MANUFACTURING
Neo Solar revenue rises
Neo Solar Power Corp (新日光), the nation’s biggest solar cell maker, yesterday posted the best monthly revenue in two-and-a-half years for last month, thanks to stable price and increase in shipment. Revenue grew 4.8 percent last month to NT$2.11 billion (US$70.9 million) from NT$2.01 billion in July, according to the company’s statement. On an annual basis, the company’s revenue almost doubled from NT$1.06 billion because it acquired local peer DelSolar Co (旺能光電) in May. Separately, local solar cell maker Motech Industries Inc (茂迪) said it did not cut jobs as reported by the Chinese-language Apple Daily. Motech said it is relocating its staff to a plant in Greater Tainan after an operation adjustment at a New Taipei City (新北市) factory. About 80 employees were affected by the adjustment, according to the report.
TRADE
Presentation draws firms
A Taiwanese delegation attracted more than 80 Japanese enterprises to a presentation in Tokyo on Tuesday on Taiwan’s “free economic pilot zones” program. The delegation, led by Council for Economic Planning and Development Minister Kuan Chung-ming (管中閔), flew to Tokyo on Sunday to present the economic initiative to Japanese enterprises in the hope of attracting investment and getting them to develop partnerships with local businesses. The delegation will travel to Osaka today.
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
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
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
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