■ Semiconductor
Chipmakers boost output
Samsung Electronics Co and Hynix Semiconductor Inc have boosted production of faster computer memory chips, the Maeil Business Newspaper reported, citing unidentified officials at the South Korean companies. Production of 256-megabit double-data-rate dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips operating at a speed of 400 megahertz accounted for more than 80 percent of their DRAM production, replacing those operating at 266 megahertz and 333 megahertz as the benchmark, the newspaper said. The upgrade may pave the way for mass production of the so- called DDR2 chip, which is faster than the 400 megahertz chip, next year, the newspaper said.
■ Consumer Debt
S Korean economy `mired'
Uncertainties caused by a mountain of household debt and the ailing credit card industry are seriously impeding South Korea's economic recovery despite robust exports, data showed Monday. Industrial output growth in November slowed to 4.7 percent compared with a year earlier from the 7.4 percent rate recorded in October, with the figures hit by serious falls in domestic consumption and investment. Month-on-month, seasonally-adjusted industrial output suffered a 0.3 percent contraction in November, reversing a 2.4 percent gain a month earlier, the National Statistical Office (NSO) said Monday. "Consumption and investment are still mired in a slump due to weak consumer and corporate sentiment," the NSO said. "Still, exports continued their solid growth, offsetting lackluster domestic consumption."
■ Electronics
Sharp makes more LCD-TVs
Japanese high-tech firm Sharp Corp will invest ?90 billion (US$841 million) to boost production of large liquid crystal displays (LCDs) in a bid to take on its South Korean rivals, a report said yesterday. The investment will enable Sharp to triple production capacity at a new domestic plant, scheduled to go on line in January, to 360,000 units of 30-inch LCD-TVs each month, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun said. A company spokesman could not be reached for confirmation due to the New Year holidays. According to a US research firm, Sharp had a 13.4 percent share of the global LCD market last year, tying for second place with South Korea's LG Philips LCD Co. With the latest investment, the Japanese firm aims to take on South Korea's Samsung Electronics, the top player in the global LCD market with a 15.1 percent share.
‘UPHOLDING PEACE’: Taiwan’s foreign minister thanked the US Congress for using a ‘creative and effective way’ to deter Chinese military aggression toward the nation The US House of Representatives on Monday passed the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act, aimed at deterring Chinese aggression toward Taiwan by threatening to publish information about Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials’ “illicit” financial assets if Beijing were to attack. The act would also “restrict financial services for certain immediate family of such officials,” the text of the legislation says. The bill was introduced in January last year by US representatives French Hill and Brad Sherman. After remarks from several members, it passed unanimously. “If China chooses to attack the free people of Taiwan, [the bill] requires the Treasury secretary to publish the illicit
A senior US military official yesterday warned his Chinese counterpart against Beijing’s “dangerous” moves in the South China Sea during the first talks of their kind between the commanders. Washington and Beijing remain at odds on issues from trade to the status of Taiwan and China’s increasingly assertive approach in disputed maritime regions, but they have sought to re-establish regular military-to-military talks in a bid to prevent flashpoint disputes from spinning out of control. Samuel Paparo, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, and Wu Yanan (吳亞男), head of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command, talked via videoconference. Paparo “underscored the importance
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
RSS