COMPUTERS
Local tablet sales up 110%
Domestic sales of tablet computers rose 110 percent to NT$5.2 billion (US$173.6 million) in the first quarter compared with a year earlier, market research firm GfK Group said yesterday. Budget models priced below NT$10,000 led the growth, GfK senior analyst Julia Chen (陳嬿琦) said, adding that she expected the local tablet market to maintain its upward trend throughout this year following the launch of new products later this year.
TRAVEL
Avis expands local network
Avis Budget Group Inc yesterday announced an expansion of its domestic car rental network, as its local unit teams up with gas station operator National Petroleum Corp (全國加油站) to expand its service points from 20 to more than 30, starting on Saturday. Avis Taiwan had expanded its operations through a cooperation agreement with DoDoHome Parking Management (嘟嘟房) in February and set up service points at all eight high-speed railway stations this month.
LUXURY GOODS
Tittot sees overseas growth
Tittot Co (琉園), a crystal glass maker and designer, expects foreign sales revenue to increase from about 10 percent of its total revenue now to about 15 percent by next year, chairman Wang Yung-shan (王永山) said recently. The company’s revenue was NT$502.45 million last year, up 2.3 percent from a year earlier.
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
FALLING BEHIND: Samsung shares have declined more than 20 percent this year, as the world’s largest chipmaker struggles in key markets and plays catch-up to rival SK Hynix Samsung Electronics Co is laying off workers in Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand as part of a plan to reduce its global headcount by thousands of jobs, sources familiar with the situation said. The layoffs could affect about 10 percent of its workforces in those markets, although the numbers for each subsidiary might vary, said one of the sources, who asked not to be named because the matter is private. Job cuts are planned for other overseas subsidiaries and could reach 10 percent in certain markets, the source said. The South Korean company has about 147,000 in staff overseas, more than half
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
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