ELECTRONICS
Hon Hai toils to reopen plant
Apple Inc supplier Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) is likely to reopen its shuttered south Indian iPhone factory on Friday at the earliest, a senior government official familiar with the matter said. The plant, located in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, was closed on Dec. 18, following protests when 250 of its workers were treated for food poisoning. Apple has since placed the factory on probation after discovering that some dormitories and dining rooms did not meet standards. Hon Hai told the Tamil Nadu State Government that it was still working to address Apple’s concerns over workers’ living conditions, the official said.
ENERGY
Taipower to hire 857 workers
Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) yesterday said it plans to recruit 857 new employees this year to begin filling 3,000 jobs to open up over the next three years. About one-third of the new job openings are for outdoor tower technicians, the state-run utility said in a statement. Taipower said that it would pay a starting monthly salary of NT$31,487 (US$1,139) to qualified applicants after a year of training. Applications are to be accepted from Tuesday next week until Jan. 24, Taipower said, adding that written examinations would be held in May.
WATER
Major reservoirs 70% full
Water levels at the nation’s major reservoirs are about 70 percent to nearly full, the Water Resources Agency said in a statement yesterday, as Taiwan enters its dry season. Last year, the nation had a severe drought, but water conditions are normal at present, the agency said, adding that there is adequate water for household and industrial use. Irrigation for the first harvest would start as scheduled, it added. The agency said that it would continue monitoring water conditions to ensure a stable supply of water for household, industrial and agricultural users. The agency added that it would cooperate with agricultural authorities to prioritize the use of surface water and pond water, as well as increase the efficient use of water in irrigation.
MANUFACTURING
Yeong Guan signs bank loan
Yeong Guan Energy Technology Group Co (YGG, 永冠能源), one of the nation’s leading advanced casting components suppliers, yesterday said that it has signed a syndicated loan agreement with state-owned Land Bank of Taiwan (土地銀行) and five other banks to boost its working capital and repay debt. The five-year syndicated loan, composed of US$130 million and NT$2.145 billion, is also intended to help finance the purchase of equipment for a new plant in Taichung, which is to start mass production in the third quarter, it said in a statement.
TECHNOLOGY
Auto market boosts CFTC
China Fineblanking Technology Co (CFTC, 和勤精機), a manufacturer of metal stamping products, yesterday reported that revenue last month increased from November due to a steady recovery in the Chinese auto market. Consolidated revenue rose 4.94 percent to NT$249 million last month, the company said in a statement, adding that on an annual basis, revenue fell 2.37 percent, while total revenue for last year expanded 14.54 percent to NT$2.64 billion, from NT$2.31 billion in 2020. The company makes auto parts, which last month accounted for 69.65 percent of total revenue, and voice coil motor plates for hard-disk drive applications, which contributed 27.13 percent.
SEEKING CLARITY: Washington should not adopt measures that create uncertainties for ‘existing semiconductor investments,’ TSMC said referring to its US$165 billion in the US Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) told the US that any future tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors could reduce demand for chips and derail its pledge to increase its investment in Arizona. “New import restrictions could jeopardize current US leadership in the competitive technology industry and create uncertainties for many committed semiconductor capital projects in the US, including TSMC Arizona’s significant investment plan in Phoenix,” the chipmaker wrote in a letter to the US Department of Commerce. TSMC issued the warning in response to a solicitation for comments by the department on a possible tariff on semiconductor imports by US President Donald Trump’s
The government has launched a three-pronged strategy to attract local and international talent, aiming to position Taiwan as a new global hub following Nvidia Corp’s announcement that it has chosen Taipei as the site of its Taiwan headquarters. Nvidia cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Monday last week announced during his keynote speech at the Computex trade show in Taipei that the Nvidia Constellation, the company’s planned Taiwan headquarters, would be located in the Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei. Huang’s decision to establish a base in Taiwan is “primarily due to Taiwan’s talent pool and its strength in the semiconductor
An earnings report from semiconductor giant and artificial intelligence (AI) bellwether Nvidia Corp takes center stage for Wall Street this week, as stocks hit a speed bump of worries over US federal deficits driving up Treasury yields. US equities pulled back last week after a torrid rally, as investors turned their attention to tax and spending legislation poised to swell the US government’s US$36 trillion in debt. Long-dated US Treasury yields rose amid the fiscal worries, with the 30-year yield topping 5 percent and hitting its highest level since late 2023. Stocks were dealt another blow on Friday when US President Donald
UNCERTAINTY: Investors remain worried that trade negotiations with Washington could go poorly, given Trump’s inconsistency on tariffs in his second term, experts said The consumer confidence index this month fell for a ninth consecutive month to its lowest level in 13 months, as global trade uncertainties and tariff risks cloud Taiwan’s economic outlook, a survey released yesterday by National Central University found. The biggest decline came from the timing for stock investments, which plunged 11.82 points to 26.82, underscoring bleak investor confidence, it said. “Although the TAIEX reclaimed the 21,000-point mark after the US and China agreed to bury the hatchet for 90 days, investors remain worried that the situation would turn sour later,” said Dachrahn Wu (吳大任), director of the university’s Research Center for
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