INVESTMENT
Kunshan’s ranking falls
Kunshan in China’s Jiangsu Province, which had topped a local trade group’s survey for six previous years in the overall investment rankings among Taiwanese firms, fell out of the top spot in this year’s poll, according to an annual report released by the Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers’ Association (TEEMA, 電電公會) yesterday. The TEEMA report showed that, in terms of investment attractiveness, Suzhou Industrial Park, Xiamen Island, Chengdu in Sichuan Province, Suzhou City and the Xiaoshan District of Hangzhou were the top five locations, in that order. Kunshan’s ranking dropped to No. 6 this year, amid stricter environmental protection measures in the city following the blast at Kunshan Zhongrong Metal Products Co Ltd (昆山中榮金屬) last year, the report said.
PHARMACEUTICALS
Adimmune sees share surge
Vaccine maker Adimmune Corp (國光生技) yesterday saw its shares surge 9.8 percent after the company began buying back its shares to ensure the interest of their shareholders. The company on Tuesday announced to buy back up to 5 million shares, or 2.1 percent of total shares in circulation, at NT$15 to NT$26 each. The buyback scheme, at total costs under NT$1.59 billion (US$48.52 million), began yesterday and would run through Oct. 25. Adimmune shares have tumbled 44.55 percent so far this year, and closed at NT$16.8 yesterday in Taipei trading. The company told investors last week that it is not concerned about growing competition from Medigen Biotechnology Corp (基亞生物科技).
COMPUTERS
Wistron eyes buy back plan
Contract notebook computer maker Wistron Corp (緯創) yesterday said its board approved a plan to buy back 80 million common shares, or 3.13 percent of outstanding shares, at between NT$12 and NT$23 per share on the open market. The company plans to spend up to NT$40.35 billion in the repurchase scheme, which starts today and runs until Oct. 26. Wistron said it will distribute those shares to employees after completing the repurchase as part of an incentive program. Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co (元大投顧) yesterday said the valuation of Wistron is approaching attractive levels and investors can bottom fish the stock at a time when the company faces favorable foreign exchange rates and potential orders for Windows 10-powered notebook computers. “We reiterate our view that selected PC/EMS names have seen meaningful corrections and their share prices could have seen the bottom,” Yuanta Securities analyst Vincent Chen (陳豐丰) wrote in a client note.
TELECOMS
Cloud collaboration
Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) yesterday said it had reached a strategic alliance agreement with Microsoft Corp, regarding their future collaboration in cloud solution provider (CSP) and cloud OS network (COSN) services. A company statement said the partnership with the US software company is aimed to better serve the cloud-computing needs of government and corporate clients in Taiwan through three approaches: Infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS) and Software as a service (SaaS). The two companies collaboration will take effect on Sept. 1, according to the statement. Yesterday’s agreement was signed in Taipei by Chunghwa and Microsoft representatives.
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Chizuko Kimura has become the first female sushi chef in the world to win a Michelin star, fulfilling a promise she made to her dying husband to continue his legacy. The 54-year-old Japanese chef regained the Michelin star her late husband, Shunei Kimura, won three years ago for their Sushi Shunei restaurant in Paris. For Shunei Kimura, the star was a dream come true. However, the joy was short-lived. He died from cancer just three months later in June 2022. He was 65. The following year, the restaurant in the heart of Montmartre lost its star rating. Chizuko Kimura insisted that the new star is still down
While China’s leaders use their economic and political might to fight US President Donald Trump’s trade war “to the end,” its army of social media soldiers are embarking on a more humorous campaign online. Trump’s tariff blitz has seen Washington and Beijing impose eye-watering duties on imports from the other, fanning a standoff between the economic superpowers that has sparked global recession fears and sent markets into a tailspin. Trump says his policy is a response to years of being “ripped off” by other countries and aims to bring manufacturing to the US, forcing companies to employ US workers. However, China’s online warriors
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