A struggling government-funded aircraft company in the US should be shut down if it can't raise new funds in the private sector, an opposition lawmaker said yesterday.
Taiwanese officials acknowledge that despite an investment of more than US$500 million since its establishment in 1996, the Sino-Swearingen Co of Martinsburg, West Virginia, will only deliver its first SJ30-2 six-seat corporate jet this month.
The aircraft carries a price tag of about US$6.5 million.
The Taiwanese government is the majority share holder in Sino-Swearingen and appoints its top management. The venture's other big equity holder is Swearingen Aircraft Co of San Antonio, Texas.
"The government of Taiwan should not pour more money into the company, and if it cannot finance itself it should shut down," Lai Shyi-bao (賴士葆) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) said.
On Monday Vice Economics Minister Steve Chen (陳瑞隆) said Sino-Swearingen plans to raise up to US$150 million through a US investment bank after the Taiwanese government invests an additional US$15 million, which he indicated would be the last Taiwanese funding it receives.
A Taiwanese official said that while Sino-Swearingen has the ability to produce a high-quality, competitive product, management problems and the loss of critical engineering and other talent were impeding its ability to function properly.
Taiwan originally invested in the SJ30-2 project as part of its efforts to build up the island's aerospace industry, in the hope that many of the jet's components would be subcontracted to Taiwanese manufacturers.
SEEKING CLARITY: Washington should not adopt measures that create uncertainties for ‘existing semiconductor investments,’ TSMC said referring to its US$165 billion in the US Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) told the US that any future tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors could reduce demand for chips and derail its pledge to increase its investment in Arizona. “New import restrictions could jeopardize current US leadership in the competitive technology industry and create uncertainties for many committed semiconductor capital projects in the US, including TSMC Arizona’s significant investment plan in Phoenix,” the chipmaker wrote in a letter to the US Department of Commerce. TSMC issued the warning in response to a solicitation for comments by the department on a possible tariff on semiconductor imports by US President Donald Trump’s
The government has launched a three-pronged strategy to attract local and international talent, aiming to position Taiwan as a new global hub following Nvidia Corp’s announcement that it has chosen Taipei as the site of its Taiwan headquarters. Nvidia cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Monday last week announced during his keynote speech at the Computex trade show in Taipei that the Nvidia Constellation, the company’s planned Taiwan headquarters, would be located in the Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei. Huang’s decision to establish a base in Taiwan is “primarily due to Taiwan’s talent pool and its strength in the semiconductor
An earnings report from semiconductor giant and artificial intelligence (AI) bellwether Nvidia Corp takes center stage for Wall Street this week, as stocks hit a speed bump of worries over US federal deficits driving up Treasury yields. US equities pulled back last week after a torrid rally, as investors turned their attention to tax and spending legislation poised to swell the US government’s US$36 trillion in debt. Long-dated US Treasury yields rose amid the fiscal worries, with the 30-year yield topping 5 percent and hitting its highest level since late 2023. Stocks were dealt another blow on Friday when US President Donald
UNCERTAINTY: Investors remain worried that trade negotiations with Washington could go poorly, given Trump’s inconsistency on tariffs in his second term, experts said The consumer confidence index this month fell for a ninth consecutive month to its lowest level in 13 months, as global trade uncertainties and tariff risks cloud Taiwan’s economic outlook, a survey released yesterday by National Central University found. The biggest decline came from the timing for stock investments, which plunged 11.82 points to 26.82, underscoring bleak investor confidence, it said. “Although the TAIEX reclaimed the 21,000-point mark after the US and China agreed to bury the hatchet for 90 days, investors remain worried that the situation would turn sour later,” said Dachrahn Wu (吳大任), director of the university’s Research Center for
RSS