TW Biz News｜WK 07/21 - 07/27

Every week, we'll select Taiwan's five business news from the previous week for your review.

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• 〔Taiwan News〕Dream Plaza holds grand opening in Taipei

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taipei’s newest department store, Dream Plaza, held its grand opening Friday in the city’s Xinyi District. Located near Taipei City Hall MRT Station, Dream Plaza occupies the property that formerly housed the Elite department store, which closed in December 2023. Uni-President Group invested approximately NT$1 billion into renovations and preparations, per CNA.

• 〔Taiwan News〕Taiwan’s June retail sales hit NT$390 billion

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s retail sales totaled NT$390 billion (US$12.19 billion) in June, a 2.9% year-on-year decline and the third consecutive monthly drop, the Ministry of Economic Affairs reported Wednesday. Huang Wei-chieh (黃偉傑), an official at the ministry’s statistics department, attributed the decline primarily to the impact of US tariff policies on consumer spending, which has notably affected the purchase of high-priced goods, per CNA.

• 〔Taiwan News〕TSMC to build four new fabs in Taichung

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — TSMC is set to break ground on four new 1.4 nanometer chip fabs by the end of the year in Taichung’s Xitun District. At Central Taiwan Science Park’s (CTSP) 22nd anniversary celebration on Sunday, Director-General Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) announced that land for the second phase expansion has been handed over to TSMC, per Liberty Times. The company has leased the site and plans to begin construction on four fabs with a two-year buildout timeline.

• 〔Focus Taiwan〕TS Financial establishment shows financial sector growing through M&A

Taipei, July 24 (CNA) The inauguration of TS Financial Holding Co. demonstrates that Taiwan's financial sector is growing through mergers and acquisitions, company chairman Thomas Wu (吳東亮) said on Thursday, when the merger of Taishin Financial Holding Co. and Shin Kong Financial Holding Co. was completed to create TS Financial. Speaking at a cocktail party held Thursday afternoon to celebrate the establishment of TS Financial, Wu said the combination of Taishin Financial and Shin Kong Financial was the first friendly takeover in the history of the local financial sector and also unprecedented in the sector.

• 〔Focus Taiwan〕Indigenous choir from Taiwan takes gold at Slovak music festival

Prague, July 26 (CNA) A children's choir from Pingtung County in southern Taiwan recently won four gold medals at the International Youth Music Festival in Slovakia, where they showcased their musical talent and culture to overseas audiences. The Puzangalan Children's Choir, consisting of Indigenous Paiwan children, impressed both judges and audiences with its pure vocals and emotionally rich performances to take the four gold medals, the Taipei Representative Office in Slovakia said in a statement Saturday.