Four factors in play for borders to reopen
The borders are closed to keep the pandemic at bay, a policy that is supplemented with a 14-day quarantine for arrivals, Chen said. Waiting for the light to change near a zebra art installation, cyclists wear face masks to protect against the coronavirus in Taipei on Tuesday. Separately yesterday, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) reported 12 new imported COVID-19 cases and one death, with no new domestic cases for the ninth consecutive day. All but 13 of them have been recorded since the beginning of a surge in cases after May 15. The student was diagnosed with myocarditis, an inflammatory disease of the heart, after being admitted to a hospital, Taoyuan health officials said.
Source:Taipei Times
October 08, 2021 15:56 UTC
France offers to help repair military equipment: official
France offers to help repair military equipment: officialNO ‘PRESSURE’: Alain Richard said he does not fear retaliation over their visit to Taiwan, adding that the trip does not contradict French policyBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporterFrance has offered Taiwan military equipment maintenance services, but it cannot reveal details, French Senator Alain Richard said in Taipei yesterday. French Senator Alain Richard, head of the Senate’s Taiwan Friendship Group and former defense minister, addresses a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Asked if he fears retaliation from Beijing for visiting Taiwan, Richard said the trip does not contradict French diplomatic policy or relations with China. The delegation was invited to the opening of the Shawan History and Culture Park (沙灣歷史文化園區) in Keelung today. The park contains some heritage from the Sino-French War in 1884, during which Keelung was a battlefield, the Keelung City Government said.
Source:Taipei Times
October 08, 2021 15:56 UTC
Samsung profit climbs on chips, pricey phones
Samsung profit climbs on chips, pricey phonesBloombergSamsung Electronics Co’s operating profit rose more than 25 percent thanks to rising prices for semiconductors and surprisingly strong demand for its pricey foldable smartphones. The world’s largest maker of memory chips and smartphones has benefited from strong demand as the global economy recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo: APIn the mobile business, Samsung is ramping up production to meet strong demand for its foldable phones. “DRAM operating profit could climb due to sequential bit growth of 3-5 percent and also price rises in 3Q. NAND may also drive strong profit growth in 3Q due to a 10-15 percent sequential rise in bit shipments with a price increase of 5-9 percent.
Source:Taipei Times
October 08, 2021 15:56 UTC
Chip and ship shortages top threats to Tesla growth
Chip and ship shortages top threats to Tesla growthBloombergA double whammy of a global shortage of chips and ships is the only thing standing in the way of Tesla Inc maintaining sales growth in excess of 50 percent, according to CEO Elon Musk. “We’ve had a fantastic year, we had record vehicle deliveries,” Musk told Tesla’s annual shareholder meeting in Austin, Texas, on Thursday. The chip shortage does not appear to be slowing Tesla just yet. Musk said the “significant cost pressure” in the supply chain had forced Tesla to increase vehicle prices, at least temporarily. “We should be through our severe supply chain shortages in [2023],” he said.
Source:Taipei Times
October 08, 2021 15:56 UTC
Insurer Chubb to acquire Cigna in Asia, Turkey
Insurer Chubb to acquire Cigna in Asia, TurkeyReuters, SingaporeUS insurer Chubb Ltd has agreed to buy health insurer Cigna Corp’s life, accident and supplemental benefits businesses in Asia-Pacific and Turkey for US$5.75 billion in cash, both insurers said, marking the latest consolidation in Asia’s insurance sector. “The addition of Cigna’s business, which is overwhelmingly accident and health, will rebalance our global portfolio towards this important region,” Chubb CEO Evan Greenberg said. In August, HSBC Holdings agreed to acquire French insurer Axa’s Singapore assets for US$575 million. Last year, Singapore Life, an upstart insurer backed by investors including buyout group TPG, acquired the Singapore business of British insurer Aviva for nearly US$2 billion as it expands in Southeast Asia. Cigna said Chubb is acquiring Cigna’s business in South Korea and would to continue to operate it under the LINA Korea brand.
Source:Taipei Times
October 08, 2021 05:15 UTC
Pfizer-BioNTech doses arrive, more batches due
Pfizer-BioNTech doses arrive, more batches dueStaff writer, with CNATaiwan yesterday received its sixth shipment of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines, while another shipment of the vaccines, as well as a batch of Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, are scheduled to arrive today, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said. Yesterday’s shipment of 889,200 doses arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on a China Airlines flight at 5:34am. It is part of 15 million Pfizer-BioNTech doses ordered by three private entities — the Hon Hai Precision Industries Co-affiliated Yonglin Foundation, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, and the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation — and donated to the government for distribution among the public. Photo courtesy of the CECCAs of yesterday, Taiwan had received more than 4.2 million doses of the vaccine. Meanwhile, the CECC yesterday reported four new imported COVID- 19 cases, but no domestic infections or deaths.
Source:Taipei Times
October 07, 2021 15:56 UTC
Largan posts lowest margin since 2015
Gross margin fell to the lowest level on a quarterly basis since 2015, according to data provided by the Taichung-based handset camera lens maker. 8P refers to a camera lens module that contains eight thin layers of plastic pieces. The firm is also developing “double freeform” optical lenses that would solve proportion issues that cause some people in a photograph to appear larger than others. Lin, who seldom comments on stock prices, said that Largan is contemplating stock buyback programs. While handset lenses remain Largan’s mainstay products, the company is also expanding into augmented and virtual reality, and automotive camera lens markets, he added.
Source:Taipei Times
October 07, 2021 15:56 UTC
Fed up by pandemic, US workers launch strikes
The actions come on top of strikes earlier this summer by 600 workers at a Frito-Lay plant in Topeka, Kansas, and 1,000 workers at five Nabisco Inc plants across the US. Workers from a Kellogg cereal plant picket outside a company plant in Omaha, Nebraska, on Wednesday. Kellogg workers are also striking in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Tennessee. Non-union fast food workers have walked off the job in dozens of US cities seeking a US$15 minimum wage. Some workers said they have endured 12-hour shifts seven days per week throughout the pandemic, with only a few minutes’ notice about mandatory overtime.
Source:Taipei Times
October 07, 2021 15:56 UTC
Macronix posts record high monthly revenue
Macronix posts record high monthly revenueBy Lisa Wang / Staff reporterMacronix International Co (旺宏), the world’s biggest supplier of NOR flash memory chips, yesterday reported that revenue last month expanded 13.3 percent to a record high of NT$5.68 billion (US$203.2 million), up from NT$5.01 billion in August. The company has posted monthly revenue highs since April amid robust customer demand for its chips used in servers, automotive parts, medical equipment and industrial products, as well as 5G-related applications. Robust demand for memory chips also boosted sales at Phison Electronics Corp (群聯電子), a supplier of NAND flash memory controllers and modules. Phison reported NT$16.93 billion in revenue for last quarter, a record high for the company. The company said it is bullish about market demand and revenue growth this quarter, thanks to growing uptake of 5G devices.
Source:Taipei Times
October 07, 2021 15:56 UTC
GM introducing hands-free auto
GM introducing hands-free autoAFP, New YorkGeneral Motors Co (GM) on Wednesday unveiled plans to double revenues by 2030 as it ramps up electric vehicle production, and in 2023 launch an automobile that can be operated hands-free in most situations. Building on a series of earlier electric vehicle investment announcements, the big US automaker said it was on track to rapidly scale up its electric vehicle (EV) business, which is to include a vehicle priced at US$30,000, cheaper than offerings from Tesla Inc and other rivals. General Motors CEO Mary Barra attends a media event at the GM Orion Assembly Plant in Lake Orion, Michigan, on March 22, 2019. Photo: Reuters“The vehicle has become a software platform,” GM CEO Mary Barra said at a briefing with reporters ahead of a two-day investor presentation. “There are so many growth opportunities we have.”GM announced that its “Ultra Cruise” program, set to launch in 2023 on a premium vehicle, would enable hands-free operation in 95 percent of driving scenarios.
Source:Taipei Times
October 07, 2021 15:56 UTC
7-Eleven to be launched in India
7-Eleven to be launched in IndiaAFP, MUMBAI, IndiaMukesh Ambani, Asia’s richest man, is set to open India’s first 7-Eleven convenience store, as his Reliance Industries Ltd conglomerate boosts its retail presence in the vast market of 1.3 billion people. Yesterday’s announcement of a franchise agreement comes two days after India’s second-largest supermarket chain, Future Retail Ltd, terminated its 2019 deal with 7-Eleven Inc to open 1,000 stores. Photo: Reuters“7-Eleven is among the most iconic global brands in the convenience retail landscape ... [and] will offer Indian customers greater convenience and choices within their own neighborhoods,” said Isha Ambani, director of Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd and Mukesh’s daughter. Debt-ridden Future Retail, which owns popular brands such as Big Bazaar, said that it was unable to “meet the target of opening stores and payment of franchisee fees” amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Based in Irving, Texas, 7-Eleven operates or licenses more than 77,000 stores in 18 countries and regions, but has faced a delayed entry to the Indian market.
Source:Taipei Times
October 07, 2021 15:56 UTC
DPP Legislator Fan urges transparency at delivery apps
DPP Legislator Fan urges transparency at delivery appsCALL FOR REGULATION: Secretive algorithms determining payments deprive drivers of their right to negotiate their wages, Fan Yun saidBy Wu Su-wei and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, staff writerFood delivery platforms should not use secretive algorithms to set drivers’ wages, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Fan Yun (范雲) and labor rights advocates said yesterday. Foodpanda’s drivers formerly receive NT$60 per delivery, but the firm has changed its policy and cut their nominal pay to about NT$35 to NT$40 per delivery, he said. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Fan Yun, center, attends a news conference at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday. Although the platform claims that the algorithm rewards drivers who make more successful deliveries, drivers cannot view their ratings, he said. The platform can alter its algorithm without giving notice, depriving drivers of their right to negotiate wages, Fan said.
Source:Taipei Times
October 07, 2021 15:56 UTC
World food prices rise to 10-year peak: UN agency
World food prices rise to 10-year peak: UN agencyReuters, PARISWorld food prices rose for a second consecutive month last month to reach a 10-year peak, driven by gains for cereals and vegetable oils, the UN food agency said yesterday. The agency’s food price index, which tracks prices of the most globally traded food commodities, averaged 130 points last month, the highest reading since September 2011, FAO data showed. That was led by a near 4 percent increase in wheat prices, attributed by the agency to tightening export availabilities amid strong demand. Vegetable oil prices were up 1.7 percent month-on-month, or about 60 percent year-on-year, as palm oil prices climbed on robust import demand and concerns over labor shortages in Malaysia, the agency said. For cereal production, it projected a record world crop of 2.8 billion tonnes this year, up slightly from 2.788 billion tonnes estimated a month ago.
Source:Taipei Times
October 07, 2021 15:56 UTC
Chipmakers resist US bid for client data
The issue has become particularly thorny in Taiwan, home to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which accounts for more than half of the global contract chipmaking market. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co general counsel Sylvia Fang is pictured at the Hsinchu Science Park on Wednesday. Photo: Grace Hung, Taipei Times“TSMC absolutely will not hand over sensitive information, particularly client data,” TSMC general counsel Sylvia Fang (方淑華) told reporters on Wednesday. The Joongang Daily also cited unidentified people at local chipmakers as saying that they might have a difficult time complying with the requests. In the questionnaire, chipmakers were asked to comment on inventories, backlogs, delivery times, procurement practices and what they were doing to increase output.
Source:Taipei Times
October 07, 2021 15:56 UTC
A century of changing traditions
A century of changing traditionsOpening yesterday, the latest ‘Century of Craftsmanship’ exhibition at Bopiliao Historic Block explores how 13 century-year-old shops in Wanhua have adjusted to various changes, including the latest COVID-19 outbreakBy Han Cheung / Staff reporterLongdu Ice Dessert Parlor (龍都冰果專業家) is no stranger to weathering outbreaks. A general view of the A Century of Craftsmanship: The Wanhua Story exhibition. Lin was tasked with interviewing the shop owners and writing the exhibition’s text (unfortunately only the main parts are translated into English). Author and exhibition researcher Lin Li-ching, right, introduces the Longshan Buddha Shop along with the shop’s sixth-generation owner Lee Tzu-yung. I hope that over the next 100 years, we business owners can continue to innovate while passing on traditions.”
Source:Taipei Times
October 07, 2021 15:56 UTC