Government pushes SME loans
Minister of Finance Lee Yung-san (李庸三) said yesterday that the government will donate more than NT$50 billion (US$1.6 billion) to the Small and Medium Business Credit Guarantee Fund (中小企業信保基金) to facilitate domestic small and medium-sized enterprises' (SMEs) access to bank loans. In an address to the opening of the 15th annual meeting of the Asia Credit Supplementation Institution Confederation, Lee said credit guarantee is essential for businesses and the fund has been conducive to the stable growth and robust development of SMEs. Meanwhile, Premier Yu Shyi-kun told the delegates that the government is planning to sell its First Commercial Bank (第一銀行) shares to a foreign financial institution, hoping the move will bring in a foreign paradigm of banking management for local banks. The government hold 23 percent of the bank's shares.
Polaris seeks US partner
Polaris Securities Co (寶來證券) said it's seeking a US partner to expand in Taiwan and China, even as it plans to join with a local financial holding company. "We have always been seeking to expand through a strategic alliance with foreign investors," Polaris managing director Peter Huang said. "That will let us expand overseas more quickly. Locally, we want to join a financial holding company." The company may form an alliance with E*Trade Group Inc, the second-largest online broker in the US, a Chinese-language newspaper reported. Huang said he is unaware who Polaris may choose as its partner. E*Trade said no talks have taken place. Huang said the company's talks to join Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控) have been halted.
Quanta Display getting big loan
Quanta Display, a flat-panel display maker controlled by Quanta Computer (廣達電腦), will borrow NT$15 billion (US$431.8 million) to help equip a new factory, chief financial officer Elton Yang said. Quanta Display agreed to a seven-year loan with a group of 25 banks led by the International Commercial Bank of China (中國商銀), Taiwan Cooperative Bank (合作金庫), Chiao Tung Bank (交通銀行), Hua Nan Commercial Bank (華南銀行) and Citibank, DigiTimes reported. Yang wouldn't confirm the report, saying Quanta is in a quiet period tied to overseas share sale plans. Quanta Display plans a production line that will more than double the number of 14-inch screens cut from one glass panel. It and three local rivals plan to sell new shares to fund expansion.
Technology forum opens
The Taiwan-UK-Japan Industrial Technology forum, which opened yesterday, will promote the exchanges of industrial technology and international talent, according to officials at the Ministry of Economic Affairs' department of industrial technology. The forum is focused on biology, nano-technology, information and aviation technologies and hoped to pool the strength of the three nations to promote multinational cooperation and research and development between industrial leaders, officials, and scholars, according to foundation president Jeffrey Koo (辜濂松).
New Taiwan dollar plummets
The New Taiwan dollar had its biggest decline in more than a year against the US dollar, tracking a decline in the yen. The NT dollar slid 1.1 percent to NT$34.776 against the greenback, the weakest since April 25. "It's very much a yen move" driving down the New Taiwan dollar, said Michael Jansen, market strategist at National Australia Bank in Sydney. Turnover yesterday was US$479 million, up from last Friday's US$258 million.
PROTECTIONISM: China hopes to help domestic chipmakers gain more market share while preparing local tech companies for the possibility of more US sanctions Beijing is stepping up pressure on Chinese companies to buy locally produced artificial intelligence (AI) chips instead of Nvidia Corp products, part of the nation’s effort to expand its semiconductor industry and counter US sanctions. Chinese regulators have been discouraging companies from purchasing Nvidia’s H20 chips, which are used to develop and run AI models, sources familiar with the matter said. The policy has taken the form of guidance rather than an outright ban, as Beijing wants to avoid handicapping its own AI start-ups and escalating tensions with the US, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the
Taipei is today suspending its US$2.5 trillion stock market as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed-income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Yesterday, schools and offices were closed in several cities and counties in southern and eastern Taiwan, including in the key industrial port city of Kaohsiung. Taiwan, which started canceling flights, ship sailings and some train services earlier this week, has wind and rain advisories in place for much of the island. It regularly experiences typhoons, and in July shut offices and schools as
Her white-gloved, waistcoated uniform impeccable, 22-year-old Hazuki Okuno boards a bullet train replica to rehearse the strict protocols behind the smooth operation of a Japanese institution turning 60 Tuesday. High-speed Shinkansen trains began running between Tokyo and Osaka on Oct. 1, 1964, heralding a new era for rail travel as Japan grew into an economic superpower after World War II. The service remains integral to the nation’s economy and way of life — so keeping it dazzlingly clean, punctual and accident-free is a serious job. At a 10-story, state-of-the-art staff training center, Okuno shouted from the window and signaled to imaginary colleagues, keeping
Arm Holdings PLC approached Intel Corp about potentially buying the ailing chipmaker’s product division, only to be told that the business is not for sale, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter. In the high-level inquiry, Arm did not express interest in Intel’s manufacturing operations, said the source, who asked not to be identified because the discussions were private. Intel has two main units: A product group that sells chips for personal computers, servers and networking equipment, and another that operates its factories. Representatives for Arm and Intel declined to comment. Intel, once the world’s largest chipmaker, has become the
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