The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday approved another eight applications by small or medium-sized enterprises (SME) to participate in a government program to stimulate investment in Taiwan.
The program has recruited 68 SMEs with investment pledges exceeding NT$32.9 billion (US$1.08 billion) alongside 2,776 job opportunities, the ministry said.
Lying Environmental Technology Co (立盈環保科技), which turns calcium fluoride waste from the production of integrated circuits, thin-film transistor LCDs and solar cells into fluoride minerals for the steel industry, plans to invest NT$40 million to build an automated production line at its existing plant in Taoyuan’s Pingjhen District (平鎮), the ministry said.
The move to expand capacity came after upstream firms, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), Winbond Electronics Corp (華邦電) and Powerchip Semiconductor Corp (力晶半導體), lifted production, the ministry said, adding that Lying has obtained orders from local steelmakers China Steel Corp (中鋼) and Yieh United Steel Corp (燁聯鋼鐵).
Local toolmaker Shin Yung Shing Industry Co Ltd (信永興工業), which supplies Connecticut-based Stanley Black & Decker Inc through its subsidiary Besco Pneumatic Corp (偉全企業), is to invest NT$350 million to set up a new plant in Taichung’s Dali District (大里), as its US customer has allocated its nail gun orders to Besco, the ministry said.
Tool component forger Chaung Chien Co Ltd (忠鍵工廠), which also supplies Stanley Black & Decker through its subsidiary Stanley Chiro International Ltd (史丹利七), plans to invest NT$340 million to build a molding department and smart production process at its existing plant, the ministry said.
Bathroom and kitchen zinc alloy accessories manufacturer Domma Metal Industrial Co (東鎮金屬), which counts US firm Moen Inc, Toto Ltd in Japan and Reece Ltd in Australia among its major customers, is to invest more than NT$500 million to add smart machines and automated warehouse equipment at its plant in Taichung’s Waipu District (外埔) as it looks to focus on producing accessories with safety features, the ministry said.
Domma’s activity would create about 80 job opportunities, it said.
Ting Sin Co Ltd (廷鑫興業), which specializes in aluminum alloy products, plans to invest more than NT$600 million to purchase smart machinery equipment to produce advanced aluminum alloy and medical-use magnesium alloy, the ministry said, adding that it would create 46 job opportunities.
Polyvinyl fluoride laminated steelmaker Meng Sin Material Co (盟鑫金屬) is to invest NT$180 million to add a smart production line to its existing plant in Pingtung County’s Fangliao Township (枋寮), while setting up a research and development center, the ministry said.
Precision Motion Industries Inc’s (銀泰科技) subsidiary Exfiro Co (佳圓軸承), which makes high-precision roller pins, plans to invest NT$170 million to expand production capacity at its plant in Pingzhen, it said.
Golden Spirit Co (國韶實業), a sales agent for detergent supplier Metrex Research LLC of California, is to invest more than NT$200 million to set up the nation’s first smart pharaceutical warehouses in Taoyuan, Changhua County and Kaohsiung, the ministry said.
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