FINANCE
Taipower raises NT$12.8bn
State-owned Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) has raised NT$12.8 billion (US$426 million) from a bond sale, the company said in a statement yesterday. Taipower said it sold NT$8 billion of five-year bonds with a coupon rate of 1.30 percent and NT$4.8 billion of seven-year bonds with a rate of 1.45 percent.
SEMICONDUCTORS
UMC’s news boosts shares
Shares of United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電) rose 0.37 percent to close at NT$13.65 yesterday, amid optimism over a partnership that could help its development of the advanced 28 nanometer process. The company said in a statement on Tuesday that it signed an agreement with Kilopass Technology, a US-based semiconductor logic non-volatile memory intellectual property provider to develop the 28nm products used in portable devices and consumer electronics products.
FOOD & BEVERAGE
Tsann Kuen opening bakery
Tsann Kuen Enterprise Co (燦坤), which runs the nation’s largest consumer electronics and home appliance chain, said yesterday that it would open its first pastry shop in Taipei’s Shihlin District (士林) on Saturday. The company has invested NT$50 million in the shop and invited a Japanese patisserie chef to take charge, Chang Yueh-lung (張岳龍), vice president of Tsann Kuen’s merchandise department, told a press conference.
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
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
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
CHEMICAL FIRE: 10 Indian employees were injured by smoke inhalation at a Tata Electronics plant in Tamil Nadu state that produces components for Apple Inc At least 10 people received medical treatment, with two hospitalized after a major fire on Saturday disrupted production at a key Tata Electronics Pvt Ltd plant in southern India that makes Apple Inc’s iPhone components. The fire occurred at the plant in the city of Hosur in Tamil Nadu state that makes some iPhone components. It broke out near another building inside the Tata complex, which was to begin producing complete iPhones in the coming months. The fire was contained to one building and has been extinguished fully, top district administrative official K.M. Sarayu said. No decision has been made on when
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