■ ULVAC eyes Tainan plant
Japanese liquid-crystal-display (LCD) giant ULVAC Kyushu Corp announced yesterday that it will set up plants in the Southern Taiwan Science Park (南部科學園區) to produce new-generation LCD panels. Once the investment is approved, ULVAC will become the 15th Japanese company with operations in the science park. Toshiaki Fujioka, president of ULVAC, made the announcement in the administration office of the Southern Taiwan Science Park in Tainan. According to ULVAC's Taiwan branch, the Japanese company's initial investment will exceed NT$1 billion (US$31.34 million). Chen Tsung-hsing, chief executive officer of ULVAC Taiwan, said that if the first-stage investment results are lucrative, a second and third stage will follow. Most of Taiwan's flat-panel manufacturers are clients of ULVAC, including Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp (奇美電子), an ULVAC official said.
■ Most honey not pure
It seems that most honey consumed in Taiwan is not pure, with only two of 37 honey brands passing a recent purity test, a Consumers' Foundation (消基會) official said yesterday. Among the 37 samples chosen randomly from supermarkets, traditional markets, shopping malls and organic product shops, the Consumers' Foundation found that only two samples could be considered to be first or second-grade. The analysis included amylase and cane-sugar tests. Of the 37 samples tested, two were from the US -- both failed -- and one was from France, which passed. The official said that some bee farmers add fructose to disguise the mixture as pure honey in order to reap great profits.
■ Amex appoints regional head
American Express Co, the fourth-biggest US credit-card issuer, promoted Anthony Lee to head its units in Hong Kong, China and Taiwan, to help the company expand in the region. Lee, born in Singapore, joined American Express in 1977, the company said in an e-mailed release. He has been the chief executive of American Express Hong Kong since 2003. Lee, who starts immediately, will lead the company's card business in Greater China, based in Hong Kong, American Express spokeswoman Susanna Hui said. American Express has teamed up with Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, the nation's largest lender, to sell credit cards in the world's most populous nation
■ Asustek gets Sony contract
With lower costs than rivals such as Quanta Computer Inc (廣達電腦) and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), Asustek Computer Inc (華碩電腦), Taiwan's fifth-largest notebook maker, secured a contract from Sony Corp for notebook computers, according to a Chinese-language report yesterday, without citing sources. Shipments of the high-end laptop computers for Sony will be started in the second quarter next year with a capacity of 10,000 units to 20,000 units per month, the report said. Asustek declined to comment on the report. Asustek was also reportedly to gain notebook-computer orders from Hewlett-Packard Co. The company plans to ship 3.8 million notebook computers this year with OEM orders accounting for 2.3 million units, according to the report. ■ NT dollar falls back
The New Taiwan dollar declined against the US dollar in Taipei yesterday, losing NT$0.129 to close at NT$31.949 on speculation that the US Federal Reserve may hike its benchmark interest rates this week. A total of US$1.03 billion changed hands yesterday.
MULTIFACETED: A task force has analyzed possible scenarios and created responses to assist domestic industries in dealing with US tariffs, the economics minister said The Executive Yuan is tomorrow to announce countermeasures to US President Donald Trump’s planned reciprocal tariffs, although the details of the plan would not be made public until Monday next week, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. The Cabinet established an economic and trade task force in November last year to deal with US trade and tariff related issues, Kuo told reporters outside the legislature in Taipei. The task force has been analyzing and evaluating all kinds of scenarios to identify suitable responses and determine how best to assist domestic industries in managing the effects of Trump’s tariffs, he
TIGHT-LIPPED: UMC said it had no merger plans at the moment, after Nikkei Asia reported that the firm and GlobalFoundries were considering restarting merger talks United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. 4 contract chipmaker, yesterday launched a new US$5 billion 12-inch chip factory in Singapore as part of its latest effort to diversify its manufacturing footprint amid growing geopolitical risks. The new factory, adjacent to UMC’s existing Singapore fab in the Pasir Res Wafer Fab Park, is scheduled to enter volume production next year, utilizing mature 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer process technologies, UMC said in a statement. The company plans to invest US$5 billion during the first phase of the new fab, which would have an installed capacity of 30,000 12-inch wafers per month, it said. The
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his
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