Mitsukoshi sets sales target
Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store Co Ltd (新光三越百貨) yesterday said its three department stores on Nanjing W Road in Taipei are targeted to generate total sales of NT$2.26 billion (US$75 million) during the 18-day anniversary sales beginning on Thursday next week and ending on Oct. 12. That would represent an increase of 5 percent from last year’s annual sales event.
Revenue generated from the annual event accounts for more than 20 percent of the sales of the three stores, which reported that total revenue for the first eight months of the year rose 7 percent from the same period last year, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi said.
Cree sues Harvatek
US-based Cree Inc has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Harvatek Corp (宏齊), claiming the Taiwanese LED chipmaker infringed on six of its patents.
Harvatek said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange that it expects no major financial impact from the lawsuit, since most of its products are shipped to Asian markets.
Only a small portion of its chips are involved in the patent-infringement disputes, Harvatek said yesterday, adding that it has not received any formal notification from the US district court in Wisconsin.
Acer to issue restricted shares
Acer Inc (宏碁) said on Tuesday it planned to issue 50 million new restricted shares to award high-ranking managers in four years, as the company boosts its efforts to retain talent and increase its revenue and profit.
The NT$1.16 billion restricted shares will be the first of its kind for Acer.
Last month, the company granted the first batch of restricted shares to several executives, including chairman George Huang (黃少華), cofounder Stan Shih (施振榮) and chief executive Jason Chen (陳俊聖), with 480,000 shares each.
Acer said executives would receive the restricted shares only after the company hits the annual revenue or profit goals set a year ago.
Communications output rising
Output by Taiwan’s communications sector is expected to rise by an annual 9.9 percent to NT$2.82 trillion next year as international brands launch new models, the Market Intelligence and Consulting Institute (資策會) said on Tuesday.
Welber Chang (張奇), a research manager and senior industry analyst at the center, said that Taiwan’s projected output growth could outstrip the global industry’s forecast growth of 7.9 percent to US$500 billion next year, from an estimated US$463.2 billion this year.
Chang said Taiwan’s communications device suppliers are likely to benefit from China’s efforts to develop its long-term evolution (LTE) services, while an acceleration of the construction of wireless local area networks (WLAN) and small cells globally is likely to further boost Taiwan’s communications output.
Taipei, Manila to discuss FTA
Taiwan and the Philippines are likely to exchange ideas regarding a free-trade agreement (FTA) during their annual ministerial-level meeting on economic cooperation scheduled to take place on Oct. 23 and 24 in Taipei, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said on Monday.
However, there is no timetable for negotiations on the proposed trade agreement, as a full report of the feasibility study has not yet been completed, the ministry said, after the Philippine Institute for Development Studies submitted the outline of a feasibility study of a proposed bilateral economic cooperation agreement to the Philippine government on Monday for further discussion.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday obtained the government’s approval to inject an additional US$10.26 billion to finance the construction of its second fab in Kumamoto, Japan, and a second fab in Arizona, using advanced process technologies. The Department of Investment Review approved TSMC’s investment applications on the basis that Taiwan remains a major technology and manufacturing hub for the chipmaker, which makes its most advanced chips at home, the company operates its research-and-development center here and the majority of its capacity remains in Taiwan. The latest capital injections — US$5.26 billion for its Japanese venture Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing
Packed into a small room, a drone, bipedal robot, supermarket checkout and other devices showcase a vision of China’s software future — one where an operating system developed by national champion Huawei (華為) has replaced Windows and Android. The collection is at the Harmony Ecosystem Innovation Center in the southern city of Shenzhen, a local government-owned entity that encourages authorities, companies and hardware makers to develop software using OpenHarmony (鴻蒙), an open-source version of the operating system Huawei launched five years ago after US sanctions cut off support for Google’s Android. While Huawei’s recent strong-selling smartphone launches have been closely watched for
The waves of the Aegean Sea lap gently at the tables and chairs of two beach restaurants on Greece’s Halkidiki peninsula. It is an idyllic scene, but one that is totally illegal. Like many others in Greece, the two establishments on Pefkochori Beach do not have a license to set up shop so close to the water. After a wave of protests last summer by locals about bars and restaurants illegally covering beaches with sunbeds and tables, the Greek state is taking action. It is cracking down on rogue tourist practices with surveillance drones, satellite imagery and a special app
South Korea’s SK Hynix Inc, the world’s No. 2 memorychip maker, is to invest 103 trillion won (US$74.6 billion) through 2028 to strengthen its chips business, focusing on artificial intelligence (AI), its parent SK Group said yesterday. SK Group also said it plans to secure 80 trillion won by 2026 to invest in AI and semiconductors as well as fund shareholder returns, while streamlining its more than 175 subsidiaries. The sprawling conglomerate outlined the plans following a two-day strategy meeting, aiming to revive the group after SK Hynix, its main money maker, and the group’s electric vehicle battery arm suffered heavy losses. SK