■ Chip revenue rises
Taiwan's two top chipmakers on Tuesday reported a jump in revenue of nearly 50 percent in February compared to the same month last year, indicating that the semiconductor sector's recovery is still on track. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), the world's biggest producer of made-to-order chips, posted revenue of NT$18.39 billion last month, up from NT$12.35 billion, or a 49 percent increase from the same month last year. United Microelectronics Corp (聯電), the world's No. 2 contract maker of chips, reported that February revenue rose to NT$8.03 billion, a 48 percent rise, from NT$5.44 billion a year earlier.
■ Pedigree dog food withdrawn
Effem Foods Taiwan Inc announced on Monday that it will withdraw its Pedigree Dry dog food from Taiwan in the wake of reports of increased renal illness among dogs in Taiwan, a substantial number of which were being fed with the produce, a company statement said. The company also said it will suspend shipments to other countries, including Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Korea. The company is arranging alternative sources of supply, the statement said. Allan West, general manager of Effem Foods, said that consumers with unopened pack of the food could request a refund by presenting their invoices to the retailers where they purchased the food.
■ WTO legal body joined
Taiwan yesterday officially joined the Advisory Centre on WTO Law (ACWL), an institute that will assist developing countries in World Trade Organization dispute settlement, as its 35th member country. Yen Ching-chang (顏慶章), Taiwan's permanent representative to the global trade body, signed the protocol with ACWL executive director Frieder Roessler yesterday, saying that the move will help Taiwan resolve WTO disputes as Taiwan lacks experience in dealing with legal issues in the WTO. In addressing his welcome to Taiwan, Roessler said he was confident that the institute would provide the best legal service for Taiwan in the future. The ACWL was established in July 2001 and has provided legal assistance to developing countries in 16 WTO disputes.
■ Cement industry faces probe
The Fair Trade Commission has decided to conduct an investigation of local cement producers in response to complaints from downstream users, concerned that producers had formed a cartel to manipulate supplies to keep prices artificially high, the commission announced yesterday. Currently, the annual domestic sales volume of cement is estimated to be around 15 million metric tons, accounting for only 70 percent of annual cement production capacity of around 22 million metric tons. The current price of cement, however, is NT$2,250 per metric ton, much higher than producers' production and marketing costs which are estimated at around NT$1,600, the commission said. The commission will investigate whether the high price involves any illegality such as price fixing or excessive profits. Violators of the f the fair trade regulations could be fined NT$25 million, the commission said.
■ NT dollar rises
The New Taiwan dollar yesterday traded higher against the US dollar on the Taipei Foreign Exchange, rising NT$0.076 to close at NT$33.327 with a turnover of US$1.025 billion.
MediaTek Inc (聯發科), the world’s biggest smartphone chip supplier, yesterday said it plans to double investment in data center-related technologies, including advanced packaging and high-speed interconnect technologies, to broaden the new business’ customer and service portfolios. The chip designer is redirecting its resources to data centers, mainly designing application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC) with artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities for cloud service providers. The data center business is forecast to lead growth in the next three years and become the company’s second-biggest revenue source, replacing chips used in smart devices, MediaTek president Joe Chen (陳冠州) told a media event in Taipei. “Three or four years
Until US President Donald Trump’s return a year ago, when the EU talked about cutting economic dependency on foreign powers — it was understood to mean China, but now Brussels has US tech in its sights. As Trump ramps up his threats — from strong-arming Europe on trade to pushing to seize Greenland — concern has grown that the unpredictable leader could, should he so wish, plunge the bloc into digital darkness. Since Trump’s Greenland climbdown, top officials have stepped up warnings that the EU is dangerously exposed to geopolitical shocks and must work toward strategic independence — in defense, energy and
Motorists ride past a mural along a street in Varanasi, India, yesterday.
For the second year in a row, a Brazilian movie has wowed international audiences and critics, securing multiple Oscar nominations and drawing fresh interest in the Latin American giant’s film industry. Experts say the success of The Secret Agent, which has won four Oscar nominations, a year after I Am Still Here won Brazil its first Oscar, is no fluke, with a bit of a push from the country’s political climate. “This is neither a coincidence nor a miracle. It is the result of a lot of work, consistent policies, and, of course, talent,” Ilda Santiago, director of the Rio International Film
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