BANKING
Yuan deposits still falling
Yuan deposits held by Taiwanese banks at the end of last month plunged to 241.17 billion yuan (US$34.49 billion), down about 5.201 billion yuan from the end of May and hitting a more than six-year low, the central bank said on Wednesday last week. The domestic banking units of local banks reported that yuan deposits fell 6.17 billion yuan from a month earlier to 208.26 billion, while yuan deposits at offshore banking units rose 966 million yuan from a month earlier to 32.92 billion at the end of last month.
HOSPITALITY
Farglory plans renovation
Farglory Hotel (遠雄悅來大飯店) in Hualien on Thursday announced plans to spend NT$250 million (US$8.45 million) to revamp its facilities over the next three years. The 18-year-old property with 400 guestrooms under the Farglory Group (遠雄集團) is to improve its entertainment features, restaurants, hotel rooms and other amenities in phases, the hotel said. It plans to add light shows, virtual reality games, a sports bar and an augmented rock climbing wall to help turn the hotel into the most popular resort in Hualien, it said.
OPTOELECTRONICS
Largan to expand production
Handset camera lens supplier Largan Precision Co (大立光) has remitted US$276 million to Taiwan to finance new production capacity. Largan on Tuesday said it remitted the funds through its Samoa-registered investment subsidiary Astro International Ltd, and its board approved using the funds to build new production lines and as a reserve for capital expenditure. It was Largan’s second large fund repatriation in seven months after the company in December last year remitted US$365 million, also to be used to expand its production capacity.
Anna Bhobho, a 31-year-old housewife from rural Zimbabwe, was once a silent observer in her home, excluded from financial and family decisionmaking in the deeply patriarchal society. Today, she is a driver of change in her village, thanks to an electric tricycle she owns. In many parts of rural sub-Saharan Africa, women have long been excluded from mainstream economic activities such as operating public transportation. However, three-wheelers powered by green energy are reversing that trend, offering financial opportunities and a newfound sense of importance. “My husband now looks up to me to take care of a large chunk of expenses,
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday signed a letter of intent with Alaska Gasline Development Corp (AGDC), expressing an interest to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) and invest in the latter’s Alaska LNG project, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement. Under the agreement, CPC is to participate in the project’s upstream gas investment to secure stable energy resources for Taiwan, the ministry said. The Alaska LNG project is jointly promoted by AGDC and major developer Glenfarne Group LLC, as Alaska plans to export up to 20 million tonnes of LNG annually from 2031. It involves constructing an 1,290km
NEXT GENERATION: The company also showcased automated machines, including a nursing robot called Nurabot, which is to enter service at a Taichung hospital this year Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) expects server revenue to exceed its iPhone revenue within two years, with the possibility of achieving this goal as early as this year, chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) said on Tuesday at Nvidia Corp’s annual technology conference in San Jose, California. AI would be the primary focus this year for the company, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), as rapidly advancing AI applications are driving up demand for AI servers, Liu said. The production and shipment of Nvidia’s GB200 chips and the anticipated launch of GB300 chips in the second half of the year would propel
‘MAKE OR BREAK’: Nvidia shares remain down more than 9 percent, but investors are hoping CEO Jensen Huang’s speech can stave off fears that the sales boom is peaking Shares in Nvidia Corp’s Taiwanese suppliers mostly closed higher yesterday on hopes that the US artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer would showcase next-generation technologies at its annual AI conference slated to open later in the day. The GPU Technology Conference (GTC) in California is to feature developers, engineers, researchers, inventors and information technology professionals, and would focus on AI, computer graphics, data science, machine learning and autonomous machines. The event comes at a make-or-break moment for the firm, as it heads into the next few quarters, with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s (黃仁勳) keynote speech today seen as having the ability to
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