usual year-end shopping season for technology products. Growth is likely to remain strong this month, she said, projecting a 40 percent to 45 percent expansion on an annual basis. The outperformance could prompt the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and
The demise of the coal industry left the US’ Appalachian region in tatters, with lost jobs, spoiled water and countless kilometers of abandoned underground mines. Now entrepreneurs are eyeing the rural region with ambitious visions to rebuild its economy by converting old mines into solar power systems and data centers that could help fuel the increasing power demands of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. One such project is underway by a non-profit team calling itself Energy DELTA (Discovery, Education, Learning and Technology Accelerator) Lab, which is looking to develop energy sources on about 26,305 hectares of old coal land in
Netflix on Friday faced fierce criticism over its blockbuster deal to acquire Warner Bros Discovery. The streaming giant is already viewed as a pariah in some Hollywood circles, largely due to its reluctance to release content in theaters and its disruption of traditional industry practices. As Netflix emerged as the likely winning bidder for Warner Bros — the studio behind Casablanca, the Harry Potter movies and Friends — Hollywood’s elite launched an aggressive campaign against the acquisition. Titanic director James Cameron called the buyout a “disaster,” while a group of prominent producers are lobbying US Congress to oppose the deal,
Two Chinese chipmakers are attracting strong retail investor demand, buoyed by industry peer Moore Threads Technology Co’s (摩爾線程) stellar debut. The retail portion of MetaX Integrated Circuits (Shanghai) Co’s (上海沐曦) upcoming initial public offering (IPO) was 2,986 times oversubscribed on Friday, according to a filing. Meanwhile, Beijing Onmicro Electronics Co (北京昂瑞微), which makes radio frequency chips, was 2,899 times oversubscribed on Friday, its filing showed. The bids coincided with Moore Threads’ trading debut, which surged 425 percent on Friday after raising 8 billion yuan (US$1.13 billion) on bets that the company could emerge as a viable local competitor to Nvidia