SOFTWARE
Apple buys WiFiSLAM
Apple Inc, whose mapping software has been criticized over misguided directions and inaccurate landmarks, bought startup WiFiSLAM to add location-identifying technology for when a user is inside a building. “Apple acquires smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans,” Apple spokesman Steve Dowling said, confirming the deal. The purchase is among several Apple has made in recent years to improve its navigation capabilities as it competes with Google Inc. Last year, Apple introduced its own mapping software to replace Google’s, a switch that resulted in user complaints and negative reviews.
SOUTH KOREA
Seoul starts new debt fund
The government is launching a US$1.35 billion fund that will ease the debt burdens of college students and low-income households. The Financial Services Commission yesterday said in a statement that the fund would cancel up to half the debt of individuals who have been unable to make repayments for six months. The fund was one of President Park Geun-hye’s campaign promises. The government estimates it needs 1.5 trillion won (US$1.35 billion) over five years for the scheme. The plan includes longer repayment times for loans and reducing interest rates for those earning less than 40 million won a year.
DEVELOPMENT
Japan retains grip on ADB
Japanese Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs Takehiko Nakao is the sole nominee for the presidency of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Philippine Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said in a mobile-phone text message yesterday, ensuring that Japan will maintain its hold on the top post at the lender. ADB member countries are voting on the next president in an election that began yesterday and runs through April 24. The nomination period closed on Sunday. Japan has held the presidency of the bank since the institution was founded in 1966, and it is tied with the US in having the largest voting power at the bank.
AUTOMOBILES
BYD Co profit plunges 94%
Chinese electric car producer BYD Co (比亞迪), which is partly backed by US investment titan Warren Buffett, said its net profit plunged more than 94 percent year-on-year last year, hit by slowing growth in the country. The company, based in Shenzhen, said in a statement on Sunday that net profit came in at 81.38 million yuan (US$12.92 million) last year, down from 1.38 billion yuan in 2011. A subsidiary of Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway owns 9.56 percent of BYD.
ENERGY
Sinopec’s profits fall 12.8%
Chinese oil and gas giant Sinopec Corp’s (中國石化) annual net profit for last year fell 12.8 year-on-year, the company said, with high crude-oil costs and a slowdown in the global and Chinese economy weighing on its bottom line. Asia’s largest refiner by capacity said in a filing on late on Sunday to the Hong Kong stock exchange that its net profit for the year fell to 63.88 billion yuan from 73.23 billion yuan in 2011. The filing added that its revenue rose to 2.79 trillion yuan, an 11.2 percent increase from 2011’s 2.51 trillion yuan, but operating expenses rose 12 percent for the year, with a 16.4 percent increase in exploration expenses.
CHIP RACE: Three years of overbroad export controls drove foreign competitors to pursue their own AI chips, and ‘cost US taxpayers billions of dollars,’ Nvidia said China has figured out the US strategy for allowing it to buy Nvidia Corp’s H200s and is rejecting the artificial intelligence (AI) chip in favor of domestically developed semiconductors, White House AI adviser David Sacks said, citing news reports. US President Donald Trump on Monday said that he would allow shipments of Nvidia’s H200 chips to China, part of an administration effort backed by Sacks to challenge Chinese tech champions such as Huawei Technologies Co (華為) by bringing US competition to their home market. On Friday, Sacks signaled that he was uncertain about whether that approach would work. “They’re rejecting our chips,” Sacks
Taiwan’s exports soared 56 percent year-on-year to an all-time high of US$64.05 billion last month, propelled by surging global demand for artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance computing and cloud service infrastructure, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) called the figure an unexpected upside surprise, citing a wave of technology orders from overseas customers alongside the usual year-end shopping season for technology products. Growth is likely to remain strong this month, she said, projecting a 40 percent to 45 percent expansion on an annual basis. The outperformance could prompt the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and
NATIONAL SECURITY: Intel’s testing of ACM tools despite US government control ‘highlights egregious gaps in US technology protection policies,’ a former official said Chipmaker Intel Corp has tested chipmaking tools this year from a toolmaker with deep roots in China and two overseas units that were targeted by US sanctions, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter. Intel, which fended off calls for its CEO’s resignation from US President Donald Trump in August over his alleged ties to China, got the tools from ACM Research Inc, a Fremont, California-based producer of chipmaking equipment. Two of ACM’s units, based in Shanghai and South Korea, were among a number of firms barred last year from receiving US technology over claims they have
BARRIERS: Gudeng’s chairman said it was unlikely that the US could replicate Taiwan’s science parks in Arizona, given its strict immigration policies and cultural differences Gudeng Precision Industrial Co (家登), which supplies wafer pods to the world’s major semiconductor firms, yesterday said it is in no rush to set up production in the US due to high costs. The company supplies its customers through a warehouse in Arizona jointly operated by TSS Holdings Ltd (德鑫控股), a joint holding of Gudeng and 17 Taiwanese firms in the semiconductor supply chain, including specialty plastic compounds producer Nytex Composites Co (耐特) and automated material handling system supplier Symtek Automation Asia Co (迅得). While the company has long been exploring the feasibility of setting up production in the US to address
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