TRADE
TAITRA to host trade meet
More than 160 trade meetings are to be held on June 18 as part of the government’s efforts to achieve annual export growth of 5.5 percent, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA, 外貿協會), said on Saturday. About 20 distributors, dealers and agents from eight emerging markets have been invited to attend, the council said. Among the attendees will be company representatives from Russia, Mexico, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, India, Indonesia, Vietnam and China, it said. Local firms in the sectors of information and communications technology; bicycles; clothing; medical equipment; auto components and parts; and machinery are expected to attend to seek cooperation with overseas counterparts, it said. Taiwan has been focusing on emerging markets for exports this year as the global economy continues to be mired in uncertainty, the council added.
ELECTRONICS
Eson makes TWSE bid
Eson Precision Industry Co (乙盛精密工業), a China-based electronics component maker, has filed an application with the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) to launch a primary listing on the main board, the exchange said on Friday. In its prospectus, Eson Precision, which was incorporated in the Cayman Islands and has paid-in capital worth NT$1.53 billion (US$51 million), is planning to issue 19.11 million new shares for the listing. The company said it aims to raise about NT$668.7 million from the share sale and has tentatively set the issue price at NT$35. Eson Precision said it will use the funds as working capital for future expansion and to strengthen its financial structure. The fundraising is set to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year, the company said.
To many, Tatu City on the outskirts of Nairobi looks like a success. The first city entirely built by a private company to be operational in east Africa, with about 25,000 people living and working there, it accounts for about two-thirds of all foreign investment in Kenya. Its low-tax status has attracted more than 100 businesses including Heineken, coffee brand Dormans, and the biggest call-center and cold-chain transport firms in the region. However, to some local politicians, Tatu City has looked more like a target for extortion. A parade of governors have demanded land worth millions of dollars in exchange
An Indonesian animated movie is smashing regional box office records and could be set for wider success as it prepares to open beyond the Southeast Asian archipelago’s silver screens. Jumbo — a film based on the adventures of main character, Don, a large orphaned Indonesian boy facing bullying at school — last month became the highest-grossing Southeast Asian animated film, raking in more than US$8 million. Released at the end of March to coincide with the Eid holidays after the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, the movie has hit 8 million ticket sales, the third-highest in Indonesian cinema history, Film
BIG BUCKS: Chairman Wei is expected to receive NT$34.12 million on a proposed NT$5 cash dividend plan, while the National Development Fund would get NT$8.27 billion Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday announced that its board of directors approved US$15.25 billion in capital appropriations for long-term expansion to meet growing demand. The funds are to be used for installing advanced technology and packaging capacity, expanding mature and specialty technology, and constructing fabs with facility systems, TSMC said in a statement. The board also approved a proposal to distribute a NT$5 cash dividend per share, based on first-quarter earnings per share of NT$13.94, it said. That surpasses the NT$4.50 dividend for the fourth quarter of last year. TSMC has said that while it is eager
‘IMMENSE SWAY’: The top 50 companies, based on market cap, shape everything from technology to consumer trends, advisory firm Visual Capitalist said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) was ranked the 10th-most valuable company globally this year, market information advisory firm Visual Capitalist said. TSMC sat on a market cap of about US$915 billion as of Monday last week, making it the 10th-most valuable company in the world and No. 1 in Asia, the publisher said in its “50 Most Valuable Companies in the World” list. Visual Capitalist described TSMC as the world’s largest dedicated semiconductor foundry operator that rolls out chips for major tech names such as US consumer electronics brand Apple Inc, and artificial intelligence (AI) chip designers Nvidia Corp and Advanced
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