PHARMACEUTICALS
JHL Biotech raises funds
JHL Biotech Inc (喜康生技), a Hsinchu-based developer of cheaper alternative cancer drugs, has raised a new round of financing at a valuation of about US$750 million, a person with knowledge of the matter said. Most of the funding came from existing investors, including French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi, the person said. Proceeds would go toward ongoing development of JHL Biotech’s pipeline of drug candidates that are in phase III clinical trials, the person added. JHL Biotech, which was founded in 2012, is planning a Hong Kong initial public offering as soon as next year, Bloomberg News reported in July. The company delisted from the TPEX Emerging Stock Board in December last year to seek greener fund raising pastures abroad.
STEELMAKERS
Firm lands NT$16.5bn deal
Century Iron & Steel Industrial Co (世紀鋼構) has signed a NT$16.5 billion (US$538 million) deal to supply Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) with a key part of its windpower project off the coast of Changhua County. The steelmaker would handle the underwater infrastructure for CIP’s two windmills. The agreement is expected to create 300 to 500 jobs, the two companies said. CIP, a fund management company founded in 2012, is one of seven companies, including three foreign developers, that won a tender held by the Ministry of Economic Affairs at the end of April to build 10 offshore windpower farms.
BANKING
French lender gets bond nod
Societe Generale SA yesterday became the first foreign bank to gain the Financial Supervisory Commission’s approval to issue New Taiwan dollar-denominated green bonds to be used to fund renewable energy projects in Taiwan. The French bank said it is issuing NT$1.6 billion of bonds in three tranches: NT$900 million in 5-year bonds at 0.85 percent interest, NT$500 million in 10-year bonds at 1.12 percent and NT$200 million in 15-year bonds at 1.63 percent. The government aims to increase the percentage of renewables in electricity generation to 20 percent by 2025, which is to include the installation of 5.5 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity.
VIRTUAL REALITY
Brogent bid boosts shares
Shares in Brogent Technologies Inc (智崴資訊) yesterday surged 8.44 percent to NT$173.5 in Taipei trading, after the company on Monday announced that it has won a bid to supply its theme park rides and flying theaters to a major Chinese customer. The company has installed 30 flying theaters around the globe and has a backlog of nearly 50 projects. In the first six months of the year, net income totaled NT$117 million, up from NT$100 million a year earlier.
CHIPMAKERS
Science park sales rise 32%
The Central Taiwan Science Park (中部科學園區) in Taichung yesterday reported that sales in the first eight months of this year increased 32 percent annually to NT$446.4 billion to reach a new record high for the period. The growth was driven by the semiconductor and IC industries, which accounted for 69.03 percent of sales, followed by optoelectronics at 25.19 percent, with precision machinery trailing in third at 4.35 percent. The semiconductors and IC industries have continued to benefit from rising demand for artificial intelligence and high-speed computing, the park administration said, adding that aggregate sales for this year are expected to exceed NT$700 billion.
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
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
China yesterday announced anti-dumping duties as high as 74.9 percent on imports of polyoxymethylene (POM) copolymers, a type of engineering plastic, from Taiwan, the US, the EU and Japan. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce’s findings conclude a probe launched in May last year, shortly after the US sharply increased tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, computer chips and other imports. POM copolymers can partially replace metals such as copper and zinc, and have various applications, including in auto parts, electronics and medical equipment, the Chinese ministry has said. In January, it said initial investigations had determined that dumping was taking place, and implemented preliminary
Intel Corp yesterday reinforced its determination to strengthen its partnerships with Taiwan’s ecosystem partners including original-electronic-manufacturing (OEM) companies such as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) and chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電). “Tonight marks a new beginning. We renew our new partnership with Taiwan ecosystem,” Intel new chief executive officer Tan Lip-bu (陳立武) said at a dinner with representatives from the company’s local partners, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the US chip giant’s presence in Taiwan. Tan took the reins at Intel six weeks ago aiming to reform the chipmaker and revive its past glory. This is the first time Tan
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