EMPLOYMENT
Hiring intent falls: poll
Only 53 percent of businesses in Taiwan intend to hire new employees in the first quarter of next year, a lower percentage than for the same period over the past four years, according to the results of a survey released yesterday. The figure, down 12 percentage points from the current quarter, reflected growing reluctance among companies to recruit new people amid a sluggish economy. The survey, conducted by online broker 1111 Job Bank, also found that companies are most likely to hire new employees to fill vacancies left by former employees (38.4 percent) or as part of routine recruiting efforts (34.9 percent).
HEALTHCARE
lMedFirst plans more storesl
MedFirst Healthcare Services Inc (杏一醫療), the nation’s largest chain of healthcare stores with medical consultancy, yesterday said it plans to open 10 more stores in Taiwan next year after also opening 10 stores this year. The company has 200 stores in Taiwan and China, MedFirst Healthcare Services said. MedFirst president Jimmy Tsai (蔡德忠) said the company plans to raise NT$600 million to NT$1 billion (US$18.13 million to US$30.22 million) to build a logistics center in Taiwan next year in a bid to expand its operating scale.
BOOKSTORES
lEslite to open more outletsl
Eslite Group (誠品集團) plans to launch outlets in Taiwan, Hong Kong and China next year, the group’s subsidiary Eslite Spectrum Corp (誠品生活) general manager Lee Chieh-hsiu (李介修) told a media briefing yesterday. Eslite, which runs bookstores, galleries and department stores, opened 10 new or renovated outlets in Taiwan, one in Hong Kong and one in Suzhou, China, this year, Lee said. As part of the efforts to continue expanding the group’s reach in Asia, Lee said Eslite is to open three new outlets, one in Linkou District (林口), New Taipei City, in the Cityplaza mall on Hong Kong Island and one in Shanghai.
COMPUTERS
lReports no worry: Pegatronl
Pegatron Corp (和碩) chairman Tung Tsu-hsien (童子賢) said yesterday that he is not concerned about the entry of Chinese contract notebook makers into the supply chain of Taiwanese PC vendors, as it is more important for Pegatron to continue to improve its competitiveness in the market. Tung’s remarks came after the Apple Daily newspaper reported that Chinese firm BYD Co Ltd (比亞迪) has entered the supply chain for making notebook products for Taiwan’s Asustek Computer Inc (華碩). Other than being one of the main assemblers for Apple Inc’s iPhones, Pegatron also manufactures notebooks for Asustek. Tung said the market tends to pay close attention to the entry of new firms into the industry, but it is more important for Pegatron to focus on its competitiveness rather than worrying about other firms.
ROBOTICS
lGreater demand predictedl
TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) yesterday said global growth in demand for industrial robots would continue accelerating on account of labor shortages in China and the loss of demographic dividends. TrendForce said in a statement that China has been energetically pushing forward with the transformation of its economy and sales of industrial robots have been growing swiftly in response to the rising demand for automation. TrendForce said it expects China’s industrial robot demand to reach 95,000 units next year, up 26.66 percent from this year’s estimate of 75,000 units.
US SANCTIONS: The Taiwan tech giant has ended all shipments to China-based Sophgo Technologies after one of their chips was discovered in a Huawei phone Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) suspended shipments to China-based chip designer Sophgo Technologies Ltd (算能科技) after a chip it made was found on a Huawei Technologies Co (華為) artificial intelligence (AI) processor, according to two people familiar with the matter. Sophgo had ordered chips from TSMC that matched the one found on Huawei’s Ascend 910B, the people said. Huawei is restricted from buying the technology to protect US national security. Reuters could not determine how the chip ended up on the Huawei product. Sophgo said in a statement on its Web site yesterday that it was in compliance with all laws
SPEED OF LIGHT: US lawmakers urged the commerce department to examine the national security threats from China’s development of silicon photonics technology US President Joe Biden’s administration on Monday said it is finalizing rules that would limit US investments in artificial intelligence (AI) and other technology sectors in China that could threaten US national security. The rules, which were proposed in June by the US Department of the Treasury, were directed by an executive order signed by Biden in August last year covering three key sectors: semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies and certain AI systems. The rules are to take effect on Jan. 2 next year and would be overseen by the Treasury’s newly created Office of Global Transactions. The Treasury said the “narrow
TECH TITANS: Nvidia briefly overtook Apple again on Friday after becoming the world’s largest company for a short period in June, as Microsoft fell to third place Nvidia Corp dethroned Apple Inc as the world’s most valuable company on Friday following a record-setting rally in the stock, powered by insatiable demand for its specialized artificial intelligence (AI) chips. Nvidia’s stock market value briefly touched US$3.53 trillion, slightly above Apple’s US$3.52 trillion, London Stock Exchange Group data showed. Nvidia ended the day up 0.8 percent, with a market value of US$3.47 trillion, while Apple’s shares rose 0.4 percent, valuing the iPhone maker at US$3.52 trillion. In June, Nvidia briefly became the world’s most valuable company before it was overtaken by Microsoft Corp and Apple. The tech trio’s market capitalizations have been
Two scoops of pistachio, one of corruption. For years holidaymakers have guzzled Sicilian gelato at famous parlors in Palermo, unaware that the booming businesses were controlled by organized crime. The fraud was a textbook case for detectives trained to sniff out dirty money, but even with three mobster classics — a suspicious bankruptcy, a front man and a scheming “Godfather” — it took years for investigators to shut the operation down. The Brioscia brand, made up of two ice cream parlors, was thriving at the end of the 2010s, attracting locals and foreign visitors alike with its glittering gold stars on travel