■SOLAR ENERGY
E-ton president to resign
E-ton Solar Tech Co (益通光能), one of the nation’s leading solar cell makers, said on Friday its president and chief technology officer Allen Guo (郭俊華) offered to resign for health and family reasons. In a stock exchange filing on Friday night, E-ton said chairman Stephen Wu (吳世章) would act as president during the transition period, while Guo would serve as an unpaid technology consultant. Guo replaced Tsai Chin-yao (蔡進耀) to serve as the company’s president in September last year. Earlier this month, Guo said the company planned to boost annual capacity next year to 500 megawatts from 320MW now.
■REAL ESTATE
HK sales near 2007 level
Hong Kong property sales may total HK$518 billion (US$67 billion) this year, approaching the level of 2007, thanks to a weaker US dollar, a massive inflow of money from China and low interest rates, the Ming Pao Daily News reported yesterday. Registered secondary residential property sales may reach HK$286 billion, the Hong Kong-based Chinese-language paper said, citing data from Centaline Property Agency Ltd and the city’s Land Registry. Sales in 2007 totaled HK$525.6 billion, with secondary residential transactions of HK$296 billion, it said.
■ECONOMY
China policy shift expected
People should be prepared for change in China’s macroeconomic policies as the nation’s economic situation shifts, Dow Jones reported, citing Fan Gang (樊綱), an adviser to the country’s central bank. “Policy adopted amid the crisis can’t last forever,” Fan was quoted as saying in the report, which was published on the Wall Street Journal’s Web site. Certain flexibility of macroeconomic policy is an important factor in maintaining economic stability, he was cited as saying. Fan, who advisers the People’s Bank of China, said on Nov. 18 that “double-digit” growth would not be good next year amid the rising risk of bubbles in stock, real estate and commodity prices.
■INTERNET
China monitors gamers
China has placed more than 4.65 million computers at 80,000 Internet cafes under watch in a bid to crack down on violent or pornographic online games, state media reported yesterday. Xinhua quoted Chinese Culture Minister Cai Wu (蔡武) as saying in an interview that his ministry had banned 219 Internet games for carrying “lewd, pornographic and violent” content and had blocked access to games 87 million times this year. Cai’s ministry plans to step up regulation of the fast-expanding online game sector and “would improve censorship of the games in the future,” Xinhua reported.
■ECONOMY
UK parents raid kids’ funds
One-fifth of parents in recession-hit Britain admit they have dipped into their children’s savings accounts to make ends meet, a survey for a financial services company said on Friday. About 22 percent of parents said they had been forced to raid their children’s savings, with many needing extra cash to pay bills and unexpected car repairs, the survey for Engage Mutual Assurance said. Just under half of parents said they borrowed between £200 and £500 (US$319 and US$798), according to the survey by OnePoll. Most parents in Britain, which is still in recession after being hit hard by the global economic crisis, took the money only when there was no alternative. Eight out of 10 said they saw it as a loan, to be repaid when possible.
PROTECTIONISM: China hopes to help domestic chipmakers gain more market share while preparing local tech companies for the possibility of more US sanctions Beijing is stepping up pressure on Chinese companies to buy locally produced artificial intelligence (AI) chips instead of Nvidia Corp products, part of the nation’s effort to expand its semiconductor industry and counter US sanctions. Chinese regulators have been discouraging companies from purchasing Nvidia’s H20 chips, which are used to develop and run AI models, sources familiar with the matter said. The policy has taken the form of guidance rather than an outright ban, as Beijing wants to avoid handicapping its own AI start-ups and escalating tensions with the US, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the
Taipei is today suspending its US$2.5 trillion stock market as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed-income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Yesterday, schools and offices were closed in several cities and counties in southern and eastern Taiwan, including in the key industrial port city of Kaohsiung. Taiwan, which started canceling flights, ship sailings and some train services earlier this week, has wind and rain advisories in place for much of the island. It regularly experiences typhoons, and in July shut offices and schools as
Her white-gloved, waistcoated uniform impeccable, 22-year-old Hazuki Okuno boards a bullet train replica to rehearse the strict protocols behind the smooth operation of a Japanese institution turning 60 Tuesday. High-speed Shinkansen trains began running between Tokyo and Osaka on Oct. 1, 1964, heralding a new era for rail travel as Japan grew into an economic superpower after World War II. The service remains integral to the nation’s economy and way of life — so keeping it dazzlingly clean, punctual and accident-free is a serious job. At a 10-story, state-of-the-art staff training center, Okuno shouted from the window and signaled to imaginary colleagues, keeping
Arm Holdings PLC approached Intel Corp about potentially buying the ailing chipmaker’s product division, only to be told that the business is not for sale, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter. In the high-level inquiry, Arm did not express interest in Intel’s manufacturing operations, said the source, who asked not to be identified because the discussions were private. Intel has two main units: A product group that sells chips for personal computers, servers and networking equipment, and another that operates its factories. Representatives for Arm and Intel declined to comment. Intel, once the world’s largest chipmaker, has become the
RSS