UTILITIES
No strike: Taipower union
The Taipower Labor Union yesterday called off plans for a strike after the Ministry of Economic Affairs invited union representatives to join discussions on privatizing the nation’s electricity supply industry. Union representatives said after a meeting with Minister of Economic Affairs Lee Chih-kung (李世光) that the ministry had agreed to allow union members participate in discussions of proposed amendments to the Electricity Act (電業法). The amendments, if approved by the Cabinet and the legislature, would pave the way for the privatization of Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電).
BANKING
OBUs’ assets fall in May
The 62 offshore banking units (OBUs) of banks operating in Taiwan posted total assets of US$190.173 billion in May, down US$67 million from the previous month, the central bank said in a statement yesterday. The OBUs of 37 Taiwanese banks held US$160.848 billion in assets, while foreign banks’ 25 OBUs had US$29.325 billion in assets, the central bank said, without elaborating on the reason for the decline in total assets. The OBUs’ lending made up about 40.8 percent of their total assets, with interbank lending and deposits accounting for 21.2 percent. Securities investments accounted for an additional 19.6 percent, the central bank said.
TECHNOLOGY
Viking expects synergy boost
Viking Tech Corp (光頡科技), a supplier of resistors and inductors, yesterday said its revenue could grow by a double-digit percentage this year from last year’s NT$1.549 billion (US$47.98 million), as the company starts to see synergy from its integration with Guangdong Fenghua Advanced Technology Holding Co (廣東風華高新科技). Last year, Viking sold a 40 percent stake to Guangdong Fenghua at NT$29.8 per share, making the Chinese firm its largest shareholder. In the first five months of the year, Viking’s cumulative revenue totaled NT$695 million, up 8.55 percent from a year ago. Viking’s shareholders approved the company’s proposal to pay dividends of NT$2.5 per share.
SOLAR ENERGY
Gintech’s US plant starts up
Solar cell maker Gintech Energy Corp (昱晶) commenced operations of a new solar power plant in the US this week, in a move to further diversify its business portfolio. The US$30 million power plant is expected to generate an annual revenue of NT$100 million, said that G.D. Development Corp (昱鼎), a Gintech joint venture with CTCI Corp (中鼎工程) is in charge of operating the plant. The plant has an annual capacity of 9.5 megawatts and is able to generate 12,000 megawatt hours a year, G.D. Development said in a statement on Wednesday. Gintech shares yesterday rallied 6.73 percent to end at NT$26.15 in Taipei.
HOSPITALITY
FDC seeks primary listing
Hotel and restaurant operator FDC International Hotels Corp (FDC, 雲品國際) yesterday submitted its primary listing application to the Taiwan Stock Exchange, hoping to debut its shares on the main bourse by the end of this year. FDC is currently trades on the Emerging Stock Market, a preparatory board for the nation’s two main bourses. The company, which runs the five-star hotel Fleur de Chine (日月潭雲品酒店) near Sun Moon Lake and the buffet restaurant Giardino in New Taipei City’s Sinjhuang District (新莊), reported NT$555 million in revenue in the first five months of the year, up 7.36 percent from a year ago.
Anna Bhobho, a 31-year-old housewife from rural Zimbabwe, was once a silent observer in her home, excluded from financial and family decisionmaking in the deeply patriarchal society. Today, she is a driver of change in her village, thanks to an electric tricycle she owns. In many parts of rural sub-Saharan Africa, women have long been excluded from mainstream economic activities such as operating public transportation. However, three-wheelers powered by green energy are reversing that trend, offering financial opportunities and a newfound sense of importance. “My husband now looks up to me to take care of a large chunk of expenses,
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday signed a letter of intent with Alaska Gasline Development Corp (AGDC), expressing an interest to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) and invest in the latter’s Alaska LNG project, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement. Under the agreement, CPC is to participate in the project’s upstream gas investment to secure stable energy resources for Taiwan, the ministry said. The Alaska LNG project is jointly promoted by AGDC and major developer Glenfarne Group LLC, as Alaska plans to export up to 20 million tonnes of LNG annually from 2031. It involves constructing an 1,290km
NEXT GENERATION: The company also showcased automated machines, including a nursing robot called Nurabot, which is to enter service at a Taichung hospital this year Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) expects server revenue to exceed its iPhone revenue within two years, with the possibility of achieving this goal as early as this year, chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) said on Tuesday at Nvidia Corp’s annual technology conference in San Jose, California. AI would be the primary focus this year for the company, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), as rapidly advancing AI applications are driving up demand for AI servers, Liu said. The production and shipment of Nvidia’s GB200 chips and the anticipated launch of GB300 chips in the second half of the year would propel
‘MAKE OR BREAK’: Nvidia shares remain down more than 9 percent, but investors are hoping CEO Jensen Huang’s speech can stave off fears that the sales boom is peaking Shares in Nvidia Corp’s Taiwanese suppliers mostly closed higher yesterday on hopes that the US artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer would showcase next-generation technologies at its annual AI conference slated to open later in the day. The GPU Technology Conference (GTC) in California is to feature developers, engineers, researchers, inventors and information technology professionals, and would focus on AI, computer graphics, data science, machine learning and autonomous machines. The event comes at a make-or-break moment for the firm, as it heads into the next few quarters, with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s (黃仁勳) keynote speech today seen as having the ability to
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