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 obtained the government’s approval to inject an additional US$7.5 billion into its US subsidiary, the Department of Investment Review said in a statement. The department approved TSMC’s application of investing in TSMC Arizona Corp, which is engaged in the manufacturing, sales, testing and design of IC and other semiconductor devices, it said. The latest capital injection follows a US$5 billion investment for TSMC Arizona approved in June. The chipmaker has broken ground on two advanced fabs in Arizona with aggregated investments approved by the department totaling US$24 billion thus far. According to TSMC, the first Arizona
The lethal hack of Hezbollah’s Asian-branded pagers and walkie-talkies has sparked an intense search for the devices’ path, revealing a murky market for older technologies where buyers might have few assurances about what they are getting. While supply chains and distribution channels for higher-margin and newer products are tightly managed, that is not the case for older electronics from Asia where counterfeiting, surplus inventories and complex contract manufacturing deals can sometimes make it impossible to identify the source of a product, analysts and consultants say. The response from the companies at the center of the booby-trapped gadgets that killed 37
FRIENDLY TAKEOVER: While Qualcomm Inc’s proposal to buy some or all of Intel raises the prospect of other competitors, Broadcom Inc is staying on the sidelines Qualcomm Inc has approached Intel Corp to discuss a potential acquisition of the struggling chipmaker, people with knowledge of the matter said, raising the prospect of one of the biggest-ever merger and acquisition deals. California-based Qualcomm proposed a friendly takeover for Intel in recent days, said the sources, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information. The proposal is for all of the chipmaker, although Qualcomm has not ruled out buying some parts of Intel and selling off others. It is uncertain whether the initial approach would lead to an agreement and any deal is likely to come under close antitrust scrutiny
SECURITY CONCERNS: The proposed ban on Chinese autonomous vehicle software and hardware would go into effect with the 2027 and 2030 model years respectively The US Department of Commerce today is expected to propose prohibiting Chinese software and hardware in connected and autonomous vehicles on US roads due to national security concerns, two sources said. US President Joe Biden’s administration has raised concerns about the collection of data by Chinese companies on US drivers and infrastructure as well as the potential foreign manipulation of vehicles connected to the Internet and navigation systems. The proposed regulation would ban the import and sale of vehicles from China with key communications or automated driving system software or hardware, said the two sources, who declined to be identified because the