The government will join the private sector in establishing a joint-venture company to speed up the pace of urban rejuvenation, a spokesman for the Cabinet's top economic planning agency said yesterday.
Competitive salaries will be offered to attract competent professionals to work for the new company, the Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) spokesman said.
The spokesman said the council had been working to quicken the pace of land redevelopment in old urban communities across the country, but problems in land acquisition stemming from illegal constructions and occupancy had increased cost and scheduling risks and costs, turning off most private investors from the projects.
Saying that urban renewal is a complicated process that cannot be completed solely by government agencies or nonprofit organizations, the spokesman said that the council has decided to collaborate with the private sector to set up an urban rejuvenation company that will begin operating on April 21.
According to a CEPD blueprint, the National Development Fund under the Executive Yuan will invest a maximum of NT$2.4 billion (US$75 million) for a 40 percent share in the company, and state-run financial institutions will hold a 9 percent stake, investing a maximum of NT$540 million, the spokesman said.
The remaining 51 percent will be held by private companies, which will invest a maximum of NT$3.06 billion, the spokesman said.
He added that total investment in the joint-venture company would be set at NT$6 billion, with the paid-in capital to be set at NT$3 billion when the company is established.
Many cities around the country have old buildings that are often crowded together in densely populated areas. Some of the buildings were quickly built after 1949 to accommodate the influx of hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing China.
The newly formed company is designed to assist government agencies, state-run institutions and private companies to carry out urban renewal as well as help select and manage urban renewal business operators dedicated to implementing community regeneration.
The company will also invest or provide funds to various urban renewal companies to spur development in the construction and related businesses, the spokesman said.
He said the company would offer high pay to lure professionals specializing in urban renewal, urban planning, land development, financial planning, investment assessment, legal affairs and project management.
According to the initial plan, the company's president is expected to receive an annual salary of NT$3 million to NT$4 million. General managers would get NT$2.5 million to NT$3.5 million, while deputy general managers would be offered NT$1.5 million to NT$2.5 million.
Meanwhile, department heads would receive NT$1 million to NT$1.4 million. An annual salary ranging from NT$800,000 to NT$1.2 million would also be offered to staffers, the spokesman said.
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday said that its research institute has launched its first advanced artificial intelligence (AI) large language model (LLM) using traditional Chinese, with technology assistance from Nvidia Corp. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), said the LLM, FoxBrain, is expected to improve its data analysis capabilities for smart manufacturing, and electric vehicle and smart city development. An LLM is a type of AI trained on vast amounts of text data and uses deep learning techniques, particularly neural networks, to process and generate language. They are essential for building and improving AI-powered servers. Nvidia provided assistance
GREAT SUCCESS: Republican Senator Todd Young expressed surprise at Trump’s comments and said he expects the administration to keep the program running US lawmakers who helped secure billions of dollars in subsidies for domestic semiconductor manufacturing rejected US President Donald Trump’s call to revoke the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, signaling that any repeal effort in the US Congress would fall short. US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who negotiated the law, on Wednesday said that Trump’s demand would fail, while a top Republican proponent, US Senator Todd Young, expressed surprise at the president’s comments and said he expects the administration to keep the program running. The CHIPS Act is “essential for America leading the world in tech, leading the world in AI [artificial
DOMESTIC SUPPLY: The probe comes as Donald Trump has called for the repeal of the US$52.7 billion CHIPS and Science Act, which the US Congress passed in 2022 The Office of the US Trade Representative is to hold a hearing tomorrow into older Chinese-made “legacy” semiconductors that could heap more US tariffs on chips from China that power everyday goods from cars to washing machines to telecoms equipment. The probe, which began during former US president Joe Biden’s tenure in December last year, aims to protect US and other semiconductor producers from China’s massive state-driven buildup of domestic chip supply. A 50 percent US tariff on Chinese semiconductors began on Jan. 1. Legacy chips use older manufacturing processes introduced more than a decade ago and are often far simpler than
Gasoline and diesel prices this week are to decrease NT$0.5 and NT$1 per liter respectively as international crude prices continued to fall last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to decrease to NT$29.2, NT$30.7 and NT$32.7 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, while premium diesel is to cost NT$27.9 per liter at CPC stations and NT$27.7 at Formosa pumps, the companies said in separate statements. Global crude oil prices dropped last week after the eight OPEC+ members said they would
RSS