■INVESTMENT
Private investment robust
Private investment in Taiwan totaled NT$386 billion (US$ 12.2 billion) in the first quarter of the year, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said on Friday. The amount was 37.57 percent of the government’s full-year target of NT$1.272 trillion (US$43.1 billion), indicating that the nation is emerging from the shadow of the global financial crisis, the ministry said. Among the industries that saw growing investment, the green energy sector attracted NT$41.8 billion, amounting to 78 percent of the industry target for this year, the ministry said.
■BEVERAGES
Coke raises Innocent stake
US soft drinks giant Coca-Cola has taken a majority stake in fast-expanding British smoothie maker Innocent Drinks, but its founders said on Friday that they would maintain operational control. Coca-Cola increased its stake in Innocent to 58 percent, one year after taking an inital 18 percent share. Financial details of the latest deal were not revealed.
■CEMENT
Cemex to invest in Peru
Mexico’s Cemex, the world’s third-largest cement maker, said on Friday it would invest up to US$100 million in Peru to build a production plant with investment firm Blue Rock Cement Holdings. The new plant will have an initial capacity of 1 million tonnes of cement per year, a statement from the company’s headquarters in the northern city of Monterrey said. The company aims to complete construction of the US$230 million plant in early 2013.
■ICELAND
Official optimistic on loan
Finance Minister Steingrimur Sigfusson on Friday expressed optimism that the country would receive final approval for a crucial IMF loan payout, after an agreement was reached on its conditions. “I’m very optimistic that the path is clear and we will get the review,” Steingrimur Sigfusson said, adding that he expected “a unanimous decision” from the IMF board. The IMF and Iceland on Friday announced an agreement on the conditions for the controversial US$159 million IMF loan payment, which awaits IMF board approval.
■PUBLISHING
Fund buys ‘Reader’s Digest’
A management buy-out backed by an investment company has saved the British division of Reader’s Digest from administration, the deal’s organizers said on Friday. The British arm collapsed into administration on Feb. 17, six months after its US parent group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and almost 100 potential buyers had expressed interest to administrators. Better Capital Ltd said its BECAP fund had backed the buy-out in a transaction valued at £13 million (US$20 million). Managing director Chris Spratling will remain head of the company.
■TECHNOLOGY
Hiring practices probed
The US Department of Justice is investigating whether some of the biggest technology companies agreed not to recruit each others’ employees, violating antitrust laws, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. The investigation is looking into hiring practices at companies including Apple Inc, Google Inc, IAC/InterActiveCorp, International Business Machines and Intel Corp, the newspaper reported. In particular, the Justice Department is investigating whether computer engineers and other workers have missed opportunities to move to better-paying jobs because of these companies’ hiring practices, the newspaper said.
Shares of contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) came under pressure yesterday after a report that Apple Inc is looking to shift some orders from the Taiwanese company to Intel Corp. TSMC shares fell NT$55, or 2.4 percent, to close at NT$2,235 on the local main board, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed. Despite the losses, TSMC is expected to continue to benefit from sound fundamentals, as it maintains a lead over its peers in high-end process development, analysts said. “The selling was a knee-jerk reaction to an Intel-Apple report over the weekend,” Mega International Investment Services Corp (兆豐國際投顧) analyst Alex Huang
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to remain Apple Inc’s primary chip manufacturing partner despite reports that Apple could shift some orders to Intel Corp, industry experts said yesterday. The comments came after The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Apple and Intel had reached a preliminary agreement following more than a year of negotiations for Intel to manufacture some chips for Apple devices. Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (台灣經濟研究院) economist Arisa Liu (劉佩真) said TSMC’s advanced packaging technologies, including integrated fan-out and chip-on-wafer-on-substrate, remain critical to the performance of Apple’s A-series and M-series chips. She said Intel and Samsung
TRANSITION: With the closure, the company would reorganize its Taiwanese unit to a sales and service-focused model, Bridgestone said Bridgestone Corp yesterday announced it would cease manufacturing operations at its tire plant in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口), affecting more than 500 workers. Bridgestone Taiwan Co (台灣普利司通) said in a statement that the decision was based on the Tokyo-based tire maker’s adjustments to its global operational strategy and long-term market development considerations. The Taiwanese unit would be reorganized as part of the closure, effective yesterday, and all related production activities would be concluded, the statement said. Under the plan, Bridgestone would continue to deepen its presence in the Taiwanese market, while transitioning to a sales and service-focused business model, it added. The Hsinchu
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has approved a capital budget of US$31.28 billion for production expansion to meet long-term development needs during the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. The company’s board meeting yesterday approved the capital appropriation plan for purposes such as the installation of advanced technology capacity and fab construction, the world’s largest contract chipmaker said in a statement. At an earnings conference last month, TSMC forecast that its capital expenditure for this year would be at the higher end of the US$52 billion to US$56 billion range it forecast in January in response to robust demand for 5G, AI and
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