REGULATION
FSC opens new Tatung probe
Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) Chairman Wellington Koo (顧立雄) yesterday said that the commission is verifying new evidence related to a management feud at Tatung Co (大同). The commission has not ruled out taking further action depending on the outcome of the renewed investigation, he said. In May, the commission fined SinoPac Securities (Asia) Ltd (永豐金證券亞洲), a Hong Kong-based brokerage subsidiary of SinoPac Financial Holdings Co (永豐金控), for purchasing shares in Tatung to gain seats on the board of the 99-year-old company on behalf of Chinese financial backers, in violation of the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例). The Chinese clients bought an estimated 4 percent stake in Tatung at cost of NT$1 billion (US$33.2 million), the commission said.
BIOTECHNOLOGY
Local firms to merge
Glac Biotech Co Ltd (豐華) yesterday announced that it would merge with Glory Biotech Co Ltd (得榮) in a bid to consolidate the two companies’ efforts at tapping the market for health supplements and probiotics. The deal would see Glac Biotech absorb Glory Biotech through a share swap. The share swap ratio has been tentatively set at 1 Glory Biotech for 0.4 Glac Biotech shares, the companies said. Glac Biotech specializes in upstream aspects of the probiotic supply chain, while Glory Biotech is expected to bring additional production capacity and cost savings to the merged firm as it sets its sights on international markets, the companies said.
AVIATION
CAL, Nordam sign deal
China Airlines Ltd (CAL, 中華航空) yesterday inked an agreement with Nordam Group Inc to jointly build a maintenance facility servicing the US-based company’s thrust reversers, as well as other composite material parts. The new facility is to be situated adjacent to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. The arrangement would help the company fulfill the servicing needs of its fleet and elevate its maintenance capabilities, as well as help the development of the nation’s aviation sector, CAL chairman Ho Nuan-hsuan (何煖軒) said.
CEMENT
TCCI delisting approved
Taiwan Cement Corp (台灣水泥) yesterday said shareholders of its major subsidiary, TCC International Holdings Ltd (TCCI, 台泥國際集團), have approved a proposal to delist the company from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. TCCI would become a fully owned unit of Taiwan Cement and contribute more profit to its parent company after the delisting plan is completed by the end of this year, the firm said. The plan still requires the approval of the Cayman Islands Judicial Administration, Taiwan Cement said in a statement. Incorporated in the Cayman Islands, the subsidiary has 21 cement plants in southern China.
ELECTRONICS
Apple stores to open early
Apple Inc’s premium iPhone 8 series is to be launched in Taiwan on Friday, with several major telecoms planning to open some of their retail stores earlier than usual that day. Taiwan is among the first wave of launch nations for the new iPhones. Apple’s first retail store in Taiwan, in Taipei 101, is to open at 8am on Friday, three hours earlier than usual, and stay open until 10pm, according to the company’s Web site. The store has not revealed any information about any special offers or giveaways for the launch of the new phones.
TECH RACE: The Chinese firm showed off its new Mate XT hours after the latest iPhone launch, but its price tag and limited supply could be drawbacks China’s Huawei Technologies Co (華為) yesterday unveiled the world’s first tri-foldable phone, as it seeks to expand its lead in the world’s biggest smartphone market and steal the spotlight from Apple Inc hours after it debuted a new iPhone. The Chinese tech giant showed off its new Mate XT, which users can fold three ways like an accordion screen door, during a launch ceremony in Shenzhen. The Mate XT comes in red and black and has a 10.2-inch display screen. At 3.6mm thick, it is the world’s slimmest foldable smartphone, Huawei said. The company’s Web site showed that it has garnered more than
CROSS-STRAIT TENSIONS: The US company could switch orders from TSMC to alternative suppliers, but that would lower chip quality, CEO Jensen Huang said Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳), whose products have become the hottest commodity in the technology world, on Wednesday said that the scramble for a limited amount of supply has frustrated some customers and raised tensions. “The demand on it is so great, and everyone wants to be first and everyone wants to be most,” he told the audience at a Goldman Sachs Group Inc technology conference in San Francisco. “We probably have more emotional customers today. Deservedly so. It’s tense. We’re trying to do the best we can.” Huang’s company is experiencing strong demand for its latest generation of chips, called
ISSUES: Gogoro has been struggling with ballooning losses and was recently embroiled in alleged subsidy fraud, using Chinese-made components instead of locally made parts Gogoro Inc (睿能創意), the nation’s biggest electric scooter maker, yesterday said that its chairman and CEO Horace Luke (陸學森) has resigned amid chronic losses and probes into the company’s alleged involvement in subsidy fraud. The board of directors nominated Reuntex Group (潤泰集團) general counsel Tamon Tseng (曾夢達) as the company’s new chairman, Gogoro said in a statement. Ruentex is Gogoro’s biggest stakeholder. Gogoro Taiwan general manager Henry Chiang (姜家煒) is to serve as acting CEO during the interim period, the statement said. Luke’s departure came as a bombshell yesterday. As a company founder, he has played a key role in pushing for the
Vanguard International Semiconductor Corp (世界先進) and Episil Technologies Inc (漢磊) yesterday announced plans to jointly build an 8-inch fab to produce silicon carbide (SiC) chips through an equity acquisition deal. SiC chips offer higher efficiency and lower energy loss than pure silicon chips, and they are able to operate at higher temperatures. They have become crucial to the development of electric vehicles, artificial intelligence data centers, green energy storage and industrial devices. Vanguard, a contract chipmaker focused on making power management chips and driver ICs for displays, is to acquire a 13 percent stake in Episil for NT$2.48 billion (US$77.1 million).
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