Overlooked IPO markets are booming, as Beijing cracks down on tech firms
Overlooked IPO markets are booming, as Beijing cracks down on tech firmsBloombergChina’s crackdown on technology companies is prompting global investors to look for new opportunities across Asia, contributing to a record increase in initial public offerings (IPO) from India to South Korea that shows few signs of slowing. Tech companies from those countries and Southeast Asia have raised US$8 billion from first-time share sales this year, already blowing past the previous annual peak. The result, some bankers say, might be the start of a new era for tech listings in Asia. Paytm — formally called One97 Communications Ltd — has filed for a 166 billion rupee IPO that is set to be India’s largest. The growing representation of “new-economy” companies means these markets “can no longer be ignored,” she said.
Source:Taipei Times
August 29, 2021 15:56 UTC
INTERVIEW: India relations developing well: expert
INTERVIEW: India relations developing well: expertBy Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporterSentiment between Taiwan and India has warmed considerably during the five years of the New Southbound Policy, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, but there is a need for deeper engagement in mid-level political and academic circles, a visiting expert on Taiwan-India relations said on Friday. Since Taipei for the first time made India a key facet of its foreign relations under the New Southbound Policy, the most significant advancement has been in external outreach, Hashmi said. “If you look at the leadership of Taiwan, you would realize that there is this warmth toward the New Southbound Policy countries, and specifically India,” she said. However, while outreach and some basic exchanges have increased, there is still a lot that could be done under the framework of the New Southbound Policy, she said. While some criticize the New Southbound Policy as being aimed against China, one of its strengths is its ability to minimize China’s specter over Taiwan’s foreign relations.
Source:Taipei Times
August 29, 2021 15:56 UTC
PC market to grow this year, but slowly, firm says
PC market to grow this year, but slowly, firm saysDEMAND REMAINS: Despite supply constraints and workers returning to the office amid rising vaccination rates, IDC forecast PC shipments could increase 14.2 percentBy Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporterThe global PC market is forecast to grow significantly this year from last year, but at a slower pace than previously expected due to continued supply chain and logistics challenges, research firm International Data Corp (IDC) said last week. Global PC shipments are forecast to increase 14.2 percent year-on-year to 347 million units this year, due to demand from the business and education sectors, US-based research firm International Data Corp said on Tuesday last week. Photo courtesy of Acer IncThe tablet market is also expected to grow this year, but at a much slower pace of 3.4 percent, the Massachusetts-based research firm said in a report. PC shipments are expected to slow from the second half of this year to the first half of next year as work-from-home demand subsides, Yuanta said. “We forecast notebook shipments to grow 13.1 percent year-on-year to 227 million units in 2021,” Yuanta said.
Source:Taipei Times
August 29, 2021 15:56 UTC
Society offers tips for people who suffer migraines
Society offers tips for people who suffer migrainesBy Jonathan Chin / Staff writer, with CNAPeople who get migraines should keep a record of their activities before an attack and avoid caffeine, the Taiwan Headache Society said. This is advised because each migraine episode increases the chance of migraines recurring and becoming a chronic condition, Chen said. Should a person’s migraine become resistant to oral medicine, preventive drugs that are administered via injection are an option, he said. SYMPTOMSPeople frequently confuse migraines with a severe headache or a symptom of another underlying condition, he said. Migraines are linked to depression, anxiety, insomnia and other health conditions that reduce a person’s life expectancy by four years, he added.
Source:Taipei Times
August 29, 2021 15:56 UTC
Tokyo Paralympics: Taiwan earn first medal at Tokyo Games
Tokyo Paralympics: Taiwan earn first medal at Tokyo GamesStaff writer, with CNATaiwanese table tennis player yesterday Tien Shiau-wen won the nation’s first medal at the Tokyo Paralympic Games: a bronze in the women’s singles class 10 event. Tien Shiau-wen holds a table tennis paddle in a graphic celebrating her bronze medal in the women’s singles class 10 at the Tokyo Paralympics yesterday. Tien was the only one of the four Taiwanese table tennis players to reach a medal match at the Tokyo Games, after three others were eliminated on Friday. From Wednesday, she is to compete in the women’s class 9-10 team event with Lin Tzu-yu. Class 6-10 are standing classes in table tennis at the Paralympics, while class 1-5 are sitting classes for players in wheelchairs.
Source:Taipei Times
August 28, 2021 15:56 UTC
COVID-19: India vaccinates 10 million people in one day
COVID-19: India vaccinates 10 million people in one dayAFP, NEW DELHIIndia has administered more than 10 million COVID-19 jabs in a single day for the first time, authorities said yesterday, as the South Asian giant bolsters its defenses for a predicted new surge. The Indian Ministry of Health said the 10 million landmark was passed on Friday, beating the country’s previous daily record of 9.2 million. The government has been stung by criticism after a brutal COVID-19 wave in April and May killed more than 200,000 people. Daily case numbers have started rising again above 40,000 and more than 500 deaths were reported yesterday. The 46,000 new cases reported yesterday was the highest figure in two months.
Source:Taipei Times
August 28, 2021 15:56 UTC
Rohit hails Pujara, but England smash India in third Test
Rohit hails Pujara, but England smash India in third TestAFP, LEEDS, EnglandEngland thrashed India by an innings and 76 runs to win the third Test at Headingley yesterday with more than a day to spare. Victory saw England level the five-match series at 1-1 after India’s 151-run win in the second Test at Lord’s. India batsman Cheteshwar Pujara walks from the field after being dismissed on Day 4 of the third Test against England at Headingley in Leeds, England, yesterday. Rohit Sharma on Friday said that Pujara’s quality was “always there” after the two batsmen had frustrated England on Day 3. “Of late, the runs haven’t come, but that doesn’t mean the quality of Pujara has gone missing.
Source:Taipei Times
August 28, 2021 15:56 UTC
The West warns of terror threat at Kabul airport
The West warns of terror threat at Kabul airportDESPERATION: The Australian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that there was an ‘ongoing and very high threat of terrorist attack’ and that people should leave the airportAFP, KABULWestern nations yesterday told their citizens to immediately leave the area surrounding the Kabul airport over a terrorist threat, as thousands of people try to reach a dwindling number of evacuation flights. Photo: AFPOne reason for the hard deadline cited by Biden and his aides this week was an “acute” terrorist threat from the regional chapter of the Islamic State (IS) group. If you’re in the area of the airport, move to a safe location and await further advice,” the ministry said. However, while the Islamic State and the Taliban are Sunni Islamist militants, they are rivals and oppose each other. The Pentagon, which is managing all Kabul airport operations, has said that it needs to wind down evacuations several days before the deadline to allow time to remove its own 6,000-plus force and hundreds of US officials.
Source:Taipei Times
August 26, 2021 16:06 UTC
S Korea upholds sentence in death of Taiwanese
S Korea upholds sentence in death of TaiwaneseStaff writer, with CNAA South Korean court on Wednesday upheld an eight-year prison sentence handed down to a South Korean man who killed a Taiwanese student while driving under the influence of alcohol in Seoul. The ruling upheld the Seoul Central District Court’s sentence issued on April 14. Kim, who had pled guilty, requested leniency from the district court, claiming he had difficulty driving at the time because a contact lens he was wearing had slipped out of place, diminishing his vision. The court dismissed his plea and levied a heavier sentence than the six years prosecutors were seeking, adding that Kim had twice previously been found guilty of drunk driving. After Tseng’s death, her parents and a South Korean friend on Nov. 23 last year launched a petition on the Web site of the South Korean presidential office calling for the maximum sentence for vehicular homicide to be raised, to ensure the punishment would be severe enough to prevent similar tragedies.
Source:Taipei Times
August 26, 2021 15:56 UTC
COVID-19: Taiwan ‘competes’ for Pfizer-BioNTech batch
COVID-19: Taiwan ‘competes’ for Pfizer-BioNTech batchDONE DEAL? Vials of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine are pictured at a doctor’s clinic in Berlin on April 10. Many countries were competing for the batch, TSMC said, adding that if Taiwan did not obtain it, the batch would be sent elsewhere. The center did not confirm that Taiwan had obtained the batch, but the rest of the statement suggested that it had. The center’s news release was issued after Reuters reported on Wednesday that Taiwan would receive a batch of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine early after China — the batch’s original destination — had delayed regulatory approval of the vaccine.
Source:Taipei Times
August 26, 2021 15:56 UTC
COVID-19: Organizers create ‘public burial’ for victims of virus
COVID-19: Organizers create ‘public burial’ for victims of virusRECOGNIZING ‘THE POWERLESS’: The memorial would include debates, which the organizers said were necessary due to an ‘inability to freely discuss certain topics’ onlineBy Yang Cheng-yu and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with staff writerA symbolic “public burial” for the victims of COVID-19 is to be held at Taipei’s Liberty Square from tomorrow to Sept. 6 as a memorial to the dead and a protest against the government, the event’s organizers said yesterday. The memorial is to consist of performances, artwork and nightly debates, Wuo told a news conference outside the Legislative Yuan’s Chun-hsien Building in Taipei. Psychiatrist Su Wei-shuo arranges a display as part of a symbolic “public burial” for the victims of COVID-19 at Taipei’s Liberty Square yesterday. Due to the “inability to freely discuss certain topics” online, psychiatrist Su Wei-shuo (蘇偉碩) and other outspoken critics would be holding nightly debates at the tent, Wuo added. When democracy pioneer Chiang Wei-shui (蔣渭水) died of typhoid in 1931, his supporters organized a “public burial” to protest the Japanese colonial government, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
August 26, 2021 15:56 UTC
Stimulus vouchers coming in October
Stimulus vouchers coming in October‘WHITELIST’: The program aims to give a boost to small shops, but the National Development Council said that it would also announce a list of approved online retailersBy Kayleigh Madjar / Staff writer, with CNAQuintuple Stimulus Vouchers are to be distributed at the beginning of October and would be valid through April next year, the Executive Yuan announced yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday outlined its plans for a new stimulus voucher program, which it said would launch in early October and run until the end of April next year. Vouchers planned by different government agencies to boost growth in different sectors are presented at a news conference at the Executive Yuan in Taipei yesterday, as the Cabinet outlined its plans for its Quintuple Stimulus Voucher program. The economic benefits of the program are expected to far surpass last year’s Triple Stimulus Voucher program, thanks primarily to secondary vouchers offered by ministries, businesses and local governments, Kung said. In addition to last year’s sports vouchers, Hakka e-coupons, culture vouchers and agriculture travel vouchers, several government agencies this time would also present voucher programs under their purview to boost growth in different sectors, it said.
Source:Taipei Times
August 26, 2021 15:56 UTC
COVID-19: Delta to levy surcharge on unvaccinated employees
COVID-19: Delta to levy surcharge on unvaccinated employeesBloombergDelta Air Lines Inc is to impose a US$200 monthly surcharge on employees who are not vaccinated against COVID-19, becoming the first major US company to levy a penalty to encourage workers to get protected. Increasing cases of COVID-19 linked to a “very aggressive” variant are driving the push for all employees to get the shots, he said. A Delta Air Lines Inc plane flies near a COVID-19 testing sign as it approaches Los Angeles International Airport on Wednesday. In May, Delta became the first major US airline to require new employees to be vaccinated. Delta also said that starting Sept. 30, the airline would preserve full pay for fully vaccinated workers who still get sick and might end up on short-term disability.
Source:Taipei Times
August 26, 2021 15:56 UTC
US to work with big tech on cybersecurity standards
Microsoft Corp, Google and cyberinsurance provider Coalition Inc, among others, committed to participating in the new NIST-led initiative. The guest list included Amazon.com Inc CEO Andy Jassy, Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Google’s parent Alphabet Inc CEO Sundar Pichai and IBM CEO Arvind Krishna. IBM said it would train more than 150,000 people in cybersecurity skills over three years, and partner with historically black colleges and universities to create a more diverse cybersecurity workforce. It also said that it would help 100,000 Americans earn industry-recognized digital skills certificates that could lead to high-paying jobs. The US Congress is weighing legislation on data breach notification laws and cybersecurity insurance industry regulation, historically viewed as two of the most consequential policy areas in the field.
Source:Taipei Times
August 26, 2021 15:56 UTC
Xiaomi buys self-driving tech start-up to propel electric vehicle ambitions
Xiaomi buys self-driving tech start-up to propel electric vehicle ambitionsBloombergXiaomi Corp (小米) is planning to buy autonomous driving technology start-up Deepmotion for about US$77.4 million, sealing a deal to help further its ambitions of getting into the fast-expanding field. Revenue surged 64 percent to 87.79 billion yuan (US$13.5 billion) last quarter, surpassing the 85.01 billion yuan average of estimates. “Xiaomi’s results were very strong so the reaction appears to be just broader tech weakness,” Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Matthew Kanterman said. A number of tech giants from Huawei Technologies Co (華為) to Baidu Inc (百度) have already spent years developing components and vehicle technologies. On Wednesday, Xiaomi reported that net income climbed more than 80 percent to 8.27 billion yuan last quarter, sezing the No.
Source:Taipei Times
August 26, 2021 15:56 UTC