RUBBER
Nankang raises prices
Nankang Rubber Tire Co (南港輪胎), a major tire factory in Taiwan, said on Friday that it will hike the price of its products by 6 percent to 8 percent next month because of higher raw material costs. It will be the third time this year that the Taipei-based company raises its prices. The price hikes will take effect from Dec. 1, the company said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange. The price of natural rubber has soared by 25 percent since the start of the year as poor weather in Southeast Asia has affected rubber supplies. The price of synthetic rubber has also jumped this year, rising more than 14 percent because of higher rising oil prices.
SPORTING GOODS
Li Ning prepares expansion
Li Ning Co (李寧), China’s homegrown sports brand, aims to trim inefficient outlets while adding a net 600 stores next year, as it competes with global brands expanding into lower-tier Chinese cities. Li Ning aims to operate a network of 8,500 stores next year and its 7,900 stores target for this year is achievable, a company spokesperson said. Adidas AG, the world’s second-largest sporting goods maker after Nike Inc, has planned to open more than 2,500 stores in smaller Chinese cities as the companies tap into rising incomes in those areas.
FASHION
Prosecutors seek D&G trial
Italian prosecutors on Friday requested the trial of famous fashion house Dolce & Gabbana (D&G) for alleged tax fraud of about 1 billion euros (US$1.4 billion), ANSA news agency reported. The request came from Milan prosecutor Laura Pedio, it said. Reports last month said investigators had completed an inquiry into founders Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, as well as five other people. Il Sole 24 Ore business daily reported earlier the company had failed to declare 840 million euros in revenues. The unpaid taxes amount to 420 million euros, one report said.
INTERNET
Amazon allows e-book gifts
Amazon.com Inc has begun allowing customers to give its Kindle e-books to others. Before, customers could only give gift certificates to cover the cost of an e-book. To receive a Kindle e-book gift, the recipient only needs an e-mail address, not necessarily a Kindle e-reader. Although the e-reader starts at US$139 for a version that can wirelessly download content over Wi-Fi, Amazon also offers a number of free applications that can be used to read Kindle books on gadgets such as laptops, tablet computers and smart phones.
ELECTRONICS
Analysts anticipate thin iPad
Apple Inc may introduce a thinner iPad in the first half of next year with features such as a camera for video-calling and chips made by Qualcomm Inc that let it work on global wireless networks, analysts say. Production may start as early as January, with an introduction to the public by February or March, said Mike Abramsky, an analyst with RBC Capital Markets in Toronto. The device will feature Qualcomm chips that allow a Web connection on both GSM and CDMA networks, the dominant radio standards used in mobile phones, said Brian Blair of Wedge Partners, who said he expects an April debut. The announcement’s timing would put the iPad on an annual cycle of introductions similar to those of iPhones and iPods.
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
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
‘LEGACY CHIPS’: Chinese companies have dramatically increased mature chip production capacity, but the West’s drive for secure supply chains offers a lifeline for Taiwan When Powerchip Technology Corp (力晶科技) entered a deal with the eastern Chinese city of Hefei in 2015 to set up a new chip foundry, it hoped the move would help provide better access to the promising Chinese market. However, nine years later, that Chinese foundry, Nexchip Semiconductor Corp (合晶集成), has become one of its biggest rivals in the legacy chip space, leveraging steep discounts after Beijing’s localization call forced Powerchip to give up the once-lucrative business making integrated circuits for Chinese flat panels. Nexchip is among Chinese foundries quickly winning market share in the crucial US$56.3 billion industry of so-called legacy
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