Kim Forest Enterprise Co (金萬林), which focuses on molecular testing, yesterday said it has applied to receive marketing approval for its non-invasive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test products, hoping to meet rising demand for COVID-19 test kits as cases in Taiwan rise.
The company’s reagents that obtained regulatory approval in June 2020 test material from a person’s nasal cavity and pharynx, while its latest reagents test saliva, allowing pain-free sample collection, Kim Forest Enterprise said in a statement.
“We hope that this new product, if approved, can ease the pain and the pressure on paramedics, and also help speed up examinations,” the company said.
Photo: CNA
Kim Forest Enterprise said that it is confident its products can detect the latest virus variants, as its products are examined regularly by the US Food and Drug Administration after it became the first Taiwanese company to obtain emergency use authorization in the US for its COVID-19 test kits, reagents and machines.
Revenue for last month increased 54 percent annually to NT$39 million (US$1.31 million), the New Taipei City-based firm said, adding that cumulative revenue in the first four months of this year expanded 46.8 percent to NT$161 million as demand for its testing machines and services increased significantly amid a surge in local COVID-19 cases.
Established to assist hospitals in Taipei with COVID-19 testing, its laboratory last month partnered with more clinics and hospitals to total 30 as of the end of last month, Kim Forest Enterprise said, adding that it expects to collaborate with more after the Central Epidemic Command Center added 190 clinics to those approved to offer PCR testing.
Overall, it has an upbeat outlook for its business in the second quarter, Kim Forest Enterprise added.
To many, Tatu City on the outskirts of Nairobi looks like a success. The first city entirely built by a private company to be operational in east Africa, with about 25,000 people living and working there, it accounts for about two-thirds of all foreign investment in Kenya. Its low-tax status has attracted more than 100 businesses including Heineken, coffee brand Dormans, and the biggest call-center and cold-chain transport firms in the region. However, to some local politicians, Tatu City has looked more like a target for extortion. A parade of governors have demanded land worth millions of dollars in exchange
An Indonesian animated movie is smashing regional box office records and could be set for wider success as it prepares to open beyond the Southeast Asian archipelago’s silver screens. Jumbo — a film based on the adventures of main character, Don, a large orphaned Indonesian boy facing bullying at school — last month became the highest-grossing Southeast Asian animated film, raking in more than US$8 million. Released at the end of March to coincide with the Eid holidays after the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, the movie has hit 8 million ticket sales, the third-highest in Indonesian cinema history, Film
BIG BUCKS: Chairman Wei is expected to receive NT$34.12 million on a proposed NT$5 cash dividend plan, while the National Development Fund would get NT$8.27 billion Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday announced that its board of directors approved US$15.25 billion in capital appropriations for long-term expansion to meet growing demand. The funds are to be used for installing advanced technology and packaging capacity, expanding mature and specialty technology, and constructing fabs with facility systems, TSMC said in a statement. The board also approved a proposal to distribute a NT$5 cash dividend per share, based on first-quarter earnings per share of NT$13.94, it said. That surpasses the NT$4.50 dividend for the fourth quarter of last year. TSMC has said that while it is eager
‘IMMENSE SWAY’: The top 50 companies, based on market cap, shape everything from technology to consumer trends, advisory firm Visual Capitalist said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) was ranked the 10th-most valuable company globally this year, market information advisory firm Visual Capitalist said. TSMC sat on a market cap of about US$915 billion as of Monday last week, making it the 10th-most valuable company in the world and No. 1 in Asia, the publisher said in its “50 Most Valuable Companies in the World” list. Visual Capitalist described TSMC as the world’s largest dedicated semiconductor foundry operator that rolls out chips for major tech names such as US consumer electronics brand Apple Inc, and artificial intelligence (AI) chip designers Nvidia Corp and Advanced
RSS