Promos sues Infineon
Promos Technologies Inc (茂德科技), the nation's number four chipmaker, said it sued Infineon Technologies AG for breaking a contract and laws after the German company said it would sell its 30 percent stake in Promos.
"Infineon's announcement adversely impacted Promos' share price and clearly violated the directors' fiduciary duty," Promos said in a statement.
The shares of Promos have fallen 19 percent since Infineon said on Dec. 10 it wanted to sell its stake and end a purchasing and technology agreement with the Taiwan company from Jan. 1.
"When a major shareholder wants to sell a stake in the company, it must first inform the stock exchange," Promos spokesman Albert Lin (林育中) said.
"Infineon has yet to do that," he said.
Promos, a joint venture set by Mosel Vitelic Inc (茂矽電子) and Infineon in 1996, said on Friday that it could continue to make and sell chips manufactured using technology transferred by Infineon even if the German company terminates their agreement.
Kagome to buy local affiliate
Japan's largest manufacturer of tomato-based processed foods, Kagome Co, said yesterday it will buy a majority stake in its local affiliate, Taiwan Kagome Co (可果美), next January.
By making the company its subsidiary, Kagome said it aims to make it a base for advancing into the Chinese market in the future.
Kagome said it will buy 28.47 million shares worth about Japanese Yen 360 million (US$3 million) from Japanese trading firm Mitsui & Co and Mitsui's Taiwanese arm, Mitsui & Co Taiwan Ltd. The purchase will raise Kagome's stake in Taiwan Kagome from 41.33 percent to 50.33 percent.
Taiwan Kagome has had sales of Japanese Yen 4.2 billion this year and its ketchup and tomato juice share in the market was at 70 percent and 60 percent, respectively, the Japanese firm said.
Samsung to build new facility
Samsung Electronics Co, the world's biggest maker of flat-panel computer displays, said it will build its sixth liquid-crystal display production line to maintain its lead over rivals in Taiwan.
Samsung will spend 66 billion won (US$55 million) this month to start building a factory that will begin production in October, the company said in a statement. The investment to equip the plant, the biggest expense, has yet to be fixed, the company said.
The electronics company said it wants to have more capacity than rivals such as AU Optronics Corp (友達光電) and Quanta Display Inc (廣輝電子), which are building similar plants that will begin output in the second half of next year.
Hsinchu park predicts growth
The revenues of the Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park (新竹科學園區) are likely to top NT$900 billion (US$25.78 billion) next year, said Lee Chieh-mu (李界木), director-general of the Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park Administration.
Lee said the park's revenue this year is expected to increased to NT$700 billion, thanks to a gradual recovery of the businesses there, adding that the figure may exceed NT$800 billion and even reach NT$900 billion next year.
The park, currently employing about 98,000 people, is planning to organize a mission to visit California's Silicon Valley to recruit skilled workers next spring, Lee said.
NT dollar rises
The New Taiwan dollar yesterday traded higher against its US counterpart on the back of a stronger yen. The local unit increased NT$0.039 to close at NT$34.796 on the Taipei foreign exchange market. Turnover was US$331 million, compared with last Friday's US$319 million.
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