ENTERTAINMENT
FTC working on KTV merger
The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) yesterday told lawmakers that it would work toward giving its approval for merger plans between the nation’s two largest karaoke parlor (KTV) chains, Holiday Entertainment Co (好樂迪) and Cash Box KTV (錢櫃), as long as the companies safeguard the interests of consumers. The regulator said that it would begin the approval process, such as gathering the opinion of stakeholders and holding public hearings. The two karaoke chains have had numerous failed attempts to merge in the past 16 years. Separately yesterday, the regulator said that it would ask Tesla Inc to explain its erratic pricing decisions, after the US electric vehicle maker reversed price cuts and a decision to shutter dealerships, adding that such behavior might be anti-competitive.
PATENTS
Acer pays Microsoft directly
Acer Inc (宏碁) chairman and CEO Jason Chen (陳俊聖) on Tuesday said that the PC maker’s royalty payments to Microsoft Inc are governed by contracts with the US software giant and are not paid by partner original design manufacturers and electronics manufacturing services providers. Chen’s comments came amid a patent dispute between Microsoft and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海) that prompted personal rebukes by Hon Hai chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘) earlier that day. Acer pays Microsoft directly to fulfill the conditions of the licensing contracts, Chen said.
ELECTRONICS
FIT launches flagship store
Foxconn Interconnect Technology Ltd (FIT, 鴻騰科技), a Hong Kong-listed affiliate of Hon Hai, yesterday opened its flagship store at Taipei’s Syntrend Creative Park, a shopping complex focused on consumer electronics and tech gadgets. The store showcases new products by FIT’s newly acquired brands, Belkin and Linksys, which Hon Hai in March last year purchased for US$866 million as part of its plans to diversify beyond its core contract manufacturing business and into managing brands for smart home appliances and Internet of Things products for consumers.
E-COMMERCE
PChome Thai gains licenses
PChome Online Inc (網路家庭) on Monday announced that subsidiary PChome Thai has been granted licenses to operate two electronic payment services by Thai regulators. The approvals would allow the company’s customers to make credit and debit card payments, as well as electronic payments and fund transfers, via automated teller machines and mobile phones. PChome Thai said that it is also working on launching before the end of this quarter a payment service that is compatible with popular social media platforms in Thailand, including Instagram and Facebook.
EQUITIES
Electronics sector lifts TAIEX
Local shares yesterday closed slightly higher on thin turnover as gains were capped ahead of strong technical resistance at about 10,400 points, dealers said. The bellwether electronics sector remained a driver of the latest upturn as investors took cues from gains posted by tech stocks in the US overnight, while non-high-tech stocks appeared mixed throughout the session, the dealers said. The TAIEX ended up 29.99 points, or 0.29 percent, at 10,373.32, after moving between 10,331.27 and 10,373.32, on turnover of NT$94.36 billion, dropping from turnover of NT$111.14 billion in the previous session.
Semiconductor business between Taiwan and the US is a “win-win” model for both sides given the high level of complementarity, the government said yesterday responding to tariff threats from US President Donald Trump. Home to the world’s largest contract chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), Taiwan is a key link in the global technology supply chain for companies such as Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp. Trump said on Monday he plans to impose tariffs on imported chips, pharmaceuticals and steel in an effort to get the producers to make them in the US. “Taiwan and the US semiconductor and other technology industries
SMALL AND EFFICIENT: The Chinese AI app’s initial success has spurred worries in the US that its tech giants’ massive AI spending needs re-evaluation, a market strategist said Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) start-up DeepSeek’s (深度求索) eponymous AI assistant rocketed to the top of Apple Inc’s iPhone download charts, stirring doubts in Silicon Valley about the strength of the US’ technological dominance. The app’s underlying AI model is widely seen as competitive with OpenAI and Meta Platforms Inc’s latest. Its claim that it cost much less to train and develop triggered share moves across Asia’s supply chain. Chinese tech firms linked to DeepSeek, such as Iflytek Co (科大訊飛), surged yesterday, while chipmaking tool makers like Advantest Corp slumped on the potential threat to demand for Nvidia Corp’s AI accelerators. US stock
The US Federal Reserve is expected to announce a pause in rate cuts on Wednesday, as policymakers look to continue tackling inflation under close and vocal scrutiny from US President Donald Trump. The Fed cut its key lending rate by a full percentage point in the final four months of last year and indicated it would move more cautiously going forward amid an uptick in inflation away from its long-term target of 2 percent. “I think they will do nothing, and I think they should do nothing,” Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis former president Jim Bullard said. “I think the
Cryptocurrencies gave a lukewarm reception to US President Donald Trump’s first policy moves on digital assets, notching small gains after he commissioned a report on regulation and a crypto reserve. Bitcoin has been broadly steady since Trump took office on Monday and was trading at about US$105,000 yesterday as some of the euphoria around a hoped-for revolution in cryptocurrency regulation ebbed. Smaller cryptocurrency ether has likewise had a fairly steady week, although was up 5 percent in the Asia day to US$3,420. Bitcoin had been one of the most spectacular “Trump trades” in financial markets, gaining 50 percent to break above US$100,000 and
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