FINANCE
Outstanding loans rise
The outstanding balances on housing and construction loans rose to historical high levels at the end of last month, data issued by the central bank showed yesterday. The outstanding balance of housing loans stood at NT$5.679 trillion (US$187.52 billion) at the end of last month, up NT$13.86 billion from the end of February, the data showed. The data also showed an increase of 4.59 percent from the same period last year. The outstanding balance of construction loans was NT$1.539 trillion at the end of last month, up 5.97 percent from a year earlier and posted a month-on-month rise from the third consecutive month, central bank data showed.
ELECTRONICS
Synnex okays cash dividend
Synnex Technology International Corp (聯強), Asia’s largest distributor of information technology products and electronics components, yesterday said its board had approved to distribute a cash dividend NT$2.80 per share to shareholders based on last year’s net profit of NT$5.27 billion, or NT$3.32 per share. The dividend of NT$2.80 per share, higher than the previous year’s NT$2, represents a payout ratio of 84 percent, the company said in a statement. The cash dividend yield approached 6 percent based on yesterday’s closing share price of NT$47.35. The company is scheduled to hold its annual general meeting on June 11 to approve the dividend payout.
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
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
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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