■ National Aerospace in trouble
National Aerospace Fasteners Corp (宏達科技) said it will seek court protection from creditors after stock market regulators imposed restrictions on trading in its shares. Insufficient cash flow may result in the company's checks bouncing and the delisting of its shares from the stock market, National Aerospace said in a statement to the Taiwan Stock Exchange. The company said it has NT$1.8 billion (US$53.1 million) in debt and assets worth NT$3.6 billion. Shares in the firm, which makes rivets and nuts for aircraft parts, have lost 90 percent of their value since mid-August. The stock exchange last month said it would limit trading in the shares to cash-only transactions because of concerns over the company's income statements. National Aerospace said on Sept. 3 it would make a loss of NT$551 million (US$16 million) this year, reversing an April profit forecast of NT$123 million.
■ Foxconn, Juteng offer shares
Foxconn International Holdings (富士康控股) and Juteng Interna-tional Holdings, both Taiwanese technology equipment manufacturers, plan to raise a combined HK$1.5 billion (US$193 million) in Hong Kong share sales by the end of the year, the South China Morning Post said, citing unidentified sources. Foxconn, a subsidiary of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), Taiwan's largest listed company by sales, plans to raise as much as HK$1.2 billion in an initial public offering that may receive approval from Hong Kong regulators next month, the paper said. The telecommunications networking and mobile equipment maker made an estimated profit of more than HK$400 million last year, the Hong Kong-based paper said. Goldman Sachs Group Inc and UBS AG are arranging the sale, the paper said. Juteng International Holdings may raise HK$300 million in its Hong Kong share offer in December, according to the paper. The company, which produces casings for computers and other products, posted revenue of about HK$500 million last year.
■ Family feud at Taishin
A member of Taishin Financial Holdings Co's (台新金控) controlling family is disputing the results of an impromptu board meeting held to set the date for election of new members, several Chinese-language newspapers reported. Director Eric Wu (吳東昇) is claiming his brother, Taishin chairman Thomas Wu (吳東亮), acted independently in calling a board meeting that set the date for the election on Dec. 3, the anniversary of their father's death, the reports said. Thomas Wu may be investigated by the island's stock regulator for selling shares in Shinkong Synthetic Fibers Corp (新光人纖) during a struggle with Eric Wu for management control.
■ Wal-Mart meets in Shenzhen
Wal-Mart Stores Inc will for the first time move an annual meeting to decide purchases of electronics goods to China from the US, a media report said, citing unidentified suppliers of the US retailer. The company was to start the four-day meeting yesterday in China's southern coastal city of Shenzhen with suppliers including Taiwan's Tatung Co (大同) and Sampo Corp (聲寶), the report said. Most of Wal-Mart's purchases will focus on products such as DVD players and flat-panel televisions, which the company expects to sell under its own brand name, the paper said.
■ NT dollar up slightly
The New Taiwan dollar yesterday edged up NT$0.006 against the US dollar to close at NT$33.865 on the Taipei foreign exchange market. Turnover was US$430 million.
With this year’s Semicon Taiwan trade show set to kick off on Wednesday, market attention has turned to the mass production of advanced packaging technologies and capacity expansion in Taiwan and the US. With traditional scaling reaching physical limits, heterogeneous integration and packaging technologies have emerged as key solutions. Surging demand for artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance computing (HPC) and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips has put technologies such as chip-on-wafer-on-substrate (CoWoS), integrated fan-out (InFO), system on integrated chips (SoIC), 3D IC and fan-out panel-level packaging (FOPLP) at the center of semiconductor innovation, making them a major focus at this year’s trade show, according
DEBUT: The trade show is to feature 17 national pavilions, a new high for the event, including from Canada, Costa Rica, Lithuania, Sweden and Vietnam for the first time The Semicon Taiwan trade show, which opens on Wednesday, is expected to see a new high in the number of exhibitors and visitors from around the world, said its organizer, SEMI, which has described the annual event as the “Olympics of the semiconductor industry.” SEMI, which represents companies in the electronics manufacturing and design supply chain, and touts the annual exhibition as the most influential semiconductor trade show in the world, said more than 1,200 enterprises from 56 countries are to showcase their innovations across more than 4,100 booths, and that the event could attract 100,000 visitors. This year’s event features 17
Germany is to establish its first-ever national pavilion at Semicon Taiwan, which starts tomorrow in Taipei, as the country looks to raise its profile and deepen semiconductor ties with Taiwan as global chip demand accelerates. Martin Mayer, a semiconductor investment expert at Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI), Germany’s international economic promotion agency, said before leaving for Taiwan that the nation is a crucial partner in developing Germany’s semiconductor ecosystem. Germany’s debut at the international semiconductor exhibition in Taipei aims to “show presence” and signal its commitment to semiconductors, while building trust with Taiwanese companies, government and industry associations, he said. “The best outcome
Semiconductor equipment billings in Taiwan are expected to double this year, as manufacturers in the industry are keen to expand production to meet strong global demand for artificial intelligence applications, according to SEMI, which represents companies in the electronics manufacturing and design supply chain. Speaking at a news conference before the opening of Semicon Taiwan trade show tomorrow, SEMI director of industry research and statistics Clark Tseng (曾瑞榆) said semiconductor equipment billings in Taiwan are expected to grow by an annual 100 percent this year, beating an earlier estimate of 70 percent growth. He said that Taiwan received a boost from a