■MILITARY
Taiwan inks Lockheed deal
Lockheed Martin Corp received a US$665.6 million order from the Taiwanese government to upgrade 12 mothballed US Navy surveillance airplanes with new wings and make other improvements. The contract under the Pentagon’s Foreign Military Sales program is expected to be completed by August 2015, the US Department of Defense said on its Web site on Friday. Lockheed will refurbish the 12 P-3C maritime spy planes with new avionics and wings to extend the aircrafts’ life, company spokeswoman Tierney Helmers said in an interview. The Pentagon first notified US Congress about Taiwan’s request for the planes in September 2007.
■MARKETS
Delta may list in Taiwan
Delta Networks Inc (達創科技) may list on the Taiwan Stock Exchange after completing its delisting from Hong Kong by the end of the second quarter, the Chinese-language Economic Daily News reported yesterday, citing Bruce Cheng (鄭崇華), chairman of parent Delta Electronics Inc (台達電子). Delta Networks, a maker of communications equipment for customers including Alcatel Lucent and Nortel Networks, has offered to pay HK$1.83 a share for the 470.83 million shares, or 39.8 percent stake, it doesn’t own in order to make the firm private and then delist from the stock exchange, the company said in a filing on Thursday.
■MEDICAL
Novartis, NTUH sign deal
Novartis Taiwan Co signed a cooperation agreement with National Taiwan University Hospital on Friday on the establishment of a clinical research and development (R&D) center. Over the past few years, the Switzerland-based pharmaceutical group has commissioned the hospital to undertake 22 clinical experiments. The satisfactory results of those projects have prompted the company to decide to further strengthen cooperation with the hospital by setting up a joint clinical R&D center, said Alex Chang (張振武), country president of Novartis Taiwan. Under the new project, Novartis will introduce new clinical trials of drugs in Taiwan and explore the feasibility of developing new drugs for the treatment of cancers commonly diagnosed in Asia.
■ELECTRONICS
Creative cuts 300 jobs
Struggling Singaporean digital entertainment products maker Creative Technology is to cut 300 jobs globally, mostly in Europe and the US, the company said. It said in a statement late on Friday that there would be a restructuring charge of US$10 million for severance payments and headcount cost reductions in the current third quarter ending this month. The Singapore-listed firm has struggled to make inroads against Apple’s iconic iPod in the MP3 or digital music player market despite pumping in massive investments.
■REAL ESTATE
Home buyers sue Trump
Donald Trump is being sued by buyers who lost millions of dollars in deposits on a failed hotel-condo on Mexico’s Baja California shores. Attorney Bart Ring said on Friday that the 69 buyers he represents purchased 71 units in Trump Ocean Resort Baja. They paid deposits totalling between US$18 million and US$20 million. Buyers were told last month that the project was being scrapped and that their deposits would not be returned. The hotel was to be built in Tijuana, just across the border from California. The lawsuit accuses Trump of fraud, negligence and breach of fiduciary duty.
Zhang Yazhou was sitting in the passenger seat of her Tesla Model 3 when she said she heard her father’s panicked voice: The brakes do not work. Approaching a red light, her father swerved around two cars before plowing into a sport utility vehicle and a sedan, and crashing into a large concrete barrier. Stunned, Zhang gazed at the deflating airbag in front of her. She could never have imagined what was to come: Tesla Inc sued her for defamation for complaining publicly about the vehicles brakes — and won. A Chinese court ordered Zhang to pay more than US$23,000 in
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday held its first board of directors meeting in the US, at which it did not unveil any new US investments despite mounting tariff threats from US President Donald Trump. Trump has threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, prompting market speculation that TSMC might consider boosting its chip capacity in the US or ramping up production of advanced chips such as those using a 2-nanometer technology process at its Arizona fabs ahead of schedule. Speculation also swirled that the chipmaker might consider building its own advanced packaging capacity in the US as part
‘NO DISRUPTION’: A US trade association said that it was ready to work with the US administration to streamline the program’s requirements and achieve shared goals The White House is seeking to renegotiate US CHIPS and Science Act awards and has signaled delays to some upcoming semiconductor disbursements, two sources familiar with the matter told reporters. The people, along with a third source, said that the new US administration is reviewing the projects awarded under the 2022 law, meant to boost US domestic semiconductor output with US$39 billion in subsidies. Washington plans to renegotiate some of the deals after assessing and changing current requirements, the sources said. The extent of the possible changes and how they would affect agreements already finalized was not immediately clear. It was not known
US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose up to 100 percent tariffs on Taiwan’s semiconductor exports to the US to encourage chip manufacturers to move their production facilities to the US, but experts are questioning his strategy, warning it could harm industries on both sides. “I’m very confused and surprised that the Trump administration would try and do this,” Bob O’Donnell, chief analyst and founder of TECHnalysis Research in California, said in an interview with the Central News Agency on Wednesday. “It seems to reflect the fact that they don’t understand how the semiconductor industry really works,” O’Donnell said. Economic sanctions would