TAXES
Revenue rises 9.9 percent
The national treasury last month collected NT$490.8 billion (US$16.04 billion) in tax revenue, an increase of 9.9 percent from a year earlier, attributable mainly to greater tobacco and house levies, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. Health and welfare taxes totaled NT$7.4 billion, more than double the level a year earlier, as smokers bought more cigarettes amid fears of price hikes after tax increases to sponsor long-term care services, the ministry said. In the first half of this year, tax revenue totaled NT$1.25 trillion, a 1.5 percent increase from the same period last year that surpassed the target by 6.8 percent, it added.
SOLAR ENERGY
Giga Solar ends buyback
Giga Solar Materials Corp (碩禾), a photovoltaic conductive paste maker, achieved just 50 percent of a planned share buyback scheme that ended yesterday. The company said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange that between May 16 and Monday it repurchased 750,000 shares on the open market at an average of NT$279.43 per share for a total of about NT$209 million. Giga Solar in May said it would buy back up to 1.5 million shares at between NT$240 to NT$350 per share, which were to be distributed to employees. The company attributed the lower-than-expected result to an unclear industry outlook and considerations on the firm’s fund management.
SMARTPHONES
Asustek mum on Gong rumor
Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) yesterday declined to comment on rumors that it plans to hire 38-year-old South Korean actor Gong Yoo as its spokesperson for a marketing campaign to be launched later this month. Local media reported that Asustek plans to spend up to NT$60 million to have Gong — who has risen to popularity across Asia through leading roles in the hit film Train to Busan and TV drama Guardian: the Lonely and Great God — become its principal promoter for the ZenFone 4 smartphone. Asustek declined to comment, but said there would be no changes to the planned launch of the new handset later this month.
MANUFACTURING
Largan shares get boost
Largan Precision Co (大立光), the world’s leading camera lens supplier for handsets, yesterday saw its shares hit another record high, as investors expect Apple Inc’s next-generation iPhones to boost its shipments in the second half of the year. Shares gained 3.83 percent to close at NT$5,285 after hitting an intraday high of NT$5,325 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, where the TAIEX ended up 1.22 percent at 10,415.57. The closing price and intraday high were both records for Largan. The company is scheduled to hold its quarterly earnings conference tomorrow to shed light on its outlook for this quarter.
TRADE
Tianjin show nets deals
A trade fair featuring Taiwanese brands has concluded in northern Tianjin, China, with exhibitors in talks for potential licensing deals worth up to 1.8 billion yuan (US$264.68 million), the General Chamber of Commerce said yesterday. More than 800 Taiwanese brands were represented at the four-day fair organized by the chamber and the Tianjin city government. A total of 600 million yuan in sales of products on display were concluded during the show, while more than 250 Taiwanese exhibitors are in negotiations to license their brands or knowledge to Chinese entrepreneurs, the chamber said.
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
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) listed the challenges of ensuring export control compliance by its customers, months after the company’s artificial intelligence (AI) silicon was found to have flowed to US-sanctioned Huawei Technologies Co (華為) via intermediaries. “TSMC’s role in the semiconductor supply chain inherently limits its visibility and information available to it regarding the downstream use or user of final products that incorporate semiconductors manufactured by it,” the Hsinchu-based company said in its latest annual report released on Friday. The world’s largest contract chipmaker said the constraint impedes its ability to prevent unintended end-uses of its semiconductors, as well
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) expects steady growth this year despite global economic uncertainty due to continued momentum from tech trends such as 5G, artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) applications. In the company’s annual shareholders’ report released on Thursday, TSMC chairman and CEO C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said the company is well-positioned to meet market demand with its differentiated technology platforms. The company’s 2-nanometer process is on track for volume production in the second half of this year, while its next-generation nanosheet-based A16 process, aimed at HPC applications, is scheduled for mass production late next year, Wei said. Advanced technologies —
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