■ Internet
Spam problem growing
Just as pressure is mounting in the US Congress and elsewhere to reduce unsolicited commercial e-mail, so, too, is the amount of e-mail being sent. Last year alone, people and businesses around the world created 5 billion gigabytes of data, according to a study by the University of California at Berkeley. That is a 30 percent increase in stored information from 1999, the last time the study was conducted. That's also enough new e-mail -- junk or otherwise -- to fill 500,000 Libraries of Congress, the study said. It works out to about 800 megabytes a person, or the equivalent of a stack of books 30 feet high, according to the study, by the university's School of Information Management and Systems.
■ Trade
S Korea posts record exports
South Korea posted record-high exports amounting to US$19.04 billion in October, an increase of 26.2 percent from the same month last year, South Korea's commerce ministry said yesterday. The ministry said South Korea had a US$10.79 billion aggregate trade surplus for the first 10 months of the year, thanks largely to shipments of cars, semiconductors, wireless telecommunications and computers to China, the US and Europe, the top three destinations for South Korean exports. Commerce minister Yoon Jin-Shik forecast exports of US$190 billion this year, surpassing his ministry's previous forecast of US$170 billion. "The country's exports are regaining strength amid the doldrums of sluggish consumer spending and stingy corporate capital expenditures," Yoon told reporters.
■ Automobiles
Honda to make Thai Fit
Japanese auto maker Honda Motor Co Ltd will begin production and sales of its popular small car, Fit, in Thailand this month, a newspaper said yesterday. Honda Automobile Thailand, a local production unit of the Japanese company, will produce 20,000 units a year, the Sankei Shimbun said. Honda will announce the plan as early as next week, it said. Honda Automobile Thailand has already expanded its production capacity from 70,000 units to 120,000 a year at a cost of ?4 billion (US$36 million) ahead of the launch of Fit, which will be named Jazz in Thailand. It will be the second production of Fit overseas following its output at a Brazilian plant. Honda also plans to produce Fit models in China in 2005. Honda Automobile Thailand may export the small cars to its neighbor countries, including Indonesia, Sankei said.
■ Privatization
Indonesia plans gas sale
Indonesia plans to divest 30 percent of the state gas company through an initial public offering in December, press reports said yesterday. "The divestment is planned according to schedule in mid-December and it cannot be late. Before the holidays or after Lebaran there must by an IPO," W.M.P. Simanjuntak, president director of PT State Gas Company, said as quoted by the Media Indonesia daily. Lebaran is the celebration and start of holidays that will follow the Muslim fasting month at the end of this month. Divestment had been planned for November but a number of European and American investors took issue with an audit of the company's 2001 finances by Arthur Andersen.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) halted shipments to a customer this month after its semiconductors were sent to China’s Huawei Technologies Co (華為), potentially breaching US sanctions, a government official said. The US slapped sanctions on Huawei in 2019, and expanded them the following year, over fears its technology could be used for Beijing’s espionage operations. The restrictions prevent TSMC from selling semiconductors to Huawei. However, TSMC discovered on Oct. 11 that chips made for a “specific customer” had ended up with the Chinese company, a Taiwanese official with knowledge of the incident said on the condition of anonymity. TSMC “immediately activated
US SANCTIONS: The Taiwan tech giant has ended all shipments to China-based Sophgo Technologies after one of their chips was discovered in a Huawei phone Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) suspended shipments to China-based chip designer Sophgo Technologies Ltd (算能科技) after a chip it made was found on a Huawei Technologies Co (華為) artificial intelligence (AI) processor, according to two people familiar with the matter. Sophgo had ordered chips from TSMC that matched the one found on Huawei’s Ascend 910B, the people said. Huawei is restricted from buying the technology to protect US national security. Reuters could not determine how the chip ended up on the Huawei product. Sophgo said in a statement on its Web site yesterday that it was in compliance with all laws
TECH TITANS: Nvidia briefly overtook Apple again on Friday after becoming the world’s largest company for a short period in June, as Microsoft fell to third place Nvidia Corp dethroned Apple Inc as the world’s most valuable company on Friday following a record-setting rally in the stock, powered by insatiable demand for its specialized artificial intelligence (AI) chips. Nvidia’s stock market value briefly touched US$3.53 trillion, slightly above Apple’s US$3.52 trillion, London Stock Exchange Group data showed. Nvidia ended the day up 0.8 percent, with a market value of US$3.47 trillion, while Apple’s shares rose 0.4 percent, valuing the iPhone maker at US$3.52 trillion. In June, Nvidia briefly became the world’s most valuable company before it was overtaken by Microsoft Corp and Apple. The tech trio’s market capitalizations have been
Shares of Starlux Airlines Co (星宇航空) surged more than 53 percent on its debut on the Taiwan stock exchange yesterday. Starlux shares closed up 53.75 percent at NT$30.75 from its initial public offering price of NT$20 after retreating in late trading from a 60 percent rise. China Airlines Ltd (CAL, 中華航空) rose 0.90 percent to close at NT$22.35, while EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) gained 0.40 percent to close at NT$37.70. In Taiwan, a newly listed stock is allowed to go beyond the 10 percent maximum increase or decline in its first five trading sessions. At the listing ceremony, Starlux chairman Chang Kuo-wei (張國煒) said
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