GOVERNMENT
MOEA names vice minister
The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) yesterday promoted Water Resources Agency Director-General Yang Wei-fu (楊偉甫) to vice minister. The ministry said Yang will take office on Jan. 5 at the earliest and that he will be the first vice minister of economic affairs with hydraulic expertise. The vice minister position has been vacant for months after former Economic Affairs minister Chang Chia-juch (張家祝) resigned and former vice minister Woody Duh (杜紫軍) took over his position.
FINANCIAL
FSC, CIRC reach consensus
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) has reached a consensus with its Chinese counterpart to pursue three goals regarding the cross-strait insurance sector: improving mutual understanding in insurance supervisory issues and experience sharing; establishing communications between cross-strait financial supervisory institutions; and building an emergency communication mechanism for further cooperation. FSC Chairman William Tseng (曾銘宗) and his Chinese counterpart, China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) Chairman Xiang Junbo (項俊波), made the remarks together after their meeting on cross-strait financial supervisory issues in the insurance sector, which was held in Beijing yesterday.
COMPUTERS
Wistron approves venture
Contract notebook computer maker Wistron Corp’s (緯創) board yesterday approved an investment in Join-Link International Technology Co Ltd (宗盈國際科技股份有限公司), with a maximum amount of NT$600 million (US$18.9 million) for the development of automobile electronics. Wistron is to hold between 51 percent and 60 percent of Join-Link shares, the company said in a statement. The firm’s shares declined 0.52 percent to NT$28.95 in Taipei trading yesterday, underperforming the TAIEX, which gained 0.6 percent.
TELECOMS
First International bankrupt
First International Telecom Corp (大眾電信), the nation’s sole personal handy-phone system (PHS) provider, yesterday said it has received formal documents from the Taipei District Court making the telecom’s bankruptcy official by terminating its restructuring program. First International Telecom said it plans to file an appeal within 10 days. The company will try to maintain normal operations and will continue to provide services to its users. PHS was a popular service in Taiwan several years ago and First International Telecom — the only telecom using the 1,900MHz frequency — at one point had about 1.5 million users.
MOBILE
HTC to release accessories
Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC Corp (宏達電) on Wednesday said it will release a series of accessories for its RE “lifestyle camera” in the first quarter of next year to attract more people, particularly young women, to its product line. “Next year, we will release a series of RE accessories to make RE more fashionable and compatible to different clothes and user scenarios, making [it] a new leading product in the camera category,” HTC North Asia president Jack Tong (董俊良) said. Speaking at the launch event for the single-SIM Desire 820 mid-tier phone in Taipei, Tong said the new accessories might be rolled out as soon as the first quarter, though he did not specify what exactly the accessories would be.
The Fair Trade Commission’s (FTC) ongoing review of Grab Holdings Ltd’s US$600 million acquisition of Foodpanda Taiwan’s operations, announced on March 23, has taken on fresh urgency as industry experts warn that the transaction could embed significant Chinese cybersecurity vulnerabilities into Taiwan’s digital infrastructure through Grab’s deep ties to autonomous-driving firm WeRide (文遠知行). Less than 16 months after the FTC blocked Uber Eats’ direct attempt to acquire Foodpanda Taiwan — citing potential combined market shares of 80 to 90 percent — the emergence of Grab as the buyer has prompted questions about whether the same competitive harm is simply being rerouted
POWER BUILDUP: Powered by Nvidia’s B200 Blackwell chips, the data center would support MediaTek’s computing power demand and business growth, the company said Smartphone chip designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) yesterday launched a new artificial intelligence (AI) data center with a maximum capacity of 45 megawatts to meet its rising demand for computing power required to develop new advanced chips for AI applications. The company has completed the first-phase computing power buildup at the data center in Miaoli County’s Tongluo Township (銅鑼), providing 15 megawatts of capacity to support its research and development (R&D) capabilities, despite an industrywide shortage of key components, MediaTek said. Supply constraints have plagued a wide range of key components, including memory chips, solid-state drives, power supply units and central
IMAGE SENSORS: The Japanese company would be the controlling shareholder of the venture, with development and production lines to be set up in Kumamoto Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said it has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corp to create a joint venture to develop and produce next-generation images sensors. The partnership seeks to explore and address emerging opportunities in physical artificial intelligence (AI) applications, such as automotive and robotics, paving the way for innovations and expanded technological advancements, TSMC said in a statement. Sony would be the majority and controlling shareholder of the joint venture, the statement said, adding that the company would set up development and production lines in its newly constructed fab in Kumamoto Prefecture’s
The nation’s foreign exchange reserves climbed back above US$600 billion at the end of last month, as investment gains, currency valuation effects and renewed foreign inflows offset volatility seen earlier in the month, the central bank said yesterday. Reserves stood at US$602.49 billion, up US$5.6 billion from the previous month, the central bank said. The rebound reflected returns on reserve assets, fluctuations in major currencies against the US dollar and the central bank’s market operations aimed at maintaining orderly trading conditions, Department of Foreign Exchange Director-General Eugene Tsai (蔡炯民) said. Financial markets were volatile early last month, with foreign investors recording net purchases
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