Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Yi-fu (林義夫), traveling at the head of a 50-member business and industrial promotion mission, has hosted an investment workshop in The Hague in an effort to woo Dutch business-people to invest in Taiwan.
Lin and his workshop received a warm reception from leading multinational corporations in the Netherlands, many of which have shown keen interest in promoting sales in Taiwan, expanding investment in their Taiwanese operations, or establishing research and development centers in Taiwan.
According to Philips chairman Gerard Kleisterlee, who attended the workshop, the fact that the euro is continuing to appreciate in value against the US dollar is pushing leading European conglomerates to relocate their business-operations headquarters or R&D centers to Asia out of cost considerations.
Lin spent time persuading Kleisterlee to consider making Taiwan Philips' R&D center in the Asia-Pacific region, given that Philips is already the largest Dutch company in Taiwan and one of the major foreign investors in the country.
Peter Wennik, vice chairman and finance director of ASML Holding NV, the global leader in the market of photolithography systems for the semiconductor industry, said ASML is considering spending US$500 million to establish an R&D center in Asia to serve as a bridgehead to tap the market in this part of the world.
Greek tourism student Katerina quit within a month of starting work at a five-star hotel in Halkidiki, one of the country’s top destinations, because she said conditions were so dire. Beyond the bad pay, the 22-year-old said that her working and living conditions were “miserable and unacceptable.” Millions holiday in Greece every year, but its vital tourism industry is finding it harder and harder to recruit Greeks to look after them. “I was asked to work in any department of the hotel where there was a need, from service to cleaning,” said Katerina, a tourism and marketing student, who would
i Gasoline and diesel prices at fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.1 per liter, as tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week rose for the third consecutive week due to an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as the market is concerned that the situation in the Middle East might affect crude oil supply, CPC and Formosa said in separate statements. Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — rose 3.75 percent to settle at US$77.01
Merida Industry Co (美利達) has seen signs of recovery in the US and European markets this year, as customers are gradually depleting their inventories, the bicycle maker told shareholders yesterday. Given robust growth in new orders at its Taiwanese factory, coupled with its subsidiaries’ improving performance, Merida said it remains confident about the bicycle market’s prospects and expects steady growth in its core business this year. CAUTION ON CHINA However, the company must handle the Chinese market with great caution, as sales of road bikes there have declined significantly, affecting its revenue and profitability, Merida said in a statement, adding that it would
UNCERTAINTIES: The world’s biggest chip packager and tester is closely monitoring the US’ tariff policy before making any capacity adjustments, a company official said ASE Technology Holding Inc (日月光投控), the world’s biggest chip packager and tester, yesterday said it is cautiously evaluating new advanced packaging capacity expansion in the US in response to customers’ requests amid uncertainties about the US’ tariff policy. Compared with its semiconductor peers, ASE has been relatively prudent about building new capacity in the US. However, the company is adjusting its global manufacturing footprint expansion after US President Donald Trump announced “reciprocal” tariffs in April, and new import duties targeting semiconductors and other items that are vital to national security. ASE subsidiary Siliconware Precision Industries Co (SPIL, 矽品精密) is participating in Nvidia
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