A government decision to fine households whose air conditioners drip water has boosted sales in air conditioners, according to retailers and company executives.
Promotions of the home appliances starting in February and the recent high temperatures have also resulted in a rising number of units sold, they said.
Starting June 1, the Cabinet-level Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) will use Article 27 and Article 50 of the Waste Disposal Act (廢棄物清理法) to impose fines of between NT$1,200 and NT$6,000 on violators if their air conditioners are found to drip water, which is deemed as pollution.
Kolin Co (歌林), a leading manufacturer of consumer electronics, has extensively run television commercials this year to promote the nation's only drip-free models, aiming to tap the market when consumers mull buying a new AC unit.
"The [government's] order has really helped push up sales of our patent model," said Kolin manager Steven Chen (
Chen said Kolin's drip-free window-mount models were selling at a rate 60 percent higher than the same period last year.
Around 1 million air conditioners are sold in the nation per year, Chen said.
Tsann Kuen Group (
Chang Yueh-lung (
But another retailer denied the connection, saying that it was not the decisive factor in boosting sales.
"Boosted by various kinds of promotional activities -- from installment payments, free installation to prolonged guarantees -- all the well-known air conditioner brands have been selling well," said Sarah Wu (
Wu said all the air conditioners can be made drip-free, as long as they are installed properly and connected to a run-off pipe, and therefore not all the orders have to be placed with Kolin's products.
Joanna Lee (李嘉惠), the marketing manager of LG Taistar Electronics Taiwan Co, agreed, saying that a conspicuous drawback has been detected in the drip-free models manufactured by their major rival.
Since fans have to be installed inside to evaporate water condensation, a lot of noise is caused, which is more difficult to resolve than dripping.
"Therefore, I don't see that Kolin's products especially outshine others," she said.
TRADE WAR: Tariffs should also apply to any goods that pass through the new Beijing-funded port in Chancay, Peru, an adviser to US president-elect Donald Trump said A veteran adviser to US president-elect Donald Trump is proposing that the 60 percent tariffs that Trump vowed to impose on Chinese goods also apply to goods from any country that pass through a new port that Beijing has built in Peru. The duties should apply to goods from China or countries in South America that pass through the new deep-water port Chancay, a town 60km north of Lima, said Mauricio Claver-Carone, an adviser to the Trump transition team who served as senior director for the western hemisphere on the White House National Security Council in his first administration. “Any product going
TECH SECURITY: The deal assures that ‘some of the most sought-after technology on the planet’ returns to the US, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said The administration of US President Joe Biden finalized its CHIPS Act incentive awards for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), marking a major milestone for a program meant to bring semiconductor production back to US soil. TSMC would get US$6.6 billion in grants as part of the contract, the US Department of Commerce said in a statement yesterday. Though the amount was disclosed earlier this year as part of a preliminary agreement, the deal is now legally binding — making it the first major CHIPS Act award to reach this stage. The chipmaker, which is also taking up to US$5 billion
High above the sparkling surface of the Athens coastline, the cranes for building the 50-floor luxury tower centerpiece of Greece’s future “smart city” look out over the Saronic Gulf. At their feet, construction machinery stirs up dust. Its backers say the 8 billion euro (US$8.43 billion) project financed by private funds is a symbol of Greece’s renaissance after the years of financial stagnation that saw investors flee the country. However, critics see it more as a future “ghetto for the rich.” It is hard to imagine that 10km from the Acropolis, a new city “three times the size of Monaco”
STRUGGLING BUSINESS: South Korea’s biggest company and semiconductor manufacturer’s buyback fuels concerns that it could be missing out on the AI boom Samsung Electronics Co plans to buy back about 10 trillion won (US$7.2 billion) of its own stock over the next year, putting in motion one of the larger shareholder return programs in its history. South Korea’s biggest company would repurchase the stock in stages over the coming 12 months, it said in a regulatory filing on Friday. As a first step, it would buy back about 3 trillion won of paper starting today up until February next year, all of which it would cancel. The board would deliberate on how best to effect the remaining 7 trillion won of buybacks. The move