COFFEE
Odd Starbucks hits record
A container renovated into a Starbucks in Hualien Bay (洄瀾灣) on Wednesday posted revenue of NT$1.97 million (US$64,375) on its first day of operation, a record high for any outlet in Taiwan, Taiwan Land Development Corp (TLDC, 台灣土地開發) said yesterday. There are 450 Starbucks outlets nationwide. Nearly 2,000 customers visited the store in Hualien County, which operators hope will become a popular check-in spot for people commuting between Hualien and Taitung, the Taipei-based developer said. The 89 ping (294m2) coffee shop contains 89 seats, TLDC said. Turning an old container into a coffee shop is in line with efforts to promote an eco-friendly economy, TLDC said.
TRANSPORTATION
New way to buy rail tickets
A new option to pick up high-speed rail tickets at convenience stores became available yesterday through the “T Express” app, Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSR, 台灣高鐵) said. T Express, THSR’s official mobile booking system, was launched in 2011. A new feature enables passengers to make online reservations on the app, instead of having to wait in line at a ticket counter or use an automated ticket machine, the company said. Customers can now pay and receive their tickets at 7-Eleven stores using a barcode sent after making a booking on T Express, it said. Other partnering convenience store chains would be announced at a later date, THSR added.
EQUITIES
TAIEX closes up 0.55%
The TAIEX closed above 11,000 points yesterday, despite an interest rate hike in the US and Wall Street’s overnight decline. The TAIEX closed up 0.55 percent at 11,034.19 on turnover of NT$122.88 billion. All the major categories gained ground except for the food sector, which fell 0.46 percent, and the textile segment, which lost 0.04 percent. The bellwether electronics index ended 0.37 percent higher, while the financial index surged 0.78 percent. Among the major electronics stocks, contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), the most heavily weighted stock on the local market, gained 0.57 percent to close at NT$265, while Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), an assembler of iPhones and iPads, closed up 1.8 percent at NT$78.7. Largan Precision Co (大立光), a smartphone camera lens supplier to Apple, finished 0.27 percent higher at NT$3,780.
TRANSPORTATION
Germany keen to cooperate
Germany and Taiwan could be partners in the development of smart transportation, since both sides are venturing into the market and have many resources to share, German Trade Office Taipei Executive Director Axel Limberg said ahead of a seminar on Wednesday about how smart mobility is applied in the two nations. New technologies and concepts related to smart mobility have the potential to make urban traffic more efficient, reduce congestion and improve air quality, Limberg said. There is great potential for cooperation between Taiwan and Germany to make smarter mobility a reality, he added. Smart mobility and transportation systems are expected to generate more than 8 billion euros (US$9.35 billion) in value for related industries in Taiwan by 2020, the office said. Likewise, the German Federal Government has provided funding of almost 5 billion euros for electric mobility since 2009 and has established a regulatory framework to benefit development, it said.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said that its investment plan in Arizona is going according to schedule, following a local media report claiming that the company is planning to break ground on its third wafer fab in the US in June. In a statement, TSMC said it does not comment on market speculation, but that its investments in Arizona are proceeding well. TSMC is investing more than US$65 billion in Arizona to build three advanced wafer fabs. The first one has started production using the 4-nanometer (nm) process, while the second one would start mass production using the
A TAIWAN DEAL: TSMC is in early talks to fully operate Intel’s US semiconductor factories in a deal first raised by Trump officials, but Intel’s interest is uncertain Broadcom Inc has had informal talks with its advisers about making a bid for Intel Corp’s chip-design and marketing business, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Nothing has been submitted to Intel and Broadcom could decide not to pursue a deal, according to the Journal. Bloomberg News earlier reported that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is in early talks for a controlling stake in Intel’s factories at the request of officials at US President Donald Trump’s administration, as the president looks to boost US manufacturing and maintain the country’s leadership in critical technologies. Trump officials raised the
‘SILVER LINING’: Although the news caused TSMC to fall on the local market, an analyst said that as tariffs are not set to go into effect until April, there is still time for negotiations US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that he would likely impose tariffs on semiconductor, automobile and pharmaceutical imports of about 25 percent, with an announcement coming as soon as April 2 in a move that would represent a dramatic widening of the US leader’s trade war. “I probably will tell you that on April 2, but it’ll be in the neighborhood of 25 percent,” Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago club when asked about his plan for auto tariffs. Asked about similar levies on pharmaceutical drugs and semiconductors, the president said that “it’ll be 25 percent and higher, and it’ll
CHIP BOOM: Revenue for the semiconductor industry is set to reach US$1 trillion by 2032, opening up opportunities for the chip pacakging and testing company, it said ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控), the world’s largest provider of outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) services, yesterday launched a new advanced manufacturing facility in Penang, Malaysia, aiming to meet growing demand for emerging technologies such as generative artificial intelligence (AI) applications. The US$300 million facility is a critical step in expanding ASE’s global footprint, offering an alternative for customers from the US, Europe, Japan, South Korea and China to assemble and test chips outside of Taiwan amid efforts to diversify supply chains. The plant, the company’s fifth in Malaysia, is part of a strategic expansion plan that would more than triple
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