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.
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Chizuko Kimura has become the first female sushi chef in the world to win a Michelin star, fulfilling a promise she made to her dying husband to continue his legacy. The 54-year-old Japanese chef regained the Michelin star her late husband, Shunei Kimura, won three years ago for their Sushi Shunei restaurant in Paris. For Shunei Kimura, the star was a dream come true. However, the joy was short-lived. He died from cancer just three months later in June 2022. He was 65. The following year, the restaurant in the heart of Montmartre lost its star rating. Chizuko Kimura insisted that the new star is still down
While China’s leaders use their economic and political might to fight US President Donald Trump’s trade war “to the end,” its army of social media soldiers are embarking on a more humorous campaign online. Trump’s tariff blitz has seen Washington and Beijing impose eye-watering duties on imports from the other, fanning a standoff between the economic superpowers that has sparked global recession fears and sent markets into a tailspin. Trump says his policy is a response to years of being “ripped off” by other countries and aims to bring manufacturing to the US, forcing companies to employ US workers. However, China’s online warriors
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