ENERGY
Power use rises 4.5 percent
As domestic companies expanded production to meet global demand and people gradually changed their lifestyles amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Taiwan’s energy consumption increased 4.5 percent last year from 2020, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Energy consumption in the industrial sector increased 8.5 percent from a year earlier due to increased economic activities; it decreased 5.2 percent in the transportation sector as people avoided going out to comply with social distancing measures; it rose 2.6 percent in the residential sector as people spent more time at home; and it fell 1.4 percent in the service sector due to the government’s COVID-19 restrictions, the ministry said in a statement.
TELECOMS
Taiwan Mobile optimistic
Telecom operator Taiwan Mobile Co (台灣大哥大) yesterday told investors that revenue this year would expand 15 to 17 percent from NT$15.61 billion (US$559.9 million) last year, mainly driven by its e-commerce subsidiary Momo.com Inc (富邦媒體). Taiwan Mobile said its mobile service revenue is projected to rise 3 to 5 percent year-on-year, after returning to growth last year, as 5G subscribers propped up the average revenue per user, helping to drive up revenue 4 percent annually. This year, Taiwan Mobile has set aside NT$11.2 billion for capital spending, with NT$6.43 billion to go toward its telecom business, it said. However, it would reduce spending on 5G-related buildup this year after it reached its peak last year, the company said. The company’s projection does not factor in its proposal to merge with local peer Taiwan Star Telecom Corp (台灣之星).
ELECTRONICS
Luxshare plans share sale
Apple Inc supplier Luxshare Precision Industry Co (立訊精密) is seeking to raise up to 13.5 billion yuan (US$2.13 billion) through a private share placement to fund a series of projects from intelligent wearable device manufacturing upgrades to electric vehicle component production. The Shenzhen, China-listed company plans to issue up to 2.1 billion shares to as many as 35 investors, including mutual funds, securities firms, trusts, finance companies, insurers and select foreign institutional investors, it said in an exchange filing. The firm aims to spend 6.2 billion yuan of the proceeds to construct or upgrade facilities and technology related to the production of intelligent wearable devices, and about 2 billion yuan on the production of electric vehicle components, the statement said. About 3.55 billion yuan of the proceeds would be used to supplement working capital, it added.
TRANSPORTATION
NDC approves light-rail plan
The National Development Council (NDC) has approved a feasibility study for the construction of a light-rail line linking Wugu (五股), Lujhou (蘆州) and Taishan (泰山) districts in New Taipei City, the city’s Department of Rapid Transit Systems (DORTS) said on Monday. The study would need to be approved by the Cabinet before New Taipei City can proceed with the next steps, which include an environmental impact assessment that would take three years, DORTS said. If construction on the 11.61km line goes ahead, it is estimated to cost NT$22.78 billion and could take about six years to complete, the department said. Construction of the project could be completed by 2030, the New Taipei City government has said, adding that it is designed to alleviate the traffic congestion that plagues the areas during rush hour.
Taichung reported the steepest fall in completed home prices among the six special municipalities in the first quarter of this year, data compiled by Taiwan Realty Co (台灣房屋) showed yesterday. From January through last month, the average transaction price for completed homes in Taichung fell 8 percent from a year earlier to NT$299,000 (US$9,483) per ping (3.3m²), said Taiwan Realty, which compiled the data based on the government’s price registration platform. The decline could be attributed to many home buyers choosing relatively affordable used homes to live in themselves, instead of newly built homes in the city’s prime property market, Taiwan Realty
The government yesterday approved applications by Alphabet Inc’s Google to invest NT$27.08 billion (US$859.98 million) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement. The Department of Investment Review approved two investments proposed by Google, with much of the funds to be used for data processing and electronic information supply services, as well as inventory procurement businesses in the semiconductor field, the ministry said. It marks the second consecutive year that Google has applied to increase its investment in Taiwan. Google plans to infuse NT$25.34 billion into Charter Investments Ltd (特許投資顧問) through its Singapore-based subsidiary Fructan Holdings Singapore Pte Ltd, and
JET JUICE: The war on Iran’s secondary effects have seen fuel prices skyrocket, knocking flight schedules down to earth in return as airlines struggle with costs Airline passengers should brace for more irritation in the next few months as carriers worldwide cancel flights and ground planes to cope with stratospheric increases in jet-fuel prices. Dutch flag carrier KLM is the latest company to cut its schedule, saying on Thursday that it would scrap 80 return flights at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport in the coming month. That puts it in the same league as United Airlines Holdings Inc, Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd, which have all pruned itineraries to mitigate costs. Global capacity for next month has been reduced by about 3 percentage points, with all
FORESEEABLE CONSEQUENCES: New technology always comes with new innovations by the iniquitous in exploiting users for financial gain or more nefarious ends Artificial intelligence (AI) “agents” say they can save users time and energy by automating tasks, but the growing power of systems such as OpenClaw is putting cybersecurity experts on edge. Powered by a wave of hype, OpenClaw today says it has more than three million users worldwide. The system allows users to create so-called agents, tools based on a large language model (LLM) such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Anthropic PBC’s Claude, that can carry out online tasks. “We’ve moved from an AI you could talk with via a chatbot to an agentic AI, which can take action... the threat and the risks are