The state-owned Taiwan Sugar Corp (Taisugar, 台糖) said yesterday that it expected revenue of its petroleum business division to grow by 21.62 percent to NT$9 billion (US$296.7 million) this year from a year ago, and planned to expand its gas station network in northern and central Taiwan before 2010.
“Oil products are now what generate the most revenue for Taiwan Sugar Corp, and we expect our revenue from the petroleum business division to grow from NT$7.4 billion last year to NT$9 billion this year,” Chiang Ming-hung (江銘宏), vice president of the Tainan-based Taisugar, said at a press conference yesterday.
Taisugar, which has 68 gas stations in central and southern Taiwan and the Hualien-Taitung region, said it plans to boost its revenue to NT$10 billion and increase the total number of gas stations to 100 before 2010.
Eyeing the dense population in northern Taiwan, Taisugar said it planned to exchange its land in central and southern Taiwan with two other state-owned enterprises — CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) and Taiwan Power Co (台電) — in order to tap into the northern market.
When asked whether rising oil prices would affect its gas station business this year, Roger Lo (羅基聰), chief executive officer of Taisugar’s petroleum business division, said he was not worried as oil is still a necessity in our society.
When an apartment comes up for rent in Germany’s big cities, hundreds of prospective tenants often queue down the street to view it, but the acute shortage of affordable housing is getting scant attention ahead of today’s snap general election. “Housing is one of the main problems for people, but nobody talks about it, nobody takes it seriously,” said Andreas Ibel, president of Build Europe, an association representing housing developers. Migration and the sluggish economy top the list of voters’ concerns, but analysts say housing policy fails to break through as returns on investment take time to register, making the
EARLY TALKS: Measures under consideration include convincing allies to match US curbs, further restricting exports of AI chips or GPUs, and blocking Chinese investments US President Donald Trump’s administration is sketching out tougher versions of US semiconductor curbs and pressuring key allies to escalate their restrictions on China’s chip industry, an early indication the new US president plans to expand efforts that began under former US president Joe Biden to limit Beijing’s technological prowess. Trump officials recently met with their Japanese and Dutch counterparts about restricting Tokyo Electron Ltd and ASML Holding NV engineers from maintaining semiconductor gear in China, people familiar with the matter said. The aim, which was also a priority for Biden, is to see key allies match China curbs the US
NOT TO WORRY: Some people are concerned funds might continue moving out of the country, but the central bank said financial account outflows are not unusual in Taiwan Taiwan’s outbound investments hit a new high last year due to investments made by contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and other major manufacturers to boost global expansion, the central bank said on Thursday. The net increase in outbound investments last year reached a record US$21.05 billion, while the net increase in outbound investments by Taiwanese residents reached a record US$31.98 billion, central bank data showed. Chen Fei-wen (陳斐紋), deputy director of the central bank’s Department of Economic Research, said the increase was largely due to TSMC’s efforts to expand production in the US and Japan. Investments by Vanguard International
STRUGGLING TO SURVIVE: The group is proposing a consortium of investors, with Tesla as the largest backer, and possibly a minority investment by Hon Hai Precision Nissan Motor Co shares jumped after the Financial Times reported that a high-level Japanese group has drawn up plans to seek investment from Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc to aid the struggling automaker. The group believes the electric vehicle (EV) maker is interested in acquiring Nissan’s plants in the US, the newspaper reported, citing people it did not identify. The proposal envisions a consortium of investors, with Tesla as the largest backer, but also includes the possibility of a minority investment by Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) to prevent a full takeover by the Apple supplier, the report said. The group is
RSS