Evergreen calls off lawsuit
Evergreen Marine Corp (長榮海運) expects its US operations to return to normal in about two weeks after it called off legal action against a union strike that stranded ships on the US east coast ports.
Thousands of Evergreen's US-bound containers were unloaded in Canada and as far away as Panama and Jamaica since May 14 as a result of the dispute that started after the company prevented some port captains from joining a union.
"We have reached agreement with the union and service has resumed,'' said Daphne Tsai, the company's public relations manager. ``It takes about two weeks for backlogs and delayed shipments to be cleared."
MOF presses bank over Liu
The China Development Industrial Bank's (中華開發銀行) board did not discuss the possibility of a management reshuffle at its bi-weekly meeting yesterday, a China Devel-opment spokesman said.
The spokesman said that it was business as usual as board mem-bers reviewed the company's credit and investment issues. The board did not discuss chairman Liu Tai-ying's (劉泰英) case.
Liu, who is also chairman of the China Development Financial Holding Corp (中華開發金控), was released on NT$60 million bail last Friday after having been detained for nearly four months for suspected graft, breach of trust and embezzlement.
Persons proven to have been involved in unlawful or dishonest activities are not eligible to hold head positions of financial holding companies.
Bureau of Monetary Affairs Director General Gary Tseng (曾國烈) told a press conference yesterday afternoon that the board's failure to discuss Liu's qualifications was "inappropriate."
"The Ministry of Finance demands the bank and its parent company immediately call a board meeting to discuss whether Liu should be disqualified as chairman of both companies," Chen said.
Companies win tax exemption
Nanya Technology Corp (南亞 科技) and about 180 other companies have been exempted from paying import duties on production equipment, a local newspaper reported, citing statistics from the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
Nanya, which needs to import about NT$70 billion (US$2 billion) of equipment for a chip plant it's building, can save taxes of about NT$1.5 billion as a result, the report said. The new ruling applies to companies located outside state-run industrial parks, the report said. Companies inside the parks already enjoy the exemption.
Fund to issue ADRs
A major shareholder of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is to issue Amer-ican Depository Receipts (ADRs) to dispose of up to 445.5 million of the company's common shares, an official said yesterday.
"The ADR plan is in process now after approval by the TSMC's board of directors last week," an official from the Cabinet's Development Fund said.
The fund is TSMC's second largest shareholder with an 8.9 percent stake, the official said, adding the 445.5 million shares accounted for about a quarter of its total holding.
CKS numbers reach new high
The number of passengers going through the CKS International Air-port reached its highest level since the outbreak of SARS in this country in mid-March. An airport official said the number of passengers passing through the airport rose to 12,379 on Thursday.
NT dollar holds its ground
The New Taiwan dollar yesterday maintained its strength against its US counterpart, up NT$0.022 to close at NT$34.645 on the Taipei foreign exchange market. Turn-over was US$287 million.
The domestic unit of the Chinese-owned, Dutch-headquartered chipmaker Nexperia BV will soon be able to produce semiconductors locally within China, according to two company sources. Nexperia is at the center of a global tug-of-war over critical semiconductor technology, with a Dutch court in February ordering a probe into alleged mismanagement at the company. The geopolitical tussle has disrupted supply chains, with some carmakers reportedly forced to cut production due to chip shortages. Local production would allow Nexperia’s domestic arm, Nexperia Semiconductors (China) Ltd (安世半導體中國), to bypass restrictions in place since October on the supply of silicon wafers — etched with tiny components to
Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab Holdings Ltd has applied for regulatory approval to acquire the Taiwan operations of Germany-based Delivery Hero SE's Foodpanda in a deal valued at about US$600 million. Grab submitted the filing to the Fair Trade Commission on Friday last week, with the transaction subject to regulatory review and approval, the company said in a statement yesterday. Its independent governance structure would help foster a healthy and competitive market in Taiwan if the deal is approved, Grab said. Grab, which is listed on the NASDAQ, said in the filing that US-based Uber Technologies Inc holds about 13 percent of
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday received government approval to deploy its advanced 3-nanometer (3nm) process at its second fab currently under construction in Japan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a news release. The ministry green-lit the plan for the facility in Kumamoto, which is scheduled to start installing equipment and come online in 2028 with a monthly production capacity of 15,000 12-inch wafers, the ministry said. The Department of Investment Review in June 2024 authorized a US$5.26 billion investment for the facility, slated to manufacture 6- to 12nm chips, significantly less advanced than 3nm process. At a meeting with
Taiwan is open to joining a global liquefied natural gas (LNG) program if one is created, but on the condition that countries provide delivery even in a scenario where there is a conflict with China, an energy department official said yesterday. While Taiwan’s priority is to have enough LNG at home, the nation is open to exploring potential strategic reserves in other countries such as Japan or South Korea, Energy Administration Deputy Director-General Chen Chung-hsien (陳崇憲) said. While the LNG market does not have a global reserve for emergencies like that of oil, the concept has been raised a few times —