RETAIL
Eslite to exit Shenzhen
Eslite Spectrum Corp (誠品生活), which operates the Eslite bookstore chain (誠品書局), plans to close its Shenzhen outlet in China at the end of the year, citing the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and a change in international accounting rules, Eslite spokesman Wu Li-chieh (吳立傑) said in a statement on Friday. Eslite would record an asset impairment loss of NT$182 million (US$6.15 million) and an income loss of about NT$187 million, due to the early termination of its property lease, he said.
AUTOMAKERS
Tesla opens Tainan station
Electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc on Friday announced the opening of a V3 Supercharger station in Tainan, less than a week after its first electric vehicle charging station opened in Taipei. The new station, which has eight charging stalls, is at the Tainan Art Museum’s Building 2 and is larger than the facility at National Taiwan University in Taipei, which opened on Monday last week, with only three charging stalls. The V3 Supercharger stations, first unveiled last year, charge vehicles at a peak rate of 250 kilowatts (kW), compared with the previous generation, which had a peak rate of 145kW, Tesla said.
SEMICONDUCTORS
WPG revises T3EX bid
Semiconductor components distributor WPG Holdings Co’s (大聯大投資控股) board of directors has agreed to raise its public tender offer price for shares of freight forwarder and logistics operator T3EX Global Holdings Corp (台驊國際投控) to NT$32 per common share, up from the NT$28 per share it first proposed on June 18, WPG said on Saturday. The new offer price represents a premium of 4.74 percent compared with T3EX’s closing price of NT$30.55 on Friday.
Elon Musk’s lieutenants have reached out to chip industry suppliers, including Applied Materials Inc, Tokyo Electron Ltd and Lam Research Corp, for his envisioned Terafab, early steps in an audacious and likely arduous attempt to break into the production of cutting-edge chips. Staff working for the joint venture between Tesla Inc and Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) have sought price quotes and delivery times for an array of chipmaking gear, people familiar with the matter said. In past weeks, they’ve contacted makers of photomasks, substrates, etchers, depositors, cleaning devices, testers and other tools, according to the people, who asked not to
The EU and US are nearing an agreement to coordinate on producing and securing critical minerals, part of a push to break reliance on Chinese supplies. The potential deal would create incentives, such as minimum prices, that could advantage non-Chinese suppliers, according to a draft of an “action plan” seen by Bloomberg. The EU and US would also cooperate on standards, investments and joint projects, as well as coordinate on any supply disruptions by countries like China. The two sides are additionally seeking other “like-minded partners” to join a multicountry accord to help create these new critical mineral supply chains, which feed into
Japan approved ￥631.5 billion (US$3.97 billion) in additional subsidies to hasten Rapidus Corp’s entry into the high-stakes artificial intelligence (AI) chipmaking arena, ramping up support for a project widely regarded as a long shot. The capital is intended to bankroll Rapidus’ work for information technology firm Fujitsu Ltd, one of the initial customers that Tokyo hopes would get the signature endeavor off the ground. The new money raises the fees and investments that the government is injecting into the start-up to ￥2.6 trillion by the end of the current fiscal year to March next year, the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and
The founder of Chinese property giant Evergrande Group (恆大集團) has pleaded guilty to charges of fraud and bribery, a court said yesterday, the latest blow for what was once the country’s leading developer. Evergrande’s rise was propelled by decades of rapid urbanization and rising living standards, but in 2020, its access to credit dramatically narrowed when the government introduced curbs on excessive borrowing and speculation. The company defaulted in 2021 after struggling to repay creditors. Founder Xu Jiayin (許家印), 67, known as Hui Ka Yan in Cantonese, was reportedly held by police in 2023, with Evergrande saying he had been subjected to
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