Synnex Technology International Corp (
Synnex's board passed a proposal to spend US$24 million, or US$1.59 a share, to buy a 36.3-percent stake in Redington Group, India's No. 2 computer and electronics retailer.
The move into the world's second fastest-growing market marked the company's first expansion since 1997, when it extended its business into other Asian areas, including China and Hong Kong.
"Synnex has been aggressively expanding in overseas markets in recent years as growth in the Taiwan market stagnates. And India is a market with great potential," Synnex president Evans Tu (
Sales from overseas affiliates and associated companies will increase further to make up half of Synnex's sales, with sales from the local market accounting for the other half, Tu said.
In 1997, overseas sales accounted for a mere 23 percent of total sales, according to the company.
Tu expects the company's sales to rise to above US$10 billion this year, from US$7.9 billion last year.
But, Tu said, he did not expect the new Indian investment to make a significant contribution in the short run.
He said Synnex would only see around NT$100 million from Redington next year.
Redington, headquartered in Chennai, reported sales of US$655 million in the fiscal year ended March.
It now owns 31 subsidiaries, 39 maintenance centers and 42 storehouses throughout India.
Redington also has branches in the Middle East and Africa.
The company's investment garnered a positive response from analysts.
"As growth in Synnex's Chinese units has started to slow due to dwindling demand for handsets made by Chinese vendors, the company has to look for new areas for growth," said Helen Chen (
India, which has the second largest market for handsets after China, would give Synnex a boost in mobile phone sales, Chen said.
Synnex, which primarily sells computers and mobile phones for electronics vendors, plans to introduce more local brands into India, Tu said.
Indian consumers will be able to buy Asustek Computer Co's (華碩電腦) own-brand handsets and laptops under the Asus brand at Redingon's stores in addition to BenQ Corp's (明基電通) and Acer Inc's products, according to Synnex.
Synnex Technology's local subsidiary earned NT$1.93 billion, or NT$2.4 per share, in the first nine months, up from earnings of NT$1.75 billion a year ago.
Synnex's shares advanced 0.21 percent to close at NT$48.5 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”