GREEN’ ENERGY
Fubon eyes solar investment
Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控) yesterday said it plans to invest NT$300 million (US$9.51 million) in a solar power joint venture through Fubon Life Insurance Co (富邦人壽), according to a Taiwan Stock Exchange filing. The solar power venture will invest in solar power plants in Taiwan and Fubon Life Insurance will hold 30 percent of the venture, Fubon Financial said. Last year, Cathay Life Insurance Co (國泰人壽) — through Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控) — announced that it would invest NT$1.58 billion in a solar venture along with solar cell maker Neo Solar Power Corp (新日光能源) to build power plants in Taiwan.
FOOD
Pre-holiday fruit prices rise
In the run-up to the Lunar New Year holiday, meat prices have remained relatively stable while prices for fruit have seen the biggest increase compared with last year, the Council of Agriculture said on Thursday. On average, fruit was being sold at NT$72.1 per kilogram at the Taipei Fruit and Vegetable Market on Thursday, 29.2 percent more than the NT$55.8 recorded during the same period last year, the council said. Indian jujubes, in particular, were 94.9 percent more expensive than last year and tangerines 30 percent higher, the council said. Vegetable prices were 45.8 percent cheaper than last year, while seafood was 9.4 percent more expensive, it said.
APPS
Public safety app launched
Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) yesterday launched a mobile app in collaboration with the National Police Agency that enables users to report incidents and send the information on their locations to the police. Users can also use the app to check real-time traffic information. Asustek chairman Jonney Shih (施崇棠) said the work with the police agency aims to help the government provide a safer environment for the public. Shih said the app will be preinstalled in all of the ZenFones in the Taiwanese market.
FINANCING
Chang Wah secures loan
Chip packaging and testing materials supplier Chang Wah Electromaterials Inc (長華電材) and its semiconductor materials subsidiary, Chang Wah Technology Co Ltd (長華科技), yesterday secured a NT$6.85 billion syndicated loan from six domestic banks led by the Bank of Taiwan (臺灣銀行). Chang Wah Electromaterials said it plans to use NT$2.85 billion of the new loan to repay old bank loans and strengthen its working capital, while Chang Wah Technology said it would use NT$4 billion to fund its acquisition of SH Asia Pacific Pte Ltd of Singapore. In November last year, the two companies announced the would acquire SH Asia Pacific Pte Ltd for ￥15 billion (US$141 million), with Chang Wah Electromaterials taking a 30 percent stake and Chang Wah Technology 70 percent.
TAITRA
Appointments approved
The board of the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA, 外貿協會) yesterday approved the appointment of New Southbound Policy Office Director James Huang (黃志芳) as its new chairman, replacing Francis Liang (梁國新), who took over as the nation’s representative to Singapore last month. It also approved the appointments of Chuang Suo-hang (莊碩漢) and Kuo Lin-wu (郭臨伍) as vice chairmen of the council, while naming Walter Yeh (葉明水) as executive president, the council said in a statement.
MULTIFACETED: A task force has analyzed possible scenarios and created responses to assist domestic industries in dealing with US tariffs, the economics minister said The Executive Yuan is tomorrow to announce countermeasures to US President Donald Trump’s planned reciprocal tariffs, although the details of the plan would not be made public until Monday next week, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. The Cabinet established an economic and trade task force in November last year to deal with US trade and tariff related issues, Kuo told reporters outside the legislature in Taipei. The task force has been analyzing and evaluating all kinds of scenarios to identify suitable responses and determine how best to assist domestic industries in managing the effects of Trump’s tariffs, he
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his
TIGHT-LIPPED: UMC said it had no merger plans at the moment, after Nikkei Asia reported that the firm and GlobalFoundries were considering restarting merger talks United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. 4 contract chipmaker, yesterday launched a new US$5 billion 12-inch chip factory in Singapore as part of its latest effort to diversify its manufacturing footprint amid growing geopolitical risks. The new factory, adjacent to UMC’s existing Singapore fab in the Pasir Res Wafer Fab Park, is scheduled to enter volume production next year, utilizing mature 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer process technologies, UMC said in a statement. The company plans to invest US$5 billion during the first phase of the new fab, which would have an installed capacity of 30,000 12-inch wafers per month, it said. The
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
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