TW Biz News｜WK 11/10 - 11/16

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

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• 〔Taiwan News〕Taiwan’s 7-Eleven opens 9th unmanned store

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — 7-Eleven on Thursday unveiled its ninth unmanned store, betting on the growing grab-and-go market as Taiwan’s labor pool shrinks. Uni-President Group, which operates 7-Eleven in Taiwan, opened the outlet at National Central University in Taoyuan, per CNA. It uses 140 ceiling-mounted cameras and optical radar with AI image recognition, letting shoppers check out in about 30 seconds without scanning barcodes or waiting in line, per UDN.

• 〔Taiwan News〕Cathay Financial Holdings plans new logistics hub in Tainan

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Cathay Financial Holdings said Thursday it bought NT$4.55 billion (US$146.18 billion) in land in Tainan’s Xinshi District to build a logistics and industrial complex set for completion in 2030. The acquisition, under its subsidiary Cathay Life Insurance, covers multiple plots in Xinshi District totaling 68,384 square meters, per CNA. The location offers strategic advantages, including transportation and proximity to the Tainan Science Park, the company said, per UDN.

• 〔Taiwan News〕Hsiao Bi-khim opens ASOCIO Digital Summit in Taipei

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) opened the Asian-Oceanian Computing Industry Organization (ASOCIO) Digital Summit on Tuesday, calling on business to shape a smarter and more collaborative future. Under the theme AI Shaping the Digital Asia, the event is expected to draw over 400 government officials and industry leaders from 24 Asian economies over two days, per CNA. They will discuss how AI is transforming the region’s digital economy.

• 〔Focus Taiwan〕Taiwan, the Philippines to hold smart harbor forum in Kaohsiung

Taipei, Nov. 11 (CNA) Taiwan and the Philippines will hold a "smart harbor" forum in Kaohsiung next month to promote cooperation between the southern Taiwan harbor and the Port of Subic Bay, a Taiwanese diplomat said Tuesday. Lien Yu-ping (連玉蘋), head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' (MOFA) Department of International Cooperation and Economic Affairs, said at a weekly briefing that the Taiwan-Philippines smart harbor forum from Dec. 9 to 11 will be joined by over 30 representatives from the Philippines' public and private sectors.

• 〔Taipei Times〕Taiwan and Poland endorse economic cooperation MOU

Taiwan and Poland have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on economic cooperation at the 13th bilateral economic and trade consultation conference in Wroclaw, Poland, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said on Saturday. Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Cynthia Kiang (江文若) and Michal Jaros, secretary of state in Poland’s Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, signed the MOU at the conference on Friday in support of the establishment of special economic zones and industrial parks, the MOEA said in a statement.