■ Competitiveness
Taiwan ranks No. 2 in Asia
Taiwan's competitiveness ranked second after Hong Kong among 79 Asian economies last year, slipping from first place the previous year, according to a report released on Friday by Singapore's Institute of Policy Studies (IPS). Other economies on the top five list were Singapore, China's Guangdong Province and Malaysia, in that order. In terms of their business environment, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau seized the top three places, in that order. Taiwan placed third in terms of economic environment, government efficiency and social environment, lagging behind Hong Kong and Singapore. The study was conducted by the IPS in cooperation with Nanyang Technological University.
■ FDI
Foreign investment up 386%
Approved investment by overseas Chinese and foreign nationals during the first seven months of this year increased nearly fourfold over the same period last year, Taiwan's Investment Commission reported on Thursday. The commission said it approved 861 investment cases submitted by overseas Chinese and foreign nationals between January and July of this year, valued at a total of US$8.34 billion, up 386 percent from the same period last year. Last month alone there were 195 newly approved cases submitted by overseas Chinese and foreign investors, with the total reaching US$1.4 billion. Figures also showed Taiwanese investment in China increased 31.38 percent in the first seven months of this year, with 601 cases approved, totaling US$3.9 billion, including 82 cases last month totaling US$386.97 million.
■ Trade
Indian official on his way
India's vice minister of commerce and industry in charge of investment, Ajay Dua, will head a trade delegation to Taiwan later this month to seek investment in his country, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. India is the largest country in South Asia, with a population of 1.09 billion. In a period of increased economic exchanges between Taiwan and India, Dua will be the highest-level official within India's government to visit Taiwan in recent years. The delegation will stay in Taiwan from Aug. 31 to Sep. 2. Dua will introduce India's business climate and trade opportunities at a trade seminar on Sept. 1.
■ Banking
Bad loans to be auctioned off
Taiwan Cooperative Bank (合作金庫銀行), the nation's second-largest lender, plans to auction NT$30.3 billion (US$928 million) in bad loans, including NT$300 million in credit card debt. The bank announced its board's decision in a statement to the Taiwan Stock Exchange late on Friday, without giving details such as a timetable for the auction. This comes after the Taipei-based lender said on July 24 that the Taiwan branch of FC Capital Management Co, a unit of General Electric Co, won a bid to buy NT$19.2 billion of bad loans from Taiwan Cooperative.
■ Internet
EBay nixes satellite listings
EBay Inc, the world's biggest online auctioneer, deleted postings for the sale of satellite TV dishes from its auction site in China after authorities began a month-long campaign to reinforce the ban of such devices, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. Ordinary Chinese aren't allowed to own satellite dishes as officials have forbidden locals from accessing foreign programming since 1993, Xinhua reported.
Three experts in the high technology industry have said that US President Donald Trump’s pledge to impose higher tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors is part of an effort to force Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to the negotiating table. In a speech to Republicans on Jan. 27, Trump said he intends to impose tariffs on Taiwan to bring chip production to the US. “The incentive is going to be they’re not going to want to pay a 25, 50 or even a 100 percent tax,” he said. Darson Chiu (邱達生), an economics professor at Taichung-based Tunghai University and director-general of
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) is reportedly making another pass at Nissan Motor Co, as the Japanese automaker's tie-up with Honda Motor Co falls apart. Nissan shares rose as much as 6 percent after Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported that Hon Hai chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) instructed former Nissan executive Jun Seki to connect with French carmaker Renault SA, which holds about 36 percent of Nissan’s stock. Hon Hai, the Taiwanese iPhone-maker also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), was exploring an investment or buyout of Nissan last year, but backed off in December after the Japanese carmaker penned a deal
WASHINGTON POLICY: Tariffs of 10 percent or more and other new costs are tipped to hit shipments of small parcels, cutting export growth by 1.3 percentage points The decision by US President Donald Trump to ban Chinese companies from using a US tariff loophole would hit tens of billions of dollars of trade and reduce China’s economic growth this year, according to new estimates by economists at Nomura Holdings Inc. According to Nomura’s estimates, last year companies such as Shein (希音) and PDD Holdings Inc’s (拼多多控股) Temu shipped US$46 billion of small parcels to the US to take advantage of the rule that allows items with a declared value under US$800 to enter the US tariff-free. Tariffs of 10 percent or more and other new costs would slash such
SENSOR BUSINESS: The Taiwanese company said that a public tender offer would begin on May 7 through its wholly owned subsidiary Yageo Electronics Japan Yageo Corp (國巨), one of the world’s top three suppliers of passive components, yesterday said it is to launch a tender offer to fully acquire Japan’s Shibaura Electronics Co for up to ¥65.57 billion (US$429.37 million), with an aim to expand its sensor business. The tender offer would be a crucial step for the company to expand its sensor business, Yageo said. Shibaura Electronics is the world’s largest supplier of thermistors, with a market share of 13 percent, research conducted in 2022 by the Japanese firm showed. If a deal goes ahead, it would be the second acquisition of a sensor business since