Cathay Century branch gets OK
Cathay Century Insurance Co (國泰產險), the non-life insurance arm of Cathay Financial Holdings Co (國泰金控), has gained approval from Chinese regulators to set up a branch office in Shandong Province, a company statement said yesterday.
The approval will allow Cathay Century to expand its business circle in China from the southern coast to the northern region, the statement said.
Bank to auction more CDs
The central bank will auction NT$100 billion (US$3.31 billion) worth of 364-day certificates of deposit (CD) and negotiable certificates of deposit (NCD) on Friday in a continued bid to drain excess liquidity, the monetary policymaker said in a statement yesterday.
Financial institutions including banks, credit cooperatives, bills finance companies and Chunghwa Post Co (中華郵政) may take part in the auction, the statement said, adding the CDs and NCDs will be delivered on Monday next week.
The central bank has since April last year auctioned longer-dated CDs and NCDs monthly to help mop up idle funds
Operator to launch voice service
Local WiMAX operator Global Mobile Corp (全球一動) yesterday said it is launching a voice service over the Internet using high-speed telecom technology tomorrow.
Current subscribers of its WiMAX service could sign up for one of its two new voice packages at NT$100 or NT$250 a month, where they would get a “0900” mobile number to make calls using the fourth-generation mobile standard, the statement said.
Subscribers could dial each other’s 0900 numbers for free, while calls made to fixed lines and other mobile operators would incur minimal costs.
NT dollar hits near 13-year high
The New Taiwan dollar advanced to near a 13-year high ahead of a report this week that economists predict will show accelerating inflation, spurring speculation the central bank will raise borrowing costs.
The currency pared gains in the last minute of trading on suspected intervention by the central bank, according to traders who declined to be identified as the authority doesn’t usually disclose such details.
Consumer prices climbed 1.7 percent last month, the most in 10 months, according to the median estimate of seven economists in a Bloomberg survey before government data comes out tomorrow.
“Higher inflation will continue to add pressure on the central bank to raise rates,” said George Pu, a fixed-income trader at President Securities Corp (統一證券) in Taipei.
The NT dollar “will stay strong in the coming quarter,” Pu said.
The NT dollar gained 0.6 percent to close at NT$30.2 against its US counterpart, according to Taipei Forex Inc. The NT dollar was trading 4.4 percent stronger at NT$29.085 a minute before the close.
BIG SUN to buy Korean wafers
BIG SUN Energy Technology Inc (太陽光電) agreed to buy US$82.6 million of silicon wafers from South Korea’s Osung LST Co from today through 2013, the solar cell maker said in a statement to the local stock exchange yesterday.
No plans for plant: Motech
Motech Industries Inc (茂迪) doesn’t have plans to build a solar power plant in China’s Henan Province, Dylan Wong (翁煥超), a spokesman for the solar cell maker, said yesterday. China Knowledge reported on Friday that the Taiwan-based manufacturer would construct a 200-megawatt solar power plant in the Anyang High-Tech Development Zone in Henan.
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
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