AIRLINES
CAL sells, leases five jets
China Airlines Ltd (CAL, 中華航空) yesterday said it sold five Airbus SE A330-300 jets to Irish leasing company Altitude Aircraft Cal I Ltd for between US$30 million and US$33 million each and immediately leased them back to maintain its capacity. CAL reported a loss of about NT$90 million (US$2.9 million) from the transaction, as the disposal gain of US$156 million was less than the five jets’ asset value of NT$4.942 billion. CAL said the number of its passenger airplanes remains at 70.
SOLAR INDUSTRY
TSE raises NT$455 million
TSE Corp (元晶), which makes solar modules and helps clients install solar panels, has raised NT$455 million via a rights issue, it said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday. The company plans to use the proceeds to repay bank loans. Shareholders subscribed to the newly issued 65 million common shares at NT$7 per share, the filing said. The price represented a 12.5 percent discount to the stock’s closing price of NT$8 in Taipei trading yesterday.
TECHNOLOGY
Asustek, institute sign deal
Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding with the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology to collaborate on various digital applications, such as cloud-based storage, an artificial intelligence (AI) development platform and Internet of Things technologies. Asustek last year worked with the National Applied Research Laboratories in the development of the supercomputer Taiwania. The company aims to expand the supercomputer’s AI and big data capabilities by the end of this year.
MACROECONOMICS
Wages post stable growth
The average regular wage rose 2.42 percent from a year earlier to NT$41,927 in July after a 2.33 percent year-on-year increase in June, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics reported on Wednesday. The average earned income, which includes regular salary plus bonuses, overtime pay and other irregular income, also rose 2.53 percent to NT$53,017, the agency said. In the first seven months of the year, the average regular wage climbed 2.32 percent to NT$41,702, while the average earned income grew 1.81 percent to NT$56,360, it said.
ENERGY
Orsted to sell green bonds
Danish energy developer Orsted A/S on Wednesday said that it is planning to issue New Taiwan dollar-denominated green bonds on the local market by the end of the year. The company said in a statement that it is in talks with a consortium — led by BNP Paribas SA and Deutsche Bank AG — that includes CTBC Bank (中國信託銀行) and Bank of Taiwan (臺灣銀行) to underwrite the sale. It did not disclose the financial terms for the planned issue. Funds raised from the bond sale would be injected into Taiwan’s offshore wind power industry, Orsted said.
AUTOMOTIVE
Iron Force sales rise 9.14%
Iron Force Industrial Co (劍麟), which supplies seat belts, airbag inflators and safety parts, on Tuesday reported that cumulative revenue in the first eight months of the year increased 9.14 percent to NT$3.06 billion due to rising shipments of automotive safety system parts, led by precision tubes for pretensioner seat belts. The company said in a news release that order visibility and factory utilization rates have improved this year, as major vehicle brands increase adoption of safety parts.
Three experts in the high technology industry have said that US President Donald Trump’s pledge to impose higher tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors is part of an effort to force Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to the negotiating table. In a speech to Republicans on Jan. 27, Trump said he intends to impose tariffs on Taiwan to bring chip production to the US. “The incentive is going to be they’re not going to want to pay a 25, 50 or even a 100 percent tax,” he said. Darson Chiu (邱達生), an economics professor at Taichung-based Tunghai University and director-general of
‘LEGACY CHIPS’: Chinese companies have dramatically increased mature chip production capacity, but the West’s drive for secure supply chains offers a lifeline for Taiwan When Powerchip Technology Corp (力晶科技) entered a deal with the eastern Chinese city of Hefei in 2015 to set up a new chip foundry, it hoped the move would help provide better access to the promising Chinese market. However, nine years later, that Chinese foundry, Nexchip Semiconductor Corp (合晶集成), has become one of its biggest rivals in the legacy chip space, leveraging steep discounts after Beijing’s localization call forced Powerchip to give up the once-lucrative business making integrated circuits for Chinese flat panels. Nexchip is among Chinese foundries quickly winning market share in the crucial US$56.3 billion industry of so-called legacy
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday held its first board of directors meeting in the US, at which it did not unveil any new US investments despite mounting tariff threats from US President Donald Trump. Trump has threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, prompting market speculation that TSMC might consider boosting its chip capacity in the US or ramping up production of advanced chips such as those using a 2-nanometer technology process at its Arizona fabs ahead of schedule. Speculation also swirled that the chipmaker might consider building its own advanced packaging capacity in the US as part
A move by US President Donald Trump to slap a 25 percent tariff on all steel imports is expected to place Taiwan-made steel, which already has a 25 percent tariff, on an equal footing, the Taiwan Steel & Iron Industries Association said yesterday. Speaking with CNA, association chairman Hwang Chien-chih (黃建智) said such an equal footing is expected to boost Taiwan’s competitive edge against other countries in the US market, describing the tariffs as "positive" for Taiwanese steel exporters. On Monday, Trump signed two executive orders imposing the new metal tariffs on imported steel and aluminum with no exceptions and exemptions, effective