Energy
CPC pledges price freeze
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) said yesterday there will be no price adjustments for liquefied natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas this month and next month, a time when demand for fuel is high because of lower temperatures and the Lunar New Year holiday. The company said in a statement that the decision was made in accordance with the government’s policy to help stabilize domestic consumer prices. Prices of gasoline and diesel products will not change during the Lunar New Year period even if global crude oil prices increase, CPC said. However, the company will lower gasoline and diesel prices during the new year holidays if global crude prices decline, it said.
Food & Beverages
Starbucks dearer in China
Starbucks said on Friday it planned to increase the price of some drinks in China because of soaring commodity prices. The price of Frappuccinos was hiked by 2 yuan (US$0.30) yesterday, Starbucks spokeswoman Caren Li (勵靜) said. The previous price for a small Frappuccino was around 30 yuan. Starbucks, which has 400 stores in China, will however reduce the cost of other products such as vanilla lattes, as well as extra syrup, cream and coffee shots, Li said, without providing further details.
Electronics
DoCoMo set to take on iPad
Japan’s top carrier, NTT DoCoMo, is to launch a tablet computer running Google software to challenge Apple’s hot-selling iPad, a report said yesterday. DoCoMo will marry the new Google-backed Android operating system with a device made by South Korea’s LG Electronics to launch the product in Japan by the end of March, the Nikkei business daily said, without naming sources. Users will be able to get on the Internet via DoCoMo’s cellular connections, it said, adding pricing and other details were yet to be decided.
Banking
ANZ to revamp expansion
Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ANZ) is revamping its expansion and raising the profile of its North Asian operations after its failed bid for Korea Exchange Bank, the Australian newspaper reported citing chief executive officer Mike Smith. The strategy may include expansion in South Korea without acquisitions as well as Japan and China, the newspaper said.
Real Estate
UK house prices rise 0.4%
Average house prices in the UK rose 0.4 percent last year as falling prices in the second half of the year offset gains in the first six months, a major mortgage lender said on Friday. The Nationwide Building Society, the country’s third-largest mortgage lender, said average house prices were up 0.4 percent last month compared to November. For the last three months of the year — considered a better indicator of the trend — average prices were down 1 percent compared to the previous quarter.
Automobiles
Auto giants issue recalls
Ford and Chrysler are recalling tens of thousands of vehicles due to safety problems, the US government said on Friday. Chrysler Group was recalling about 143,000 Dodge Ram trucks and Dodge Journey sport utility vehicles, a report on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Web site said. Ford Motor has recalled almost 15,000 pickup trucks, Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX SUVs to address an electrical problem that could cause a fire, the government said.
TECH PARTNERSHIP: The deal with Arizona-based Amkor would provide TSMC with advanced packing and test capacities, a requirement to serve US customers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is collaborating with Amkor Technology Inc to provide local advanced packaging and test capacities in Arizona to address customer requirements for geographical flexibility in chip manufacturing. As part of the agreement, TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, would contract turnkey advanced packaging and test services from Amkor at their planned facility in Peoria, Arizona, a joint statement released yesterday said. TSMC would leverage these services to support its customers, particularly those using TSMC’s advanced wafer fabrication facilities in Phoenix, Arizona, it said. The companies would jointly define the specific packaging technologies, such as TSMC’s Integrated
China’s economic planning agency yesterday outlined details of measures aimed at boosting the economy, but refrained from major spending initiatives. The piecemeal nature of the plans announced yesterday appeared to disappoint investors who were hoping for bolder moves, and the Shanghai Composite Index gave up a 10 percent initial gain as markets reopened after a weeklong holiday to end 4.59 percent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dived 9.41 percent. Chinese National Development and Reform Commission Chairman Zheng Shanjie (鄭珊潔) said the government would frontload 100 billion yuan (US$14.2 billion) in spending from the government’s budget for next year in addition
Sales RecORD: Hon Hai’s consolidated sales rose by about 20 percent last quarter, while Largan, another Apple supplier, saw quarterly sales increase by 17 percent IPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) on Saturday reported its highest-ever quarterly sales for the third quarter on the back of solid global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) globally, said it posted NT$1.85 trillion (US$57.93 billion) in consolidated sales in the July-to-September quarter, up 19.46 percent from the previous quarter and up 20.15 percent from a year earlier. The figure beat the previous third-quarter high of NT$1.74 trillion recorded in 2022, company data showed. Due to rising demand for AI, Hon Hai said its cloud and networking division enjoyed strong sales
Protectionism: US trade chief Katherine Tai said the hikes would help to counter unfair trade practices from China, while boosting domestic clean energy investments US Trade Representative Katherine Tai (戴琪) defended stiff tariff hikes against countries such as China, saying that paired with investment, they were a “legitimate and constructive” tool for reinvigorating domestic industries. Tai’s comments come a week after sharp tariff increases on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), EV batteries and solar cells took effect — with levies down the line on other products also recently finalized. The latest moves targeting US$18 billion in Chinese goods come weeks before next month’s US presidential election, with Democrats and Republicans pushing a hard line on China as competition between Washington and Beijing intensifies. In an interview on Thursday
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