Taiwan’s largest hotel chain, Formosa International Hotels Corp (FIH, 晶華酒店), yesterday said that it would speed up its digital transformation and improve e-commerce revenue even after the lifting of bans on dine-in services, as the COVID-19 pandemic is reshaping consumer behavior.
FIH — which operates hotels under the Regent Taipei, Silks Place (晶英酒店) and Just Sleep Hotel & Resort (捷絲旅) brands — would continue to use its online shopping platform to tap the food takeout business so that it could serve more customers across Taiwan, Regent Taipei managing director Simon Wu (吳偉正) said.
“The pandemic has changed the world, and people’s lives and attitudes, for the past one-and-a-half years... Today, people assign great importance to safety and wellness, as well as requiring stricter hygiene standards at entertainment and recreational facilities,” Wu told an online news conference.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei City Police Department
FIH has noted the trend and made changes, such as installing ultraviolet light devices made by Ledtech Electronics Corp (華興集團) to disinfect elevators, dining areas, fitness facilities, restrooms and other public spaces, Wu said.
A considerable number of people now prefer to order food to go, so FIH plans to expand its product lineup accordingly, from food items to luxury goods, he said.
FIH has designed takeout menus and has been offering new promotional items each week during the soft lockdown and would continue to do so during the level 2 COVID-19 alert, Wu said, adding that e-commerce allows FIH to serve people throughout the nation.
Looking to the future, FIH said it plans to open additional properties at home and abroad.
INVESTOR RESILIENCE? An analyst said that despite near-term pressures, foreign investors tend to view NT dollar strength as a positive signal for valuation multiples Morgan Stanley has flagged a potential 10 percent revenue decline for Taiwan’s tech hardware sector this year, as a sharp appreciation of the New Taiwan dollar begins to dent the earnings power of major exporters. In what appears to be the first such warning from a major foreign brokerage, the US investment bank said the currency’s strength — fueled by foreign capital inflows and expectations of US interest rate cuts — is compressing profit margins for manufacturers with heavy exposure to US dollar-denominated revenues. The local currency has surged about 10 percent against the greenback over the past quarter and yesterday breached
MARKET FACTORS: Navitas Semiconductor Inc said that Powerchip is to take over from TSMC as its supplier of high-voltage gallium nitride chips Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday in a statement said that it would phase out its compound semiconductor gallium nitride (GaN) business over the next two years, citing market dynamics. The decision would not affect its financial targets announced previously, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker said. “We are working closely with our customers to ensure a smooth transition and remain committed to meeting their needs during this period,” it said. “Our focus continues to be on delivering sustained value to our partners and the market.” TSMC’s latest move came unexpectedly, as the chipmaker had said in its annual report that it has
Rick Cassidy, the chairman of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co's (TSMC, 台積電) US subsidiary, TSMC Arizona Corp, plans to retire, but the company has yet to name a successor. After Cassidy made his intention to retire known, TSMC Arizona held a special general meeting and approved a resolution that Cassidy would not continue as chairman and would not remain as a director, TSMC said in a statement filed with the Taiwan Stock Exchange last night. The meeting also approved a plan to appoint TSMC Arizona president Rose Castanares as a director, the company said, adding that Cassidy has been named as an advisor
SECURITY WARNING: The company possesses key 3-nanometer technology, and Taiwan should prevent it from being transferred to China, a lawmaker said The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday said it would conduct a “strict review” of any proposed acquisition of Taiwanese tech company Source Photonics Co (索爾思光電), following media reports that a Chinese firm was planning to buy the company in the Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區). Local media reported that Suzhou Dongshan Precision Manufacturing Co (東山精密), China’s largest printed circuit board manufacturer, had announced plans to acquire Source Photonics for 5.9 billion yuan (US$823.1 million). The ministry said it has not received an application from Source Photonics and has formally notified the company that any buyout would constitute a change in its ownership structure. The
RSS