Taiwan Financial News

Apple is reportedly revisiting its plans to produce iPads in India and is actively seeking a local manufacturing partner.According to sources cited by Moneycontrol, Apple's earlier collaboration with China-based BYD for iPad production was halted due to geopolitical restrictions. Now, Apple is resuming its efforts and may soon secure an Indian partner to kickstart iPad manufacturing.

tech stocks lifted US and global shares to new highs ahead of inflation data due later Thursday. Equities in Japan and Australia and futures for Hong Kong stocks all rose, echoing the bullish pulse on Wall Street on Wednesday that led the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 each more than 1% higher to records. The S&P 500 has advanced in each of the past seven sessions, its longest winning streak since November, helping propel a gauge of global equities to a record.

Taiwan's defence ministry said Thursday it had detected 66 Chinese military aircraft around the island in a 24-hour window, a record-high this year, a day after it said Beijing was conducting exercises in nearby waters. China claims self-ruled democratic Taiwan as part of its territory and has said it will never renounce the use of force to bring it under its control. Thursday's record follows Taipei a day earlier spotting Chinese aircraft around the island that it said were headed to the western Pacific for exercises with the PLA aircraft carrier Shandong.

The issue of Tibet is back onto the international centre-stage with the visit of a seven-member US Congressional delegation to Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, this month to meet the Dalai Lama and members of the Tibetan government-in-exile. During the visit, former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi lashed out at Chinese President Xi Jinping saying that the Dalai Lama’s contribution will live on in perpetuity while Xi Jinping will fade into obscurity.

Vladimir Putin said that he may be forced to use nuclear weapons if the existence of his country is threatened, the specter of nuclear war has been haunting the US. It has increased with escalating the Russia- Ukraine War and mounting China-US pressure over Taiwan and the South China Sea. Amid these disturbing scenarios, a map has been released showing the potential targets in the US if a nuke war gets triggered. As many as 90 cities have found a place in the map, that may disturb not only their residents but also defense experts and the military.

semiconductor equipment maker ASML said in an interview with Dutch radio station BNR on Saturday that US-China disputes over computer chips are ideological and not based on facts, and they are set to continue. Wennink left in April after a ten year term at the helm of ASML that saw it become Europe's largest technology firm. Since 2018, the US has imposed increasing restrictions on what tools the company can export to China, its second-largest market after Taiwan, citing security concerns. Most recently the US has sought to keep the company from servicing equipment already sold to Chinese customers.

Nasdaq rose on Wednesday to post record high closes, as data pointing to a softening economy raised hopes the Federal Reserve could cut interest rates in September. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed slightly lower, pressured by selling in healthcare and consumer stocks during a shortened trading session ahead of the Fourth of July. The market will stay closed on Thursday for U.S. Independence Day, keeping trading volumes thin throughout the week.

Stocks that are trading heavily or have substantial price changes on Wednesday: Goodyear, Smart Global rise; LegalZoom, falls

commerce ministry said on Wednesday. The mutual recognition agreement (MRA) will ease the export of organic products by avoiding dual certifications, thereby reducing compliance cost, simplifying compliance requirements by adhering to only one regulation and enhancing trade opportunities in the organic sector. It said the pact will pave the way for export of major Indian organic products such as rice, processed food, green/black and herbal tea, medicinal plant products to Taiwan. The implementing agencies for the MRA are India's Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) and Taiwan's Agriculture and Food Agency.

U.S. stocks are moving higher, sending Wall Street toward more records

Nasdaq and S&P 500 rallied to record high closes on Wednesday, fueled by gains in Nvidia and other Wall Street heavyweights ahead of inflation data and quarterly earnings reports due this week. It was the Nasdaq's seventh straight record-high close and the S&P 500's sixth straight. The S&P 500 crossed 5,600 for the first time after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell stoked expectations for an interest-rate cut in September.

global power, US ambassador to India Eric Garcetti said in an interview. The North American country is investing locally and joining hands with allies such as India to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific region while competing with China, he said. Pointing to the situation in Ukraine, the diplomat said the war has demonstrated to the world that developments in one region directly affect security elsewhere and partnerships around the world are crucial to addressing interconnected challenges.

Foxconn group's Bharat FIH is weathering a rough spell, having lost three independent directors in the last three months, people aware of developments told ET. The company is also likely to shutter its manufacturing facility in Sri City, Andhra Pradesh, due to a massive drop in orders from key client Xiaomi, they said. Industry watchers feel Bharat FIH was too dependent on the Chinese smartphone maker and did not keep up with the competition. Among those who have exited the Bharat FIH board are InterGlobe Aviation chairman Venkataramani Sumantran, Sify Technologies cofounder Ramaraj R, and former IT and telecom secretary Aruna Sundararajan.

Google said it has taken a stake in Taiwan's New Green Power and could buy up to 300 megawatts of renewable energy from the BlackRock fund-owned firm to help cut its carbon emissions and those of suppliers. Companies are being pushed to cut greenhouse gas emissions linked to their operations and value chains by investors and Big Tech firms have been among the most ambitious in their targets.

Ministry of National Defence (MND) said on Sunday that five Chinese military aircraft and seven naval vessels operating around Taiwan from 6 am (local time) on Saturday to 6 am (local time) on Sunday.

visa-waiver program for Chinese tourists announced by the Laos government includes elements that gives false impression that Taiwan is part of China, the Central News Agency (CNA) reported. The document issued by the Laos government on Wednesday said that Chinese nationals travelling to Laos may visit the country visa-free for up to 15 days as part of a group tour. It also provided the itinerary approved by the Laotian Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism.

Chips and Science Act — but their persistent failure to unite behind common-sense, bipartisan reforms to bring more skilled immigrants to the US puts this notable achievement in jeopardy. Congress passed the law in 2022 to revive domestic semiconductor manufacturing and reduce dependence on fabrication plants in East Asia. On paper, the initiative is already a success: Nearly $30 billion in subsidies and $25 billion in loans have been awarded, supporting investments of roughly $350 billion. One industry-sponsored study expects US chipmaking capacity to triple by 2032, with output of advanced logic chips rising from zero in 2022 to 28% of global production. To build and run those fabs, however, companies need workers the US doesn’t have. Shortages of skilled installers of hyper-precise chipmaking equipment have already delayed projects. The number of Americans studying in relevant graduate programs has been flat for 30 years. A third of current fab workers are 55 and older, and more than half say they’re eager to quit. The Semiconductor Industry Association says chipmakers will face a shortfall of 67,000 skilled workers by 2030.

Japan has never seen so many tourists flood into the country so quickly. The yen’s historic collapse, meaning a cheaper traveling experience for those with tourist dollars to spend, coupled with the post-pandemic surge in global tourism, has sparked interest in the nation like never before. More than 14.5 million people arrived in the country in the first five months of this year, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization’s latest figures. That’s 70% up on the same period last year, and on track to beat 2019’s record 31 million visitors.

Taiwanese at a villa in Bali over alleged cyber fraud, authorities said Friday. The proliferation of cyber fraud groups in Southeast Asia has become a growing concern in recent years, and authorities in countries including China, Indonesia and Malaysia have stepped up efforts to stop them.

Taiwan has urged its citizens to avoid travel to China and the semi-autonomous Chinese territories of Hong Kong and Macao following threats from Beijing to execute supporters of the self-governing island democracy's independence. Spokesperson and deputy head of the Mainland Affairs Council Liang Wen-chieh issued the advisory at a news conference Thursday. That came amid growing threats from China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory to be annexed by force if necessary.

Taiwanese singer Nine Chen, also known as Chen Lingjiu, has been implicated in a major fraud case linked to Hong Kong’s JPEX cryptocurrency exchange. The Bureau of Investigation accused Chen on June 26 of accepting 320,000 Tether coins (approximately NT$10 million) from a Hong Kong businessman to act as a spokesperson for JPEX in Taiwan.