ENERGY
Vote to affect a single plant
Only Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County can be considered for delayed decommissioning, Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Tseng Wen-sheng (曾文生) said yesterday. The plant is the only facility that can apply for a stay of decommissioning, as it has more than five years before its originally scheduled decommissioning, Tseng said, adding that the application deadline for the other two nuclear power plants has lapsed. Tseng’s comments came after voters passed a referendum that paves the way for the use of nuclear power beyond 2025. State-run Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) is ready to carry out the stay of decommissioning for Ma-anshan, once a decision is made by the government, a company spokesperson told the Taipei Times yesterday, adding that the technical aspects of the process would not pose as a major concern. Ma-anshan has enough capacity on site to safely store spent nuclear fuel rods to sustain operations through 2025, they said. The facility is also equipped with an advanced boiling-water reactor that produces only 10 percent as much spent fuel rods as older technologies, the spokesperson said.
CEMENT
Taiwan Cement shares fall
Shares in Taiwan Cement Corp (台灣水泥) yesterday fell 5.23 percent to NT$33 as the company completed the issuance of US$400 million in convertible bonds, the largest by any Asian cement company and the biggest in the past year by any Taiwanese company. The bonds are listed on the Singapore Exchange. They are linked to the New Taiwan dollar and have a conversion price of NT$41, representing a 16 percent premium over the stock’s NT$35.35 closing price on Monday. Taiwan Cement has raised about US$950 million, including US$549 million in global depositary receipts that the company issued in July.
ELECTRONICS
Containerized center set up
Delta Electronics Inc (台達電), yesterday announced that it shipped a containerized data center from the company’s manufacturing base in Wujiang, China, and installed it for the Singapore-based Campana Group in just 50 days. The energy-efficient, 200 kilowatt data center was set up in Yangon, Myanmar, as part of the Singapore-Myanmar International Submarine Cable Project, which targets Southeast Asia’s growing demand for online activities and digital life. Delta said that its containerized solution is highly scalable and can be deployed rapidly, as opposed to the two-year construction time required for traditional data centers. Over the past few years, containerized solutions have become the best choice for data centers used in edge computing and disaster recovery, Delta said.
DIGITAL PAYMENT
Jkos toasts politician’s loss
Jkos Network Co Ltd (街口網絡) founder and chief operating officer Kevin Hu (胡亦嘉) yesterday denied all wrongdoing over a spat with former Democratic Progressive Party Taipei City councilor Wang Wei-chung (王威中), who in March had cast doubt over the payment app’s security. Jkos celebrated Wang’s defeat in Saturday’s nine-in-one elections by offering its users a 20 percent cash rebate limited to NT$100 on a first-time purchase yesterday. Regarding Wang’s threat to take legal action against alleged election manipulation, Hu said that he did nothing wrong and that the cash rebate took place after the ballots were counted. Hu promised that Jkos would continue to celebrate any defeats Wang has in the future.
STEEP DECLINE: Yesterday’s drop was the third-steepest in its history, the steepest being Monday’s drop in the wake of the tariff announcement on Wednesday last week Taiwanese stocks continued their heavy sell-off yesterday, as concerns over US tariffs and unwinding of leveraged bets weighed on the market. The benchmark TAIEX plunged 1,068.19 points, or 5.79 percent, to 17,391.76, notching the biggest drop among Asian peers as it hit a 15-month low. The decline came even after the government on late Tuesday authorized the NT$500 billion (US$15.2 billion) National Stabilization Fund (國安基金) to step in to buoy the market amid investors’ worries over tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump. Yesterday’s decline was the third-steepest in its history, trailing only the declines of 2,065.87 points on Monday and
TAKING STOCK: A Taiwanese cookware firm in Vietnam urged customers to assess inventory or place orders early so shipments can reach the US while tariffs are paused Taiwanese businesses in Vietnam are exploring alternatives after the White House imposed a 46 percent import duty on Vietnamese goods, following US President Donald Trump’s announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs on the US’ trading partners. Lo Shih-liang (羅世良), chairman of Brico Industry Co (裕茂工業), a Taiwanese company that manufactures cast iron cookware and stove components in Vietnam, said that more than 40 percent of his business was tied to the US market, describing the constant US policy shifts as an emotional roller coaster. “I work during the day and stay up all night watching the news. I’ve been following US news until 3am
Six years ago, LVMH’s billionaire CEO Bernard Arnault and US President Donald Trump cut the blue ribbon on a factory in rural Texas that would make designer handbags for Louis Vuitton, one of the world’s best-known luxury brands. However, since the high-profile opening, the factory has faced a host of problems limiting production, 11 former Louis Vuitton employees said. The site has consistently ranked among the worst-performing for Louis Vuitton globally, “significantly” underperforming other facilities, said three former Louis Vuitton workers and a senior industry source, who cited internal rankings shared with staff. The plant’s problems — which have not
TARIFF CONCERNS: The chipmaker cited global uncertainty from US tariffs and a weakening economic outlook, but said its Singapore expansion remains on track Vanguard International Semiconductor Corp (世界先進), a foundry service provider specializing in producing power management and display driver chips, yesterday withdrew its full-year revenue projection of moderate growth for this year, as escalating US tariff tensions raised uncertainty and concern about a potential economic recession. The Hsinchu-based chipmaker in February said revenues this year would grow mildly from last year based on improving supply chain inventory levels and market demand. At the time, it also anticipated gradual quarter revenue growth. However, the US’ sweeping tariff policy has upended the industry’s supply chains and weakened economic prospects for the world economy, it said. “Now
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