Taiwan and Brunei on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to promote a halal economy between the nations.
The document, titled the MOU on Syariah Compliance Products, Development and Trade, was signed by Pengiran Haris Duraman, chairman of the Brunei Darussalam BIMP-EAGA Business Council (BD BEBC), and witnessed by Taiwan Representative to Brunei Andrew Lee (李憲章).
The document next heads to Taipei to be signed by an official at the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA, 外貿協會), the other signatory of the MOU.
The BIMP-EAGA refers to the Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines-East ASEAN Growth Area, which covers 80 million people. It was launched in 1994 in Davao City, the Philippines, to promote subregional economic cooperation.
The MOU was a result of 10 months of discussion initiated by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Brunei and the BD BEBC, Lee said.
“It will serve as a catalyst and platform for connectivity and cooperation, and to explore opportunities in creating a new supply chain linking Taiwan and Brunei and the global Muslim markets,” Lee said.
The MOU aims to foster cooperation in the halal industry, reduce technical barriers to trade and facilitate bilateral relations between Taiwan and Brunei, particularly with respect to halal export development and promotional programs, Lee said.
It also focuses on investment opportunities in the halal economy and possible joint ventures in the halal value chain between Taiwan and Brunei, he added.
Brunei is well positioned to bridge the gap with Europe, the Middle East, South America and Taiwan in the halal industry, which is a global economic driver encompassing 1.9 billion Muslims, Lee said.
Taiwanese-made halal-certified foods were displayed outside the MOU-signing event as part of the representative office’s effort to showcase Taiwan’s efforts to break into the global halal food market, he said.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”