The Evergreen Group (長榮集團) has placed an order with CSBC Corp, Taiwan (CSBC, 台灣國際造船) to build 10 container vessels for US$1.03 billion with delivery set to start in the fall of 2013 or earlier, both firms said in separate statements yesterday.
Evergreen Group has ordered 20 similar vessels costing about US$2 billion from Samsung Heavy Industries Co since July last year.
Evergreen Group vice -chairman Bronson Hsieh (謝志堅) and CSBC chairman Paul Tang (譚泰平) signed the contract at the former’s headquarters in Taipei yesterday morning.
Photo: CNA
The deal came after a year and a half of courting on the part of the state-run shipyard after it lost two similar orders to South Korean rival Samsung Heavy Industries in July and September last year.
“The order of L-class, 8,000-TEU environmentally advanced vessels is part of the Evergreen Group’s new shipbuilding program,” said the conglomerate, whose members include Evergreen Marine Corp (長榮海運), the nation’s largest and the world’s fourth-largest shipper.
It is the first time the ocean carrier has placed an order with CSBC since 1997, according to Evergreen’s statement.
As with the previous two orders, the latest 10 ships will have an overall length of 334.8m, a beam of 45.8m and a maximum draft of 14.2m, the group said.
With fuel-saving features and highly efficient operation, the vessels are designed to provide shippers with an upgraded delivery service as well as reduced carbon emissions, the group added.
Three of the new vessels will be built for Evergreen Marine, four for Evergreen Marine (UK) Ltd, and the remaining three for Evergreen Marine (Singapore) Ltd the statement said, adding all would be used for global services on different routes.
Evergreen Group chairman Chang Yung-fa (張榮發) said last year that Evergreen Marine would spend more than US$5 billion to add 100 ships to its current fleet of 81.
In addition to its 81 container ships, Evergreen charters another 69.
CSBC declined to comment on potential earnings the order may generate. A CSBC official said anonymously the ongoing appreciation of the New Taiwan dollar may wipe out any profits given the terms agreed on.
“CSBC secured the order at the same prices in US dollars as Samsung Industries won the two orders last year,” the official said by telephone yesterday. “The gains in the NT dollar will eat away at profits.”
Shares of CSBC rose 1.73 percent to NT$29.35, while those of Evergreen Marine fell NT$1.73 percent to NT$25.5 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday.
BYPASSING CHINA TARIFFS: In the first five months of this year, Foxconn sent US$4.4bn of iPhones to the US from India, compared with US$3.7bn in the whole of last year Nearly all the iPhones exported by Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) from India went to the US between March and last month, customs data showed, far above last year’s average of 50 percent and a clear sign of Apple Inc’s efforts to bypass high US tariffs imposed on China. The numbers, being reported by Reuters for the first time, show that Apple has realigned its India exports to almost exclusively serve the US market, when previously the devices were more widely distributed to nations including the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. During March to last month, Foxconn, known as Hon Hai Precision Industry
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and the University of Tokyo (UTokyo) yesterday announced the launch of the TSMC-UTokyo Lab to promote advanced semiconductor research, education and talent development. The lab is TSMC’s first laboratory collaboration with a university outside Taiwan, the company said in a statement. The lab would leverage “the extensive knowledge, experience, and creativity” of both institutions, the company said. It is located in the Asano Section of UTokyo’s Hongo, Tokyo, campus and would be managed by UTokyo faculty, guided by directors from UTokyo and TSMC, the company said. TSMC began working with UTokyo in 2019, resulting in 21 research projects,
Ashton Hall’s morning routine involves dunking his head in iced Saratoga Spring Water. For the company that sells the bottled water — Hall’s brand of choice for drinking, brushing his teeth and submerging himself — that is fantastic news. “We’re so thankful to this incredible fitness influencer called Ashton Hall,” Saratoga owner Primo Brands Corp’s CEO Robbert Rietbroek said on an earnings call after Hall’s morning routine video went viral. “He really helped put our brand on the map.” Primo Brands, which was not affiliated with Hall when he made his video, is among the increasing number of companies benefiting from influencer
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) yesterday expressed a downbeat view about the prospects of humanoid robots, given high manufacturing costs and a lack of target customers. Despite rising demand and high expectations for humanoid robots, high research-and-development costs and uncertain profitability remain major concerns, Lam told reporters following the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Taoyuan. “Since it seems a bit unworthy to use such high-cost robots to do household chores, I believe robots designed for specific purposes would be more valuable and present a better business opportunity,” Lam said Instead of investing in humanoid robots, Quanta has opted to invest
RSS