ELECTRONICS
Hon Hai toils to reopen plant
Apple Inc supplier Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) is likely to reopen its shuttered south Indian iPhone factory on Friday at the earliest, a senior government official familiar with the matter said. The plant, located in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, was closed on Dec. 18, following protests when 250 of its workers were treated for food poisoning. Apple has since placed the factory on probation after discovering that some dormitories and dining rooms did not meet standards. Hon Hai told the Tamil Nadu State Government that it was still working to address Apple’s concerns over workers’ living conditions, the official said.
ENERGY
Taipower to hire 857 workers
Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) yesterday said it plans to recruit 857 new employees this year to begin filling 3,000 jobs to open up over the next three years. About one-third of the new job openings are for outdoor tower technicians, the state-run utility said in a statement. Taipower said that it would pay a starting monthly salary of NT$31,487 (US$1,139) to qualified applicants after a year of training. Applications are to be accepted from Tuesday next week until Jan. 24, Taipower said, adding that written examinations would be held in May.
WATER
Major reservoirs 70% full
Water levels at the nation’s major reservoirs are about 70 percent to nearly full, the Water Resources Agency said in a statement yesterday, as Taiwan enters its dry season. Last year, the nation had a severe drought, but water conditions are normal at present, the agency said, adding that there is adequate water for household and industrial use. Irrigation for the first harvest would start as scheduled, it added. The agency said that it would continue monitoring water conditions to ensure a stable supply of water for household, industrial and agricultural users. The agency added that it would cooperate with agricultural authorities to prioritize the use of surface water and pond water, as well as increase the efficient use of water in irrigation.
MANUFACTURING
Yeong Guan signs bank loan
Yeong Guan Energy Technology Group Co (YGG, 永冠能源), one of the nation’s leading advanced casting components suppliers, yesterday said that it has signed a syndicated loan agreement with state-owned Land Bank of Taiwan (土地銀行) and five other banks to boost its working capital and repay debt. The five-year syndicated loan, composed of US$130 million and NT$2.145 billion, is also intended to help finance the purchase of equipment for a new plant in Taichung, which is to start mass production in the third quarter, it said in a statement.
TECHNOLOGY
Auto market boosts CFTC
China Fineblanking Technology Co (CFTC, 和勤精機), a manufacturer of metal stamping products, yesterday reported that revenue last month increased from November due to a steady recovery in the Chinese auto market. Consolidated revenue rose 4.94 percent to NT$249 million last month, the company said in a statement, adding that on an annual basis, revenue fell 2.37 percent, while total revenue for last year expanded 14.54 percent to NT$2.64 billion, from NT$2.31 billion in 2020. The company makes auto parts, which last month accounted for 69.65 percent of total revenue, and voice coil motor plates for hard-disk drive applications, which contributed 27.13 percent.
DOLLAR CHALLENGE: BRICS countries’ growing share of global GDP threatens the US dollar’s dominance, which some member states seek to displace for world trade US president-elect Donald Trump on Saturday threatened 100 percent tariffs against a bloc of nine nations if they act to undermine the US dollar. His threat was directed at countries in the so-called BRICS alliance, which consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Turkey, Azerbaijan and Malaysia have applied to become members and several other countries have expressed interest in joining. While the US dollar is by far the most-used currency in global business and has survived past challenges to its preeminence, members of the alliance and other developing nations say they are fed
LIMITED MEASURES: The proposed restrictions on Chinese chip exports are weaker than previously considered, following lobbying by major US firms, sources said US President Joe Biden’s administration is weighing additional curbs on sales of semiconductor equipment and artificial intelligence (AI) memory chips to China that would escalate the US crackdown on Beijing’s tech ambitions, but stop short of some stricter measures previously considered, said sources familiar with the matter. The restrictions could be unveiled as soon as next week, said the sources, who emphasized that the timing and contours of the rules have changed several times, and that nothing is final until they are published. The measures follow months of deliberations by US officials, negotiations with allies in Japan and the Netherlands, and
TECH COMPETITION: The US restricted sales of two dozen types of manufacturing equipment and three software tools, and blacklisted 140 more Chinese entities US President Joe Biden’s administration unveiled new restrictions on China’s access to vital components for chips and artificial intelligence (AI), escalating a campaign to contain Beijing’s technological ambitions. The US Department of Commerce slapped additional curbs on the sale of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and chipmaking gear, including that produced by US firms at foreign facilities. It also blacklisted 140 more Chinese entities that it accused of acting on Beijing’s behalf, although it did not name them in an initial statement. Full details on the new sanctions and Entity List additions were to be published later yesterday, a US official said. The US “will
Intel Corp chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger has retired from the company and stepped down from its board of directors just as the company is in the middle of trying to execute a turnaround plan. Intel chief financial officer David Zinsner and Intel Products CEO Michelle Johnston Holthaus are serving as interim co-CEOs while the board searches for Gelsinger’s replacement, the company said in a statement. Frank Yeary, independent chair of the board of Intel, is to serve as interim executive chair, the company said. Gelsinger’s departure is hitting at a tumultuous time for the US chipmaker. Once the industry leader in
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