Sing Lan Co Ltd (新嵐企業), which operates tea beverage chain 50 Lan (50嵐), is to set up a global headquarters in Kaohsiung, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday after it approved the company’s application to invest in the nation via a government incentive program for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
With 174 stores nationwide, Sing Lan is targeting the US, Canada, Australia and Malaysia as it seeks to expand overseas. It plans to invest NT$300 million (US$9.99 million) expanding its logistics center and warehouses, as well as setting up the new headquarters in the Kaoshiung Hofa Industrial Park (高雄和發工業區), the ministry said.
The ministry also gave a green light to eight other SME investment applications, including Fox Automation Technology Inc (承鼎精密) and Gold Chains Sheet Metal Tech Co Ltd (高群鈑金), as well as hand tool suppliers Chu Min Co Ltd (茱銘) and Honiton Industries Inc (利徠實業).
Fox Automation, a subsidiary of Foxsemicon Integrated Technology Inc (京鼎), is to invest NT$1.8 billion setting up a smart manufacturing facility in Miaoli County’s Jhunan Township (竹南), as the company aims to expand its production capacity and strengthen cooperation with Applied Materials Inc, the ministry said.
Gold Chains is to invest NT$500 million setting up a smart manufacturing facility for slot and gachapon machines, while Chu Min and Honiton are to invest about NT$200 million each establishing new plants in Taichung’s Taiping District (太平) to handle mounting orders, it said.
Seamless steel pipe manufacturer Meng Chang Precision Machine Industry (猛展鋼鐵), which supplies automakers Honda Motor Co and Toyota Motor Corp, is to invest NT$200 million to establish a new automated plant in the Yunlin Fengtian Industrial Park (雲林豐田工業區), while Fupite Plastics Mold Co Ltd (富比特塑膠模具), which counts auto parts maker Tong Yang Industry Co Ltd (東陽實業) and furniture maker IKEA among its clients, is to invest NT$200 million to set up a research-and-development center, it added.
The ministry has approved 121 SME investment applications since the program began in July last year, which would result in an estimated NT$53.2 billion in domestic investments.
NEW MARKET: The partnership opens up India to the Dutch company, which already has a strong hold in the semiconductor market of South Korea, Taiwan and China ASML Holding NV entered into a partnership agreement with Tata Electronics Pvt Ltd aimed at ramping up India’s goal to develop domestic chip-manufacturing capabilities. The Dutch company’s technology would help power Tata Electronics’ planned 300 millimeter (mm) semiconductor foundry in Gujarat, according to a joint statement from the two companies on Saturday. The signing of a memorandum of understanding coincides with a visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Netherlands, which is looking to deepen bilateral relations with New Delhi. ASML, whose top customers include Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co, makes lithography machines that can print
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The US has cleared about 10 Chinese firms to buy Nvidia Corp’s second-most powerful artificial intelligence (AI) chip, the H200, but not a single delivery has been made so far, three people familiar with the matter said, leaving a major technology deal in limbo as chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) seeks a breakthrough in China this week. Huang, who was not initially listed in a White House delegation to Beijing, joined the trip after an invitation from US President Donald Trump, a source said. Trump picked him up in Alaska en route to a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping
Wall Street is licking its chops over an unprecedented slate of massive initial public offerings (IPOs) set to arrive in the coming months, beginning with Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) next month. That is expected to be followed by artificial intelligence (AI) rivals OpenAI and Anthropic PBC. The trio of mega listings, each eyeing valuations around US$1 trillion or more, constitutes a heady period of elevated risk and reward. SpaceX is targeting an IPO that would raise up to US$80 billion — about double the funds generated from all IPOs last year. OpenAI and Anthropic are eyeing IPOs raising US$60 billion. “We’re