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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Officials condemn China’s ‘cruel’ fruit import ban
China earlier yesterday announced a ban on the importation of the two fruits from today, citing repeated discoveries of Planococcus minor, a type of mealybug. The announcement follows a similar ban on Taiwanese pineapples imposed in February. Wax apples are pictured in Pingtung County in an undated photograph. DPP Legislator Wang Mei-hui (王美惠) also called foul, saying that China does not restrict other nations’ fruit imports. Meanwhile, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) called on the government to rectify the problem through concrete action and bilateral dialogue.
Source:Taipei Times
September 19, 2021 15:56 UTC
New understanding of military victory urged
New understanding of military victory urgedWIDER NOTION NEEDED: Victory means preventing the enemy from imposing its political will, former chief of the general staff admiral Lee Hsi-ming saidBy Wu Su-wei and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe military should redefine its understanding of victory, which under the current circumstances is not so much winning battles, but preventing the enemy from occupying the nation, former chief of the general staff admiral Lee Hsi-ming (李喜明) said. In light of the US’ defeat in Afghanistan, the military should understand that victory means preventing the enemy from imposing its political will on the nation, he said. Taiwan should ready itself to counter a Chinese aggression and boost its military strength to deter China from attacking, Lee said. Should China make an attempt to force unification, Taiwan needs a military that is strong enough to fight off the attack, he said. Should Taiwan fail to implement a viable civil defense program, it would have no deterrence against communist aggression, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
September 19, 2021 15:56 UTC
CPC agrees to provide carbon neutral LNG to TSMC
CPC agrees to provide carbon neutral LNG to TSMCBy Angelica Oung / Staff reporterCPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) for a plan to cooperate over the supply of “carbon neutral” liquefied natural gas (LNG). Speaking at the signing ceremony, Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) said the agreement between CPC and TSMC to use carbon neutral LNG is a step in the right direction toward Taiwan’s ambitions to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Photo: Huang Pei-chun, Taipei TimesCPC receives carbon neutral LNG from oil companies such as Royal Dutch Shell PLC, and the company is to use the British Standards Institutions’ PAS 2060 framework to show its results in carbon neutrality and reducing emissions. “As a major importer of LNG, CPC has a duty to keep importing carbon neutral LNG as a part of our energy transition,” CPC president Lee Shun-chin (李順欽) said. “The provision of carbon neutral natural gas products will help domestic manufacturers meet the decarbonization requirements set by Europe and the US.”J.K. Lin (林錦坤), senior vice president of information technology, materials and risk management at TSMC, said the chipmaker requested carbon neutral LNG products at the start of the year.
Source:Taipei Times
September 19, 2021 15:56 UTC
More emergency military runways, legislator urges
More emergency military runways, legislator urgesBy Wu Su-wei and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writer and CNAThe government should build more contingency runways to be used in the event of a Chinese attack on air force bases, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tsai Shih-ying (蔡適應) said on Saturday. However, the exercises highlighted the lack of such contingency runways on the east coast of Taiwan proper, he said. 1 in Pingtung County’s Jiadong Township during the annual Han Kuang military exercises on Wednesday. With Chinese military aggression toward Taiwan on the rise over the past few years, members of the military and the public have been discussing the possibility of building more contingency runways on the east coast, he said. Contingency runways on the west coast are all within reach of Chinese missiles, a miltiary official said yesterday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Source:Taipei Times
September 19, 2021 15:56 UTC
Compensation raised in financial product disputes
Compensation raised in financial product disputesBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterAmendments to the Financial Consumer Protection Act (金融消費者保護法) took effect on Friday, raising compensation benchmarks to NT$1.2 million (US$43,265) for investment-linked products and NT$120,000 for non-investment products, from NT$1 million and NT$100,000 respectively. The rising benchmark hike follows changes in inflation and economic growth, and aims to enhance consumer protection, the Financial Supervisory Commission said. Under the new regulations, after the Financial Ombudsman Institution (FOI) reviews a consumer complaint regarding a financial product or service, and determines appropriate compensation, the company should accept its decision without ability to appeal. In disputes regarding non-investment products, such as medical insurance, the financial company must accept the FOI’s decision when it involves compensation of NT$120,000 or less under the new regulations, the commission said. The new regulations are not retroactive, and an FOI decision is binding only for financial companies, the commission said.
Source:Taipei Times
September 19, 2021 15:56 UTC