ELECTRONICS
Kaimei bid fails
Aluminum electrolytic capacitor maker Kaimei Electronic Corp (凱美) yesterday said it failed to buy a 45 percent stake of Ta-i Technology Co (大毅) through a tender offer, as Kaimei could not acquire more than 5 percent of Ta-i’s shares on the open market from Jan. 20 through yesterday as required. Last month, Kaimei said it was to buy 79 million shares of Ta-i at NT$24.76 per share via a tender offer. The move prompted Ta-i to announce a buyback of 10,000,000 shares, or a 5.7 percent stake, on the open market at NT$15.5 to NT$29.5 per share from Jan. 23 to March 22 to defend its ownership. Kaimei said in a Taiwan Stock Exchange filing that it had acquired less than 3 percent of Ta-i shares during the tender offer period and thus did not meet the minimum tender condition of a 5 percent threshold. Ta-i shares fell 8.1 percent to NT$24.9 yesterday, while Kaimei dropped 0.6 percent to NT$15.9.
ONLINE RETAIL
Momo venture announced
Momo.com Inc (富邦媒體) yesterday announced that it is to form a joint venture with Malaysia’s Pavilion Trading Enterprise Sdn Bhd to expand the Taiwanese company’s presence in Malaysia. The joint venture is to operate TV, online and catalog shopping under the Momo brand in the third quarter of this year, the company said in a news release. The joint venture will have paid-in capital of NT$400 million (US$13.01 million), the company said, adding that it plans to spend NT$180 million to acquire a 45 percent stake.
GAMES
XPEC suit applications open
The Securities and Futures Investors Protection Center yesterday said it would start accepting applications from XPEC Entertainment Inc (樂陞科技) investors who want to file a civil lawsuit against former XPEC chairman Arron Hsu (許金龍) and other company officials. Hsu and others were indicted on Jan. 24 for allegedly manipulating the XPEC stock price and submitting false financial statements to exchange regulators. The center said the applications will be accepted until March 31.
LIGHTING
Depo secures loan
Automotive lighting supplier Depo Auto Parts Industrial Co (帝寶工業) yesterday secured a US$144 million syndicated loan from eight local banks led by Bank of Taiwan (臺灣銀行). The fund is to repay old bank loans and bolster its operating capital in the medium term, according to a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange. The company said its new plant in China’s Jiangsu Province is to start mass production this year.
GOVERNMENT
Luggage rules unveiled
The government will introduce new regulations on the safety of suitcases and other types of luggage, implementing a mandatory inspection of such items before they are put on sale, the Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection said yesterday. The inspections, to begin on Wednesday next week, are to apply to wheeled luggage with fixed frames to ensure that they conform to safety regulations and protect consumers’ rights, the bureau said. The inspections will involve checking the quality of zippers, handles, wheels and material, it said. Luggage products will be examined before they are allowed on the market and are to have an inspection certification sticker displayed on them if they pass the process, it said. Merchants found selling luggage without the stickers will be subject to fines of between NT$200,000 and NT$2 million, it said.
The Eurovision Song Contest has seen a surge in punter interest at the bookmakers, becoming a major betting event, experts said ahead of last night’s giant glamfest in Basel. “Eurovision has quietly become one of the biggest betting events of the year,” said Tomi Huttunen, senior manager of the Online Computer Finland (OCS) betting and casino platform. Betting sites have long been used to gauge which way voters might be leaning ahead of the world’s biggest televised live music event. However, bookmakers highlight a huge increase in engagement in recent years — and this year in particular. “We’ve already passed 2023’s total activity and
BIG BUCKS: Chairman Wei is expected to receive NT$34.12 million on a proposed NT$5 cash dividend plan, while the National Development Fund would get NT$8.27 billion Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday announced that its board of directors approved US$15.25 billion in capital appropriations for long-term expansion to meet growing demand. The funds are to be used for installing advanced technology and packaging capacity, expanding mature and specialty technology, and constructing fabs with facility systems, TSMC said in a statement. The board also approved a proposal to distribute a NT$5 cash dividend per share, based on first-quarter earnings per share of NT$13.94, it said. That surpasses the NT$4.50 dividend for the fourth quarter of last year. TSMC has said that while it is eager
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) today announced that his company has selected "Beitou Shilin" in Taipei for its new Taiwan office, called Nvidia Constellation, putting an end to months of speculation. Industry sources have said that the tech giant has been eyeing the Beitou Shilin Science Park as the site of its new overseas headquarters, and speculated that the new headquarters would be built on two plots of land designated as "T17" and "T18," which span 3.89 hectares in the park. "I think it's time for us to reveal one of the largest products we've ever built," Huang said near the
CUSTOMERS’ BURDEN: TSMC already has operations in the US and is a foundry, so any tariff increase would mostly affect US customers, not the company, the minister said Taiwanese manufacturers are “not afraid” of US tariffs, but are concerned about being affected more heavily than regional economic competitors Japan and South Korea, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said. “Taiwan has many advantages that other countries do not have, the most notable of which is its semiconductor ecosystem,” Kuo said. The US “must rely on Taiwan” to boost its microchip manufacturing capacities, Kuo said in an interview ahead of his one-year anniversary in office tomorrow. Taiwan has submitted a position paper under Section 232 of the US Trade Expansion Act to explain the “complementary relationship” between Taiwan and the US
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