STOCK EXCHANGE
Firms to become bilingual
Companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange with paid-in capital of NT$15 billion or more are from today required to publish material information in both Chinese and English, the exchange said yesterday. The plan is to be implemented in phases, the exchange said, adding that 86 companies are required to implement the new requirements in the first phase. So far, 343 companies listed on the main bourse have published bilingual material information, accounting for 36 percent of all listed companies, the exchange said.
ELECTRONICS
Lite-On to complete sale
Lite-On Technology Corp (光寶科技) is to complete the sale of its solid-state drive (SSD) business today after announcing the US$165 million deal with Kioxia Holdings Corp last year. The transaction with Kioxia, formerly known as Toshiba Memory Holdings Corp, includes the SSD business, its assets, intellectual property, technologies and liabilities, as well as a 0.4 percent stake in CNEX Labs Inc, a California-based SSD start-up, Lite-On said yesterday. Lite-On said that it would continue to focus on power supplies and optoelectronic components, as well as applications in the cloud computing, server, network and communications, and Internet of Things sectors.
COMPUTERS
Advantech supplying PCSC
Advantech Co Ltd (研華), the world’s largest industrial computer manufacturer, on Monday said that it is supplying artificial intelligence of things solutions to President Chain Store Corp (PCSC, 統一超商), so that the latter can build smart energy management systems for its convenience stores without workers. PCSC, the operator of the 7-Eleven convenience store chain, has adopted the energy management solutions in its un-staffed X-Store in Kaohsiung, Advantech said. Advantech’s solutions monitor store temperature, humidity and electricity use, to enhance food safety and cut costs, it said.
HEALTHCARE
Mask requisitions continue
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic having subsided, the government is to continue to requisition 8 million masks per day until the end of this month, a Ministry of Economic Affairs official said on Monday. The official said the requisitioning was extended for another month from the originally intended end date of yesterday at an inter-ministerial meeting. The decision was made as the pandemic remains severe in much of the world and the government wants to ensure that the nation has sufficient masks should there be a second wave of infections. The government has been requisitioning all masks manufactured in the nation since Jan. 31.
AUTOMAKERS
Byton suspends operations
Byton Ltd (拜騰), a Chinese electric vehicle start-up that plotted a US entry for years, but never sold a vehicle, is suspending all operations in China and furloughing its employees after the COVID-19 pandemic made it tougher to launch its business. The suspension starts today and is set to last for six months, Byton told its senior employees in an e-mail seen by Bloomberg News. The company invited employees to resign by yesterday and said it was making efforts to obtain funding to pay salaries owed to workers. Those who resign would have priority in being paid, it said. Byton has about 1,000 employees in China and about 500 elsewhere, including in the US.
DIVIDED VIEWS: Although the Fed agreed on holding rates steady, some officials see no rate cuts for this year, while 10 policymakers foresee two or more cuts There are a lot of unknowns about the outlook for the economy and interest rates, but US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled at least one thing seems certain: Higher prices are coming. Fed policymakers voted unanimously to hold interest rates steady at a range of 4.25 percent to 4.50 percent for a fourth straight meeting on Wednesday, as they await clarity on whether tariffs would leave a one-time or more lasting mark on inflation. Powell said it is still unclear how much of the bill would fall on the shoulders of consumers, but he expects to learn more about tariffs
NOT JUSTIFIED: The bank’s governor said there would only be a rate cut if inflation falls below 1.5% and economic conditions deteriorate, which have not been detected The central bank yesterday kept its key interest rates unchanged for a fifth consecutive quarter, aligning with market expectations, while slightly lowering its inflation outlook amid signs of cooling price pressures. The move came after the US Federal Reserve held rates steady overnight, despite pressure from US President Donald Trump to cut borrowing costs. Central bank board members unanimously voted to maintain the discount rate at 2 percent, the secured loan rate at 2.375 percent and the overnight lending rate at 4.25 percent. “We consider the policy decision appropriate, although it suggests tightening leaning after factoring in slackening inflation and stable GDP growth,”
Greek tourism student Katerina quit within a month of starting work at a five-star hotel in Halkidiki, one of the country’s top destinations, because she said conditions were so dire. Beyond the bad pay, the 22-year-old said that her working and living conditions were “miserable and unacceptable.” Millions holiday in Greece every year, but its vital tourism industry is finding it harder and harder to recruit Greeks to look after them. “I was asked to work in any department of the hotel where there was a need, from service to cleaning,” said Katerina, a tourism and marketing student, who would
i Gasoline and diesel prices at fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.1 per liter, as tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week rose for the third consecutive week due to an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as the market is concerned that the situation in the Middle East might affect crude oil supply, CPC and Formosa said in separate statements. Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — rose 3.75 percent to settle at US$77.01
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