The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday approved eight applications from small and medium-sized enterprises to participate in a government program, as they pledged to invest a combined NT$2.5 billion (US$83.2 million) in the nation.
The program, launched in July last year, has attracted investments from 143 small and medium-sized enterprises seeking to invest more than NT$61.3 billion, the ministry said, adding that an estimated 6,038 job opportunities would be created.
Headlight lens manufacturer Kai Mao Technology Co Ltd (鎧懋科技), one of automaker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV’s tier 3 suppliers, is to invest more than NT$100 million to set up a new smart factory in Tainan’s Sin Ji Industrial Park (新吉工業區).
The company made the decision in response to client demand, such as Fiat Chrysler’s decision to transfer its headlight orders from China to Taiwan, the ministry said, adding that Kai Mao would recruit about 30 local professionals.
Sliding block maker Yun Tan Technologies Co Ltd (允坦科技), an affiliate and supplier of Precision Motion Industries Inc (PMI, 銀泰科技), said it decided to follow its parent company in expanding production capacity in Taiwan.
Yun Tan is to invest nearly NT$400 million to establish a smart production plant in the Taichung Dali Industrial Park (臺中大里工業區), as it seeks to increase automated production lines on PMI’s demand, the ministry said, adding that the company would offer 52 job opportunities.
Other traditional tool and component manufacturers — such as YC Gear Corp (遠際公司), Lian Wang Metal Works Co Ltd (聯旺金屬), Multi-Tek Fastener & Parts Manufacturer Corp (聚巨豐企業) and Men Yin Genki Co Ltd (門印精機) — are to invest between NT$100 million and NT$300 million each to establish highly automated plants in a bid to expand production capacity and efficiency.
The largest investments are to come from Taoyuan Environment Scientific Co Ltd (大恆資源) and an unnamed tomato sauce supplier, each of which have pledged to invest more than NT$500 million.
Specializing in disposable waste treatment, Taoyuan Environment plans to set up additional production lines at its facility in the Ping Nan Industrial Park (屏南工業區), as it looks to transform flammable waste into fuel for internal use, the ministry said.
Taoyuan Environment intends to create 52 job opportunities, the ministry added.
The food company plans to renovate its existing facilities in Tainan’s Shanhua District (善化) and the Sinshih Industrial Park (新市工業園區), as it aims to expand production lines of organic beverages and halal food.
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],”
TRANSFORMATION: Taiwan is now home to the largest Google hardware research and development center outside of the US, thanks to the nation’s economic policies President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday attended an event marking the opening of Google’s second hardware research and development (R&D) office in Taiwan, which was held at New Taipei City’s Banciao District (板橋). This signals Taiwan’s transformation into the world’s largest Google hardware research and development center outside of the US, validating the nation’s economic policy in the past eight years, she said. The “five plus two” innovative industries policy, “six core strategic industries” initiative and infrastructure projects have grown the national industry and established resilient supply chains that withstood the COVID-19 pandemic, Tsai said. Taiwan has improved investment conditions of the domestic economy
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