Quanta Display in merger talks
Quanta Display Inc (廣輝電子), a flat-panel venture controlled by Sharp Corp and Quanta Computer Inc (廣達電腦), is in merger talks with rivals, a local newspaper said, citing Quanta chairman Barry Lam (林百里). Lam's comment comes after Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp (奇美光電) chairman Hsu Wen-long (許文龍) last weekend said Chi Mei is in merger talks with rivals, the report said.
Banks to charge service fees
Starting Feb. 1, state-owned banks, including Bank of Taiwan (台銀), First Commercial Bank (一銀), Chang Hwa Bank (彰銀) and Hua Nan Commercial Bank (華銀) will charge over-the-counter fees for financial services including the issuance of blank checks. Bank clients will pay NT$5 to NT$10 to receive a blank check, NT$100 to change their account identification imprints and NT$100 to re-issue new saving account books, while a stop-check request will cost NT$100 per transaction.
Bally Total Fitness eyes Taiwan
Bally Total Fitness Holding Corp, said it will open new health clubs in Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines to expand its franchise. The first club in Taiwan will open as soon as June the company said.
NT dollar dips versus greenback
The New Taiwan dollar yesterday traded lower against its US counterpart, declining NT$0.018 to close at NT$34.485 on the Taipei foreign exchange market. Turnover was US$377.5, compared with last Friday's US$623 million.
China has claimed a breakthrough in developing homegrown chipmaking equipment, an important step in overcoming US sanctions designed to thwart Beijing’s semiconductor goals. State-linked organizations are advised to use a new laser-based immersion lithography machine with a resolution of 65 nanometers or better, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in an announcement this month. Although the note does not specify the supplier, the spec marks a significant step up from the previous most advanced indigenous equipment — developed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co (SMEE, 上海微電子) — which stood at about 90 nanometers. MIIT’s claimed advances last
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has appointed Rose Castanares, executive vice president of TSMC Arizona, as president of the subsidiary, which is responsible for carrying out massive investments by the Taiwanese tech giant in the US state, the company said in a statement yesterday. Castanares will succeed Brian Harrison as president of the Arizona subsidiary on Oct. 1 after the incumbent president steps down from the position with a transfer to the Arizona CEO office to serve as an advisor to TSMC Arizona’s chairman, the statement said. According to TSMC, Harrison is scheduled to retire on Dec. 31. Castanares joined TSMC in
EUROPE ON HOLD: Among a flurry of announcements, Intel said it would postpone new factories in Germany and Poland, but remains committed to its US expansion Intel Corp chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger has landed Amazon.com Inc’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) as a customer for the company’s manufacturing business, potentially bringing work to new plants under construction in the US and boosting his efforts to turn around the embattled chipmaker. Intel and AWS are to coinvest in a custom semiconductor for artificial intelligence computing — what is known as a fabric chip — in a “multiyear, multibillion-dollar framework,” Intel said in a statement on Monday. The work would rely on Intel’s 18A process, an advanced chipmaking technology. Intel shares rose more than 8 percent in late trading after the
FACTORY SHIFT: While Taiwan produces most of the world’s AI servers, firms are under pressure to move manufacturing amid geopolitical tensions Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) started building artificial intelligence (AI) servers in India’s south, the latest boon for the rapidly growing country’s push to become a high-tech powerhouse. The company yesterday said it has started making the large, powerful computers in Pondicherry, southeastern India, moving beyond products such as laptops and smartphones. The Chinese company would also build out its facilities in the Bangalore region, including a research lab with a focus on AI. Lenovo’s plans mark another win for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who tries to attract more technology investment into the country. While India’s tense relationship with China has suffered setbacks