RETAIL
Bossini to shut local stores
Bossini International Holdings Ltd (堡獅龍國際集團) has decided to wind down its local retail operation and close all 51 stores before July 31, due to slowing sales over the past two decades. The Hong Kong-based clothing chain operator has had losses in Taiwan since 2006 due to sluggish consumer demand and it is not optimistic about the market in the near term, a company regulatory filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange said. The company said that it would soon begin talks with local landlords to arrange early exit terms for the store leases. Bossini said that the closures are estimated to cost the company about HK$20 million (US$2.57 million), but it does not expect the move to significantly affect its overall business.
RETAIL
Mirada to close all stores
Mirada (美華泰), the local operator of a cosmetics and beauty products chain, is going out of business and plans to close its 15 stores across the nation, the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) reported yesterday. In a notice sent to suppliers, Mirada said that COVID-19 has caused business to wane, leading to unbearable losses and a decision to end operations, the newspaper reported. Mirada is considering closing the stores as their leases expire, with seven stores closing by the end of next month and the other eight stores closing by the end of June, it reported.
ELECTRONICS
Coretronic scraps plant sale
Coretronic Corp (中強光電), which makes backlight modules for flat panels, yesterday scrapped a plan to sell a plant in Hsinchu County to Nano Precision Taiwan Ltd (台灣揚昕) after facing opposition from the Ministry of the Interior. The company’s board of directors on Oct. 28 last year approved the sale of the plant in Hukou Township (湖口) to Nano, a wholly owned subsidiary, in an effort to improve its operational efficiency. However, the ministry yesterday rejected Nano’s application to acquire the plant, so the transaction has been canceled, Coretronic said.
REAL ESTATE
Taiwan Fertilizer sells plot
State-run Taiwan Fertilizer Co (台肥), which develops real estate and manufactures and sells fertilizers and chemical products, yesterday said that it sold a plot of land in Taipei’s Nangang District (南港) for NT$1.28 billion (US$42.54 million). Sale of the land — 869.385 ping (2,874m2) at NT$1.47 million per ping — is expected to generate pre-tax income of NT$959 million, a company press release said. The transaction is an effort to revitalize idle assets, Taiwan Fertilizer said, adding that the deal would contribute earnings per share of NT$0.97 for the company’s 980 million outstanding shares.
EQUITIES
TAIEX follows US rally
Taiwanese shares closed more than 1 percent higher yesterday, led by the bellwether electronics sector, after US markets rallied overnight on expectations of an interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve. The TAIEX ended up 157.26 points, or 1.41 percent, at 11,327.72 on turnover of NT$161.624 billion. Despite the gain in share prices, foreign institutional investors sold a net NT$13.56 billion in shares, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed. The New Taiwan dollar continued trading stronger against the US dollar, rising 0.12 percent to close at NT$30.087 in Taipei trading.
The domestic unit of the Chinese-owned, Dutch-headquartered chipmaker Nexperia BV will soon be able to produce semiconductors locally within China, according to two company sources. Nexperia is at the center of a global tug-of-war over critical semiconductor technology, with a Dutch court in February ordering a probe into alleged mismanagement at the company. The geopolitical tussle has disrupted supply chains, with some carmakers reportedly forced to cut production due to chip shortages. Local production would allow Nexperia’s domestic arm, Nexperia Semiconductors (China) Ltd (安世半導體中國), to bypass restrictions in place since October on the supply of silicon wafers — etched with tiny components to
Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab Holdings Ltd has applied for regulatory approval to acquire the Taiwan operations of Germany-based Delivery Hero SE's Foodpanda in a deal valued at about US$600 million. Grab submitted the filing to the Fair Trade Commission on Friday last week, with the transaction subject to regulatory review and approval, the company said in a statement yesterday. Its independent governance structure would help foster a healthy and competitive market in Taiwan if the deal is approved, Grab said. Grab, which is listed on the NASDAQ, said in the filing that US-based Uber Technologies Inc holds about 13 percent of
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday received government approval to deploy its advanced 3-nanometer (3nm) process at its second fab currently under construction in Japan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a news release. The ministry green-lit the plan for the facility in Kumamoto, which is scheduled to start installing equipment and come online in 2028 with a monthly production capacity of 15,000 12-inch wafers, the ministry said. The Department of Investment Review in June 2024 authorized a US$5.26 billion investment for the facility, slated to manufacture 6- to 12nm chips, significantly less advanced than 3nm process. At a meeting with
Taiwan is open to joining a global liquefied natural gas (LNG) program if one is created, but on the condition that countries provide delivery even in a scenario where there is a conflict with China, an energy department official said yesterday. While Taiwan’s priority is to have enough LNG at home, the nation is open to exploring potential strategic reserves in other countries such as Japan or South Korea, Energy Administration Deputy Director-General Chen Chung-hsien (陳崇憲) said. While the LNG market does not have a global reserve for emergencies like that of oil, the concept has been raised a few times —
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