Headline News
Taoyuan mayor’s fact-finding visit to the Netherlands
Taoyuan City mayor Cheng Wen-tsan paid a visit to the Netherlands on June 22-23 to learn about the Dutch experience in developing its aerotropolis, circular economy and social housing. Taoyuan is one of the six metropolises in Taiwan where the national airport is located.
Mayor Cheng and his 33-member delegation were received by Haarlemmermeer mayor Theo Weterings. They exchanged views on the similarities between their cities and how both cities can learn from each other. The delegation also met with the Schiphol Airport Development Company to learn from their experience to develop Taoyuan’s own Aerotropolis project.
The mayor and his entourage were also received by Representative Tom Chou and Dutch European Parliament member Hans van Baalen.
The mayor visited Amsterdam Smart City, Park 20/20 and Wozoco social housing on June 23.
ASML to take over HMI
Dutch chip-making equipment corporation ASML announced on June 16 its purchase of the Taiwanese chip-making equipment manufacturer Hermes Microvision Inc. (HMI). The deal is worth 2.75 billion euro.
The two companies have worked together for almost two years before ASML decided on a purchase. They have been developing joint approaches that integrated circuit manufacturers can use for a higher yield when producing microchips.
President and Chief Executive Officer at ASML, Peter Wennink, said that the “acquisition is intended to make a strong product offering even stronger.” Chief Executive Officer at HMI, Jack Jau, stated that the fusion is great news for everyone, from stakeholders to customers, as “it accelerates both companies’ roadmap development.”
Aviation
EVA Air certified as 5-star airline
EVA Airways has been certified as a five-star airline on June 15 by Skytrax, a leading air transport rating organization. EVA joins All Nippon Airways, Asiana Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways, Hainan Airlines, Garuda Indonesia, Singapore Airlines and Qatar.
Skytrax stated that EVA earned the five-star certification through excellent performances in many of the 800-plus assessment areas, such as airline lounges, airport services, cabin staff, in-flight entertainment, onboard catering and seat comfort.
EVA has been a regular winner of aviation industry and travel surveys. The airliner ranked 3rd in Jet Airliner Crash Data Evaluation Centre’s 2016 global airline safety report and has been ranked in the global top 10 of safest airlines for eight consecutive years since 2004 by airline industry magazine Aero International.
Society & Education
New Taipei City awarded for transformation efforts
New Taipei City has been named the winner of the FT/IFC Transformational Business Award in the excellence in city-led transformation category. The award was presented by the Financial Times (FT) and International Finance Corp. (IFC) in London on June 9.
The city was on a short list of seven cities, but won for its vision to “build a ‘livable city’ that identifies and accommodates the needs of its people,” event organizers stated.
34 universities ranked in QS Asia top 250
A total of 34 Taiwanese universities have been included in the 2016 QS University rankings in Asia released on June 13 by the U.K.-based higher education information provider QS.
Twelve of Taiwan’s universities were ranked in the top 100, with National Taiwan University scoring highest at position 21. The 34 universities in total mean that Taiwan has the fourth most universities present on the list in Asia, only trailing mainland China (82), Japan (74) and South Korea (54).
Economy
Taiwan becomes 4th largest creditor globally
Taiwan is now the fourth largest creditor globally, based on its net international investment position (IIP) as of the end of last year, stated the central bank on June 15. The country’s net IIP is US$1.05 trillion, up 12.5 percent from last year, trailing Japan, Germany and mainland China.
