ECONOMY
National debt rises
The national debt increased to NT$234,000 (US$7,910) per person as of the end of last month, flat from the level seen a month earlier, but still the highest level since the government began publishing the data in December 2010, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. National debt, which includes the central government’s long-term and short-term debt, amounted to NT$5.455 trillion as of the end of last month, data showed.
TEXTILES
Makalot reports sales drop
Fabric supplier Makalot Industrial Co (聚陽實業) reported on Monday its sales fell 10.37 percent to NT$1.35 billion last month from NT$1.51 billion a year ago and dropped 5.15 percent from NT$1.43 billion a month ago, which the company attributed to delayed orders of summer clothes by its clients due to bad weather in the US and Europe. Shipments of summer clothes would will be delayed to this month and next month, Makalot said, adding that sales for this quarter would not be affected.
CONTACT LENSES
Ginko bullish on forecast
Ginko International Co (金可國際), a leading maker of contact lenses and lens-care solution, yesterday forecast its profit margin would improve this quarter because it opened two new production lines in China last month and it expects to receive approval soon from the Taiwanese government to sell its new disposable lenses in Taiwan.
Vincent Wei led fellow Singaporean farmers around an empty Malaysian plot, laying out plans for a greenhouse and rows of leafy vegetables. What he pitched was not just space for crops, but a lifeline for growers struggling to make ends meet in a city-state with high prices and little vacant land. The future agriculture hub is part of a joint special economic zone launched last year by the two neighbors, expected to cost US$123 million and produce 10,000 tonnes of fresh produce annually. It is attracting Singaporean farmers with promises of cheaper land, labor and energy just over the border.
US actor Matthew McConaughey has filed recordings of his image and voice with US patent authorities to protect them from unauthorized usage by artificial intelligence (AI) platforms, a representative said earlier this week. Several video clips and audio recordings were registered by the commercial arm of the Just Keep Livin’ Foundation, a non-profit created by the Oscar-winning actor and his wife, Camila, according to the US Patent and Trademark Office database. Many artists are increasingly concerned about the uncontrolled use of their image via generative AI since the rollout of ChatGPT and other AI-powered tools. Several US states have adopted
KEEPING UP: The acquisition of a cleanroom in Taiwan would enable Micron to increase production in a market where demand continues to outpace supply, a Micron official said Micron Technology Inc has signed a letter of intent to buy a fabrication site in Taiwan from Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電) for US$1.8 billion to expand its production of memory chips. Micron would take control of the P5 site in Miaoli County’s Tongluo Township (銅鑼) and plans to ramp up DRAM production in phases after the transaction closes in the second quarter, the company said in a statement on Saturday. The acquisition includes an existing 12 inch fab cleanroom of 27,871m2 and would further position Micron to address growing global demand for memory solutions, the company said. Micron expects the transaction to
A proposed billionaires’ tax in California has ignited a political uproar in Silicon Valley, with tech titans threatening to leave the state while California Governor Gavin Newsom of the Democratic Party maneuvers to defeat a levy that he fears would lead to an exodus of wealth. A technology mecca, California has more billionaires than any other US state — a few hundred, by some estimates. About half its personal income tax revenue, a financial backbone in the nearly US$350 billion budget, comes from the top 1 percent of earners. A large healthcare union is attempting to place a proposal before
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