China has lifted its punitive tariffs on Australia’s wine exports, signaling an end to a three-year campaign of trade pressure on Canberra and raising hopes for a revival of the billion-dollar industry.The Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced the move yesterday. The industry has been anticipating
SCRUTINY: Companies have braved a tough antitrust environment to pursue large deals, increasingly backing themselves to win in court against regulatory challenges
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) bounced back in the first quarter after a downbeat last year, thanks to the return of mega deals, cheering investment bankers and lawyers waiting for a pickup.Total M&A volumes globally climbed 30 percent year-on-year to about US$755.1 billion, according to the most re
Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a must-have tool for businesses to increase productivity amid drastic changes in markets and the environment, Wistron Corp (緯創) chairman Simon Lin (林憲銘) said at a panel discussion at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University after receiving an honorary doctorat
Online bank O-Bank Co (王道商業銀行) is seeking to deepen customer relations rather than gain market share this year, in a bid to grow into a boutique lender and set itself apart from its peers, the lender said at an event in Taipei yesterday to mark its 25th anniversary.“We are aiming to better utilize o
The US remained the largest debtor nation to Taiwan’s banking sector in the final quarter of last year, as Taiwanese displayed a keen interest in US government and corporate debt, the central bank said yesterday.The trend could sustain this year after the US Federal Reserve kept interest rates uncha
Xiaomi Corp (小米) is kicking off sales of its first electric vehicles (EVs) with aggressive pricing, betting the Chinese smartphone maker can succeed in a cutthroat market where Apple Inc faltered.Co-founder Lei Jun (雷軍) presented his strategy in Beijing yesterday evening with the base EV model costi
Cherry blossoms bloom in Changwon’s Jinhae Ward, South Korea, yesterday. The blooming of cherry trees marks the beginning of the annual cherry blossom festival in the area.
BOJ TO STEP UP? An analyst said ‘intervention concerns’ had capped the slide, but risks of further depreciation remain, such as the yen’s sizeable yield disadvantage
The yen hit a 34-year low against the US dollar yesterday, just over a week after the Bank of Japan (BOJ) announced a much-anticipated interest rate hike in a shift away from years of ultra-loose monetary policy.The Japanese currency weakened to ¥151.97 per US dollar, its lowest level since 1990, be
The government’s business climate monitor last month flashed “green” for the second straight month, as the nation’s export-focused economy steadily gained traction thanks to improving outbound shipments and industrial production, the National Development Council (NDC) said yesterday.The total score
Machinery maker Hiwin Technologies Co (上銀科技) expects its business to resume growth from next quarter after hitting a trough this quarter, with revenue expected to grow by a double-digit percentage this year, as demand has shown signs of recovery, company chairman Chuo Wen-heng (卓文恒) said yesterday.T
FLEET RENEWAL: The firm plans to lease at least one Airbus 350-900 this year and add 24 Boeing 787s from next year to 2028 to boost operating efficiency
China Airlines Ltd (中華航空) yesterday said that it is optimistic about this year’s business outlook, and expects to receive five Airbus SE 321neo passenger aircraft and three Boeing Co 777F cargo jets as the airline continues to renew its fleet and enhance its overall performance.The airline plans to
House prices could climb higher next quarter on improved buying interest induced by the government’s continued interest subsidy for first-home purchases, a survey by Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房屋) showed yesterday.Fifty-two percent of respondents expect house prices to pick up during the second quarter
Taiwan and France held their first ministerial-level economic and trade talks Tuesday, focusing on opportunities for collaboration in the high-tech supply chain, the Ministry of Economics Affairs (MOEA) said yesterday. At the meeting, initiated by Taiwan, Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王
US Secretary of Treasury Janet Yellen is calling out China’s ramped-up production in solar energy, electric vehicles and lithium-ion batteries, calling it unfair competition that “distorts global prices” and “hurts American firms and workers, as well as firms and workers around the world.”Yellen, wh
OPENING ADDRESS: The CEO is to give a speech on the future of high-performance computing and artificial intelligence at the trade show’s opening on June 3, TAITRA said
Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) chairperson and chief executive officer Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) is to deliver the opening keynote speech at Computex Taipei this year, the event’s organizer said in a statement yesterday.Su is to give a speech on the future of high-performance computing (HPC) in the artificial
Nvidia Corp earned its US$2.2 trillion market cap by producing artificial intelligence (AI) chips that have become the lifeblood powering the new era of generative AI developers from start-ups to Microsoft Corp, OpenAI and Google parent Alphabet Inc.Almost as important to its hardware is the company
STEADY OUTLOOK: The lender expects a 3 to 5% rise in loans, more investments in US bonds and high cash-dividend stocks, and growth from overseas branches
State-run Chang Hwa Commercial Bank (CHB, 彰化銀行) said yesterday it is looking at stable profit growth this year on the back of improving loan demand, as exports and private investments come out of the woods after several quarters of inventory adjustments.“We aim to increase outstanding loans by 3 to
Aspeed Technology Inc (信驊) expects significant revenue growth this year following a 40 percent drop last year, the world’s biggest supplier of baseboard management controllers (BMC) for servers said yesterday.Recovering demand for general-purpose servers and rising demand for artificial intelligence
Hershey Co, Mondelez International Inc and other confectionery makers are employing promotions and pitching more non-chocolate Easter treats such as cookies ‘n’ cream bunnies at a time when soaring cocoa prices threaten their profits and shoppers balk at high prices.Cocoa prices have tripled over th
A visitor walks in a field of “Tulipani Italiani” tulips at the Agriturismo Cascina DUC farm in Grugliasco, near Turin, Italy, on Monday. The “Tulipani Italiani U-pick Garden” was launched by Dutch couple Nitsuhe Wolanios and Edwin Koeman: With an entrance fee, visitors can walk around the garden, p