CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) yesterday announced it would keep gasoline prices unchanged this week from last week, but would raise diesel prices by NT$0.1 per liter, effective today.
The state-run refiner said global crude oil prices rose in the face of volatile trading last week, as the negative impact of the Keystone XL pipeline’s resumed operations was offset by an agreement by major oil producers to extend crude output cuts until the end of next year and a continued decrease in US commercial crude oil inventories.
Under CPC’s weighted pricing mechanism — 70 percent Dubai crude and 30 percent Brent crude — its average crude oil costs rose US$0.37 to US$61.81 per barrel over the past week.
After factoring in the appreciation of the New Taiwan dollar last week, which was up NT$0.033 versus the US dollar, CPC said domestic gasoline prices should have risen by 0.39 percent this week, but the refiner said it would absorb the increased cost.
Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) on Saturday said it would also increase diesel prices by NT$0.1 per liter, with gasoline prices remaining flat from last week.
The adjustments are to take effect today, it said.
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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).
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
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