ENERGY
Temperature, usage spike
Electricity consumption soared yesterday as temperatures topped 30°C, resulting in the sixth orange warning this month, state-owned Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) said. An orange warning indicates that the operating reserve margin has fallen below 6 percent. Electricity consumption peaked at 32.34 million kilowatts at 11:22am, when the operating reserve margin fell to 4.51 percent, or 1.46 million kilowatts, Taipower said. However, rain in the afternoon helped drive down temperatures, easing the burden, the firm said, adding that with the arrival of seasonal plum rains, power consumption is likely to ease in the coming weeks.
TECHNOLOGY
Synnex profits fall 6% yearly
Synnex Technology International Corp (聯強), which distributes computers and handsets, yesterday reported net income of NT$1.14 billion (US$37.8 million) for last quarter, down 6 percent from NT$1.21 billion in the same period last year. Earnings per share fell from NT$0.72 to NT$0.68, the firm said in a statement. Synnex attributed the decline to various challenges in the market, including weak industry demand, deferred launches of new cellphones, a shortage of key components and appreciation of the New Taiwan dollar. Foreign exchange losses totaled NT$140 million in the quarter, Synnex said.
BANKING
SinoPac denies allegations
SinoPac Financial Holdings Co (永豐金控) yesterday denied allegations that its banking arm violated rules limiting lending to interested parties. Lawmakers accused Bank SinoPac (永豐銀行) of organizing a US$435 million loan for Sun Power Development and Construction Co (三寶建設) and a number of privately held investment companies under its control. Among the investment companies is Star City, whose board of directors include Chang Hsing-ju (張杏如), wife of SinoPac chairman Ho Shou-chuan (何壽川). SinoPac said in a statement that Chang’s term on the board of directors had ended six months before the loans were approved on Dec. 14, 2012.
MANUFACTURING
Laster Tech profits skyrocket
Laster Tech Corp Ltd (麗清科技), an LED chip and lighting products supplier, yesterday said net income last quarter skyrocketed to NT$85.3 million, or earnings per share of NT$1.25, from NT$31.9 million in the same period last year, or NT$0.53 per share, supported by increasing adoption of automotive LED lights. Sales in the first three months of this year soared 50.9 percent from NT$677.5 million to NT$1.02 billion, a statement said. The automotive parts manufacturer attributed the strong performance to robust demand from its major Chinese customers, such as Great Wall Motor Co (長城汽車) and Shanghai Koito Automotive Lamp Co Ltd (上海小糸), despite a foreign exchange loss of nearly NT$76 million for the first quarter. The company has approved a plan to issue convertible bonds worth NT$701.4 million, in an effort to repay bank loans and improve its financial structure.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Yuan deposits extend slide
Chinese yuan deposits last month decreased 0.35 percent month-on-month to 307.97 billion yuan (US$44.65 million), continuing a downtrend seen in the previous months, the central bank said yesterday. Yuan deposits at domestic banking units fell 0.62 percent to 275.36 billion yuan from the previous month, while yuan deposits at their overseas banking units rose 2.02 percent to 32.61 billion yuan, it said.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last