■ Dbtel announces changes
Mobile phone vendor Dbtel Inc (大霸電子) said yesterday that it would reduce its shares to improve its financial status. After the revision, the company's capital would be around NT$1.25 billion (US$39.3 million), down from the current NT$8.32 billion, the company said in a statement to the Taiwan Stock Exchange. The company had accumulated NT$430 billion in losses over the past years as of the first quarter. After the reduction, the company's net value would be lifted to NT$12.79 per share from the current NT$1.92. The proposal would be put to the company's annual shareholder meeting on June 30.
■ Airport fees to be cut
The government will lower airport fees for domestic routes, saving NT$1.16 billion (US$36 million) a year for carriers such as Far Eastern Air Transport Corp (遠東航空) and helping them to compete amid rising fuel costs. Airlines will be charged 50 percent less for landing from July 1, while leases for land and buildings will be cut by 10 percent, the Ministry of Transportation and Communication said on its Web site on Wednesday, without giving details on the fees. Four airlines operating domestic routes including Far Eastern will face competition from the Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (台灣高鐵), which is scheduled to start services in October. "The ministry has asked the Civil Aeronautics Administration to actively promote measures that'll help the industry," including encouraging mergers, the ministry said, without disclosing details. The airport fee reduction won't apply for international routes, the ministry said.
■ Pingtung EPZA wants investors
The Pingtung branch of the Export Processing Zone Administration (EPZA) said yesterday that all domestic and overseas investors are welcome to set up shop in the new zone. The Pingtung branch, the first duty-free industrial zone in the nation's southernmost county, is scheduled for completion by the end of next year, the EPZA said, noting that all major roads, communication networks, and water and sewage systems have already been completed. According to EPZA statistics, the Pingtung branch, located near the Kaoping Bridge on the outskirts of Pingtung City, has so far approved the applications of 12 companies to set up shop. The total investment amounts to NT$3.689 billion, and roughly 1,500 job opportunities will be created. The land in the Pingtung zone is not for sale -- the monthly land rental is only NT$1.33 per square meter. In addition, companies inside the zone will enjoy preferential treatment on tariffs, commodity taxes, sales taxes, contract taxes, business income taxes and housing taxes, the EPZA said.
■ FSC members to be finalized
Financial Supervisory Commission Acting Chairman Lu Daung-yen (呂東英) said yesterday that a decision on whether the number of replacements for commission members will be three or four would be made by the end of next month. Three out of the commission's nine members will see their two-year tenures expire next month. They are Amy Chin (金文悅), Ling Kuen-bao (凌氤寶) and Huang Hsien-hua (黃顯華). As such, Lu's statements could indicate that the commission's suspended chairman, Kong Jaw-sheng (龔照勝), would be removed from his position by that time. Meanwhile, the post of director-general of the Examination Bureau, vacant since July last year, may remain empty in the near future, as Lu said a suitable candidate would not be selected before an internal consensus was reached.
Hypermarket chain Carrefour Taiwan and upscale supermarket chain Mia C’bon on Saturday announced the suspension of their partnership with Jkopay Co (街口支付), one of Taiwan’s largest digital payment providers, amid a lawsuit involving its parent company. Carrefour and Mia C’bon said they would notify customers once Jkopay services are reinstated. The two retailers joined an array of other firms in suspending their partnerships with Jkopay. On Friday night, popular beverage chain TP Tea (茶湯會) also suspended its use of the platform, urging customers to opt for alternative payment methods. Another drinks brand, Guiji (龜記), on Friday said that it is up to individual
UNCERTAINTIES: Exports surged 34.1% and private investment grew 7.03% to outpace expectations in the first half, although US tariffs could stall momentum The Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) yesterday raised its GDP growth forecast to 3.05 percent this year on a robust first-half performance, but warned that US tariff threats and external uncertainty could stall momentum in the second half of the year. “The first half proved exceptionally strong, allowing room for optimism,” CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) said. “But the growth momentum may slow moving forward due to US tariffs.” The tariff threat poses definite downside risks, although the scale of the impact remains unclear given the unpredictability of US President Donald Trump’s policies, Lien said. Despite the headwinds, Taiwan is likely
READY TO BUY: Shortly after Nvidia announced the approval, Chinese firms scrambled to order the H20 GPUs, which the company must send to the US government for approval Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) late on Monday said the technology giant has won approval from US President Donald Trump’s administration to sell its advanced H20 graphics processing units (GPUs) used to develop artificial intelligence (AI) to China. The news came in a company blog post late on Monday and Huang also spoke about the coup on China’s state-run China Global Television Network in remarks shown on X. “The US government has assured Nvidia that licenses will be granted, and Nvidia hopes to start deliveries soon,” the post said. “Today, I’m announcing that the US government has approved for us
The National Stabilization Fund (NSF, 國安基金) is to continue supporting local shares, as uncertainties in international politics and the economy could affect Taiwanese industries’ global deployment and corporate profits, as well as affect stock movement and investor confidence, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement yesterday. The NT$500 billion (US$17.1 billion) fund would remain active in the stock market as the US’ tariff measures have not yet been fully finalized, which would drive international capital flows and global supply chain restructuring, the ministry said after the a meeting of the fund’s steering committee. Along with ongoing geopolitical risks and an unfavorable
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