BANKING
Next Commercial approved
Web-only Next Commercial Bank Co (將來商業銀行) yesterday obtained regulatory approval to begin operations, the Financial Supervisory Commission said in a statement. The bank is the last of three Internet-based banks that planned to launch services in Taiwan. The two other banks, Rakuten International Commercial Bank Co (樂天國際商銀) and Line Bank Taiwan Ltd (連線商業銀行), began operations earlier this year. Banking Bureau Deputy Director-General Lin Chih-chi (林志吉) said that Next Commercial would need to prepare for a couple of months and run a small-scale trial before launching its services. Established in August 2019, the bank’s major shareholders include state-run Mega International Commercial Bank (兆豐銀行) and Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信).
INVESTMENT
‘Invest in Taiwan’ to extend
The government is likely to extend its “Invest in Taiwan” initiative for another three years, but new projects would have to meet additional environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) requirements, National Development Council Minister Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) told an investment forum in Taipei on Wednesday. The initiative, which began in July 2019, was to end this year. Only advanced manufacturing projects — preferably in a “strategically important sector” that provides “high-value manufacturing” and generates quality employment opportunities — would be approved. After being extended, the program would likely require companies to fullfill additional items such as demonstrating that they are meeting realistic ESG goals and implementing decarbonization efforts, Kung said.
LOTTERY
‘Gaming’ of lottery to stop
People who attempt to “game the system” by making a large number of small purchases to win cash awards in the uniform invoice lottery would no longer be eligible to claim such awards as of next year, the Ministry of Finance said on Tuesday. Starting on Jan. 1, people who buy a large number of low-priced items just to increase their chances in the lottery would be prohibited from claiming any winnings, an amendment to the Uniform Invoice Award Regulations (統一發票給獎辦法) states. However, what constitutes “a large number” or “low-priced” is not defined. The ministry said there are scenarios that it considers to be “proper,” such as group shopping, in which case, the invoices would be “legitimate winners” if drawn. Enforcement would not pursue “improper” invoices drawn prior to next month, it said.
RETAIL
Me-Time stores planned
Eslite Spectrum Corp (誠品生活) — which runs the Eslite bookstores, department stores and other businesses — plans to open its second Eslite Me-Time outlet in Hsinchu County’s Jhubei City (竹北) next year. The company aims to open 100 of the small neighborhood stores over the next three years, after launching the first one in Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖) in October. The company is “soon to open” a new bookstore in the Far Eastern Department Store (遠東百貨) in New Taipei City, Eslite president Li Chieh-hsiu (李介修) said on Monday. Eslite aims to open an 18,000 ping (59,504m2) mega outlet in a shopping mall being developed by the Yulon Group (裕隆) in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) in 2023, and an 8,000 ping store in Tainan in 2024, Li added. Eslite posted a net loss of NT$4.66 per share in the first nine months of this year, compared with a net profit of NT$0.43 over the same period last year.
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Chizuko Kimura has become the first female sushi chef in the world to win a Michelin star, fulfilling a promise she made to her dying husband to continue his legacy. The 54-year-old Japanese chef regained the Michelin star her late husband, Shunei Kimura, won three years ago for their Sushi Shunei restaurant in Paris. For Shunei Kimura, the star was a dream come true. However, the joy was short-lived. He died from cancer just three months later in June 2022. He was 65. The following year, the restaurant in the heart of Montmartre lost its star rating. Chizuko Kimura insisted that the new star is still down
While China’s leaders use their economic and political might to fight US President Donald Trump’s trade war “to the end,” its army of social media soldiers are embarking on a more humorous campaign online. Trump’s tariff blitz has seen Washington and Beijing impose eye-watering duties on imports from the other, fanning a standoff between the economic superpowers that has sparked global recession fears and sent markets into a tailspin. Trump says his policy is a response to years of being “ripped off” by other countries and aims to bring manufacturing to the US, forcing companies to employ US workers. However, China’s online warriors
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