■ Finance
APEC says SMEs need cash
A new APEC report has found that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Taiwan's tourism industry are facing difficulties in getting access to financial assistance. The findings are outlined in the Development Needs of Small- to Medium-Sized Tourism Businesses report prepared by the APEC International Center for Sustainable Tourism (AICST). The difficulty in obtaining financial assistance was found to be particularly damaging for the growing "homestay" sector, according to the report. AICST executive director Lan Kean said that despite the homestay sector becoming increasingly professional, there is still concern that business owners are having difficulty getting access to financial assistance from many institutions.
■ Airlines
Cathay to recruit new staff
Cathay Pacific Airways is recruiting 500 new cabin crew staff to handle additional flights as the airline eyes the expansion of its fleet, a spokeswoman said yesterday. Cathay, which currently employs a cabin crew of about 5,700, will hire an extra 400 Hong Kong-based flight attendants and 100 to be based in London, said Cathay spokeswoman Maria Yu. Yu said Cathay plans to expand its 85-aircraft fleet, and is currently negotiating with Boeing Co and Airbus to buy new passenger jets. She declined to give details. Without citing sources, local newspapers reported that Cathay was planning to order from Boeing and Airbus nine new wide-bodied jets worth between US$1 billion to US$1.5 billion.
■ Internet
Amazon offers campaign site
Shoppers at online retailer Amazon.com Inc can now spend money on something new -- US presidential candidates. A new feature that debuted on Friday collects campaign contributions of up to US$200 for US presidential candidates. Amazon said it is not endorsing any candidates and is charging each campaign its usual processing fees for the payments, which it will donate to a non-profit, non-partisan civil group. So far the campaign contributions page (www.amazon.com/gp/misc/flag.html) lists 17 presidential hopefuls, in alphabetical order, including US President George W. Bush. Among others, by early yesterday Democratic poll leader John Kerry had garnered 62 contributions totaling $1,699 at Amazon.com, former Vermont Governor Howard Dean had had 72 for a total of US$1,095.01 and Libertarian Party candidate Michael Badnarik had had 26 contributions totaling US$252 at the site.
■ Engineering
Bechtel gets Qatari contract
US engineering giant Bechtel signed yesterday a US$5 billion contract to build a new airport for the Qatari capital of Doha, the head of the Gulf emirate's civil aviation authority announced. The first of three stages in the construction of the new airport would be completed in 2008 at a cost of US$2.5 billion, Abdul Aziz al-Nuaimi told a press conference. "The airport will be one of the biggest in the world with an [annual] capacity of 50 million passengers in Qatar" when it is finished around 2015, he said. The chief executive of Qatar Airways, Akbar al-Baker, announced last month that tenders were going out for the first phase, adding that it would boost capacity to 12 million passengers.
Zhang Yazhou was sitting in the passenger seat of her Tesla Model 3 when she said she heard her father’s panicked voice: The brakes do not work. Approaching a red light, her father swerved around two cars before plowing into a sport utility vehicle and a sedan, and crashing into a large concrete barrier. Stunned, Zhang gazed at the deflating airbag in front of her. She could never have imagined what was to come: Tesla Inc sued her for defamation for complaining publicly about the vehicles brakes — and won. A Chinese court ordered Zhang to pay more than US$23,000 in
‘LEGACY CHIPS’: Chinese companies have dramatically increased mature chip production capacity, but the West’s drive for secure supply chains offers a lifeline for Taiwan When Powerchip Technology Corp (力晶科技) entered a deal with the eastern Chinese city of Hefei in 2015 to set up a new chip foundry, it hoped the move would help provide better access to the promising Chinese market. However, nine years later, that Chinese foundry, Nexchip Semiconductor Corp (合晶集成), has become one of its biggest rivals in the legacy chip space, leveraging steep discounts after Beijing’s localization call forced Powerchip to give up the once-lucrative business making integrated circuits for Chinese flat panels. Nexchip is among Chinese foundries quickly winning market share in the crucial US$56.3 billion industry of so-called legacy
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday held its first board of directors meeting in the US, at which it did not unveil any new US investments despite mounting tariff threats from US President Donald Trump. Trump has threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, prompting market speculation that TSMC might consider boosting its chip capacity in the US or ramping up production of advanced chips such as those using a 2-nanometer technology process at its Arizona fabs ahead of schedule. Speculation also swirled that the chipmaker might consider building its own advanced packaging capacity in the US as part
‘NO DISRUPTION’: A US trade association said that it was ready to work with the US administration to streamline the program’s requirements and achieve shared goals The White House is seeking to renegotiate US CHIPS and Science Act awards and has signaled delays to some upcoming semiconductor disbursements, two sources familiar with the matter told reporters. The people, along with a third source, said that the new US administration is reviewing the projects awarded under the 2022 law, meant to boost US domestic semiconductor output with US$39 billion in subsidies. Washington plans to renegotiate some of the deals after assessing and changing current requirements, the sources said. The extent of the possible changes and how they would affect agreements already finalized was not immediately clear. It was not known