BANKING
LTV terms not retroactive
The central bank yesterday said that stricter loan-to-value (LTV) terms would not have a retroactive effect on loan applications that had already gained approval from local lenders, but were waiting for funds to be released. The central bank on Monday set LTV ratios at 50 to 60 percent for corporate and buyers of multiple homes respectively, effective the following day. No grace period is allowed. “A transition period is necessary to avoid confusion and disputes,” the central bank said. For loan applications filed prior to Monday, banks also can apply lenient terms with due caution to help maintain the health of the property market and the financial system, the central bank said. Some developers and investors reportedly have taken advantage of low interest rates to hoard land and houses, which led to property price hikes.
AUTO PARTS
SuperAlloy fined NT$10,000
The Taipei Exchange yesterday fined SuperAlloy Industrial Co (巧新) NT$10,000 (US$350.75) for failing to disclose the results of its chairperson selection before a deadline. The world’s second-largest forged wheel supplier at a board meeting on Nov. 24 elected Wei Lung-cheng (魏隆誠) as its new chairman, replacing Huang Tsung-jung (黃聰榮). However, the company was found to have delayed declaration of material information that need to be reported and announced, the exchange said, citing its rules. Separately, the exchange also fined Amita Technologies Inc (有量科技) NT$30,000 over the late disclosure of material information.
DISPLAYS
AUO, Innolux revenues rise
Revenue at AU Optronics Corp (AUO, 友達光電) and Innolux Corp (群創) last month rose 22 percent and 21.4 percent annually to NT$25.95 billion and NT$26 billion respectively, thanks to higher prices and shipments. The figures represented the second-highest monthly revenue for both companies this year. On a monthly basis, AUO’s revenue inched up 0.9 percent and that of Innolux increased 4.5 percent. The flat-panel makers said that prices of PCs and TVs would rise by a high-single-digit percentage this quarter from last quarter. AUO’s shipments of PC and TV panels last month rose 0.5 percent to 10.81 million units from a month earlier, while Innolux said shipments of large panels for PCs and TVs rose 1.9 percent month-on-month to 12.1 million units. In the first 11 months of this year, AUO’s revenue declined 2.4 percent annually to NT$242.1 billion, while Innolux’s revenue grew 5.65 percent annually to NT$242.9 billion.
TECHNOLOGY
Apple to roll out ECG app
Apple Inc yesterday announced that it would roll out its Apple Watch electrocardiogram (ECG) app in Taiwan next week, after the feature was approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use as a medical device. The app, which works on Apple Watch Series 4 and later models, is to be available in Taiwan from Tuesday next week on the iOS 14.3 and watchOS 7.2, Apple said in a statement on its Web site. The app, which was launched in 2018, records a user’s heartbeat and heart rhythm using an electrical sensor on later-generation Apple Watches, and checks the data for an irregular rhythm known as atrial fibrillation. The results of the test can be saved in a PDF, allowing them to be shared with a doctor. The app has been approved for use in 48 countries and regions, including Taiwan.
Vincent Wei led fellow Singaporean farmers around an empty Malaysian plot, laying out plans for a greenhouse and rows of leafy vegetables. What he pitched was not just space for crops, but a lifeline for growers struggling to make ends meet in a city-state with high prices and little vacant land. The future agriculture hub is part of a joint special economic zone launched last year by the two neighbors, expected to cost US$123 million and produce 10,000 tonnes of fresh produce annually. It is attracting Singaporean farmers with promises of cheaper land, labor and energy just over the border.
US actor Matthew McConaughey has filed recordings of his image and voice with US patent authorities to protect them from unauthorized usage by artificial intelligence (AI) platforms, a representative said earlier this week. Several video clips and audio recordings were registered by the commercial arm of the Just Keep Livin’ Foundation, a non-profit created by the Oscar-winning actor and his wife, Camila, according to the US Patent and Trademark Office database. Many artists are increasingly concerned about the uncontrolled use of their image via generative AI since the rollout of ChatGPT and other AI-powered tools. Several US states have adopted
A proposed billionaires’ tax in California has ignited a political uproar in Silicon Valley, with tech titans threatening to leave the state while California Governor Gavin Newsom of the Democratic Party maneuvers to defeat a levy that he fears would lead to an exodus of wealth. A technology mecca, California has more billionaires than any other US state — a few hundred, by some estimates. About half its personal income tax revenue, a financial backbone in the nearly US$350 billion budget, comes from the top 1 percent of earners. A large healthcare union is attempting to place a proposal before
KEEPING UP: The acquisition of a cleanroom in Taiwan would enable Micron to increase production in a market where demand continues to outpace supply, a Micron official said Micron Technology Inc has signed a letter of intent to buy a fabrication site in Taiwan from Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電) for US$1.8 billion to expand its production of memory chips. Micron would take control of the P5 site in Miaoli County’s Tongluo Township (銅鑼) and plans to ramp up DRAM production in phases after the transaction closes in the second quarter, the company said in a statement on Saturday. The acquisition includes an existing 12 inch fab cleanroom of 27,871m2 and would further position Micron to address growing global demand for memory solutions, the company said. Micron expects the transaction to
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