4 ms·

Environment protection laws. They all reject quite a lotbof nasty chemicals. We can filter or recycle them but it cost a lot at scale. This is an open secret i

by di4na 7y ago

Environment protection laws. They all reject quite a lotbof nasty chemicals. We can filter or recycle them but it cost a lot at scale. This is an open secret in EE schools.

sytelus 7y ago
I'm doubtful Taiwan has such loose laws that would make up the cost difference.
- hobo_mark 7y ago
  Maybe, but the biggest coal-fired power plant in the world is there for example (look up Taichung Power Plant) and those things aren't known for being clean.
- baybal2 7y ago
  Indeed, running a public company in Taiwan is known not to be a pleasant thing. Taiwan government is very activist when it comes to henpecking corporations on "governance standards." Boards of a lot of important companies are de-facto micromanaged by the state. A stark contrast to the US, where laxity on that front is negated by mindbogglingly complex securities regulations. For US, you can still play your game, just pay enough for lawyers. For Taiwan, not so much. Choose your poison.
redis_mlc 7y ago
EPA and ROI on capital ... Western companies tend to look at the ROI as a percentage, while Chinese businessmen at the actual profit amount. As one said, "You can't take ROI to the bank. But I can deposit my nickels."
- nordsieck 7y ago
  > Western companies tend to look at the ROI as a percentage, while Chinese businessmen at the actual profit amount. Warren Buffett is actually pretty famous for optimizing for "free cash flow".
  - di4na 7y ago
    Any CFO worth its money would tell you to optimise for free cash flow. As my ex CFO used to repeat (and we were working for big co tm). "Cash is King". She tought ne a lot. Also RoI is a measure of time. Not money or profit. Time until you get your money back.
    - redis_mlc 7y ago
      No, it's not "Time until you get your money back." Here's a link: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/returnoninvestment.asp https://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/returnoninvestment.asp ROI = Return on Investment. Most people in practice calculate that in excel as a percentage of profit over their capital investment. Smart business people know there's more important things than a dimensionless number, but hey, Peter Principle and "math is hard." See Black-Scholes and the 2008 recession for how wrong that can go. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black%E2%80%93Scholes_model https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black%E2%80%93Scholes_model I used to do math tutoring for economics students. Boy, that was an eye-opener! I had to explain over and over what independent variables meant, and how that affected for example derivatives. As bad as p-hacking and the social sciences. Econ Student: "Can I just plug these lists of numbers in the formula and write down the answer?" Me: "What are the numbers measuring? Are they independent?" Econ Student: "No idea."

by di4na 7y ago

Environment protection laws. They all reject quite a lotbof nasty chemicals. We can filter or recycle them but it cost a lot at scale. This is an open secret in EE schools.

sytelus 7y ago

I'm doubtful Taiwan has such loose laws that would make up the cost difference.

hobo_mark 7y ago
Maybe, but the biggest coal-fired power plant in the world is there for example (look up Taichung Power Plant) and those things aren't known for being clean.
baybal2 7y ago
Indeed, running a public company in Taiwan is known not to be a pleasant thing. Taiwan government is very activist when it comes to henpecking corporations on "governance standards." Boards of a lot of important companies are de-facto micromanaged by the state. A stark contrast to the US, where laxity on that front is negated by mindbogglingly complex securities regulations. For US, you can still play your game, just pay enough for lawyers. For Taiwan, not so much. Choose your poison.

redis_mlc 7y ago

EPA and ROI on capital ... Western companies tend to look at the ROI as a percentage, while Chinese businessmen at the actual profit amount. As one said, "You can't take ROI to the bank. But I can deposit my nickels."

nordsieck 7y ago
> Western companies tend to look at the ROI as a percentage, while Chinese businessmen at the actual profit amount. Warren Buffett is actually pretty famous for optimizing for "free cash flow".
- di4na 7y ago
  Any CFO worth its money would tell you to optimise for free cash flow. As my ex CFO used to repeat (and we were working for big co tm). "Cash is King". She tought ne a lot. Also RoI is a measure of time. Not money or profit. Time until you get your money back.
  - redis_mlc 7y ago
    No, it's not "Time until you get your money back." Here's a link: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/returnoninvestment.asp https://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/returnoninvestment.asp ROI = Return on Investment. Most people in practice calculate that in excel as a percentage of profit over their capital investment. Smart business people know there's more important things than a dimensionless number, but hey, Peter Principle and "math is hard." See Black-Scholes and the 2008 recession for how wrong that can go. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black%E2%80%93Scholes_model https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black%E2%80%93Scholes_model I used to do math tutoring for economics students. Boy, that was an eye-opener! I had to explain over and over what independent variables meant, and how that affected for example derivatives. As bad as p-hacking and the social sciences. Econ Student: "Can I just plug these lists of numbers in the formula and write down the answer?" Me: "What are the numbers measuring? Are they independent?" Econ Student: "No idea."