■ Semiconductors
Hynix drops CVC deal
Hynix Semiconductor Inc, the world's third largest chipmaker, said yesterday it has scrapped a deal under negotiation to sell its non-memory semiconductor operations to a US investor. "We have decided to stop talks with Citigroup Venture Capital [CVC] on the sale of our non-memory chip and design parts," Hynix spokeswoman Kim Ah-Young said. "The price and other terms suggested by CVC was considered unacceptable because of a rapid change in our busi-ness environment," she said. Talks between Hynix and CVC began last August las part of the South Korean company's restructuring efforts. Hynix, which accounts for 30 percent of South Korea's memory-chip exports, escaped insolvency last year with a 3.2 trillion won (US$2.8 billion) bailout arranged by creditors.
■ Patents
US probes chip dispute
The US International Trade Commission is starting an investigation into Mediatek Inc (聯發科技), the world's largest maker of chips for DVD players, and 11 other companies to determine if they violated patents on optical-disk-controller chips and chipsets. Zoran Corp and Oak Technology Inc filed separate complaints last month alleging patent infringement on certain optical-disk-controller chips and chipsets, including components used in DVD players and personal computer optical-storage devices imported and sold in the US, the commission said in a statement. The companies named in the complaint included China's Jiangsu Shinco Electronic Group Co (江蘇新科電子) and its Hong Kong unit, Shinco International AV Co, Singa-pore's Creative Technology Ltd and its US unit, Creative Labs Inc, and Teac Corp of Japan.
■ Semiconductors
Toshiba ups investment
Toshiba Corp said it raised investment on flash memory chip production at a new plant in Mie Prefecture to ?270 billion (US$2.6 billion) to meet growing demand. Toshiba and SanDisk Corp will jointly spend the invest-ment by 2006. Sunnyvale, California-based SanDisk will spend ?116 billion, said Shigeo Koguchi, a senior executive in charge of chips at Toshiba. The investment includes chip-making equipment, Toshiba said in a statement. The plant will be produce flash memory chips on 12-inch wafers. The plant will start production in the second half of next year and initial output is expected to be 10,000 wafers a month.
■ Food
Nissen Food finds ally
Japanese instant noodle maker Nissin Food Pro-ducts said yesterday that it has decided to form an alliance with a major Chinese processed food company, Hebei Hualong Food Group. Nissin said it would take a 33.4 percent stake in Hebei Hualong for about ?20 billion (US$189 million). It said the deal would be among the largest Chinese investments by Japanese processed-food manufacturers. Under the deal, Nissin would second two executive directors to Hualong.
■ Aviation
AirAsia targets Macau
Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia said yesterday that it hopes to begin daily flights to Macau from Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur as part of its expansion plans ahead of increasing competition later this year. Executive director Kama-rudin Meranum said the exact timing for the launch depended on its aircraft capacity.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique