TECHNOLOGY
Computex online this year
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the organizers of Computex Taipei are canceling the on-site exhibition for the second year in a row. The trade show was originally scheduled to take place from June 1 to 4 at the Taipei World Trade Center. However, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (外貿協會) and the Taipei Computer Association (台北市電腦公會) said in a statement yesterday that it is difficult for international exhibitors, visitors and media to attend the event due to border controls, so they canceled it. However, to keep the global tech industry connected, Computex Taipei would be hosting a virtual exhibition from May 31 to June 30, they said.
AIRLINES
EVA receives certification
EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) yesterday said that it has obtained certification from the International Air Transport Association’s Center of Excellence for Independent Validators in Pharmaceutical Logistics. The certification is expected to help EVA gain orders from new clients and increase the airline’s pharmaceutical logistics business by more than 30 percent this year, more than its average growth over past few years, the airline said. While rival China Airlines Ltd (中華航空) received the certification in 2019, EVA said that it would have an advantage over China Airlines as some clients might have more requirements for ground operations, and because its affiliate, Evergreen Airline Services Co (長榮航勤), has also obtained the certification.
BATTERIES
ProLogium mulls IPO
Solid-state battery maker ProLogium Technology Co (輝能科技) is considering going public later this year, people with knowledge of the matter said. The company is holding talks with advisers about options, including listing in the US through a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, the people said. While discussions are still at an early stage, any deal could give ProLogium a multibillion-dollar valuation, the people said. ProLogium last month formed a joint venture with Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup JSC to produce solid-state batteries in the Southeast Asian nation. The company last year launched a Singapore subsidiary, ProLogium Innovation Pte Ltd. State-owned automaker China FAW Group Co (中國一汽集團) and an arm of Bank of China Ltd (中國銀行) invested in ProLogium last year, data compiled by Bloomberg showed.
TAXES
Phones can be used to file
This tax-filing season, people would be allowed to use their smartphones to file their taxes, the Ministry of Finance said on Tuesday. Those wanting to do so would be required to sign up for the ministry’s tax-filing Web site by entering three numbers: their smartphone number; their Republic of China identification card number or Alien Resident Certificate number; and their National Health Insurance card number, the ministry said in a news release. The smartphone filing system would enable people to confirm important tax information, such as their income, tax deductions and tax exemptions, it said. The ministry estimated that about 4 million taxpayers would use their smartphones or tablets to file their taxes this year. This year’s tax filing season is from May 1 to 31.
Three experts in the high technology industry have said that US President Donald Trump’s pledge to impose higher tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors is part of an effort to force Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to the negotiating table. In a speech to Republicans on Jan. 27, Trump said he intends to impose tariffs on Taiwan to bring chip production to the US. “The incentive is going to be they’re not going to want to pay a 25, 50 or even a 100 percent tax,” he said. Darson Chiu (邱達生), an economics professor at Taichung-based Tunghai University and director-general of
‘LEGACY CHIPS’: Chinese companies have dramatically increased mature chip production capacity, but the West’s drive for secure supply chains offers a lifeline for Taiwan When Powerchip Technology Corp (力晶科技) entered a deal with the eastern Chinese city of Hefei in 2015 to set up a new chip foundry, it hoped the move would help provide better access to the promising Chinese market. However, nine years later, that Chinese foundry, Nexchip Semiconductor Corp (合晶集成), has become one of its biggest rivals in the legacy chip space, leveraging steep discounts after Beijing’s localization call forced Powerchip to give up the once-lucrative business making integrated circuits for Chinese flat panels. Nexchip is among Chinese foundries quickly winning market share in the crucial US$56.3 billion industry of so-called legacy
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday held its first board of directors meeting in the US, at which it did not unveil any new US investments despite mounting tariff threats from US President Donald Trump. Trump has threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, prompting market speculation that TSMC might consider boosting its chip capacity in the US or ramping up production of advanced chips such as those using a 2-nanometer technology process at its Arizona fabs ahead of schedule. Speculation also swirled that the chipmaker might consider building its own advanced packaging capacity in the US as part
Zhang Yazhou was sitting in the passenger seat of her Tesla Model 3 when she said she heard her father’s panicked voice: The brakes do not work. Approaching a red light, her father swerved around two cars before plowing into a sport utility vehicle and a sedan, and crashing into a large concrete barrier. Stunned, Zhang gazed at the deflating airbag in front of her. She could never have imagined what was to come: Tesla Inc sued her for defamation for complaining publicly about the vehicles brakes — and won. A Chinese court ordered Zhang to pay more than US$23,000 in
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