North Korea warns of ‘arms race’
North Korea warns of ‘arms race’AFP, SEOULThe North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said a new US alliance in the Indo-Pacific and Washington’s recent submarine contract with Australia could trigger a “nuclear arms race” in the region. A ballistic missile is launched from a train in an undisclosed location in North Korea on Wednesday. The spate of missile tests and bumper defense deals in the Pacific have highlighted a regional arms race that is intensifying as a China-US rivalry grows. His administration’s relationship with North Korea has marked a change in tone from his predecessor, former US president Donald Trump, who engaged in an extraordinary diplomatic bromance with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The official added that North Korea “will certainly take a corresponding counteraction in case it has even a little adverse impact on the security of our country.”
Source:Taipei Times
September 20, 2021 15:56 UTC
TSMC touts water saving efforts and emissions goals
TSMC touts water saving efforts and emissions goalsStaff writer, with CNATaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) last year saved almost 2 million tonnes of water as part of its efforts to fulfill its commitment to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, the company’s financial disclosure report said. TSMC saved 1.927 million tonnes of water last year by adopting measures such as reducing water consumption by facility systems, increasing wastewater recycling by facilities and decreasing water discharge from the systems, the report said. As water shortages in Taiwan are likely to worsen, TSMC said it has also established a comprehensive water monitoring mechanism to regularly check the status of water supplies in the country. The company is improving its water conservation measures, increasing the recycling rate of process wastewater and establishing comprehensive monitoring mechanisms for water supply, the report said. It is also expanding the use of reclaimed water, and preparing water trucks to minimize the effect of water shortages on operations and eliminate production interruptions, it said.
Source:Taipei Times
September 20, 2021 15:56 UTC
Rakuten bets on 2% fixed-term deposit accounts
Rakuten bets on 2% fixed-term deposit accountsBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterRakuten International Commercial Bank Co (樂天國際商銀) on Friday announced that it would offer a relatively high interest rate of 2 percent for its fixed-term deposit accounts if clients deposit more than NT$20,000 at the Web-only bank, in a bid to enhance its competitive position in the Internet banking market. The annual interest rate of 2 percent would apply to three categories of monthly fixed-term deposits — NT$20,000, NT$50,000 and NT$100,000 — but the deposit rate would only be calculated once, when the deposits mature after one month, so the annual rate would be equivalent to a monthly rate of 0.167 percent, the bank said in a statement. After the fixed-term deposits mature, they would automatically become demand deposits and clients could then decide how to deal with them themselves, Rakuten Bank said. The Rakuten International Commercial Bank logo is displayed at the company’s headquarters in Taipei on March 4 last year. The monthly fixed-term deposit program marked Rakuten Bank’s latest effort to attract clients after it provided an annual deposit interest rate of 1 percent for deposits with a one-year maturity.
Source:Taipei Times
September 20, 2021 15:56 UTC
COVID-19: Hundreds warned about COVID-19 case
COVID-19: Hundreds warned about COVID-19 caseON ALERT: A woman who tested positive for COVID-19 while abroad last year tested negative twice in Taiwan before showing a positive result on Sunday, the center saidBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported two locally transmitted COVID-19 infections, four imported cases and no deaths. The CECC meanwhile warned nearly 500 people to monitor their health after a woman tested postive. She took an out-of-pocket test on Sunday in preparation to travel abroad and tested positive with a high CT value, he added. Genome sequencing on the virus sample from a previous case — case No. Chen said that 397 people who have been in contact with the airport worker have tested negative for COVID-19.
Source:Taipei Times
September 20, 2021 15:56 UTC
COVID-19: Vouchers open for thousands of foreigners: NIA
COVID-19: Vouchers open for thousands of foreigners: NIAEXPANDED COVERAGE: APRC holders, foreign spouses of Taiwanese citizens and foreign diplomats can apply for vouchers starting on Sunday, the agency saidStaff writer, with CNAMore than 155,000 foreign nationals, mainly Alien Permanent Resident Certificate (APRC) holders and foreign spouses of Taiwanese citizens, would be eligible to obtain the government’s Quintuple Stimulus Vouchers next month, the National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday. Premier Su Tseng-chang holds and points to specimens of the Quintuple Stimulus Vouchers at a news conference in Taipei on Wednesday last week. Photo: Wu Chih-lun, Taipei TimesRegistration to obtain the digital version of the vouchers would open tomorrow for Taiwanese citizens of all ages and eligible foreign nationals, it said. Eligible foreigners who have not yet obtained an NHI card can take their residency certificate to a post office to collect a printed version of the vouchers, starting on Oct. 8, it said. Once informed, the NIA would register them in the system as spouses of Taiwanese citizens so they can claim their vouchers, it added.
Source:Taipei Times
September 20, 2021 15:56 UTC
UK might offer battling energy firms loans
UK might offer battling energy firms loansEMERGENCY MEETINGS PLANNED: Four small energy suppliers have already been forced to stop trading because of a major increase in wholesale gas pricesReuters, LONDONThe UK is considering offering state-backed loans to energy firms after wholesale gas prices soared, prompting big suppliers to ask for support from the government to cover the cost of taking on customers from companies that have gone bust. “If a supplier fails, OFGEM will ensure customers’ gas and electricity supply will continue uninterrupted,” Kwarteng wrote on Twitter. Firms were beginning to be more hesitant about taking on new customers through regulator OFGEM’s supplier of last resort scheme, a source at one large energy company said. Under the scheme, energy firms bid to take on the customers from those companies that have gone bust, usually offering to honor any outstanding credit. Surging gas prices have led to an array of stresses in other markets, including a shortage of carbon dioxide after fertilizer plants had to shut.
Source:Taipei Times
September 20, 2021 15:56 UTC
Prudential targets up to US$2.89bn in HK share offering
Prudential targets up to US$2.89bn in HK share offeringBloombergPrudential PLC plans to raise up to US$2.89 billion in a new share offering in Hong Kong as the insurance giant eyes long-term growth opportunities in Asia and Africa. The new shares would be offered at a maximum of HK$172 (US$22.09) apiece and would be traded in Hong Kong on Oct. 4. GOALSThe company is building capacity to serve 50 million customers by 2025, Prudential executive director James Turner said at a briefing in Hong Kong on Sunday. “One thing that we noticed is that all of these regulations are starting to come toward our business model,” Turner said. “What we see is regulation to improve the quality of protection products that are sold to our customers.
Source:Taipei Times
September 20, 2021 15:56 UTC
Housing developers regain confidence
Housing developers regain confidenceRECOVERY: The value of projects has risen from last year’s autumn sales season, as developers were idle for the past four months due to a COVID-19 outbreakBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterThe value of presale and new housing projects in the six special municipalities is nearly NT$600 billion (US$21.63 billion) for this autumn sales season, as developers are regaining confidence because the COVID-19 situation has improved, the online housing unit of Addcn Technology Co Ltd (數字科技) said in a report last week. The autumn sales season, from Tuesday next week through next month, is a critical gauge of the new housing market’s health in the second half of the year, the online broker said. Cars are parked outside the construction site of Yuanlih Group’s presale housing project in Taipei’s Wenshan District on July 22. That explained why major developers such as Cathay Real Estate Development Co (國泰建設), Yuanlih Group (元利建設) and Ruentex Development Co (潤泰新) have all joined the arena, the report said. New housing projects in Hsinchu City tumbled 57.9 percent to NT$45.99 billion and 77.1 percent in Tainan, as aggressive development in previous years has prompted builders to become conservative and focus on digesting unsold units first, it said.
Source:Taipei Times
September 20, 2021 15:56 UTC
COVID-19: Virus boosts money laundering: UAE central bank
COVID-19: Virus boosts money laundering: UAE central bankReuters, DUBAI, United Arab EmiratesThe United Arab Emirates’ central bank sees increased risks of illicit financial flows emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, including money laundering and terrorism financing, it said in a report published on Sunday. The use of unlicensed money service providers for money laundering increased during the COVID-19 crisis last year, as well as the use of e-commerce to launder money, the report said. Due to limited ability to move funds and goods during the pandemic, illicit actors are turning to e-commerce as a money laundering tool,” the report said. The bank identified fraud risks linked to the pandemic, such as firms or individuals submitting false claims to qualify for government stimulus support. The report comes as the central bank steps up efforts to combat illicit financial flows.
Source:Taipei Times
September 20, 2021 15:56 UTC
Namchow posts increased net profit of NT$92.11m
Namchow posts increased net profit of NT$92.11mBy Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporterBaking oil manufacturer Namchow Holdings Co Ltd (南僑投資控股) yesterday reported an unaudited net profit of NT$92.11 million (US$3.32 million) for last month, up from the previous month’s NT$57 million, but down from NT$104 million a year earlier. The firm — which also manufactures a wide range of products including frozen dough, noodles, ice cream and dish soap — blamed the annual decline in net profit on it receiving less investment gains from its Shanghai subsidiary, Namchow Food Group (Shanghai) Co (上海南僑食品集團). Earnings per share (EPS) were NT$0.42 last month, while revenue grew 2.24 percent annually to NT$1.66 billion, the company said. Namchow Holdings Co Ltd chairman Alfred Chen displays the company’s products at a bakery exhibition in Taoyuan on April 21. They have increased 3.09 percent so far this year, underperforming the broader market’s 17.27 percent rise over the period.
Source:Taipei Times
September 20, 2021 15:56 UTC
Evergrande fears hit Hong Kong stocks
Evergrande fears hit Hong Kong stocksVERGE OF COLLAPSE: Evergrande shares yesterday plunged about 17 percent, as did those of other property firms, leaving the Hang Seng down 3.3 percentAFP, HONG KONGFears of a contagion from the potential collapse of battered Chinese real-estate giant China Evergrande Group (恆大集團) yesterday sent property shares plunging in Hong Kong, with the firm expected to default on upcoming interest payments this week. An electronic screen displays stock figures for companies including China Evergrande Group in Hong Kong yesterday. Attention is now on the company’s repayments, with interest due on bank loans yesterday and two bonds on Thursday. Experts say the firm has more than 1 million units pre-paid by customers yet to be built, adding to the sense of dread among Chinese investors, many of them first-time buyers. “To what extent Evergrande slows the growth momentum remains unclear,” Strickland added.
Source:Taipei Times
September 20, 2021 15:56 UTC
CCP’s crackdown no match for Hollywood
CCP’s crackdown no match for HollywoodBloombergAs Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government looks to tame China’s celebrities, the popularity of a new Universal Studios theme park in Beijing shows Hollywood’s enduring soft power among the nation’s 1.4 billion people. Fliggy (飛豬), an online travel site operated by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (阿里巴巴), last week apologized for overselling the 500 yuan Universal Express Pass that lets visitor skip lines. Visitors walk to the entrance of Universal Studios Beijing on its official opening day yesterday. “Universal Beijing Resort is popular with the Chinese because there is part of the global culture that the Chinese thirst for,” Ni said. Universal Beijing Resort did not respond to a question on how it would deal with China’s requests.
Source:Taipei Times
September 20, 2021 15:56 UTC
Flight school grows into tourism sector
Wilson Kao (高健祐), founder and managing director of Apex Flight Academy, the nation’s only flight training school, said that two new Tecnam P2012 Travellers purchased from Italy are scheduled to arrive Taiwan this month or early next month. The company has applied to the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) to carry passengers on flight tours. After studying their proposal, Apex decided to expand its business to include commercial air tours. Apex is to make public more details of the air tour packages and costs after the airplanes receive certification from CAA, he added. Apex Flight Academy, based in eastern Taitung County, is a flight training organization that began in 2014.
Source:Taipei Times
September 20, 2021 15:56 UTC
Italy’s Ganna retains time trial title at Road Worlds
Italy’s Ganna retains time trial title at Road WorldsAP, BRUGGE, BelgiumDefending champion Filippo Ganna of Italy on Sunday shattered home fans’ hopes of a 1-2 for their riders and retained the men’s time trial title to secure back-to-back gold medals at the Road World Championships. On the opening day of the week-long event in Belgium, Ganna won with a small margin of just over 5 seconds to beat Wout van Aert for the second year running. Italy’s Filippo Ganna celebrates winning the men’s individual time trial at the Road World Championships in Brugge, Belgium, on Sunday. Photo: EPA-EFEAs the defending champion, Ganna was the last down the starting ramp. Ganna won in 47 minutes, 47.83 seconds at an impressive average speed of 54kph.
Source:Taipei Times
September 19, 2021 17:15 UTC
Kaohsiung mayor touts measures to retain local talent
Kaohsiung mayor touts measures to retain local talentBy Wang Jung-hsiang and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writerEfforts to improve Kaohsiung’s transportation infrastructure and other measures to retain local talent have drawn significant investment to the city over the past few years, Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said on Friday. Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai speaks in an interview in Kaohsiung on Friday. Thirteen companies have thus far signed leases, he said, adding that most of them focus on Internet of Things and 5G applications. Citing an example, Chen said that there are four stations of the KMRT metro rail system covering metropolitan Kaohsiung near the CPC plant. The plant is two stops from the city’s high-speed railway station and accessible from the Sun Yat-sen Freeway (Freeway No.
Source:Taipei Times
September 19, 2021 15:56 UTC