■ Yuan exchange considered
The government is reviewing whether to open a Chinese currency exchange service, a Main-land Affairs Council official said yesterday. Council Vice Chairman Chiu Tai-san (邱太三) said that the central bank and the Financial Supervision Commission will discuss whether to open Taiwan to the yuan. He noted that, according to the Statute Governing the Relations between the People of the Taiwan area and the Mainland Area (兩岸人民關係條例), an exchange service can be set up if Taiwan and China sign a currency settlement agreement. Chiu said that the statute also provides for such a service even without the signing of an agreement and added that the service could first be opened on Kinmen and Matsu on a trial basis. He said that the central bank and supervision commission are considering the demands of the financial sector and the possible impact on cross-strait exchanges.
■ Chinatrust buys HK film shares
Chinatrust Financial Holding Co (中信金控) will buy a 10th of the new shares offered by Golden Harvest Entertainment Ltd (嘉禾) to help the Hong Kong-based film distributor expand sales in this country, a Chinese-language newspaper reported. Li Ka-shing (李嘉誠), Asia's richest businessman, on May 21 paid HK$34.6 million (US$4.4 million) for 17 percent of Golden Harvest, becoming the second-largest shareholder. Chinatrust will become the third-largest shareholder, according to the report. The money raised from stake sales to Chinatrust will be used to buy movie theaters in Taiwan that belong to Time Warner Inc, the paper reported.
■ Taishin to buy Tenth Credit
Taishin International Bank (台新銀行), the owner of the nation's second-biggest issuer of credit cards, plans to buy Hsinchu Tenth Credit Cooperative (新竹十信) by the end of this month, as it tries to increase its customer base and boost market share. Taishin International is conducting due diligence procedures on Tenth Credit and will need the approval from parent company Taishin Financial Holdings Ltd (台新金控), chief financial officer Carol Lai (賴昭吟) said. "We are always seeking new channels of business and this meets our requirement,'' Lai said. Lai said the price Taishin Bank will pay for the cooperative is still being negotiated. She denied that Taishin Bank would pay NT$4 billion (US$118 million) as reported by a Chinese-language newspaper yesterday. Taishin Bank will have 101 outlets after the acquisition, up from 89.
■ New Citigroup spokesperson
Citigroup Taiwan yesterday appointed Wang Mei-ying (王美音) as its new spokesperson and director of corporate affairs, effective July 26, the bank said in a statement yesterday. Wang was appointed to replace Joyce Chen (陳昭如) who left the bank in May to head the human resources department at the China Development Financial Holding Corp (中華開發金控). Wang was with Citibank Taiwan and held positions in a number of areas from 1988 to 1995. She moved to Canada in 1996 and returned to Taiwan in 2000 as an outside director for Ritek Corp (錸德) and other listed and non-listed companies in various capacities, according to the statement.
■ NT dollar higher
The New Taiwan dollar yesterday traded higher against its US counterpart, advancing NT$0.034 to close at NT$33.877 on the Taipei foreign exchange market. Turnover was US$609 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 —
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