■ 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.
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Chizuko Kimura has become the first female sushi chef in the world to win a Michelin star, fulfilling a promise she made to her dying husband to continue his legacy. The 54-year-old Japanese chef regained the Michelin star her late husband, Shunei Kimura, won three years ago for their Sushi Shunei restaurant in Paris. For Shunei Kimura, the star was a dream come true. However, the joy was short-lived. He died from cancer just three months later in June 2022. He was 65. The following year, the restaurant in the heart of Montmartre lost its star rating. Chizuko Kimura insisted that the new star is still down
While China’s leaders use their economic and political might to fight US President Donald Trump’s trade war “to the end,” its army of social media soldiers are embarking on a more humorous campaign online. Trump’s tariff blitz has seen Washington and Beijing impose eye-watering duties on imports from the other, fanning a standoff between the economic superpowers that has sparked global recession fears and sent markets into a tailspin. Trump says his policy is a response to years of being “ripped off” by other countries and aims to bring manufacturing to the US, forcing companies to employ US workers. However, China’s online warriors
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