TECHNOLOGY
Advantech opens in Vietnam
Advantech Co (研華), the nation’s biggest industrial computer maker, yesterday said it has opened a new subsidiary in Vietnam in the latest move to expand its footprint to Southeast Asia. Advantech’s move came as a number of its clients from Japan and South Korea are relocating their manufacturing sites to Vietnam in a bid to take advantage of lower labor costs in the country, the company said in a statement. Vietnam is to replace China as the world’s new workshop, Advantech said. Vietnam has registered high foreign direct investment of US$15 billion a year over the past few years, the company added.
HOSPITALITY
Kanpai to issue 1m shares
Restaurant operator Kanpai Co Ltd (乾杯) yesterday said it plans to raise NT$10 million (US$342,454) in capital through the issuance of 1 million new common shares on the Emerging Stock Market, in a bid to boost its working capital. The company would reserve 10 percent of the new shares’ subscription rights for employees, with the remainder being made available to existing shareholders, it said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange. Kanpai has set the price at NT$163 per share, the filing said. The company, which operates six cuisine brands including Kanpai Classic (老乾杯), said it would open 15 new outlets this year to stimulate sales.
TECHNOLOGY
Computex to broaden focus
This year’s Computex Taipei is to focus on more areas, including innovations, start-ups and blockchain technology, as well as gaming and virtual reality, artificial intelligence, 5G telecommunications and the Internet of Things, organizers said yesterday. The trade show, set to take place between June 6 and June 8, is to see the number of exhibitors grow 10 percent from last year to 5,015 booths, including 300 start-ups from 19 countries, organizers said. Taiwan External Trade Development Council executive president Walter Yeh (葉明水) said that the annual event is aiming to transform from a procurement platform into a global event on building technology ecosystems.
HOSPITALITY
Hotel Royal Group to expand
Hospitality provider Hotel Royal Group (老爺酒店集團) is to open a new property in Taichung, raising its total number of outlets to 10 in Taiwan under three brands, the company said on Tuesday. The Place Taichung (台中大毅老爺行旅), a joint venture with Da Yi Construction and Development Co (大毅建設), which aims to woo young independent and business travelers, is to launch in July, the hotel group said. People can buy discount accommodation vouchers for NT$2,900 per room at forthcoming travel fairs in Kaohsiung and Taichung, it said.
HOSPITALITY
Resort to offer discounts
The Promised Land Resort & Lagoon (花蓮理想大地渡假飯店) is seeking to boost sales by taking part in major travel fairs in Taichung and Kaohsiung where it is to offer packages at discounted prices. The five-star resort is urging domestic tourists to take advantage of the NT$500 per person government subsidy and visit Hualien County. The facility emerged unscathed from a major earthquake on Feb. 6. The resort is modeled on the Italian city of Venice and offers 260 Spanish-style guestrooms, all with views of a 2.2km canal, waterfalls, bridges and Greek sculptures. People can purchase room vouchers at the trade shows for NT$3,970 per room, lower than its average daily room rate of NT$4,500.
BYPASSING CHINA TARIFFS: In the first five months of this year, Foxconn sent US$4.4bn of iPhones to the US from India, compared with US$3.7bn in the whole of last year Nearly all the iPhones exported by Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) from India went to the US between March and last month, customs data showed, far above last year’s average of 50 percent and a clear sign of Apple Inc’s efforts to bypass high US tariffs imposed on China. The numbers, being reported by Reuters for the first time, show that Apple has realigned its India exports to almost exclusively serve the US market, when previously the devices were more widely distributed to nations including the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. During March to last month, Foxconn, known as Hon Hai Precision Industry
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and the University of Tokyo (UTokyo) yesterday announced the launch of the TSMC-UTokyo Lab to promote advanced semiconductor research, education and talent development. The lab is TSMC’s first laboratory collaboration with a university outside Taiwan, the company said in a statement. The lab would leverage “the extensive knowledge, experience, and creativity” of both institutions, the company said. It is located in the Asano Section of UTokyo’s Hongo, Tokyo, campus and would be managed by UTokyo faculty, guided by directors from UTokyo and TSMC, the company said. TSMC began working with UTokyo in 2019, resulting in 21 research projects,
Ashton Hall’s morning routine involves dunking his head in iced Saratoga Spring Water. For the company that sells the bottled water — Hall’s brand of choice for drinking, brushing his teeth and submerging himself — that is fantastic news. “We’re so thankful to this incredible fitness influencer called Ashton Hall,” Saratoga owner Primo Brands Corp’s CEO Robbert Rietbroek said on an earnings call after Hall’s morning routine video went viral. “He really helped put our brand on the map.” Primo Brands, which was not affiliated with Hall when he made his video, is among the increasing number of companies benefiting from influencer
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) yesterday expressed a downbeat view about the prospects of humanoid robots, given high manufacturing costs and a lack of target customers. Despite rising demand and high expectations for humanoid robots, high research-and-development costs and uncertain profitability remain major concerns, Lam told reporters following the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Taoyuan. “Since it seems a bit unworthy to use such high-cost robots to do household chores, I believe robots designed for specific purposes would be more valuable and present a better business opportunity,” Lam said Instead of investing in humanoid robots, Quanta has opted to invest
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