Terry Gou (
Gou, 54, was ranked 176th richest on the Forbes list for last year, with assets of US$2.8 billion, while Lin Yuan Group founder Tsai, who died in September of respiratory failure at the age of 79, was ranked No. 94 last year with assets of US$4.6 billion.
Gou built his fortune after starting the company in 1974 with an investment of NT$300,000 to make plastic knobs for television sets. Now Hon Hai Precision mainly produces electrical connectors and assembles personal computers for Dell and Hewlett-Packard, and is tapping into mobile phone and flat-screen liquid-crystal-display manufacturing.
Several Taiwanese billionaires are on this year's list. They are: Formosa Group chairman Wang Yung-ching (
Evergreen Group founder Chang Yung-fa (
Asia-wide, Lakshmi Mittal, chief executive of Mittal Steel Co, overtook Li Ka-shing (
Mittal, 54, had the biggest increase in personal wealth in the annual survey by Forbes, jumping to the No. 3 spot behind Microsoft Corp Chairman Bill Gates and Berkshire Hathaway Inc Chairman Warren Buffett as his fortune increased by US$18.8 billion to US$25 billion. Hong Kong's Li, 76, was 22nd with US$13 billion.
Indian-born Mittal has bought steel mills from Poland to South Africa since 2003, benefiting from soaring demand from shipyards and building sites in China. Li, chairman of Hutchison Whampoa Ltd, has concentrated on expanding his mobile-phone businesses.
"It shows the rise of commodities and the fall of tech," said Manu Bhaskaran, head of economic research at Centennial Group.
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
OBJECTS AT SEA: Satellites with synthetic-aperture radar could aid in the detection of small Chinese boats attempting to illegally enter Taiwan, the space agency head said Taiwan aims to send the nation’s first low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite into space in 2027, while the first Formosat-8 and Formosat-9 spacecraft are to be launched in October and 2028 respectively, the National Science and Technology Council said yesterday. The council laid out its space development plan in a report reviewed by members of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee. Six LEO satellites would be produced in the initial phase, with the first one, the B5G-1A, scheduled to be launched in 2027, the council said in the report. Regarding the second satellite, the B5G-1B, the government plans to work with private contractors
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he
‘NARWHAL’: The indigenous submarine completed its harbor acceptance test recently and is now under heavy guard as it undergoes tests in open waters, a source said The Hai Kun (海鯤), the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, yesterday began sea trials, sailing out of the Port of Kaohsiung, a military source said. Also known as the “Narwhal,” the vessel departed from CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard at about 8am, where it had been docked. More than 10 technicians and military personnel were on deck, with several others standing atop the sail. After recently completing its harbor acceptance test, the vessel has started a series of sea-based trials, including tests of its propulsion and navigational systems, while partially surfaced, the source said. The Hai Kun underwent tests in the port from
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