■Info tech
Sales in Taiwan increase
The local buying offices of foreign information and communication technology (ICT) companies procured US$86.8 billion worth of ICT and electronics goods in Taiwan this year, a 6.9 percent increase from a year earlier, the nonprofit Institute for Information Industry (III) reported on Friday. The foreign companies bought US$48 billion worth of notebook computers from local manufacturers this year, making it the backbone of foreign high-tech outsourcing in Taiwan. Nine foreign companies have each made over US$2.5 billion in purchases in Taiwan through their local buying offices this year, the III said. Ten foreign firms procured between US$400 million and US$2.5 billion this year, it said.
■labor
Trade Unionists rally
Some 30,000 workers protested yesterday against moves to revise protections for part-time and temporary employees, police and organizers said. Trade unionists gathered at a park in Seoul to rally against plans to re-draw a 2006 law forcing bosses of “irregular workers” to hire them as permanent staffers or fire them after two years. The ruling conservative Grand National Party and the labour ministry plan to extend the period to four years, sparking protests from opposition parties and labour unions. There were no immediate reports of any clashes during the rally.
■finance
Capital flow under threat
The global financial crisis risks causing a 50 percent slide in capital flows to developing nations in Africa, Asia and Latin America next year, according to the World Bank’s chief economist. “We must intensify our efforts to catalyze and leverage private capital in support of development,” including the use of public-private partnerships, World Bank Senior Vice President Justin Lin (林毅夫) said in a statement prepared for delivery yesterday to a UN development conference in Doha, Qatar. Lin’s statement said developing countries are entering a “danger zone” where economic growth could slow to 4.5 percent next year from an average of 7.8 percent in 2006 and last year. Every percentage point decline will push 20 million people into poverty, according to his statement.
■Banking
Commission blocks plan
The European Commission is blocking the French government’s plan to bail out its six largest banks by insisting that state funds can not be used for commercial lending, Britain’s Financial Times reported on Friday on its Web site. According to the report, EU Competition Commissioner Nellie Kroes has rejected pleas by French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde to approve the French 10.5 billion euro (US$13.3 billion) plan. In the French plan, the government would subscribe to subordinated five-year debt issued by the six banks. In exchange, the banks committed themselves to increasing their loans to individuals and companies by 3 percent to 4 percent next year.
■internet
Icahn increases stake
Corporate raider Carl Icahn increased his stake in Yahoo following the decision of co-founder Jerry Yang (楊致遠) to step down as head of the Internet firm, documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) showed. Icahn acquired 6.77 million more shares of Yahoo stock from Monday to Wednesday for US$67 million, taking his stake in the firm to 5.4 percent, up from the 5 percent he owned previously, the documents filed with the SEC and dated on Wednesday showed.
Anna Bhobho, a 31-year-old housewife from rural Zimbabwe, was once a silent observer in her home, excluded from financial and family decisionmaking in the deeply patriarchal society. Today, she is a driver of change in her village, thanks to an electric tricycle she owns. In many parts of rural sub-Saharan Africa, women have long been excluded from mainstream economic activities such as operating public transportation. However, three-wheelers powered by green energy are reversing that trend, offering financial opportunities and a newfound sense of importance. “My husband now looks up to me to take care of a large chunk of expenses,
SECTOR LEADER: TSMC can increase capacity by as much as 20 percent or more in the advanced node part of the foundry market by 2030, an analyst said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to lead its peers in the advanced 2-nanometer process technology, despite competition from Samsung Electronics Co and Intel Corp, TrendForce Corp analyst Joanne Chiao (喬安) said. TSMC’s sophisticated products and its large production scale are expected to allow the company to continue dominating the global 2-nanometer process market this year, Chiao said. The world’s largest contract chipmaker is scheduled to begin mass production of chips made on the 2-nanometer process in its Hsinchu fab in the second half of this year. It would also hold a ceremony on Monday next week to
TECH CLUSTER: The US company’s new office is in the Shalun Smart Green Energy Science City, a new AI industry base and cybersecurity hub in southern Taiwan US chip designer Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) yesterday launched an office in Tainan’s Gueiren District (歸仁), marking a significant milestone in the development of southern Taiwan’s artificial intelligence (AI) industry, the Tainan City Government said in a statement. AMD Taiwan general manager Vincent Chern (陳民皓) presided over the opening ceremony for the company’s new office at the Shalun Smart Green Energy Science City (沙崙智慧綠能科學城), a new AI industry base and cybersecurity hub in southern Taiwan. Facilities in the new office include an information processing center, and a research and development (R&D) center, the Tainan Economic Development Bureau said. The Ministry
ADVERSARIES: The new list includes 11 entities in China and one in Taiwan, which is a local branch of Chinese cloud computing firm Inspur Group The US added dozens of entities to a trade blacklist on Tuesday, the US Department of Commerce said, in part to disrupt Beijing’s artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced computing capabilities. The action affects 80 entities from countries including China, the United Arab Emirates and Iran, with the commerce department citing their “activities contrary to US national security and foreign policy.” Those added to the “entity list” are restricted from obtaining US items and technologies without government authorization. “We will not allow adversaries to exploit American technology to bolster their own militaries and threaten American lives,” US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said. The entities
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