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.
PROTECTION: The investigation, which takes aim at exporters such as Canada, Germany and Brazil, came days after Trump unveiled tariff hikes on steel and aluminum products US President Donald Trump on Saturday ordered a probe into potential tariffs on lumber imports — a move threatening to stoke trade tensions — while also pushing for a domestic supply boost. Trump signed an executive order instructing US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick to begin an investigation “to determine the effects on the national security of imports of timber, lumber and their derivative products.” The study might result in new tariffs being imposed, which would pile on top of existing levies. The investigation takes aim at exporters like Canada, Germany and Brazil, with White House officials earlier accusing these economies of
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
Teleperformance SE, the largest call-center operator in the world, is rolling out an artificial intelligence (AI) system that softens English-speaking Indian workers’ accents in real time in a move the company claims would make them more understandable. The technology, called accent translation, coupled with background noise cancelation, is being deployed in call centers in India, where workers provide customer support to some of Teleperformance’s international clients. The company provides outsourced customer support and content moderation to global companies including Apple Inc, ByteDance Ltd’s (字節跳動) TikTok and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. “When you have an Indian agent on the line, sometimes it’s hard
‘SACRED MOUNTAIN’: The chipmaker can form joint ventures abroad, except in China, but like other firms, it needs government approval for large investments Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) needs government permission for any overseas joint ventures (JVs), but there are no restrictions on making the most advanced chips overseas other than for China, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. US media have said that TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker and a major supplier to companies such as Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp, has been in talks for a stake in Intel Corp. Neither company has confirmed the talks, but US President Donald Trump has accused Taiwan of taking away the US’ semiconductor business and said he wants the industry back
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